When investors forecast long-run drivers of stock returns, are cash dividends or payouts such as buybacks more accurate criteria than fundamentals? A new study suggests that they are. Mark Harrison, CFA, explains.

Norb Vonnegut culls three lessons from HBO's recent Bernie Madoff biopic. Taken together, they serve as a renewed prompt for investors to consider low-cost index funds. After all, these funds are hardly exclusive. The world is vetting them constantly. So long as investors reinvest dividends and other cash flows back into the funds, the annualized returns are a real measure of investment performance: What you see is what you get. And what’s better than that?

Tension, friction, and conflict are common in the workplace, especially when pressure is high. One habit, or nonhabit, in particular, helps to reduce conflict and build trust. It may sound simple, but it's difficult to achieve. The practice is this: Don’t attack people.

Markets frequently fail, despite their pristine reputation among capitalists. One way is the many actions taken by buyers and sellers to tilt a transaction in their favor. These visible hands create asymmetries between the parties. Jason Voss, CFA, explains.

Retail investors, with their varied illusions about wealth, are the weakest link in the financial services ecosystem, Shreenivas Kunte, CFA, observes.

Politics and geopolitics are polarizing and confusing. Yet it is critical that investors integrate such criteria into their analysis, according to Willis Sparks.

High Yield Debt succeeds as a concise and thorough primer on the speculative-grade debt market, including not only high-yield bonds but also leveraged loans and other related asset types. The author, who manages a credit hedge fund, presents sound conclusions on such controversial topics as the impact of exchange-traded funds on market volatility. The book is an invaluable resource for its target market of institutional decision makers.

Warren Buffett once said, “You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.” Could the tide be receding for the US economy? Ron Rimkus, CFA, explores the question.

More infrastructure spending could open up significant opportunities for core infrastructure companies and related businesses, propelling US equity indexes higher, writes Sherree DeCovny.

What should you do when your job search has stalled? Executive coach Robert Hellmann discussed 10 steps for revitalizing your efforts.