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Meet the New Corporate Power Brokers: Passive Investors

Index-fund managers such as Vanguard often cast deciding shareholder votes on issues such as mergers and leadership changes. Activists complain they aren’t doing enough.

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The IPO Market Is Finally Looking Up Again

Signs are mounting that the moribund IPO market might finally get moving again. The average first-day pop for the eight U.S.-listed tech initial public offerings since mid-September is 50%, according to Dealogic.

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AT&T-Time; Warner: A Deal Hedge Funds Won’t Touch

The once-lucrative field of betting on mergers isn’t the sure win it used to be, as illustrated by the lack of interest traders are showing in betting on the outcome of the proposed AT&T-Time; Warner deal.

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Investors’ New Message to Global Governments: Spend More

A growing number of investors and policy makers, seeing central banks as powerless to revive an anemic global economy, are championing a resurgence of fiscal spending.

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This Startup Wants to Uproot Hedge Funds

A social media-style platform for investors is looking to democratize asset management. But can Instavest retain its top talent?

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How One Goldman Sachs Trader Made More Than $100 Million

One junk-bond trader at Goldman Sachs earned more than $100 million in trading profits for the bank earlier this year, an unusual gain at a time when new regulations have forced Wall Street to take fewer risks.

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The Dying Business of Picking Stocks

Passive investing has become investors’ default, driving billions into funds that track indexes. It’s transforming Wall Street, corporate boardrooms and the life of the neighborhood broker.

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‘Passive’ Investing Can Be a Lot More Active Than You Think

There is no doubting the rapid rise of passive investment products. The twist is a lot of them get their heaviest use from some pretty active traders.

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Are Fund Managers Doomed? The Case for Passive Investing’s Triumph

Three reasons investors really can continue to get more for less.

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The Hidden Weaknesses of Index Funds

Despite the S&P; 500’s dominance, people continue to try to build a better market measure. And there are definitely flaws in the S&P; 500 that make the pursuit worthy.

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Active Investing Trumps Passive Funds...in Asia

In Asia, active stock pickers are still on top. Driving the trend is the abundance of little-covered companies and unusual price discrepancies in this region’s developing markets, which fund managers say create greater chances for profits.

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To Succeed With Passive Investing, Get a Little Active

Passive investing doesn’t necessarily mean you should invest passively.

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How Passive Funds Trim Your Tax Bill

Lower taxes are a plus for passive investment management over active. The tax efficiency of passive funds is due partly to the fact that they trade less than actively managed funds.

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One Place Where Passive Investing Doesn’t Rule: Bonds

Investors are not yet losing faith in human bond pickers even as they move away from managers who bet on the direction of stocks.

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Active vs. Passive? Choose Both

Michael Roberge, co-CEO of MFS Investment Management, argues that not only can investors choose both active and passive strategies, but also that the story of passive’s rise and active’s demise has been greatly exaggerated.

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You Don’t Have to Settle for Average Investing Returns. Here’s Why

The job of the long-term active manager is to look for value in enough places to help investors do better than the market average over meaningful periods of time.