FINRA is the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. It's supposed to be an independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. In reality, it is a shill for the securities industry. Its unique authority prevents effective regulation of an industry that many believe has simply run amok.

Does selling magazines justify harming investors by writing irresponsible articles about the financial markets? Apparently, Business Week believes it does. At the end of each year, it shamelessly publishes its "Investment Outlook" for the following year. Unfortunately, this year is no exception.

In its "2010 Investment Outlook,"
...

Markets are generally random and efficient. This is why stock picking and market timing make no sense. However, there are exceptions to this rule.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed a complaint against Brien P. Santarlas, a former attorney with the prestigious Boston law firm of Ropes &...

If you're like many investors, you got clobbered when the markets crashed in 2008. You may have "fled to safety," following the advice of your broker and the financial media. You probably didn't engage in tax loss harvesting because your broker never heard of it.

If you sat out the...

"Subprime Risks: Overblown" was an article written by John W. Rogers, Jr. on September 17, 2007.

Rogers is the founder of Ariel Capital Management. It has $4.8 billion under management and serves a broad range of corporate and individual clients. It manages the Ariel Fund, the Ariel Appreciation Fund...

I give great credit to NYU economics professor Nouriel Roubini. Unless you reside on another planet, you know that he correctly predicted the mortgage-related crash.

Recently, "Dr. Doom" warned about a coming market correction. He believes "markets have gone up too much, too soon, too fast."

Should investors rely...

Jeremy Siegel Ph.D. has very impressive credentials. He is the Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of a number of financial books, including Stocks for the Long Run.

Professor Siegel has become a cottage industry. His

Morningstar, Inc., which describes itself as a "trusted source for insightful information on ...mutual funds..." has issued an illuminating report. It is entitled "The Morningstar Box Score Report" and it covers mutual fund performance through the first half of 2009.

Here's the bottom line:

For the three year period...

How many times have you heard this:

Preferred stock is the best of both worlds: The upside of common stock and the protection of bonds?

Not so fast.

According to a study by Guohua Li, Ph.D and Edward O'Neal, Ph.D., principals of SLCG, Inc., this view of preferred...

The daily news reinforces my belief that there is something rotten at the core of the financial services industry. I am not discussing old news like Bernie Madoff. Here are some of the items that crossed my desk this week:

1. The SEC charged two brokers in a Smithtown,...

Is man inherently evil? Maybe that's too big a question.

Are members of the securities industry inherently evil? Will they do or say absolutely anything to get their hands on your money?

Obviously, it would be unfair to make such a blanket characterization, but sometimes you really have to...

Nothing galls me more that hearing that index funds are fine for those who don't have time to research stocks.

Let's look at the performance of those who do nothing but research stocks -- managers of actively managed mutual funds.

Every educated investor knows that over time index funds outperform...

Wealthy investors are different from you and me. They have a secret they don't want anyone to know.

They are bigger suckers.

How can this this be?

They qualify as "accredited investors" who can invest in deals exempted from SEC registration. Without SEC registration, the sponsors of...

On June 30, 2008, the Yale endowment had a jaw dropping $22.9 billion in assets. Previously, it had a stellar record of outstanding returns. It earned 28% in fiscal 2007 and an astounding 41% in fiscal 2000. From 1998-2008, it trounced its benchmarks in every asset class.

Many believed the...

Du Jun, a former managing director of Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, can sympathize with the plight of investors who suffered staggering losses. He was only making $2 million a year. Obviously, he needed to supplement his income.

No problem.

Mr. Jun had access to confidential information about a listed...

Recently, I appeared on CNBC's "Power Lunch" to debate active vs. passive management. You can see the segment here.

The proponent of active management was Doug Kreps, Managing Director of Fort Pitt Capital Group, financial advisors and the investment advisor to the Fort Pitt Capital Total Return Fund...

Most investors base their investing strategy on the false premise that some "guru" can reduce or eliminate risk by predicting the unpredictable.

Mark Hebner, the founder and President of Index Funds Advisors (IFA), (with whom I am affiliated), has a better way. He has come up with a formula...

Cerberus Capital management describes itself as "...one of the world's leading private investment firms." While it is best known for its ill-advised investment in Chrysler, it also has equity positions in many sectors of the economy.

Stephen A. Feinberg, the co-founder of Cerberus, was lauded in a Business Week...

Here's breaking news: Your trusts and estates lawyer has been violating U.S. law by helping his clients hide money offshore in illegal trusts. Previously, he had brushes with the law due to allegations he deceived his clients. He quietly settled these charges.

Would you still trust him to handle your...

Do my eyes deceive me? As of the close of business on August 14, 2009, a globally diversified portfolio, invested 100% in low cost stock index funds, was up over 25% YTD. Of course, that portfolio is too risky for most investors. What about a more prudent portfolio invested 60%...