Managed Accounts Vs. Mutual Funds

Both managed accounts and mutual funds allow investors to take advantage of professional money management in order to grow their investment funds. Mutual funds are offered on a large scale Read More

Mutual Fund SWOT Analysis

Picking a mutual fund can be a difficult choice. One helpful tool in making this decision is the SWOT Analysis. This is an analysis which focuses on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Read More

What is a Prime Money Market Fund?

Prime money market funds provide a way to invest money and earn a monthly dividend. Compared to money market accounts offered by banks, prime money market funds offered by mutual Read More

How Does a PayPal Money Market Fund Work?

Once you have a PayPal account, you can invest in the PayPal Money Market Fund. Although investing in the fund involves some risk, financial experts from Barclay’s manage the investment, Read More

Types of High Risk Mutual Funds

Mutual funds that hold stocks, bonds or both carry some degree of risk, which means that you can lose money in any fund depending on what’s happening in the market Read More

List of Closed-End Bond Funds

You can purchase open-end fund shares directly from the fund company at their net asset value (NAV) or the public offering price (POP has a sales charge), or sell them Read More

How to Withdraw Your Mutual Fund

Mutual funds are an investment of stocks and bonds placed in one commonly traded portfolio among investors of similar investment objectives. As an investor buys a mutual fund, shares are Read More

An expense ratio is the percentage of your investment in a mutual fund collected by the company to pay for the fund’s operations, including salaries and trading costs. In general, Read More

Mutual funds are investment vehicles comprised of stocks, bonds and other securities. The performance of the underlying assets determines the fund’s overall value. Mutual funds are not covered by the Read More

The expenses of a mutual fund are provided by the mutual fund company in the fund’s prospectus. Investors researching mutual funds should compare the expenses of the different funds. All Read More

Mutual funds are investment pools that combine the financial resources of individuals, companies and institutions. The pooled funds invested in a portfolio of assets, which may include a diverse range Read More

The Features of a Mutual Fund

Mutual funds are financial intermediaries that pool financial resources from individuals, companies and institutions and use the collective resources to invest in diversified portfolios of assets. Mutual funds are professionally Read More

Dividend Reinvestment Mutual Funds Explained

Mutual funds are a popular investment, particularly with people who don’t have a lot of time to watch the market or a lot of money to invest at once. Two Read More

A List of Blue Chip Mutual Funds

The stocks of strong, well-known companies with a track record of dividends and earnings earn the sobriquet blue chip. Investors who want to purchase stock in such companies may find Read More

Short-Term Bond Fund Definition

A mutual fund is a pooled investment. Mutual fund companies sell shares in specific mutual funds to a variety of investors, then pool all the funds to purchase securities that Read More

Difference Between Public & Private Mutual Funds

A mutual fund — a professionally managed investment scheme that pools money from many investors — can be categorized as public or private. Read More

Are Stocks and Mutual Funds the Same Thing?

Stocks and mutual funds are different types of investment options, though they do share some similarities. Stock is a portion of ownership in a publicly traded company. An investor can Read More

The Difference Between an Index Fund and a Mutual Fund

Mutual funds, which include index funds, pool investors’ money and allow them to participate in the stock market without taking on the risks, costs and research of investing in individual Read More

Advantages and Disadvantages of Investing in Mutual Funds

Investing in a mutual fund is an alternative to investing in individual stocks, with the investor buying into a fund that has professional managers who use the pooled resources of Read More

Definition of a Large Cap Mutual Fund

Equity mutual funds, investments that allow you diversify your money with exposure to a basket of stocks, use market capitalization, or market value, as one way of defining their holdings. Read More

Safest Mutual Funds to Invest in

Investors looking for safety have a number of choices. These safe investments do not provide the highest yields, but they do provide security and the assurance that your money will Read More

How to Calculate Mutual Funds

Mutual fund companies report the performance of each fund on an annual basis and send an annual report containing that information to each of their shareholders. But even though that Read More

What Is the Difference Between Mutual Funds & Money Market Funds?

A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment that allows you to diversify your savings and potentially realize greater gains than you might otherwise. Mutual funds invest in stocks, bonds Read More

Mutual Funds That Pay High Dividends

A dividend is nothing more than a company sending its profits to the right place, its owner. Not all publicly owned companies pay dividends: Some are not profitable at the Read More

What Causes Increases & Decreases in Bond Funds?

The three main reasons for an increase or decrease in a bond fund are credit ratings, interest rates and prepayments. These three factors affect the bonds in all types of Read More

What Is a Mutual Fund Redemption Fee?

