Even with its gains and long life, most investors have been lukewarm toward the stock market.
Exchange-traded funds have achieved a new feat, producing dozens of funds that are riskier than the most volatile individual stocks in the Standard and Poor's 500 stock index.
Long-suffering energy limited partnership funds, for example, have leaped 21.46% the past 30 days.
The minimum investment is $5 billion for the stock fund, and $3 billion for the bond fund.
There's plenty of evidence that it's not a great investment — and may even be a bad one in a recession.
There's plenty of evidence that a big house is not a great investment — and may even be a bad one in a recession.
Faced with one bond-fund meltdown and worried about others, the Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing new rules to ensure investors can get their money back when they want it.
Many fund companies, such as Fidelity and Vanguard, back out dividends and capital gains from their net flows calculations. So does Morningstar.
Competition from index funds could hold the death rate steady going forward.
The bellwether 10-year Treasury note currently yields 1.75% — a level that reflects more worry about falling prices than rising ones.
