Index Funds Get a Makeover

Your Employer Knows Best. Perhaps

More employers are using re-enrollments to help employees get their retirement investments on track. Re-enrolling is when the company shifts workers' 401(k) dollars out of their current allocations and into the plan's selected default option—typically a target-date fund.

• Podcast: What You Need to Keep in Mind

Some ETFs Boom by Getting Physical

While funds holding gold bullion and silver are popular with investors, products that invest directly in other commodities may prove more challenging.

'Swaps' Add a New Risk

While these instruments can be useful, they often are poorly understood by average investors, who may have trouble assessing how much swap-related risk is embedded in their funds.

Building a Cheaper Annuity

Companies are adding low-cost exchange-traded funds to variable annuities as a way to trim annuity expenses.

A Place for Bonds

Investors have lately cooled toward fixed-income funds, but demographics suggest strong demand in future years.

Mixing It Up: Learning From History

The randomness of the past leads adviser Nelson Lam to spread clients' money widely.

Fund Fiend: Stock-Picking Standout

In a tough period for active managers, Cambiar's Brian Barish tops the charts.

Adviser Alert: Seeing the Future of Merrill Lynch

You can see an outline of Merrill's future in Bank of America's latest earnings report. Plus: an update on LPL Financial, and strategies that advisers are using to attract new clients.