Learn About Money Management: Personal Finance, Investing, and Retirement
The 10 Basic Principles of Investing (3)
It's very likely that you'll try several investment strategies before you find the one that best suits your goals and investing style, but there are some basic …
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are powerful tools for assembling diversified portfolios. What's more, they are available for use by investors both large and small. This site is geared towards discussing the needs of the individual investor. The following paragraphs highlight articles I think are key to learning about exchange traded funds as well as investing in general.
Before diving in, you'll want to first get a high-level understanding of what is an ETF. There's also a bit more information about the difference between closed-end funds (CEFs) and ETFs and how ETFs are priced. For an even more in-depth look, check out the guide to ETFs which also touches on the common question of ETFs vs mutual funds.
And then, once you know what ETFs are, take a look at the investment strategies that can be applied using ETFs. I tend towards the buy-and-hold philosophy, but several other strategies are discussed as well. I'm pretty much a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to investing my money, but if you're on the fence about it, consider the items discussed in my look at online investing vs. traditional financial planners.
With a basic understanding of ETFs, consider looking into things like ETF timing (not that I recommend it), why active traders fail, and how investment books fail. Although everyone's situation will be different and will require a portfolio with particular characteristics, you may find some good ideas from ETF portfolios assembled by well-established and successful institutional investors.
With an ideal portfolio in hand, you'll need to examine the list of ETFs available to find the ones that you can plug in to achieve your investment goals. It would also be wise to understand the tax implications of different ETFs e.g. do they have high portfolio turnover?
In terms of maintenance, you should familiarize yourself with the ideas behind dollar cost averaging, getting around the IRS' wash-sale rules and rebalancing your portfolio. And since most people would be advised to maintain some sort of cash-based holdings for emergencies and ETF buying opportunities, there are some specific recommendations for where to stash cash for the short-term.
Beyond the specific areas of ETFs and if you're entirely new to the world of investing, be sure to check out the 10 basic principles of investing. I've also got quite a bit of additional content on investing in general. I think of particular interest are the fairly length posts on 401K plans as well as a look at IRAs, Roth IRAs, and Roth 401Ks.
As with all things relating to money, don't take my advice as gospel. Do your own research and question everything you read whether it comes from a web site or from a financial advisor. I wish you luck building and maintaining your investment portfolio!
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Couch Potato ETF Portfolio: Probably Better Than Constant Tinkering
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Oil ETF: Will Increasing Consumption Lift These Funds?
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Compound Interest: A Key Investment Principle
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11 Ways to Make Money with Real Estate
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Biotech ETF: What Could Be Better Than Medicine and Tech Combined?
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Coffeehouse ETF Portfolio: Boring, But Simple
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Beyond Boundaries: The Transformative Potential of Technology in Business Coaching
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How to Improve Internal Communication in Your Business
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Silver ETF: Investing In a Metal With Actual Uses
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4 Success Driven Ways to Grow a Manufacturing Business
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Energy ETF: Does Continued Growth Around The World Make These a Sure Bet?
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6 Ways ACT Laser Can Revolutionize Your Manufacturing Process
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What To Do Before Declaring Yourself Bankrupt
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Answering Your Top Reverse Mortgage Purchase Questions
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The True Costs Of Owning A Home (That People Don't Want To Talk About)
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Is Your Career Fulfilling?
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Can Posters Help You Make an Impact in Your Business?
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ETrade Review
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Russia ETF: Live There? Nope. Invest? Maybe.
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Is Gambling Money Taxed in Australia?
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The Big List of Barclays iShares ETFs
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Ka-ching!: The Beginner's Simple Guide to Buying and Selling Gold and Silver
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If You're Not Happy In Your Career, You Can Always Change It
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Is Becoming A Real Estate Agent Right For You?
