Mutual Fund Research Sites
Mutual fund research sites provide a variety of tools to help you learn about funds that interest you, as well as introduce you to unfamiliar funds. Most research sites offer basic information for free, and many create research reports and analyses you can access for a monthly or annual fee. Sites such as Morningstar, InvestorGuide.com, MSN Money and Zacks Investment Research feature such unique and free features as investment style boxes, research wizards, daily fund spotlights and mutual fund rankings.
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Morningstar
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Morningstar, an independent investment research firm, tracks more than 7,000 mutual funds, as of 2010, and rates them based on recent performance. For free research, type the ticker symbol of a fund in the quote box at the Morningstar homepage and click "quote." You'll pull up a summary page that includes fund pricing, holdings, fees and a one-line comment on the fund. On this page you'll also find the Morningstar Style Box, a nine-square grid that explains a fund's investment approach. A quick glance at a style box tells you if the fund is large, medium or small in size, and whether it's a value, growth or blend fund.
InvestorGuide.com
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As part of a library of free research, the "Mutual Fund Research Tool" page at InvestorGuide.com features a Fund of the Day. The Fund of the Day is one that has been in the news recently or has ranked high in searches at the InvestorGuide.com website. You'll find a short summary of the fund and a link to click through to more information. If you're looking for summary data on another fund, type the ticker symbol into the "Research by ticker or fund name" box and click "Go." Or you can browse funds by clicking on an A to Z bar.
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MSN Money
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At the MSN Money "Start Your Research" page, you'll find a Research Wizard to guide you through the details of funds that interest you. When you type in a ticker symbol at the box labeled "Start research for," you advance through various screens with short writeups on the goals of the fund you're researching, its performance compared to similar funds, the professionals who manage the fund and the risk level of the fund. At the last page, a "Finish" button takes you back to the "Start Your Research" page so you can look up details on another fund. All of this information is free of charge.
Zacks Investment Research
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For a free snapshot of how mutual funds might perform in the future, Zacks Investment Research offers the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank. This ranking system tracks 19,000 mutual funds, as of 2010, and lists them using a one-to-five scale indicating buy or sell recommendations. As an independent firm, Zacks uses an internal evaluation process that sorts out fund performance and quality. To access a fund summary page that includes a rank, enter the fund's ticker symbol in the "quote" box at the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank page or Zacks homepage and click "Go."
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