Mutual Funds

Annuities and mutual funds often work in similar ways and can provide similar benefits. However, because of their similarities, there are many instances where the two can be confused.

When it comes to retirement planning it is important to diversify our holdings to limit the risk in case a certain sector should underperform. Mutual funds are an effective way to accomplish this....

Stock index funds are mutual funds which are designed to perform the same as a stock index, such as the Standard & Poor 500. Index funds buy the stocks which are used to calculate the stock...

I have written about how to select a mutual fund in another article. This article is about knowing when to sell a mutual fund. I am not talking about market timing, rebalancing, or your asset...

Once you have decided on you asset allocation (I am not going to attempt to cover that on Ehow) you will want to choose the best mutual funds to meet your needs. The best mutual fund can be the...

Strategic income mutual funds are designed to provide investors with exposure to a diverse range of income-producing assets. The balancing of different assets may provide higher income and more...

A mutual fund is a large portfolio of securities created with funds invested by a number of individuals. Most mutual funds issue shares as people invest and redeem the shares when investments are...

A lot of people do not even know about closed end mutual funds. Closed end funds are not the choice of a lot of investors but they have some very nice advantages. Most pay a dividend some pay...

You inherit a mutual fund once it is transferred to you after a benefactor dies. The value of the shares on the day they are transferred to you stand as your cost basis. The cost basis is a figure...

Morningstar is a well known and well respected investment research and analysis firm. Morningstar is most popular for its "star ratings" of mutual funds on a 1-5 star scale. Morningstar provides...

If you're going to invest in mutual funds, you should sign up with a reputable broker. Founded in 1875, Prudential is a well known financial institution. While you can always access Prudential...

Mutual fund companies receive contributions from a large pool of investors and invest those funds in an array of vehicles, depending on the stated objectives of the fund. As with any business,...

Mutual funds, index funds, and ETFs are great ways to maximize diversification in your portfolio while mitigating risk. These are three investment vehicles it pays to learn -- and you can...

If you are looking for an investment vehicle with less risk than individual securities, but with enough market exposure to give you the potential for market beating gains, mutual funds might be...

Gold mutual funds are a great way to hedge against risk in any investment portfolio. Gold will typically rise as the markets go down. Having gold mutual funds will provide downside risk protection...

Many investors purchase mutual funds to diversify a portfolio, to let professionals pick and choose, and to limit risks. Mutual-fund prices are listed in the financial sections of many newspapers...

To understand the role of a mutual fund manager, you need to understand what a mutual fund is. A mutual fund is a jointly owned pool of money. One of the reasons people invest in mutual funds is...

Alternative investments are alternatives to mainstream investments such as blue chip stocks, like Coke and GE, or other common investments like municipal bonds. They are high-risk investments that...

You want to invest in the stock market but aren't comfortable picking individual stocks. Join the club. Most people would like to enjoy the benefits of the stock market but do not have the...

If you have a 401k or IRA, then you probably own a mutual fund. Mutual funds have become a staple in individual investment portfolios as they provide the investor with automatic diversification...

Mutual funds are one of the most popular investment vehicles for individual investors for two main reasons: They provide automatic diversification; and they are managed by professional account...

A mutual fund is an investment vehicle that pools money from many investors, and then invests the money as outlined in the fund's prospectus. The holdings in a mutual fund is called the fund's...

CGM Realty (ticker symbol CGMRX) is an open ended mutual fund offered and managed by The CGM Funds, Boston, MA. CGMRX is a specialty fund with holdings concentrated in the real estate sector, and...

With over 10,000 mutual funds now on the market, it's hard to know which ones to choose for your investment. If you're new to mutual funds, it's important to carefully consider your objectives,...

Mutual funds are usually viewed as investments for the accumulation of wealth. However, at some point most mutual fund owners will want to draw an income from their fund holdings. Take several...

Mutual funds are one of the most popular investment classes in the U.S. At the end of 2008, America had $9.6 trillion invested in mutual funds. A large portion of 401k and IRA money is in mutual...

Too many people delay saving money for retirement, usually done by investing, for far too long due to technicalities. In most cases, it matters more that you invest than you keep delaying while...

A common question on the subject of mutual funds concerns which is better: no-load or load funds? In mutual fund terminology, a "load" is a sales commission that brokers charge when you buy the...

Stock mutual funds are an investment option that allows you to contribute money to a pool of funds that is managed by a financial institution. They vary in the types of stocks they invest in, like...

How to get your moneys worth while investing small sums in mutual funs($50).

Investing in equity market or mutual funds has strong emotional factor involved in it. No matter how many books they read, people tend to think they can time the market and make more money. Often...

Planning for retirement and how to invest the money saved presents a wide choice of investment options. In the stock market mid-cap stocks have been called "the forgotten asset class" and "the...

Mutual funds are a great way to gain diversification and professional management of your investments. However, studies show that the majority of actively managed funds underperform the market. Use...

The hardest part about managing a group of mutual funds is deciding on a strategy. There are several different strategies used to manage a portfolio of mutual funds. They include many of the same...

Most people have neither the time nor interest to research and select individual stocks and bonds for their investment portfolios, and that's where mutual funds come in. Mutual funds are composed...

Investing in the stock market can be quite rewarding, but it can also be frightening at times. Bear markets are enough to shake the confidence of even the most experienced investor, and many...

Contrafund is one of the star mutual funds in the Boston-based Fidelity Investment's family of funds. The fund's strategy is to invest in stocks the manager deems underpriced with promising growth...

A mutual fund is an investment vehicle made up of a pool of funds from a group of investors. These funds are invested in a range of assets, from bonds and money market instruments to stocks....

It is very easy and convenient to invest in mutual funds online. Almost every mutual fund company today has online transaction facility. Their free service allows to manage and control all...

For investors, performance--the return they get on their money compared to the risks they take--is the bottom line. The rate of return on a mutual fund has two components. One is yield and the...

Nothing can be more frustrating for financial advisers and investment professionals than trying to do business in a down market. Getting clients to invest at this point is one of the hardest tasks...

There are several different types of mutual funds; each has a purpose and focus in mind for the benefit of the investor and each has inherent benefits and risks. A business growth fund might hold...

Mutual funds can be categorized based on their objectives. All funds are professionally managed portfolios that combine the money of many investors. Most investors want equity growth, income or...

Proprietary mutual funds are ones that a brokerage firm or other financial institution sells and also manages. Non-proprietary funds are ones that a third party manages. Before investing in...

The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is a valuation method used to value common stocks. The ratio is calculated as the price per share divided by the earnings per share. Either the estimated earnings...

Mutual funds can hold a variety of stocks, bonds or other securities. When those securities pay dividends or interest, that income is passed along to the mutual fund investors. If securities held...

Closed-end mutual funds are types of mutual funds that use different tactics in their investment and management obligations. They offer their investors some advantages different from those offered...

Mutual funds are actively managed pools of securities. Investors buy shares in the fund to participate in the income and profits generated by the securities held by the fund. The modern open-end...

One way to diversify your portfolio is by investing in a blended mutual fund, or blend fund. This type of fund contains both growth and value stocks, and may specialize in large, medium or small...

Money market mutual funds are an investment account that financial institutions offer to investors. These funds have some liquidity because most money market mutual funds allow you to write up to...