My model portfolio of mutual funds in the most widely held 401(k) plans shot up 24.3% in the second half of last year, and is poised to reap further gains in 2010. If the late bear market scared you away from investing, it's time to jump in again. December was a [...]

Investing was a wild ride in 2009, but the win was worth it, as global markets soared and my model portfolio of exchange-traded funds did even better. The new year is going to be tougher. The portfolio's large holdings of bonds--which have beaten the pants off stocks for the last decade--took [...]

It's looking more and more like the only thing propping up the price of gold is speculators, and the 10%-plus plunge in its price this month could send them fleeing at a moment's notice. In just the last week, the bearish mood of gold investors has brought the price of bullion down 3.7%, [...]

My model portfolios delivered sparkling returns in November as the bull market of 2009 finished its ninth month. Let's celebrate by taking profits in our riskiest holdings and use them to buy something less risky, but also attractive in terms of total returns. The model exchange-traded fund portfolio I created in [...]

My model portfolio of best-of-breed mutual funds widely available in 401(k) pension plans soared 5.7% in September and 18.4% in the third quarter, troucing the U.S. stock market despite having nearly 20% of assets in fixed-income securities. The model takes an abundance of risks, including heavy bets on small-company stocks and [...]

Defying even the market's traditional DTs in September, blue-chip stocks spurted nicely ahead in the 3d quarter. My model portfolio of exchange-traded funds, which has a sleeker, more-modern tilt than Grandpa's favorite baubles, trounced the broad U.S. market, as it has all year. With the S&P 500 up 3.6% in the month, the model [...]

The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee left short-term interest rates unchanged Sept. 23. That was expected: With the global economy barely struggling out of a deep recession, economic activity is tepid, so policymakers want to make things as easy as possible for borrowers. But as recovery accelerates, policymakers will have no [...]

One thing you won't hear American tourists saying in Europe these days is, How much is that in real money? Europeans have the real money. In this decade, the U.S. dollar has gone down 35.1% relative to the euro. It has fallen against all other major currencies, as well. In fact, [...]