Investment
Investing should be easy – just buy low and sell high – but most of us have trouble following that simple advice. There are principles and strategies that may enable you to put together an investment portfolio that reflects your risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals. Understanding these principles and strategies can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that snare some investors.
Inflation and Your Portfolio
Even low inflation rates can pose a threat to investment returns.
5 Smart Investing Principles
Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.
Have A Question About This Topic?

Can Election Results Predict the Market?
How do the markets usually react to elections? Was the 2016 election any different?

How the Federal Reserve Works
Each day, the Fed is behind the scenes supporting the economy and providing services to the U.S. financial system.

The Business Cycle
How will you weather the ups and downs of the business cycle?
Investing with Your Heart
For some, the social impact of investing is just as important as the return, perhaps more important.
Investing for Impact
Learn how to build a socially conscious investment portfolio and invest in your beliefs.
A Look at Diversification
Diversification is an investment principle designed to manage risk, but it can't prevent against a loss.
Best-Performing Asset Classes
Bonds may outperform stocks one year only to have stocks rebound the next.
The Investment Risk No One’s Ever Heard Of
You face a risk for which the market does not compensate you, that can not be easily reduced through diversification.
Pullbacks, Corrections, and Bear Markets
Clearing up confusion from the economic downturn following COVID-19 and how it might affect your financial strategy.
View all articles
Taxable vs. Tax-Deferred Savings
Use this calculator to compare the future value of investments with different tax consequences.
Contributing to an IRA?
Determine if you are eligible to contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA.
Saving for College
This calculator can help you estimate how much you should be saving for college.
What Is the Dividend Yield?
This calculator helps determine your pre-tax and after-tax dividend yield on a particular stock.
Impact of Taxes and Inflation
Estimate the potential impact taxes and inflation can have on the purchasing power of an investment.
How Compound Interest Works
Use this calculator to better see the potential impact of compound interest on an asset.
View all calculators
5 Smart Investing Principles
Principles that can help create a portfolio designed to pursue investment goals.
5 Smart Investing Strategies
There are some smart strategies that may help you pursue your investment objectives
View all presentations
What Smart Investors Know
Savvy investors take the time to separate emotion from fact.
Should I Invest in Gold?
Learning more about gold and its history may help you decide whether it has a place in your portfolio.
It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times
All about how missing the best market days (or the worst!) might affect your portfolio.
Should You Invest in Exchange Traded Funds?
There are hundreds of ETFs available. Should you invest in them?
The Real Cost of a Vacation Home
What if instead of buying that vacation home, you invested the money?
Jane Bond: Scaling the Ladder
Agent Jane Bond is on the case, uncovering the mystery of bond laddering.