Professor's Advice: It's Best to Be Bored

David Snowball, creator of the Mutual Fund Observer website, says exciting investments can be hazardous. Among mutual funds, he suggests promising new offerings and overlooked gems.

What to Do With 529-Plan Leftovers

If you haven't used all the money in your college savings plan, don't just cash it in. You have other options.

• Podcast: What should parents do with remaining funds?

Ways to Bet on a Rebound in Europe

The outlook is cloudy, but stocks look fairly cheap. One option: index ETFs dominated by multinationals.

Bill Gross...and Fund Fees

Fund Fiend: Other firms are likely to feel pressure to follow Pimco into low-cost ETFs.

A Low-Cost Choice for Muni Income

Spotlight: A fund that offers a low-cost option for investing in munis, whose yields remain higher than on some other bonds, such as U.S. Treasurys.

Risk-Parity Funds Redefine 'Balance'

A new group of allocation funds are based on the view that there is something fundamentally wrong with the classic 60-40 stocks-to-bonds mix.

Are Bank Stocks 'Responsible'?

The Occupy movement would shun the biggest financial institutions. Few of the 'socially responsible' funds do that.

Gen Y Invests More Than It Thinks

18-to-30-year-olds say they don't feel comfortable about stocks, but that bears little resemblance to how they actually invest.

Cliffs Stands to Profit From Emerging-Markets Building Boom

The company has been expanding its mining operations into eastern Canada, western Australia and Brazil, and its push outside the U.S. could help its shares climb as high as $115.

Money Moves to Make Now, Not at the End of the Year

An Annuity Can Still Make Sense

How to Strike It Big in the New Energy Boom

Retirement Plans Will Soon Start Talking Fees

Facebook and the St. Petersburg Paradox