Personal Finance

Investment return is the money you make or lose on an investment. Ideally, your return will be positive: your initial investment will remain intact and you'll end up with more money than you invested. But your rate of return—which you figure out by dividing the gain by the amount you invest—is different.

Selling an investment typically has tax consequences. To figure out whether you need to report a gain—or can claim a loss—after you sell, you need to know the cost basis for that investment.

FINRA is issuing this alert to inform brokerage account holders, family members and other beneficiaries about inherited IRAs. We also provide tips for making the IRA inheritance process as efficient and trouble-free as possible.

These 7 tips from FINRA can help you plan, stay abreast of changes in the market and their impact on your portfolio, and protect your investments in 2017.

It’s almost the end of another year—a good time to reflect on the accomplishments of the previous months, and start setting goals for the new year, including financial ones. To be successful, it's important to know the "when" of your financial goals. Most fit into one of these three categories: short-, medium- or long-term goals.

Many small businesses offer their employees ways to save for retirement. If you work for a small business, there are some plans that the government has created specifically for these employers. Employers may choose to offer one of them, though they are not required to do so. Here is a small biz retirement plan rundown.

If you shopped on Black Friday or Cyber Monday, chances are you did what smart shoppers are supposed to do around the holidays. You saved your receipt, just in case. When it comes to investing, the equivalent to "saving your receipt" is keeping good records of your transactions, statements and other account information.

When it comes to taking control of holiday spending this year, a recent survey offers insight on where to start if you want to stay in the black on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and beyond. Just look in the mirror.

Trading binary options can be an extremely risky proposition. Unlike other types of options contracts, binary options are all-or-nothing propositions. Trading binary options is made even riskier by fraudulent schemes, many of which originate outside the United States.

Whether you decide to use an investment professional or not, it's important to understand what your investment choices are and how different types of investments put your money to work. Some factors that make a difference in your investment selection are your goals, or what you want to accomplish by investing, and the time frames for meeting those goals. It's also important to have a handle on your attitude toward risk, or what's called your risk tolerance.