Over the past 30 years, investing in real estate (or “property,” as it’s called in the UK) has proven to be a highly profitable venture. However, with prices having surged to new heights, the short-term outlook for real estate may not be as promising. While long-term price appreciation is almost certain, it may be wise to temper expectations for the ...

On January 1, 2006, a major financial daily reported the trailing 1-year and 5-year returns for Fidelity Contrafund (Nasdaq: FCNTX), a no-load mutual fund, at 16.23% and 6.21%, respectively. While these figures are informative, they only scratch the surface of what investors should consider when evaluating mutual fund performance. To truly assess whether the fund’s performance is strong or weak, ...

Predicting the stock market’s direction is futile. No matter how much time or analytical energy you invest in following numbers, indices, or the latest market guru, it’s impossible to reliably forecast where the market will go or when it will turn. Far too many investors waste precious resources trying to anticipate short-term fluctuations or comparing their portfolio’s performance to unrelated ...

People take on the risks of investing primarily for the chance to earn a higher return than what is offered in low-risk environments, such as an FDIC-insured bank account. Risk manifests in various forms, but for most investors, the primary concerns are credit risk and market risk, particularly when investing for income. Credit risk relates to the ability of corporations, ...

If you ask anyone in the finance world about investing or trading penny stocks, the most common response you’ll get is: “Don’t do it. You’re likely to lose your money because 90% of penny stock companies are scams. These companies are only interested in selling shares, not growing their business.” And the truth is, trading penny stocks is inherently risky. ...