Please answer all of these posts/questions by stating two paragraphs for each one. These must be in APA format and have 1-2 references per post. Take a stance on whether you agree or disagree with post, why and then support your argument, or answer question in same way. 1. Index mutual funds are an easily understood, relatively safe approach to investing in broad segments of the market. They are used by less experienced investors as well as sophisticated institutional investors with large portfolios. Indexing has been called investing on autopilot. The metaphor is an appropriate one as managed funds can be viewed as having a pilot at the controls. When it comes to flying an airplane, both approaches are widely used. The money going into an index fund is automatically invested proportionately into individual stocks or bonds according to the percentage their market capitalizations represent in the index. For example, if IBM represents 1.7% of the S&P 500 Index, for every $100 invested in the Vanguard 500 Fund, $1.70 goes into IBM stock. Managed Mutual Funds: Well-run managed funds that have long-term performance records that are above their peer and category benchmarks are also excellent investing opportunities. There are a number of top-rated fund managers that consistently deliver exceptional results. Such well-run funds will register very high on the Fund Investment-Quality Scorecard you are learning about in these pages. By connecting shareholder and managerial interests, having managers investing significantly in the funds they manage seems like a good idea. Likewise, compensating managers on the basis of performance rather than as a percentage of a fund's assets also seems like a good thing. However, there are reasonable arguments that take an opposite point of view on both of these issues. Less controversial is the practice of having a majority of independent directors serve on a fund's board of directors. But here too, there continues to be differences of opinion. The good news for fund investors is that the debates surrounding these issues heighten public and regulatory awareness of what constitutes proper mutual fund stewardship. Here are some other points to consider in the active-passive debate: If roughly 80 percent of active funds underperform, then roughly 20 percent consistently outperform their benchmark indexes. The key is to identify them. Index fund investors face the markets full risk. Tracking an index may not be safer than active management. In a bull market, index funds match the upswing. In a down cycle, they lose money by sticking to the index rather than taking steps to reduce risk. Diversification can be undermined when certain sectors or companies grow to a large share of an index. This happened with financial stocks leading up to 2008 and tech stocks leading up to 2000. Active vs. passive studies are nuanced. Results depend on time spans, and there are periods when active managers do better, and vice versa. The studies also show active management works better in assets where research is an advantage, such as small cap stocks, international, emerging markets and Real Estate Investment Trusts. 2. What are the direct and indirect costs of bankruptcy? Briefly explain each. Additionally, some firms have filed for bankruptcy because of actual or likely litigation-related losses. Is this proper use of the bankruptcy process? 3. Is it possible for a firm to have too much cash? Why would shareholders care if a firm accumulates large amounts of cash? What options are available to a firm if it believes it has too much cash? How about too little? 4. How is your organization investing in the creativity and innovation efforts of its employees? Whether or not investments are in place, there are always opportunities to improve what is. What suggestions do you have for enhancing the environment for creativity and innovation in your organization?

Please answer all of these posts/questions by stating two paragraphs for each one. These must be in APA format and have 1-2 references per post. Take a stance on whether you agree or disagree with post, why and then support your argument, or answer question in same way. 1. Index mutual funds are an easily understood, relatively safe approach to investing in broad segments of the market. They are used by less experienced investors as well as sophisticated institutional investors with large portfolios. Indexing has been called investing on autopilot. The metaphor is an appropriate one as managed funds can be viewed as having a pilot at the controls. When it comes to flying an airplane, both approaches are widely used. The money going into an index fund is automatically invested proportionately into individual stocks or bonds according to the percentage their market capitalizations represent in the index. For example, if IBM represents 1.7% of the S&P 500 Index, for every $100 invested in the Vanguard 500 Fund, $1.70 goes into IBM stock. Managed Mutual Funds: Well-run managed funds that have long-term performance records that are above their peer and category benchmarks are also excellent investing opportunities. There are a number of top-rated fund managers that consistently deliver exceptional results. Such well-run funds will register very high on the Fund Investment-Quality Scorecard you are learning about in these pages. By connecting shareholder and managerial interests, having managers investing significantly in the funds they manage seems like a good idea. Likewise, compensating managers on the basis of performance rather than as a percentage of a fund's assets also seems like a good thing. However, there are reasonable arguments that take an opposite point of view on both of these issues. Less controversial is the practice of having a majority of independent directors serve on a fund's board of directors. But here too, there continues to be differences of opinion. The good news for fund investors is that the debates surrounding these issues heighten public and regulatory awareness of what constitutes proper mutual fund stewardship. Here are some other points to consider in the active-passive debate: If roughly 80 percent of active funds underperform, then roughly 20 percent consistently outperform their benchmark indexes. The key is to identify them. Index fund investors face the markets full risk. Tracking an index may not be safer than active management. In a bull market, index funds match the upswing. In a down cycle, they lose money by sticking to the index rather than taking steps to reduce risk. Diversification can be undermined when certain sectors or companies grow to a large share of an index. This happened with financial stocks leading up to 2008 and tech stocks leading up to 2000. Active vs. passive studies are nuanced. Results depend on time spans, and there are periods when active managers do better, and vice versa. The studies also show active management works better in assets where research is an advantage, such as small cap stocks, international, emerging markets and Real Estate Investment Trusts. 2. What are the direct and indirect costs of bankruptcy? Briefly explain each. Additionally, some firms have filed for bankruptcy because of actual or likely litigation-related losses. Is this proper use of the bankruptcy process? 3. Is it possible for a firm to have too much cash? Why would shareholders care if a firm accumulates large amounts of cash? What options are available to a firm if it believes it has too much cash? How about too little? 4. How is your organization investing in the creativity and innovation efforts of its employees? Whether or not investments are in place, there are always opportunities to improve what is. What suggestions do you have for enhancing the environment for creativity and innovation in your organization?