investing

Private equity in your 401(k)?

Private equity for ordinary investors may be on the horizon.

FORTUNE -- Last year I wrote that private equity firms eventually would find a way to let non-millionaires into their funds, as traditional capital sources like public employee pensions and corporate defined benefit plans continued to fade. It seems to be happening faster than I imagined.

Fortune has learned that at least one veteran private equity adviser is working on a new product MORE

Stock market predicts economic boom

The recent rise in the S&P 500 is either predicting a much better economy ahead than most economists expect, or a worse market.

FORTUNE -- In a perfect market, the economy would be doing a lot better.

Last week, investors cheered the surprisingly good jobs report, which showed that employers had added 236,00 workers to their payrolls in February. The market climbed on the news -- it's now up 13% in the MORE

Warren Buffett may be souring on stocks

The Oracle of Omaha still likes the market -- but he's hardly pounding the table.

FORTUNE -- In his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) shareholders, released Friday afternoon, Buffett says he still believes U.S. stocks will "do well." He notes that he made his first stock purchase during the bleakest part of World War II, so even if things look not so great right now, you should end up doing fine MORE

Interested in crowdfunding? 5 priceless pieces of advice

Startup crowdfunding is due to change drastically this year. Here's advice from Ronny Conway, Ben Horowitz, Kevin Rose, and others.

By Kurt Wagner, reporter

FORTUNE -- Investing successfully in startups takes more than a pocketful of cash. That's the message venture capitalists and securities regulators hope to transmit to those interested in equity-based crowdfunding, a new form of investing currently awaiting regulatory approval. Ordinary investors will soon have the opportunity to invest MORE

Thriving on the dividend and buyback diet

Why it's more important than ever to focus on the dividends and buybacks that companies return to shareholders.

FORTUNE -- Dividend-paying stocks have generated intense debate in recent years. Has the rising market made their prices too high and their yields too low -- or is a dividend-heavy portfolio still the best way to garner superior returns? For Chris Brightman, that discussion misses the point. Brightman is the head of investment MORE

3 lessons for Apple's shareholders

The recent swings in Apple stock prove that a few simple rules of investing always hold true.

FORTUNE -- For most people, Apple mania means buying the company's products and playing with them. But for us financial voyeur types, the fun comes from watching the lunatic lurching of Apple's stock price.

You gotta love it. From the start of last year through its all-time closing high on Sept. 19, Wilshire Associate says, MORE

Life Technologies stock: Buy or sell?

The biotech company has made some missteps in the last few years, but solid margins and lots of cash could help keep it on track. Two analysts face off.

By Ryan Derousseau, contributor

FORTUNE -- The Bear: Ross Muken, ISI Group. It's been a challenging period for Life Technologies (LIFE) over the past two years, and it could get worse. Life has had a core advantage in global government and academic MORE

Another brick in the recovery road: Revenue rebounds

The gap between sales and earnings growth is shrinking. That's a very good sign.

FORTUNE -- It's not always all about the bottom line.

Analysts and investors are normally focused on corporate profits. But the most interesting sign of where the market and the economy are headed this earnings season could be coming from the top of corporate ledgers, rather than the bottom.

Of the 147 companies in the S&P 500 that reported MORE

Why the world's biggest hedge fund missed big in 2012

Bridgewater Associate's Ray Dalio has long been one of the market's best seers. That could be coming to an end.

FORTUNE -- Here's what needs to be asked about giant hedge fund Bridgewater Associates and its founder Ray Dalio: Is this guy really worth $2 billion a year? That's roughly the amount investors paid his firm in management fees in 2012.

That question got a lot tougher in the past 12 months MORE

Bank of America profit dinged by mortgage charges

The bank's earnings were better than expected, but revenue fell, showing the strain of low interest rates.

FORTUNE - Bank of America took another step in the right direction. But the question is whether its steps are fast enough.

BofA (BAC) earned $732 million, or 3 cents a share, in the last three months of 2012, beating estimates by a penny. For all of 2012, the company earned just over $4 billion, MORE