|
Life in the USA Personal Finance Investments
|
Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are a form of pooled investment. The fund will invest in many different stocks or bonds. You buy shares in the fund. The idea is that you get the benefit of diversity. Hundreds of different mutual funds exist, specializing in different investment areas. Money market funds, which invest in government and other extremely safe securities, are common. They are sold by banks, brokers and most other financial institutions. Many funds specialize in particular industries, like high tech, energy or precious metals. The largest fund companies, like Vanguard and Fidelity, have dozens of funds each managing billions of dollars. Some mutual funds charge “loads,” or sales fees; some do not. All funds take a percentage of the money invested to pay for running the fund. Mutual funds are popular but you still can “lose your shirt” if you don't know what you're doing. Next Section: Other Investment Vehicles Personal Finance: Chapter Home
Life in the USA Home
Page. The URL of this site is: http://www.lifeintheusa.com/finance/mutualfunds.htm
Building Yourself -
Stylegourmet -
Linguix |