A hundred years ago, almost nobody invested outside their own country. Even 50 years ago, investing in Europe was a mission for the brave and, possibly, only those with local know-how. John Templeton, the … Read more →

The investing advice you hear tends to come in two flavors: total beginner or nearly retired. If you are young, say in your 20s, you should be heavy stocks and light on bonds, some … Read more →

U.S. bond investing has a reputation for being arcane, and understandably so. Where things get confusing for many investors is bond risk. While a U.S. bond is extremely likely to be repaid with … Read more →

One of the fundamental building blocks of an investment portfolio, without a doubt, is stocks, particularly the stocks of U.S. corporations. Research has show that stocks offer a long-term hedge against inflation that’s hard to replicate … Read more →

If you want a truly spine-tingling investment ride, you likely could do no better than foreign government bonds, also known as “sovereigns.” The risks are multiple: Beside the typical risks of bonds, … Read more →

For many people, the first step is the hardest. As a result, the novice saver and investor ends up being in cash. And that’s where they stick, for years. The … Read more →

If you’ve been investing at all in the past 10 years, chances are you’ve heard someone say the “emerging markets” are a good investment bet. And that’s largely true, with some caveats. Like … Read more →

You don’t have to flip through many channels on cable TV or click on more than a few Internet pages to find ads touting safe investments with high returns. It’s investment nirvana, … Read more →

Savers often talk about their 401k investments as if they were one big investment: “My 401(k) money,” as if it were a monolithic thing, indivisible and hard to understand. Investment … Read more →

One of the interesting quirks of the investing world in the last few years has been the rise of “self-directed IRAs.” You often hear them bandied about as vehicles for … Read more →