About Hartford Mutual Funds

The Hartford Company can be considered a matured, solidified company. Most of the time--with the mere mention of their name--life insurance usually comes to mind. However, there is an extension of the company that now has dealings in investments: Hartford Mutual Funds. This is a company that offers a wide array of investment opportunities.

History

The Hartford is a company well-known for providing automobile, homeowners and life insurance. It was founded in 1810 with a headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut. Being that investments and insurance go hand in hand as far as money management, The Hartford extended its hand further into the financial world by instilling Hartford Mutual Funds, a company they designated to offering a vast number of investment opportunities.

Benefits

Hartford Mutual Funds offers 401(k) plans, 529 college savings plans, 24-hour online account access, Roth IRA's and of course life insurance and mutual funds to investors. They also offer the opportunity to work with one of largest investment firms in America Wellington Management Company. With Wellington Management Company strongly overseeing their mutual funds and the progression of their returns, Hartford Mutual Funds currently manages an estimated $50 billion in investment money.

Structure

The ratings from Morningstar conclude that the expense ratio for the Hartford Mutual Funds received averages of 1.35 percent for domestic, 1.43 percent for international, 1.06 percent for taxable bond funds and .99 percent for municipal bond funds. Their mutual funds are highly geared toward domestic funds, which encompass 71.2 percent.

Advantage

An advantage to investing in a Hartford Mutual Fund is that almost anyone from any walk of life can invest, as Hartford offers some funds where there isn't a minimum amount of money you have to invest. However, some of these funds may have maintenance fees that will be applied to your account. These fees are usually $15 to $50 per year. As of the middle of 2008, there was an average return on investments of about 9.15 percent.

Types

A few of the top funds offered by Hartford Mutual Funds are:

Hartford Capital Appreciation HLS 1A, which specializes in large cap stocks with the majority of dealings in information services and manufacturing.
Hartford Capital Appreciation A, with specialties in manufacturing as well as services.
Hartford Growth Opportunities HLS 1A, which specializes in information, manufacturing and services.

Expert Insight

The majority of Hartford Mutual Funds are all heavily spread among the manufacturing, information and services sector. To some this may not be beneficial or attractive; however, due to its vast offerings Hartford Mutual Funds is sure to provide some kind of benefit to your portfolio.
All in all, Hartford Mutual Funds have a variety of investment opportunities that can suit the taste of the savvy investor as well as the beginner. There are many options to choose from, and it also makes it easier since you can get your investments and insurance all in one place.