Should You Invest in Alibaba?

Written by Rob Copeland | 12 September 2014

Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, is generating an enormous amount of interest with its upcoming initial public offering—which is shaping up as the largest IPO ever.

The offering is expected to raise as much as $24 billion as growth-hungry investors bet that the already-huge Chinese company is poised for fast growth. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement, but anyone considering buying Alibaba shares should step back and look carefully at the risks—as well as the potential rewards—of jumping on the bandwagon.

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Finding Bond Bargains in ETFs’ Wake

Written by Rob Copeland | 11 August 2014

Exchange-traded funds have been around only about 20 years, but they're already a huge business: As of late 2012, there were nearly 2,200 ETFs in the United States, with assets of $1.3 billion.

What's interesting is that as a bond investor, you don't even have to own an ETF to benefit from this trend. That's because ETFs have changed the bond-investing game for all investors. Because of the way big investors now use ETFs, individual bonds often swing up and down sharply in price. As a result, if you know what you're doing, there's an opportunity to earn something very rare these days: a high yield on a relatively safe investment.

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High-Yield Bonds: Attractive But Increasingly Dangerous

Written by Rob Copeland | 14 July 2014

Over the past few years, the high-yield fixed-income market has been one of the few places where investors could find healthy yields. But if interest rates rise as expected, the high-yield space will quickly become much more dangerous, especially for retail investors.

There are a ton of individual investors in the high-yield space right now. That is the result of historically low interest rates: Regular investors need yield so badly that they've been unusually willing to lend money to companies with low credit ratings.

The surge of money into the high-yield market has been a lifeline for companies that, under normal circumstances, would have failed. Rising interest rates, which are widely expected as the federal government gradually phases out its program of propping up the bond market, will be a huge challenge for these weaker issuers.

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An Auto-Industry Legend’s Lesson for Investors

Written by Rob Copeland | 13 June 2014

Lee Iacocca, who revived the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s, had a simple explanation for his success: "I hire people brighter than me and then I get out of their way."

That's the way investors should look at financial advisors. Seeking out guidance from a smart and knowledgeable financial expert can help you be significantly more successful than you would be on your own.

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