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Virtual Assistant 101: Starting Your Journey in the World of Remote Work
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6 Facts You Might Not Know About Working in Social Media
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The Best Dissertation Writing Company
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Inverse ETF: A Contrarian Exchange Traded Fund
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Tidbits for Freelancers and Business Owners Regarding Tax Filing Strategies
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The Importance of Intellectual Property in AI Investments
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Top 4 Benefits of Living on Campus
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Natural Gas ETF: Add A Little Variety To Your Energy Holdings
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Tips For Finding a Digital Marketing Agency That Aligns With Your Business
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4 Tips to Make your Equipment Last Longer
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6 Tips To Excel In Your Role As A Social Media Manager
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Asset Management Tips Every Business Owner Needs to Know
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International Living Magazine Review: More Hype Than Substance?
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Going The Extra Mile For Healthcare Customers
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TradeKing Review
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All About Mutual Funds: 5,500 Words Should About Do It
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Investment Advisors Don't Care About You
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The Case Against Commodity ETFs
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Short Selling a House: Last Resort for An Underwater Mortgage Holder
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Online Investing vs. Traditional Financial Planners
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How Many Cryptocurrencies Have Failed?
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Retirement Income Funds (RIF): Forced Withdrawals To Trigger Income Tax
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Value Investing Strategy: If You Can Wait Long Enough You Can Win
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Best Places to Retire in the World
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Retail Investors are Idiots And the Pros Bank On It
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Technical ETF: If You Believe In the Approach But Want Pros to Execute
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The Great Shrinking Emergency Fund
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New Lessons of the Stock Market (Humor)
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Day Trading and Technical Analysis: Is History Destined To Repeat?
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Barclays' International REIT ETF: Own Property (Sort Of) Around the World
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Average Return Calculation: Folks Foolishly Fool Themselves
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Green ETF: Investing in Feel-Good, Eco-Friendly Companies
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Fidelity Review
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Unlock Your Sales Career: Explore Lucrative Job Opportunities for Experts
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The 10 Basic Principles of Investing
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How to Deal With a 401(k) Plan That Sucks
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Steel ETF: Growth Means Building and Buildings Require Steel
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Technology ETF: On-Going Fund Gains From the Never-Ending Tech Cycle?
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When the Stock Market Tanks (And You Know It Will)
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How Does ETF Pricing Work?
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Do You REALLY Need A Large Emergency Cash Fund?
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Mortgage ETF: Hoping That People Pay Off Their Loans
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Tips For Boosting Your Employees' Career Development
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Canada ETF: Invest In This Commodity Heavy Country?
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Small Cap ETF: Small Companies Are More Likely To Grow In Multiples
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Does Stock Market Diversification Still Work?
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Treasury ETFs: Are They Really the Safest Exchange Traded Funds?
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Efficient Market Hypothesis: Does It Hold Together?
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Definition of ETF: Just What Is An ETF?
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The 0% Interest Balance Transfer Game
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Merrill Lynch Direct Review
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Flaws With the S&P 1500 ETF And Why I'm Not Buying
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7 Things You Can Do If Your Wages Are Being Garnished
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Buy and Hold Forever Is Bad Advice
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Fundamental Analysis vs. Technical Analysis
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Useful Resources for Retiring and Living in Ecuador
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Retiring in El Valle de Anton, Panamana
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Taking Your Lifestyle Services Online Successfully
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Zecco Review
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Another Commodity ETF: They Keeping Coming
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IRA, Roth IRA, Roth 401K Guide: How Are They Different?
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Leveraged ETFs: Bigger Wins, But Also Bigger Losses
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ScottTrade Review
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Global Warming and Investing: True or False You Can Make A Buck
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Index Roll Investing Strategy: A Complicated Approach
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Investing with Stocks: A Beginner's Guide
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401K Guide And Some History to Boot
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8 Reasons Why The US Economy Sucks
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Emerging Market ETF: Where the Growth Is
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Getting Around the Wash Sale Rule with ETFs
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Investors, Don't Panic, Everything's Going To Be Okay
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Free Stock Quote Tracker
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Spin-Off ETF: Banking On The Implied Value of a Spin-Off
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10 Overly Niche ETFs: They'll Happily Take Your Money
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ETF Checklist: Don't Get Suckered and Make a Bad Buy
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Investment Strategies: Pick One and Stick With It
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Vanguard Review
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We're All Surrounded By Bad Investing Advice
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The 4 Best States for Going Solar in 2021—Ranked!
