Insights

Between the many activities that keep parents busy, saving for your children's college education stays on your mind. Just as they quickly grow out of their cute little onesies, you will soon move them into their first college dorm room.

For all the challenges investors face when saving for retirement, one of the easiest ways they can undermine their own efforts is by chasing what’s hot – whether that means chasing certain fund categories or specific funds. One measure of the effect of investor behavior as it pertains to a particular fund is the fund’s investor return. The investor return measures how a fund’s investors performed. This article discusses why investor returns (as represented by Morningstar Investor Return™[1] (MIR)) are different from fund returns and concludes with takeaways and advice for consumers.

The sheer number of options available to plan for retirement, and their confusing names and acronyms, can make you want to avoid the process altogether. For instance, IRAs are a type of investing tool that allow you to set aside money specifically for retirement, but they do not come in a one-size-fits-all package. There are several types of IRAs you can choose from based on your situation. Some are tax deductible, and others are not, but all have tax and other related benefits.