Trying To Figure Out What A Mutual Fund Is
A mutual fund is a pooled investment. When you buy shares in a mutual fund, you are buying shares in a professionally managed portfolio of stocks, bonds, or other securities.
Investment managers are responsible for buying and selling securities according to specific investment objectives, which are identified in the prospectus. Buying shares of a mutual fund can give you built-in diversification. A single mutual fund holds many different securities. When you buy into a mutual fund, investment professionals manage your money. They carefully research, select, and supervise all the assets in the mutual fund. This frees you from having to select and track individual investments. When you invest in mutual funds, you get access to some of the finest investment minds on Wall Street.
They like having a professional manager oversee the day-to-day decisions that a changing stock investment involves and see that as a distinct advantage. A good manager, they might argue, has access to information that would cost them an exorbitant amount, even if they had the time and inclination to do the work themselves.
On the other hand, some investors would never surrender control of their investments. Part of the thrill of investing is knowing that when they succeed it was due to their own decisions, these investors might say.Individual comfort level plays a big part in your investment choice.
When one security in a fund drops, an insightful fund manager may have included stocks that could cushion or offset that loss. Diversification is a big selling factor for mutual funds; there is, in fact, relative safety in numbers. But that's not to say that an investor couldn't diversify via his own stock selections. Remember that diversification cannot eliminate or guarantee against the risk of investment loss; it is a method used to help manage investment risk.
Fund investors can cash in on any business day. When you sell a stock, you must wait three business days before the trade settles and your money is released. Mutual fund investors often cite transaction ease as an inviting factor. And it is hard to beat the convenience of having records and transactions handled for you, while periodically receiving a detailed statement of your holdings.
Transacting business with stocks can be a more complicated experience. Placing buy orders, selling shares, or dictating any number of orders can be time-consuming. To some, however, that's just part of the experience. In summary, fund investors are often attracted by the overall convenience. By way of contrast, stock investors may tend to be more comfortable with their own investing skills.
Asset allocation funds are those that give the manager great flexibility in deciding how to invest fund assets. The fund manager can typically invest in all the major investment classes, including stocks, bonds, and money market securities. The weightings of each class may vary dramatically and will reflect the market outlook and expectations of the fund manager.
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Date: Fri, 16 Jul 2010
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