The four iShares index funds (see table below), issued by the Global Investors unit of Barclays (nyse: BCS - news - people ), sport a rock-bottom expense ratio of 0.15 versus open-end bond fund averages of around 1.00 and the 0.20 charged by low-cost leader Vanguard.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The expense ratio for leading NTF bond funds at these shops averages 0.66%, while the average cost of bond funds on the Forbes Best Buy list is 0.37%.

FORBES: Supermarket Sweepstakes

Both stock and bond allocations stayed above their historical averages for yet another month.

FORBES: Stocks Take A Slight Hit But Still Rule The Roost