Investing strategies

YEAR-END REVIEW & OUTLOOK One for the books Investors had better hope that 2008 was truly unprecedented, because few of us can endure another year like it.  • Few safe havens for ETF investors • The worst of the worst International funds' cruel world After years of outperforming U.S. stocks, international funds pack their bags. • Treasury bond funds yield top results INVESTMENT ideas FOR 2009 Ten alternatives to cash  Anything other than cash might seem like a poor idea, but there are investments that can stand up to whatever 2009 deals out. Retirement plans derailed Missing the target Target-date funds were supposed to get less risky as retirement neared, but for many investors things haven't turned out that way. Managing your portfolio Taxing times for munis Municipal bond fund investors are in for a shock: some of these supersafe portfolios are down as much as stock funds.

Life Savings
Rights of the billed
When stocks head south, investors are entitled to straight communication and strong decisions from advisers.
• Be careful using stop-loss orders
• Move over, mutual funds

Rest easy with your 401(k)
How do the pros pick mutual funds for retirement plans? Here are some of their expert gauges, which you can use as well.

Personal Adviser
Make a financial windfall last
If you're in the money, be careful or you could lose it quickly.
• Take a hard look at your adviser
• Ignore the market's tantrums
• Recession-proof your portfolio with bonds

Portfolio protection
Are we there yet?
Watch for these signs of a market recovery in the making.
• How to surf Wall Street's big waves
• The decade's money-making stock funds

Cushion the blows
A properly diversified portfolio is more important now than ever.
• Stashing cash is no answer
• Ten market rules to remember

Chuck Jaffe
Fire your fund manager
Goodbyes are tempting after last year's failure, but ask questions before you pull the trigger.
• Fund stories that will make headlines in 2009
• Gone and best forgotten
• Stupid investment of the Week year in review

Fundwatch
Merging right  
Arbitrage Fund breaks even in 2008 with stakes in mergers and acquisition deals.
• Better bets with bonds
• Opening to closed-end funds
• Closed-end funds to consider now

The Stockpickers 
Step by step
Wasatch fund manager plays defense with stocks, cash.
• Bargains in beaten-down shares
• Solid footing, solid stocks
• Mutual-fund Manager of the Year
• How we chose the top manager 

A basket for your nest egg  
You can rest easier and achieve financial goals without loading up on stocks, writes Jonathan Burton.
• Are stocks cheap? It's all about the earnings
• Avoiding hazards to your wealth

The high price of panic
Spooked investors may be tempted to sell into periodic rallies at this point, in an effort to at least recoup some losses. But that hopeful strategy is full of flaws.
• Keep investments cheap and simple

Flight, not fight
Investors are unloading stocks for the safety of cash and bonds. Many won't return for a long time.

Mutual Understanding
Doing well by doing good
Socially responsible investing reaps rewards in an uncharitable market environment.

Adding insult to injury
Fund investors not only face stock losses this year, they're also likely to be hit with a big capital gains tax bill.

Paul B. Farrell
Happy lazy new year
Lazy Portfolios predict upbeat 2009 for stocks. 
• Introducing the Lazy Portfolio Center
• Visit the Lazy Portfolio Center
• Behind the 'Lazy Portfolios'

John Prestbo
No quick fix
Don't expect a rapid recovery once the bear market ends.
• Introducing The Global Dow
• Ten stocks for the road

Five Funds For ... First-time home buyers Five bond funds that can unlock the door to a down payment on a mortgage. • Newlywed needs • 401(k) options  • Recent college grads • Prep-school days • Five funds for newborns

Special focus: TAMING THE BEAR
Bogle: Bear-market survival tips
Jack Bogle, the outspoken founder of Vanguard, tells how to weather the market storm.
• Hugh Johnson: Play defense
• BlackRock's Doll: Bear is 'terminal'

Picking over the pieces
For bargain-hunting, deep-value mutual funds, the market's meltdown has been a time to feed, reports Jonathan Burton.
• Investing in a post-bailout world
• Making money with munis

Buyer of last resort
This bear market offers bargains -- if you know the traps.

Worst is yet to come
Strategist has dire outlook for U.S. stocks, credit markets and the independence of some major financial companies 
• Duck and cover
• Four Horsemen of the market

See Getting Started, MarketWatch's extensive guide to investing basics.