Investing strategies

Chuck Jaffe Goodbye, or good buy? When a fund slips, it's tempting to sell. But you might want to hang on through the rough patch, says Chuck Jaffe. • Four dangerous words of investing • Fund managers don't feel your pain Don't knock opportunity Many beaten-down stocks are "tremendous" bargains, says John Buckingham, editor of The Prudent Speculator newsletter.

Life Savings
Mid-year report card
Markets were very different last November when MarketWatch tapped 10 investment themes for 2008. How are they doing?
• How to weather stormy markets
• Be careful using stop-loss orders

Time to buy-and-hold
T. Rowe Price fund manager Brian Rogers sees plenty of bargains and a big payoff for investors who can be patient.

Mutual Understanding
'The future lies in Asia'
Veteran fund manager Jean-Marie Eveillard blames former Fed chairman Greenspan for the worst financial crisis since the Depression, and says Asia offers the best opportunities.

New values
These newly reopened value-stock funds could be good choices for patient buyers.
• Don't wait to invest a financial windfall
• Add glitter to your golden years
• Mutual-fund Manager of the Year
• How we chose the top manager 

FundWatch
Look what's beating international funds
For the first time in five years, U.S. stock funds are outperforming their international counterparts.
• Esteemed newsletter publisher under pressure
• Funds must inspire confidence, or they're out
• Sell Bill Miller's fund, newsletter editor says

The STOCKPICKERs 
Banking on overlooked values
Fund manager favors small banking companies and energy producers that aren't household names.
• Retail sector holds appeal
• Fund manager's Rio deal
• Plugged into global tech
• Stockpicker of the Quarter

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

Quarterly review & outlook
Out of gas
Record oil prices make a slippery second quarter for U.S. stock funds. Natural resources and commodity funds stand out in an increasingly narrow  market.
• Energy ETFs power ahead
• Foreign-stock funds lag U.S. rivals
• Bond-fund shareholders see red
• It's all about the oil  

FUNDWATCH
Changing of the guard
Chief investment officer of bond powerhouse Pimco says investors will face higher inflation, waning U.S. economic influence.
• When the going gets tough, fund managers go shopping
• Oil, commodities, Asia are hot topics
• Technology stocks could power gains

Portfolio protection
Are we there yet?
After months of punishment for stocks, here are the best ways to know if the worst is behind us.
• Funds that keep a big cash cushion
• Stable-income funds, but no guarantee
• How to surf Wall Street's big waves
• The decade's money-making stock funds

Paul B. Farrell
Whip stagflation now
These 'Lazy Portfolios' can help you weather the coming decade of no-growth, low returns from stocks, writes Paul Farrell.
• Behind the 'Lazy Portfolios'

Sophisticated Investor
Rich desserts
In his farewell Sophisticated Investor column, Thomas Kostigen offers five money management tips from the moneyed crowd.

Special Report: How to buy
Delving into derivatives
With global markets edgy, MarketWatch explains how futures, options and hedge funds can offset stock and bond risk.
• Hedge funds carry a price 
• Using options for income  • Fast forward into futures

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