Investments

Qualified tuition programs (QTPs), also known as 529 plans, offer substantial tax benefits. Investment earnings inside such plans avoid income tax. In addition, distributions from 529 plans to [...]

As the memory of the financial crisis recedes, the real estate market shows signs of recovery. You may believe excellent investment opportunities exist now—and that might be the case. [...]

Total college savings assets in 529 accounts reached $168.5 billion by the end of 2012, up 16.7% for the year, reports Financial Research Corp. (FRC), Boston. Parents increasingly use these plans [...]

Although traditional 401(k) plans have become widespread, many employers are adding Roth 401(k) s to their employee benefits. The relationship between these two types of plans is similar to the [...]

The Federal Reserve has promised to keep short-term interest rates low until at least 2015. Therefore, investors have scant hope that bank accounts, money market funds, or high-quality bonds will [...]

Some people advise stock market investors to be contrarians: buy low and sell high. That is, you should put your money into market sectors that are out of favor. Those stocks are likely to ride [...]

Historically, the stock market has offered excellent long-term returns to investors. The historic record, though, may offer scant consolation when stocks skid by 5%, 10%, or even more. Wary [...]

Many companies offer employees a choice between two 401(k) plans. The version with which you’re probably most familiar is now considered a “traditional” 401(k). As before, you can choose to defer [...]

For the past two years, investors have experienced extraordinarily tumultuous times. From late 2008 through early 2009, stock markets in the United States and around the world have fallen [...]

As we’ve seen in recent years, investment markets can be extremely volatile. You may decide to seek the help of an investment advisor to improve returns, reduce risk, or both. As is generally the [...]