buy stocks

Saving commissions with a discount brokerage firm is a good thing, but investors should be aware of the potential pitfalls.

You can reduce much of the risk of a growth investing strategy if you use the advice we share in this article

As an Inner Circle member, you’re no doubt familiar with our three-part investment advice. One of those key points is to invest mainly in well-established dividend-paying stocks. (The other two parts are to downplay stocks in the broker/media limelight and spread your money across most if not all the five main economic sectors: Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities.)

With today’s low interest rates, investors continue to pay a lot of attention to dividend yields....

Bond funds may have performed well in the past, but nowadays they are more likely to be dead weight in your portfolio.

Buy stocks online with confidence, but be aware of the risks.

You can’t fake a record of dividends, but a high dividend yield can be grounds for caution.

Top-quality high growth dividend stocks can give investors the best of both investment worlds—capital gains and income

In our January 19 Inner Circle, I said “…several ominous factors are weighing on the market right now, in addition to the U.S. presidential election. These include the outlook for interest rates; the trend in prices for oil and other commodities; the rise in terrorist activity; the Chinese economic slowdown; and the sharp rise in the U.S. dollar and corresponding drop in the Canadian dollar… “The market is likely to remain volatile, thanks to these ominous factors. But high-quality dividend-paying stocks offer higher current returns than most fixed-return investments. These stocks also provide a hedge against inflation. This combination gives investors a strong incentive to hang on to their stocks as long-term investments. It gives them an incentive to buy more stocks when prices drop, as they have recently. “All in all, now is a good time to invest in a Successful Investor-style portfolio. My view is that prices will be higher by the end of the year. By then, we’ll be able re-evaluate the market outlook, in light of who wins the presidential election this November.”...

In all kinds of markets, investors may ask, “Is now a good time to buy stocks on margin?” The market has been going down for a year or so, and this appeals to bargain-hunting investors. In contrast, some investors only start to think about margin investing when stocks have been shooting up. Others pay less attention to market trends, and instead zero in on financial fundamentals or market-shaking news developments. The right answer to the question is all about your personal goals, finances and temperament. It has little to do with the market outlook. Buying stocks “on margin”—that is, using borrowed money to buy securities, regardless of whether you borrow from your broker or some other source—has certain key properties that apply in any market....

Hedge fund investing may sound good on paper but in actuality, it requires superhuman timing, and the inevitable mistakes can be super expensive.