The complex relationship between shareholders and managers in the companies they own can result in some conflicts of interest that result in the need for shareholders to take direct action in the…
Trading in stock and commodity derivatives is a highly volatile end of the investment business. Skillful navigation of this area can net substantial gains for investors but can also cause substantial…
Mutual funds pool investors' money to buy stocks, bonds and other securities. The funds incur various costs, such as management compensation and trading commissions. Mutual fund investors bear these…
Cost-to-benefit ratios can be used to determine whether a project is worth doing. These ratios are derived from a process regularly used in business and other industries known as a cost benefit…
While most individual retirement accounts invest in mutual funds, exchange-traded funds can also be put into IRAs by IRA account holders. An ETF is an investment fund holding stocks or bonds and…
An expense ratio is an expense expressed as a percentage of a company’s net sales, which equals sales minus the money a company loses for sales returns and discounts. An income statement that…
Saving for retirement to enjoy a high standard of living at the end of life is a personal financial goal that many workers share. Contributing money toward tax-advantaged retirement accounts like 401k…
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issues Treasury bonds, often called T-bonds, as public debt in order to fund the operations of the U.S. government. Investors usually pay less than the face value…
With average life expectancies growing, the golden years are becoming more and more expensive to fund. No one wants to run out of money too quickly; so, many people begin investing in individual…
A 401(k) plan is a common type of tax-advantaged retirement account that some employers offer to their workers as a benefit. Money you save in a 401(k) plan is tax deductible and you do not pay taxes…
Investors who invest in mutual funds buy shares of stocks and other securities from mutual fund companies, which aggregate investments from different investors to buy different securities for their…
Owning equity in a real estate property works like home ownership. The rights are direct. Owning shares in a REIT, a real estate investment trust, is an indirect means of ownership. The trust actually…
When you invest in a company, you're entitled to earn dividends on that company's profits. Dividends are awarded to investors according to the shares they own in a company. The different types of…
Cost basis is the total amount that you paid for an investment, such as a stock. A spin-off occurs when a company divides itself into two or more pieces. If you own stock in a company that has a…
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, if you are 35 and getting a 7 percent return on your 401(k), a fee of 1.5 percent instead of 0.5 percent will decrease your savings by 28 percent by the time…
A money market fund is a type of investment that pools investors’ money to buy safe, short-term assets that generate interest. The fund is highly liquid, which means an investor can typically…
An Individual Retirement Account is a tax-deferred savings vehicle used to provide retirement income. Assets are contributed over working years based on earned income with two basic structures…
A Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA) allows taxpayers to establish custodial accounts using post-tax funds. Custodians do not pay income taxes while their accounts grow or earn interest but may…
Inverse bond funds are exchange-traded funds designed to change value in the opposite direction of bond prices. The funds offer investors one way to make a bet on changing interest rates. An investor…
Operating expense ratio is one of the best measures you can calculate in order to see how a company is performing. Operating expense ratio shows you what percentage of a company's revenues is used to…
Your 401(k) plan may be your most important retirement asset. A 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Traditional employer-sponsored retirement plans allow you to save money for…
Whether a mutual fund owned by a deceased person must pass to the estate prior to distribution to beneficiaries depends on how the ownership is titled and whether the decedent made provisions to…
A yield on a bond is the interest rate it pays. Treasury yields on bonds are often considered a bellwether--an indicator of the direction of bond prices and bond yields will go. With bonds, price and…