A common charge for a mutual fund is a redemption fee, which is a fee you have to pay should you redeem your mutual fund shares. People may confuse redemption Read More

How to Calculate Mutual Fund Gains

There are many different ways to invest in the stock market. You can purchase stocks or bonds on an individual basis, or you can purchase a mutual fund. Mutual funds Read More

Mutual Fund Tracking Software

Mutual fund tracking software allows you to monitor your mutual fund’s performance. Another benefit this software offers is that it can produce capital gains reports for tax purposes. As a Read More

How to Calculate the Basis of Mutual Fund Shares

When you sell shares in a mutual fund account, you will be required to declare a capital gain or loss on your income tax return. The gain or loss is Read More

Penalties for Cashing in Mutual Funds

It is a simple process to cash in a regular mutual fund account. You can call up the fund company and request they sell all of your shares. The fund Read More

Pros & Cons of Tax Free Municipal Bond Funds

Municipal bonds are debt securities issued by state and local governments. The interest paid by muni bonds is exempt from federal income tax, providing a tax-free income to investors. One Read More

How to Calculate Management Expense

Securities, especially units of a mutual funds, are usually operated by investment managers that are often paid a percentage of the total assets managed by the fund. The prospectus is Read More

Pros & Cons of Bond Funds

A bond mutual fund owns a diversified portfolio of bonds, and the fund’s investors own shares of the portfolio. A bond fund pays investors dividends based on the interest earned Read More

Mutual Funds Pros & Cons

How to Compare American Funds to Oppenheimer Funds

Comparing mutual fund families as different as American Funds and Oppenheimer Funds can be a daunting task. Evaluate a few key areas to decide which fund family will better meet Read More

What Is a Sharpe Ratio in a Mutual Fund?

William F. Sharpe, Nobel laureate, produced the Sharpe ratio as a method to measure risk in investments. To calculate the Sharpe ratio, subtract the risk-free rate from the rate of Read More

Differences Between a Unit Trust & a Mutual Fund

Mutual funds and unit investment trusts are types of investment companies that pool investor money and the investor’s own shares in the pool. Unit trusts are primarily focused in the Read More

What Is the Minimum Investment for Mutual Funds?

The minimum investment for mutual funds can be as low as $0 (in which investors are simply setting up an account) and as high as $1 million and beyond for Read More

How to Buy Index Funds in Canada

Canadian stocks and bonds are traded on national exchanges including the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and Canada’s New Stock Exchange (CNQ). Index funds are mutual funds that mirror the holding Read More

How to Do Due Diligence on a Distributor of Mutual Fund Products

A distributor of mutual fund products is the principal underwriter of the mutual funds. This distributor can sell the fund’s shares to the public. Many mutual fund companies have both Read More

Mutual Fund Investment Limit Rules

Mutual funds are an attractive option for many investors because they offer the potential for higher returns than conservative options like CDs and bonds. Mutual funds also insulate investors from Read More

List of Mutual Funds That Hold IPOs

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have always injected excitement into the stock markets with the promise they offer. Everyone hears about the IPO that is bought at $15 and then sold Read More

What Are the Benefits of a Public Mutual Fund?

Mutual funds are available to be purchased by the public and are one option for personal investors. The dollar value of the fund purchased changes daily with the rise and Read More

How to Adjust Your Basis When You Receive a Capital Gain Distribution on Your Mutual Fund

Mutual funds are required to distribute realized capital gains to shareholders at least once a year. Most funds will make the distributions near the end of the year. If the Read More

5-Year Rules for Roth Annuities

Roth annuities offer several advantages and can be an valuable part of your retirement plan. The IRS has specific rules regarding withdrawals from Roth annuities that can affect the tax-free Read More

How Do I Calculate the Average Basis for the Sale of Mutual Funds?

When you sell shares of a mutual fund you will incur a taxable capital gain or loss. The gain or loss is the price you received from the sale of Read More

How to Buy a Dow Jones Index Fund

A Dow Jones Index fund offers investors an easy way to take advantage of market returns without having to select individual stocks. The most common such funds track the Standard Read More

How to Calculate Mutual Fund Fees

Mutual fund companies are permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to deduct fees from fund earnings. Fund companies typically do not highlight fees in magazine and website advertisements, Read More

No-Load Mutual Funds That Take Small Deposits

All mutual funds have a minimum initial investment that is required to open an account. This initial investment can range from $500 to $5,000 or more, and $2,000 or $2,500 Read More

Mutual Funds That Follow the Dow

If you take stock in the old adage that dumb money ends up outperforming smart money in the long run, an index fund may be just the investment strategy you Read More

Tax Benefits of Mutual Funds

Although mutual funds are administered by a fund manager, for tax purposes, they are constructed so that each member of the fund receives dividends and proceeds from sales of stock Read More

