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Article #276: Introduction To Mutual Fund Investing

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If you are new to investing, you may have then you should consider a mutual fund
heard of mutual funds but do not know that consists of low risk equities and
exactly what they are or how to select conservative bond and money market
the right one. A mutual fund is a instruments. If you want a mix of
collective investment security, and there investments, then you should look for a
are many different types. It may consist balanced fund. If you want explosive
of a mix of several different types of capital appreciation, then you should
investment vehicles, such as stocks, consider a high-risk common stock or
bonds, or derivatives, or it may consist high-yielding bond fund.
of nothing but stocks that are part of a They are different than stocks when it
certain sector of the economy, or it comes to fees and expenses. As with
could be just bonds. stocks, funds are subject to capital
For example, there are mutual funds that gains taxes. But a fund is sometimes
consist of nothing but technology stocks. subject to a front-end and/or back-end
There are also funds that are comprised load. If there is a front-end load, that
of stocks that have a similar market means that a percentage of the initial
capitalization (such as mid-cap funds, investment is automatically deducted to
large-cap funds, or small-cap funds). And pay for commissions to the fund. If there
some might contain several different is a back-end load, the investor must pay
types of securities (such as stocks, a fee when the security is sold.
bonds, etc.) that all fall within the Also, there is a 12b-1 fee that is often
same risk classification (high-risk, deducted to pay for advertising expenses
medium-risk, low-risk). incurred for the marketing of the fund to
Just like stocks, mutual funds have a the public. Sometimes there is no 12b-1
price per share, also known as the Net fee, it depends. Investors might be
Asset Value (NAV). The NAV is calculated unaware of the 12b-1 fee because it is
by dividing the total value of the fund sometimes deducted from the share price,
divided by the number of shares so in a way, it is an invisible fee.
outstanding. As with stocks, the price I hope this introduction to mutual funds
fluctuates on a daily basis and it can be will help you make some decisions
sold just like any other security. regarding your investments. There are
When deciding what fund to invest in, you literally thousands of different funds
need to consider your investment goals. available, and brokerage houses often
Are you looking for long-term capital have their own set of funds that they
appreciation, or would you prefer to create for sale to their customers. Talk
receive immediate income from your to your broker and see if he or she can
investment? You also need to evaluate help you identify the best investment
your risk tolerance. Are you willing to vehicle for you. Just make sure you
take a chance on a speculative fund to review the fee structure of the mutual
potentially receive a better return, or fund you are interested in before you
is capital preservation a high priority? invest.
If capital preservation is your goal,






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