WASHINGTON -- Cindy McCain, whose husband has been a critic of the violence in Sudan, sold off more than $2 million in mutual funds whose holdings include companies that do business in the African nation.

NEW YORK - Larry Bellehumeur's investment advice isn't always that exciting, but he attracts curious onlookers - all part of a new wave of investors who have turned away from brokerage houses and mutual funds and rely instead on the Internet to help determine their investment plays.

NEW YORK - For some uneasy investors, the questioning could start at the mailbox: Now what? Statements for investments like 401(k) plans or mutual funds will soon arrive, showing investors how much they shared in the bloodletting Wall Street saw during the first three months of the year.

Mutual funds are selling stocks and hoarding cash just as trading surges to a record and prices grow more volatile than at any time since the Great Depression.

NEW YORK - As stock market analysts were starting to tally up Wall Street's first-quarter performance, they came up with a bleak but unsurprising result: Stock mutual funds in just about every corner were a losing proposition.

WARSAW, Poland -- It took years for Andrzej Solyga to muster the courage to invest in mutual funds.

WARSAW, Poland -- It took years for Andrzej Solyga to muster the courage to invest in mutual funds.

Real estate and financial services dragged down the average total return. You were more likely than not to make money in U.S. stock mutual funds in 2007.

My Thursday column looked at how mutual funds fared in 2007. Today, we'll see which funds three investment advisers are recommending for 2008.

NEW YORK -- While mutual funds are a staple of many 401(k) and other retirement plans, exchange-traded funds are likely to become serious competitors in the coming years.