On August 18, U.S. stocks posted the first of what turned out to be six straight days of declines. That week, the S&P 500 Index dropped nearly 12%. While U.S. stocks have rebounded in the days since, the psychological impact of such swings can have a lingering, unnerving effect on investors.

Yale University boasts one of the country’s largest and best-performing university endowments. Over the past 20 years it has increased nearly 14% per year compared to the 9% average for all college and university endowments. Should all individual investors follow Yale’s example?

Recently, Federal Reserve officials announced they anticipate raising short-term interest rates later this year. This news is likely to renew fears for bond investors, as bond prices move in the opposite direction of interest rates.

Stocks in the U.S. have marched higher for more than six years now, making this one of the longest “bull markets” in history.

Every year, part of a diversified portfolio is guaranteed to underperform. Indeed, periods of pain and regret are the norm when a portfolio is properly diversified.

Another new year has begun, which means the financial media’s “Where to Invest Now” guides are coming to newsstands near you. As usual, headlines will look something like “Top Stock Picks from Top Pros” and “Make More Money in 2015.” Investors hoping to profit from these expert predictions should first review these publications’ can’t-miss picks from last year.