The voice-over-IP telephony company, Vonage, did something interesting for its initial public offering (IPO) last week. They offered long-time customers a chance to get in on the IPO. As you can see below, customers who went in on the deal may not have received the best investment.

After stocks were approaching long-time highs, by the end of the week everything was falling. That’s great news! While I’m still in investing mode, I like to buy when values are down. Part of my paycheck is automatically invested into a 401(k) every other Friday, so perhaps I’ll be getting good prices for my various ... Continue reading this article…

Over on MSN Money, Timothy Middleton warns the public about seven “bad” (poor-performing, actually) mutual funds. Luckilly, I don’t own any of them. I own various types of broad index funds except for a few more specific funds offered by my 401(k) — I don’t have a choice. Anyway, Middleton has specific advice for holders ... Continue reading this article…

Bill Gates almost regrets being the world’s richest person, with about $50 billion. According to a short interview, he doesn’t like the visibility. The interesting part of the interview is that the founder of Microsoft admits he has learned everything from Warren Buffett, who is now, thanks to Gates, the world’s second richest individual. The ... Continue reading this article…

In order to reduce my 2005 taxes a little, I decided to throw some of my self employment income into a SEP IRA. The great thing about SEP IRAs is that I can invest above and beyond the normal contribution limit for Traditional and Roth IRAs as well as beyond the employer 401(k) plan offered ... Continue reading this article…

The bad news for the hedge fund industry just keeps coming. [Kirk] Wright is on the lam after federal officials charged him with fraud, claiming he sent statements saying that his funds, managed by Atlanta-based International Management Associates, had over $150 million invested when the accounts in question held only $150,000 — about the only ... Continue reading this article…

Most of my investing is for the future — the far future. While I can’t predict what the future will bring, other people have some good ideas. Take global warming for instance. Sure, there’s a lot of political disagreement about the science, but all sides agree the Earth’s climate is changing regardless of the causes. ... Continue reading this article…

I recently increased my pre-tax 401(k) contribution from 4 percent to 6 percent. It’s not a huge jump, and my company only matches that first 4 percent, but I feel like I didn’t save as much for retirement last year as I would have liked. My first paycheck with the increased contribution will be this Friday. I’m realizing ... Continue reading this article…

On the other hand, if you’re an investor in American Century mutual funds, you now have a good idea where your management fees and expense ratios go. Lance Armstrong has become the company’s celebrity spokesperson, and American Century’s bright marketing team will link the athlete’s struggle with cancer to “investing discipline.” American Century’s Equity Index ... Continue reading this article…