A barbell strategy is an investment approach that seeks to reduce risk by combining investments in low-risk and higher-risk assets. Click to learn more.

Mutual funds are an effective way to diversify your investments. Learn how they work and the advantages they offer for investors.

A specific form of mutual fund called a "retirement income fund" aims to provide retirees with a steady income stream and growth possibilities. Dividends, interest, and a combination of the two are common goals for retirement income funds. They typically feature a large equity holding.

Dividend trading is popular. Active trading requires frequent buying and selling of shares, holding them only long enough to capture the dividend, unlike traditional techniques that rely on buying and holding steady dividend-paying equities. The underlying stock is sometimes retained overnight.

Top-down investing can be viewed as an investor's bird's eye view of the whole global market, then narrowing down to specific companies and stocks. Unlike bottom-up, which first focuses on the stock and then scales up, top-down investing focuses on geopolitical risks, inflation, or employment rates of the whole region first before considering company analytics. However, this approach has its share of risks in addition to the benefits it portends.

Private equity exchange-traded funds invest in businesses that may have complex financial structures because they often engage in leveraged transactions and focus heavily on business transactions. However, they give investors access to investment opportunities in private equity, which may result in a return on investment that is both big and profitable.