Personal Finance News

It's become second nature for many online shoppers to go straight to Amazon.com to make a purchase -- especially Amazon Prime members who shop using their voice-activated Alexa devices. And why not? Amazon's selection is vast, its prices tend to be low, and the free two-day shipping that comes with a Prime membership is reliable and convenient.

But while Amazon does, indeed, offer many great deals on many items, it doesn't always offer the best deal on every item it sells. We asked several shopping experts to weigh in on which products online shoppers should avoid on Amazon. While cost is critical, it's not always the deciding factor. Take a look at some of the worst things to buy on Amazon.

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/spending/T062-S001-worst-things-to-buy-on-amazon-com/index.html

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/article/credit/T017-C001-S003-you-can-now-freeze-and-unfreeze-your-credit-report.html

Vanguard funds have become synonymous with index investing. But if you limit yourself to the firm's passive strategies, you'll miss some gems. Indeed, Vanguard fund managers actually invest more of their own money in the firm's actively managed funds than in their index funds.

Vanguard has such good actively managed funds for two major reasons. One, because Vanguard is owned by its mutual fund shareholders, it has no outside owners to pay -- and thus can keep its fees lower than most other fund firms. The other reason: Despite founder Jack Bogle's advocacy of index-fund investing, he was surprisingly good at identifying talented outside stock pickers and signing them up to manage assets for Vanguard during his tenure.

Soon after Bogle founded Vanguard, he signed up Wellington Management, where he had formerly worked, to manage funds for Vanguard. Wellington runs some superb funds. His other find was Primecap, which was formed by three talented managers who left American Funds in 1983. Bogle signed them to launch Vanguard Primecap (VPMCX), one of the most successful mutual funds of the past 45 years.

Here are the five most impressive Vanguard actively managed funds that are open to new investors. (Note: Some are only available directly through Vanguard.)

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/T041-S001-the-5-best-actively-managed-vanguard-funds/index.html

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T039-C000-S004-medicare-open-enrollment-shop-for-a-better-deal.html

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T036-C032-S014-caring-for-your-aging-parents-how-to-prepare.html

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/article/retirement/T059-C000-S004-explore-the-world-as-a-roving-retiree.html

Most of the buy-and-hold crowd tends to steer clear of biotech stocks, and for good reason. Biotechnology companies can be uncomfortably risky. Far too many horror stories of failed drug trials or the expiration of a crucial patent leading to massive stock plunges have circulated for years now, souring would-be buyers on the entire industry.

However, conclusions based on a handful of biotech stocks may have erroneously prevented investors from plugging into a perfectly reasonable risk-reward relationship. Said differently: Not all biotech stocks turn into disasters. The industry as a group is up nearly 70% for the past five years, proving many of these companies can reward patient shareholders who choose wisely. It's simply a matter of doing your homework and having a little common sense.

Here are seven biotech stocks that aren't nearly as risky as their typical peer. Thus, they may have a place in more risk-averse portfolios than most investors might presume.

Read more: https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/investing/T052-S001-7-best-biotech-stocks-for-investors-who-hate-risk/index.html