1. ThinkAdvisor highlighted a Maryland study which showed that states which pay the highest fees to Wall Street (for managing pensions) have the lowest returns. That says it all about Wall Street. No wonder Rick Ferri wants you to steer clear of actively managed funds.

2. Reuters Money reported how Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) can be used as retirement savings accounts. This information is especially useful for small business owners and self-employed individuals who tend to neglect their retirement savings and face high deductibility in their health insurance. Here is the garden variety of ways they can save for retirement.

3. DIY Investor Robert Wasilewski encountered a bear while hiking. He survived to write about it, but he mused that the same reactions that kept him in the gene pool will surely “eliminate you from the investment pool.”

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4. Bloomberg reports that hedge funds trailed the MSCI All-Country Index in five of the last seven years. And they are trailing again this year. Did I not tell you to avoid them? Unless you don’t mind them playing you for a fool!

5. You should keep it simple in constructing your portfolio, says the Wall Street Journal. I wholeheartedly concur! Simplicity is the highest sophistication.

6. Did you know that Vanguard, the firm started by the legendary Jack Bogle, has four investment principles? Read this! It is refreshingly simple and applicable.

7. If you are a investor, and you were wronged by a Wall Street firm, you would expect the industry regulator FINRA (Financial Regulatory Authority) to right the wrong, right? Wrong! Dan Solin exposed what it is they are actually up to in this illuminating article.

8. The Guardian asked a good question this July, “Whose side is your financial advisor on?” Want to find out? Read this.

9. Larry Swedro asked rhetorically, “Does Past Performance Matter?” Along that vein, Rick Ferri wrote an excellent piece on “The Perils of Picking Past Winners.”

10. Community banks are getting into P2P Lending. Is this a new asset class?