Index Funds

Low-cost index funds tend to outperform most actively managed funds over time. One smart solution: Strike a balance between the two.

Build a portfolio that balances index funds with actively managed funds to get the best returns over time.

Past results are no guarantee of future performance, they say. Here are some reasons why.

Vanguard scores with a fund that owns long-term government debt from emerging markets.

Fewer actively managed funds are beating Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index than at any time except the late 1990s. That won’t last.

Although index funds offer quite a few benefits, rock-bottom expenses are most significant.

Vanguard isn’t the only place to get a good deal on index funds.

There are plenty of good reasons for owning passively managed funds. But that doesn’t mean index funds are flawless -- or harmless.

One mutual fund and one ETF focus on dividend growth abroad, while the other mutual fund and ETF go after high-yielding stocks.

Smart-beta funds, which are emerging as alternatives to traditional stock-index funds, are worth a look.

You’ll need to look elsewhere for protection from the full brunt of the next bear market.

This is one of the 20 tough financial questions posed in the “Do This or That?” cover story in the September 2011 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Financ…

Index funds that weight companies by measures other than market value may offer better returns.

Actively managed funds are poised to beat index funds over the next year or two.

What's so special about the January-to-December year, anyway? Sure, Legg Mason Value beat the S&P 500 in 15 straight calendar years, but there were ma…