William Baldwin

2 weeks ago | forbes.com | William Baldwin

Tax-exempt bond funds offer handsome yields these days. This survey takes you quickly to the 40 Best Buys. Good news for savers in fairly high tax brackets: Yields on municipal bonds are good, comfortably ahead of what you can clear from Treasury bonds. Bad news: This is a treacherous field. It is easy to be gouged buying either individual bonds or high-fee funds. Municipal bonds are worth considering for any fixed-income money you have in taxable accounts.

3 weeks ago | forbes.com | William Baldwin

Virologist Michael Taylor does volunteer work helping cancer patients. His task: picking medical stocks. “I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good,” Adam Smith said. Maybe he’d have made an exception for the Simplify Health Care exchange-traded fund. All of its 0.5% fee revenue, after overhead, is donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The fund’s portfolio manager, Michael F. Taylor, takes no salary.

1 month ago | forbes.com | William Baldwin

Tariffs or no tariffs, you need a core holding to carry you through the next 30 years. Our sortable scorecard of 52 Best Buys will take you to it. Buy the dip? That takes some fortitude, when world trade is on the verge of collapse, consumers are frightened and businesses can’t plan anything. The U.S. stock market, as measured by the Vanguard Total Stock Market fund, sank a convulsive 5% yesterday. But don’t see the crash as a buying opportunity, or as a selling opportunity either.

1 month ago | forbes.com | William Baldwin

Does the Trump economy have you on edge? Send money overseas, using this sortable list of Best Buys in international funds. For most of the 21st century, investors have been in love with the U.S. and lacking a motive to send money abroad. This year they have, for some reason, changed their thinking. So far foreign stocks are up 9% (dividends included), U.S. stocks down 5%. If you want to join the flight overseas, use this guide to cost-effective index funds.

1 month ago | forbes.com | William Baldwin

Inflation and high interest rates aren’t going away. Don’t let your checking account rob you of a decent return on liquid assets. By William Baldwin, Senior ContributorForget bank CD rates for a moment. If you want more interest, look at something under your nose: the bank account you use to collect a paycheck and pay bills. Chances are you are earning something in the neighborhood of zilch on your liquid assets. You can fix this. You can get 4%.