Q:  Can you explain how TIPS work and, given widely-reported negative yields, should we be worried about their future performance?

It’s that time of year again.  A fresh batch of “Where to Invest in 2013” publications are in full circulation.  Since we know these market guides won’t ever come with warning labels—“Do not operate large 401(k) balances after reading” or “Contents may impair judgment”—a review of how last year’s predictions turned out might be warning enough.

Vanguard recently announced they will be changing the index benchmarks tracked by several of their exchange-traded funds (ETFs).  The changes, which will occur gradually, are being made to reduce internal fund costs, thus increasing the amount of returns which ends up in investors’ pockets

Buy low, sell high.  At least, that’s the theory.  While the U.S. stock market has climbed 15% in 2012, investors have collectively withdrawn $60 billion from stock mutual funds.  Just more evidence of undisciplined investor behavior.

While the conventional wisdom suggests a “don’t just sit there, do something” approach to investing, nothing could be further from the truth.   New data from USA TODAY and online portfolio tracker SigFig show investors who actively trade their portfolios do far worse than those with a buy-and-hold approach.  The takeaway?  Don’t just do something, sit there.