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The article reports on the recent introduction by Fidelity of two new index mutual funds that have no fees whatsoever. Topics discussed include a claim by analysts that the promise of no fees puts the company in a position to sell other products and services, the pressure it puts on other index-fund providers to lower fees, and an emerging industry trend toward lower-cost investing.

The article discusses the difficulties encountered by investors in understanding annuities. Topics discussed include the investment returns and the history of the introduction of annuities in the U.S., the details of elementary school teacher Melanie Panush Lindert's experience with annuities and her move to mutual funds to generate retirement income and the pros and cons of annuities, according to mathematicians.

Investors have flocked to the ''set it and forget it'' style of mutual funds known as target-date funds, where the mix of investments automatically becomes more conservative as the retirement date approaches. But when the markets plunged, it became readily apparent that some funds did a better job of protecting investors than others. What was most surprising, however, was the wide variation in performance among funds with the same target date. And most alarmingly, some 2010 funds lost more than the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Want to build an inexpensive investment portfolio? Now you have access to supercheap building blocks, as well as easy instructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

You can add Vanguard to the list of brokerage companies that have lowered their trading commissions and waived trading fees on exchange-traded funds, a move that will apply to all 46 of its funds. Exchange-traded funds are basically mutual funds that trade like stocks. They are pegged to indexes that track different parts of the market. E.T.F.'s also tend to be less expensive and more tax-efficient than their mutual fund counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]