Your most important long-term investing decision isn't choosing which specific stocks or mutual funds to buy. Rather, it's deciding how much of your portfolio to invest in stocks vs. fixed-income (typically bonds). William Bernstein explains why this is the case in this month's cover story — an excerpt from his recent book, The Investor's Manifesto. He also offers a framework to help you make this key decision, based on how you reacted to the 2007-2009 bear market.

Investing history tells us that even during the stock market's "worst of times," perseverance has rewarded the steadfast.

In a lingering low-interest rate environment, preferred stocks offer a way for yield-hungry investors to boost their income.

Though the reasons remain debatable, the evidence strongly suggests that you can boost your returns by investing at a particular time of the month.

"Ginnie Mae" funds tend to offer returns about 1% per year higher than funds invested in high-quality short-term bonds. But be warned: this road to better yields can be a bumpy one.

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009 prohibits issuance of a credit card to anyone under age 21 — unless the young person has an adult co-signer or an "independent means" of repayment. We explain what this means for young adults heading to campus this fall.

A strong sense of career direction can help young people avoid costly trial and error when planning and pursuing their educational path.