Mutual funds are a type of financial vehicle (special purpose company) which is made up of a pool of money which has been invested by many investors. The investors invest their money in mutual funds so that it can be invested into securities like stocks, bonds, financial instruments and other investment options. Mutual funds give investors acess to a professionally managed, well diversified portfolio. The sharing ration in a mutual fund is proportionally to the amount of investment.
Most mutual funds operate with a specific objective and purpose and thus their investment portfolio reflects the stated objective. Mutual funds are managed by professional fund managers whose job is to invest the funds in the most efficient manner possible to maximize the gains for the investors participating in the fund.
Mutual funds give small or individual investors access to professionally managed portfolios of equities, bonds and other securities. Each shareholder, therefore, participates proportionally in the gains or losses of the fund. Mutual funds invest in a vast number of securities, and performance is usually tracked as the change in the total market cap of the fund—derived by the aggregating performance of the underlying investments.
Investors can invest in mutual funds for the short term or the long term, short term gains are low whereas long term gains are high because in the long term the money can be reinvested to produce exponentially increasing returns.
Bonds have long been a stalwart of investment. More than $100 billion was invested in municipal bonds alone in 2006. Now, with the economy a little less certain than it has been in recent decades, the demand for a secure place to invest money has lead to resurgence in interest in the use of bonds…
A guide to how your money is managed, with foreword by Nobel laureate Robert Shiller The Fund Industry offers a comprehensive look at mutual funds and the investment management industry, for fund investors, those working in the fund industry, service providers to the industry and students of financial institutions or capital markets. Industry experts Robert…
In his hard-nose The Trouble with Mutual Funds Kurt Linn takes the reader behind the scenes of the mutual fund industry to discover the real reasons mutual funds perform so poorly, and to see clearly the contradictions at the core of the very idea of a mutual fund. With meticulous research, concrete examples and a…
“Investing puts money to work. The only reason to save money is to invest it.”Grant Card-oneIf you are reading this book, you probably got tired of all the stress and pressure you put yourself through at work for all your life. Can you imagine studying for more than 20 years only to work for 40…
Mutual funds became popular in the 1920’s as a way for smaller investors to get the benefits of having professional managers creating diversified portfolios. But even from the beginning, mutual funds had structural flaws that created disappointing long-term performance, thereby harming the financial well-being of millions of mutual fund investors. Some of these flaws include…
Expert advice on a mature, reliable way to invest money According to Fortune magazine, investing in dividends is one of the top five ways to survive market instability. Dividend Stocks For Dummies gives you the expert information and advice you need to successfully add dividends to your investment portfolio, revealing how to make the most…
Will there ever be another investing book like this? It’s unlikely. University of Berkshire Hathaway is a remarkable retelling of the lessons, wisdom, and investment strategies handed down personally from Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger to shareholders during 30 years of their closed-door annual meetings. From this front row seat, you’ll see one of the greatest wealth-building records in history…
Twenty benefits from the three-fund total market index portfolio. The Bogleheads’ Guide to The Three-Fund Portfolio describes the most popular portfolio on the Bogleheads forum. This all-indexed portfolio contains over 15,000 worldwide securities, in just three easily-managed funds, that has outperformed the vast majority of both professional and amateur investors. If you are a new…
A journey through the Index Revolution from the man who started it all Stay the Course is the story the Vanguard Group as told by its founder, legendary investor John C. Bogle. This engrossing book traces the history of Vanguard—the largest mutual fund organization on earth. Offering the world’s first index mutual fund in 1976,…
Build a winning portfolio―and reduce your risk―with this bestselling guide Online investing has never been easier―or more potentially confusing. Now that every broker or finance site has its own app, data, or approach, it can be all too easy to be misled and make a bad decision. Online Investing for Dummies helps you reduce risk…