The Definition of Mutual Bonds

Investing in mutual bonds is a conservative way to go; you may not make as much money with them as you could in the stock market, but you will probably Read More

The Difference Between Growth & Dividend Mutual Funds

There are two ways to make money in stocks: growth and dividend income. Growth means an increase in the share price over time. Stock mutual funds make money for their Read More

The Tax Advantages of Investing in Index Funds

Index tracking funds, whether they are mutual funds or exchange-traded funds—ETF—have several tax advantages over actively managed mutual funds. Index funds own the same securities in the same proportion as Read More

List of No Load Index Funds

A no-load mutual fund is a fund that investors purchase directly from an investment firm, rather than going through a middleman. The direct-to-investor approach eliminates salesmens commissions and sales fees, Read More

How Are Mutual Funds Insured?

Most investors have access to three different types of protection for their mutual fund investments, including insurance against investment firm failure, security guarantees in the case of fraudulent activity and Read More

Safety of GNMA Funds

GNMA funds are mutual funds that primarily own mortgage backed securities issued by the Government National Mortgage Association, also known as Ginnie Mae. GNMA mutual funds attract investors looking for Read More

What Is SIP in a Mutual Fund?

Beginning investors occasionally mistake the term SIP as being a part of a mutual fund investment. It is not. SIP is a vehicle for investing that has been linked to Read More

Mutual Fund Prospectus Delivery Requirements

Mutual funds are popular investment vehicles that allow individual as well as institutional investors the opportunity to gain professional management of their funds. Mutual funds offer investors the added advantage Read More

How to Calculate Mutual Fund Cost Basis With Dividends

When an investment is sold, the taxable profit or loss is determined by calculating the difference between the sale price and the cost of the investment. Mutual funds provide a Read More

What Is a Taxable Mutual Fund?

Mutual fund distributions may be taxable or not. The tax status of a mutual fund account depends on the type of fund and how the fund is owned. Investors should Read More

Understanding Short-Term Government Bond Funds

In times of low interest rates on savings and investments, investors will be looking for places that pay a higher rate of interest yet remain safe options for their money. Read More

Green Mutual Funds List

People with environmental concerns may seek to invest their money in companies whose values mirror their own. The impulse has resulted in so-called green mutual funds, which invest in such Read More

Purpose of Mutual Funds

The purpose of mutual funds, like any for-profit enterprise, is to provide a product or service people need, for a fee. Mutual funds provide several important benefits to small investors: Read More

How to Buy a Mutual Fund on Margin

Investing on margin is a common tool used to increase a buyer's purchasing power and to leverage existing stocks to buy more securities. Margin lets an investor buy more securities Read More

How to Buy Index Funds Online

Index mutual funds are a popular choice for investors looking for low-cost investment vehicles. An index fund holds securities in the same proportion as a particular index, such as the Read More

What Are Average Mutual Fund Expense Ratios?

Mutual funds have annual expense ratios that cover the managing and running of a mutual fund. A fund’s expense ratio has a direct effect on the return to investors. If Read More

Definition of Loaded & Unloaded Mutual Funds

Mutual funds that have sales charges or commissions to buy shares are called load funds. Unloaded, or more commonly no-load, funds do not have sales charges to purchase shares. Investors Read More

Definition of Mutual Funds With Long-Term Capital Gains

A capital gain is a profit on any asset—whether it’s a postage stamp or a share of a mutual fund—that rises in value over time. Assets that are bought and Read More

What Is an Equity Index Fund?

Equity index funds are a type of mutual fund developed to match the results of the stock market without trying to beat the market. Equity index funds allow investors to Read More

Differences Between Mutual Fund & 401k

A number of factors comprise the differences between a mutual fund and 401k. Primarily, a mutual fund is an actual investment vehicle, while a 401k is a tax-deferred account that Read More

The Top 10 Equity Mutual Funds

According to the Investment Company Institute, equity or stock mutual funds manage over $4.6 trillion in investor assets. There are also over 4,000 equity mutual finds. The 10 biggest stock Read More

S&P 500 Index Fund Vs. Mutual Funds

Among the most popular stock market mutual funds are the Standard & Poor’s 500 index mutual funds, known as the S&P 500. An S&P 500 index fund replicates the S&P Read More

How Are Dividends Calculated on Mutual Funds?

One way that mutual funds can provide returns to investors is through the payment of dividends. Some mutual funds pay regular or monthly dividend distributions, while others may pay dividends Read More

10 Best-Performing Mutual Funds

Constructing a list of the best performing mutual funds results in an arbitrary compilation if evaluating criteria are not uniform. For example, one analyst may look solely at recent returns, Read More

Mutual Fund Dividend Information

A mutual fund must pass on all income and profits from its investments to shareholders. Sales of stocks that increased in value are passed on as capital gains distributions. Interest Read More

What Is a Small Cap Fund?

