Things You'll Need:
- Prospectuses
- Publications by Morningstar
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Step 1
Visit your library's business section and ask the reference desk for publications by Morningstar, which tracks the performance of thousands of mutual funds.
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Step 2
Look up individual funds of interest.
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Step 3
Find out what type of fund you are dealing with. Funds generally fall into these categories: balanced (a broad mix of investments); income (focuses on earning dividends); growth (focuses on immediate capital gains); dual-purpose (invests equally for income and capital gains); and bond (debt instruments).
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Step 4
Compare the fund's historical returns with market indexes such as the S&P 500 and with the performance of mutual funds in the same peer group; for example, large-cap growth and income funds.
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Step 5
Determine whether the fund is a load or no-load fund. Load funds charge up-front fees to investors; no-loads don't.
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Step 6
Determine the extent of other fees charged to investors.
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Step 7
Compare the total fees with those charged by other funds.
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Step 8
Read the prospectuses of the funds you find most interesting. These are available from the mutual fund companies.
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Step 9
Ask other investors about their experience with various funds and the funds' customer-ervice representatives.











Comments
sahill said
on 6/19/2008 I'm glad to see the steps I can take but would like more detail on how to do them. This is eHow right?