100 top low- or no-load funds, ranked by three-year return. Read More

Funds that rely on quantitative analysis typically thrive immediately before and after sharp shifts in market sentiment. Although we usually steer clear of quantitative funds because of their opaque strategies, we screened the universe for interesting options. In the process, we came across this surprisingly attractive offering from Charles Schwab. Read More

Hydrocarbons have been flowing from the blown-out Macondo well since April. The Obama administration responded to the disaster by instituting a moratorium on deepwater drilling, though a judge recently struck down the ban. When we spoke with Tim Guinness, the London-based manager of Guinness Atkinson Global Energy (GAGEX), the moratorium was freshly minted and a major topic of conversation. Although that situation has changed, Guinness’ unique take on the spill’s impact and the future of the US energy sector remains valid. Read More

Although investors who focused on fundamentals and purchased high-quality companies on the cheap during the downturn outperformed, it took strong courage of conviction to stick with those holdings as share prices tumbled. That experience reinforced the wisdom of index investing. Read More

Charles Schwab, Fidelity and Vanguard are engaged in a price war that promises to make it even cheaper for ETF investors to build their portfolios. Read More

After years of an artificially low peg, the Chinese have pledged to allow the yuan to appreciate gradually and to reform its exchange-rate policies to make the currency more flexible. Read More

Financial institutions in emerging markets benefit from a growing middle class as well as distrust of the Western banking system. Here's how to profit from these trends. Read More

Exchange traded funds (ETF) are outperforming mutual funds and money market funds. Read More

A few years of major catastrophes and horrible market returns pinched profit margins at property and casualty insurers. This year is shaping up much differently. Read More

Waning market valuations since late spring bring back memories of the panic selling of 2008 when even quality companies weren’t immune from investor jitters. Read More