A small-cap fund is a mutual fund that invests in the stocks of smaller companies. Small-cap investing provides investors with some opportunities that are different from those of other classes Read More

How to Convert Mutual Funds to Cash

Having a widely diversified investment portfolio is important, and it is important to liquidate mutual fund shares to keep your portfolio in balance. When the stock market is riding high, Read More

What Is NAV in Mutual Funds?

A mutual fund pools money from many investors into a single fund that buys and sells securities on behalf of these investors. Mutual funds need a way to divide claims Read More

Characteristics of Money Market Securities

Businesses, governments and financial institutions issue money market securities as an inexpensive means to borrow money to cover short-term liabilities. Money market securities are typically debt instruments such as bonds Read More

How to Rebalance Mutual Funds

Rebalancing mutual-fund allocations in your investment portfolio refers to the process of selling some of the assets to buy more of other assets in an effort to maintain your original Read More

What Is Lipper Ranking?

Lipper, a subsidiary of the international business and news conglomerate Thomson Reuters, provides data and analysis on more than 140,000 mutual funds and other investment products issued in 45 countries. Read More

Types of Government Funds

U.S. government funds are considered to be among the safest of all investments because they are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Mutual funds that Read More

How to Sell Mutual Funds Before Capital Gains Distribution

Every year around November, most mutual fund companies distribute their accumulated capital gains for the year to their shareholders. All investors who own shares on distribution day are therefore assessed Read More

Define Class K Mutual Fund

Mutual funds, composed of stocks, bonds and other securities, diversify portfolios and spread risk. Many investors purchase them for retirement and long-term capital growth accounts. Most individual investors realize the Read More

What Is Fidelity Cash Reserves?

Fidelity Cash Reserves (FDRXX) is a mutual fund provided by Fidelity Investments. The primary investment strategy is to invest in money market securities from foreign and domestic issuers, as well Read More

How to Invest With Fidelity Mutual Funds

Fidelity Investments is a large investment company that is known primarily for its mutual funds, which include domestic stock funds, international funds, bond funds, money market funds, index funds, specialized Read More

What Is the Penalty for Early Withdrawal on Mutual Funds?

While there is no universal penalty for an early withdrawal from a mutual fund, there are circumstances wherein a mutual fund withdrawal could have financial consequences, including penalties. Depending on Read More

What Is Fidelity Advantage Class?

Fidelity Investments, the mutual fund giant, offers cost breaks for large investments. The Advantage Class is a program that reduces expenses in return for large investment minimums. Many of Fidelity’s Read More

Why Do People Invest in Mutual Funds?

Mutual funds are an investment vehicle that allows a large group of investors to pool their money and allow a team of professionals to invest their money together as one Read More

Mutual Funds That Invest in Natural Gas

Mutual funds invest in natural gas in numerous ways. As of the date of publication, at least one fund invests in a series of complicated contracts that mimic the price Read More

How to Invest in Mutual Funds for Beginners

Investing in mutual funds allows beginners to tap into a large group of companies made up of various types of investments such as stocks, property and bonds for purposes of Read More

How Do Bond Prices & Yields in Mutual Funds Work?

Mutual funds are a popular choice for investors looking for bond exposure. According to the Investment Company Institute bond mutual funds hold over $2 trillion in investor assets. The total Read More

Capital Gains Rules for Mutual Funds

Mutual funds avoid the need to pay capital gains taxes by passing on gains to shareholders each year. Not only do taxes eat away at your investment returns, but also Read More

What Is the Marketing of Mutual Funds?

There are more than 16,000 mutual funds with over $10.3 trillion in assets as of the end of 2008, according to the Investment Company Fact Book. With so many choices Read More

How to Purchase a Mutual Fund if it is Closed

Mutual funds work by pooling the money of a group of investors and then purchasing and selling individual securities. When new investments are made into the fund, new investments need Read More

How to Invest in Low Cost Mutual Funds

Mutual funds are a popular way for people to invest money. Unlike individual securities, like stocks or bonds, mutual funds provide diversification across several investments with a single purchase. Additionally, Read More

Mutual Fund Exchange Definition

A mutual fund exchange is simply a streamlined way to simultaneously buy and sell mutual funds. Not all mutual funds can be exchanged, and there may be tax consequences to Read More

Taxation of Mutual Funds

Mutual funds are investments where you pool assets with other investors with similar investment objectives. The pooling of money gives the fund manager the leverage to buy and sell stocks Read More

How to Invest in US Mutual Funds for Non-US Residents

Mutual funds are security investments in which investors with similar objectives pool assets together to have larger market leverage. Mutual funds are managed by investment firms around the world. U.S. Read More