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Investing in Debt vs. Investing in Stocks
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Water ETF: A Precious Commodity Despite Its Abundancy
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Alpha, Beta, and R-Squared: Investing Definitions Worth Knowing
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BRIC ETF: Emerging Markets Are Riskier, But Growing Faster
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Two Brain ETF Portfolio: Rational Investing With Some Fun Mixed In
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Managing Investment Expenses: They'll Add Up If You're Not Careful
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Yale ETF Portfolio: If It's Good Enough For Yale…
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Roth IRA Conversion Q&A: Why Is Everything So Complicated?
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Can I Be Sued for My IRA?
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ETF Rebalancing: Keep Your Allocations In Alignment
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Euro ETF: A Struggling Region May Still Be Worth Your Investment
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OptionsXpress Review
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Equal Weight ETFs: Favoring Smaller Cap Holdings Could Be Key
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Fixed Income ETF: Tap Into the Bond Market
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ETF Exit Strategy Considerations: When Do You Get Out?
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The Art of the Credit Card App-O-Rama
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Commodities ETF: They're Not Interesting, But Key To Everyday Living
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20 Easy Ways to Save Money Without Sacrificing Your Happiness
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High-Risk Investment Techniques: Only If You Can Sleep At Night
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Microcap ETF: A Tough Segment To Invest In Now Made Easier
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Investing for College: A Chapter Review from The Boglehead's Guide To Investing
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Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit? Here's What to Expect
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Health Care ETF: Does An Aging Population Guarantee a Win?
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ETF Dollar Cost Averaging
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ShareBuilder Review
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ETFs vs. CEFs: Confusion Remains
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Companies Are Hoarding $1,000,000,000: Atlas Shrugged Anyone?
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A Better Dividend ETF?
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A Quick Look At Canada's Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
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Market Timing Investing Strategy: Very Few Succeed
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Complete Guide to ETFs for Newbies
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More Commodity ETFs: They'll Keep Coming As Long We Keep Buying
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What You Should Know About Leveraged and Inverse ETFs
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Thinking of Stock Investing? Start Taking a look at Marijuana Stocks
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REIT ETF: Own Real Estate Without Having To Mow the Lawn
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Schwab Review
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Dollar Cost Averaging with ETFs: Taking Emotion Out of the Buying Equation
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An Index of All Things: Does Investing In Everything Make Sense?
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The "Buying a House is Always a Good Investment" Myth Persists
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How to turn your side-hustle into a full-time business
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3 common mistakes made by new entrepreneurs (and how you can avoid them)
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Growth Investing Strategy: Research Plus Risk Can Mean Big Rewards
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Use These 3 Money Makers to Get Out of Debt
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Best ETF Articles: Well They Were At One Point
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A Page From Running Money: A Peek Behind the Scenes of the Industry
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Dividend ETF: Diversity With a Focus on Income
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Alternative Energy ETFs: Eventually We Will Run Out of Oil and Gas
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Momentum Investing Strategy: Do You Have The Discipline
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Dividend Yield Vs. Dividend Growth
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Platinum ETF: A Rare Metal Worth Your Investment Dollars?
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SoGoTrade Review
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Income Investing Strategy: Looking for Safety With Regular Payouts
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Airline Rewards Cards for the Taking
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Clever ETF Stock Symbols
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International ETF: Still Some Diversification Benefits
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Bond ETF: Safety With Liquidity and Flexibility?
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Why Active Traders Fail: Really, They Mostly Do
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4 Ways To Handle Pension Like A Boss
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Currency ETF: Can You Win At This Zero-Sum Game?
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Why Own The Stock Of A Large Company?
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International REIT ETF: Finally Foreign REIT ETFs for Individual Investors
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High-Yield Bond ETF: Take On Risk for Better Returns
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Mutual Fund Investing Strategy: Taking Advantage Of the Skills Of Others
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The Super 401(k): Worth A Look For Passive Investors
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How Fed Rate Cuts Affect the US Dollar
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Morningstar Review
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Gold ETF: Not Much Intrinsic Value, People Sure Do Like It
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1500+ Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
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Nano Tech ETF: Betting Big On Really Small Things