By Jason Zweig | 7:12 pm ET Dec. 10, 2013 Five years later, the most ironic part of Bernard Madoff’s legacy is clear: After his Ponzi scheme made hedge funds seem scary, especially to individual investors, the industry got busy making them seem safe enough for everybody. So-called liquid alternative funds have become the hottest thing in the mutual-fund...
Read MoreBy Jason Zweig | 7:09 pm ET Dec. 6, 2013 Image credit: Christophe Vorlet Stock splits have gone Splitsville. So far this year, only 11 companies in the S&P 500 index have “split” their shares—the fourth-lowest number on record and down from an average of nearly 65 a year in the 1990s, according to Howard Silverblatt, a senior analyst at S&P Dow...
Read MoreBy Jason Zweig | 6:16 pm ET Nov. 29, 2013Image Credit: Christophe Vorlet This holiday weekend, there’s plenty to worry for investors about—sluggish economic growth, unappealing stock valuations, loose monetary policy, volatile markets. But there is at least as much to give thanks for. “I think there’s less for investors to worry about, in a lot of ways,...
Read More
By Jason Zweig | 7:01 pm ET Nov. 22, 2013Image Credit: Christophe Vorlet Hedge-fund manager Carl Icahn says he is “very cautious” on U.S. stocks, which “could easily have a big drop” from their new record highs. Ben Inker, a director at asset manager GMO, forecasts that overall, U.S. stocks will suffer losses of 2% annually, counting dividends and...
Read More
By Jason Zweig | 6:36 pm ET Nov. 15, 2013Image Credit: Christophe Vorlet The question isn’t whether interest rates will rise, but when. As Janet Yellen, the nominee to succeed Ben Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve, made clear to lawmakers Thursday, the Fed won’t keep rates low forever. Some investors already are trying to protect themselves by...
Read More