how much shud a starter invest in mutual funds and how safe they are?
352735
Safe... It depends on you're goals, time horizon & the stated goals of the mutual fund.  The S&P500 Index (the benchmark for many mutual funds) can go down 25% or more at a clip.  But, over the long term this type of "unmanaged" fund beats 80% of all mutual funds (over 10 years and more).\n\nFirst bottom line;\nNEVER (ever) INVEST IN SOMETHING YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!\nKnow why you're investing in something. Know exactly what the risk is.  I've gone through periods where some of my funds have gone down more than 30%.  This was to be expected & time has made that 30% loss disappear into a nice profit.\n\nRead some books. Learn (& understand) terms like;\nAsset Allocation\nLarge Cap, Mid Cap, Small Cap & International.\nGrowth & Value\n\nTake your time to learn. I've done very well for myself & family by prudent investing (with understanding).....\n\nDon't go into a stock mutual fund unless your "time horizon" is over five years.\n\nDo not call or follow any leads to a broker or mutual fund company found through postings on this forum (unless you already know through other research they're legit).\n\nGood luck!
13235
If you doing research on funds then: \nwww.morningstar.com\n\nIf you investing in funds then it's good to open an account with large fund family such as:\nwww.fidelity.com\nwww.vanguard.com\nwww.troweprice.com
417987
You should definitely start with no load mutual funds.  With limited resources, the commissions will kill your returns on single stocks.  Go to www.vangaurd.com or www.fidelity.com and I think you can start for as little as $25. When you talk to them, let them know you are young and want a fund with above average risk.
318425
Money is good for beginners.  But I would recommend to use the library so you can read on other investing magazines.  Yahoo Finance is a good on-line resource.
584364
You didn't say how large the overall portfolio is, which is a key issue, but I can understand not wanting to feature your entire financial life on a public message board.  In general, mutual funds are ideal for people with small portfolios, say under $25000, because it allows them to get diversification that they couldn't afford any other way.  Once you get past $50,000, or $100,000, mutual funds become much less attractive.  At those levels, there are independent financial advisors who could handle your portfolio for less than you'd pay a mutual fund in fees, and  provide much more individualized service. (We'd be happy to talk to you if you're interested) Plus, you'd have a large enough portfolio that you're effectively able to diversify on your own, without the need of mutual funds.\n\nIn general, my impression of mutual funds is that they're all pretty average.  I almost would feel silly commenting on 'good' or 'bad' funds, because they are normally all so close together that it's not incredibly relevant.  Further, their investment strategies often change overnight, and you have little way of knowing until after the fact, so really, your guess is as good as mine.  Basically, you can look at their past results (over the long-term, not just the past year) to get an impression of their management ability, but that doesn't give you any true indication of the future, so it's largely estimation.\n\nStocks, on the other hand, can be judged more concretely.  Of course, we can never know for sure with them either, but at least we have something concrete to look at.  So:\n\nI'm a big fan of IACI.  The future looks strong, and the assets are valuable.  Definitely hold on to this one for a while.\n\nMSFT: Boring!  I dunno what's up with Microsoft, but it's been among the most uninteresting stocks for at at least the last half dozen years.  I suspect it's a size issue.  There comes a point where it's difficult to grow without cannibilizing your own sales on another product.\n\nHLT: Not sure what the attraction is here.  If you've held this for a while, perhaps you've gotten a nice profit already.  Can't say if it's at its end yet, but it's definitely not something that I'd be buying right now.\n\nECA & BHP: Resource stocks like these are definitely popular right now, with good reason.  I think there's still more upside here, but these are definitely not long-term plays.  It's hard to say exactly when you ought to sell this type of stock.  This is just a situation where you have to observe the world and the industry on a consistent basis, and make the assessment over and over.  But, for now, I'd say hold on.\n\nYou didn't ask for stock recommendations, but if you're interested, I'm a big fan of MI and TMX right now.\n\nBest of luck to you.\n\nP.S.  I've included a link to a story that disagrees with me on Microsoft.  Who knows...maybe there's some value there after all.  But I'm still not convinced.
870260
Vanguard is one of the three largest mutual fund companies in the world (varies between them, Fidelity, and American Funds), they have been around for decades and have nearly $1 Trillion under management.  It is probably the best place to go for someone starting out.  \n\nI used to do consulting for them, while it doesn't seem like the best place to work (low salaries and numbers on the cubicles), they are one of the best mutual fund companies.
918168
If you live in the U S, you might want to go to the book store and buy "Investing for Dummies".  It will be a big benefit in giving you a head start.  \n\nOne thing that many beginning investors due is to buy shares in one or more mutual funds.  By doing that there is less risk, of making a really bad investment and loosing a lot of money.  Many mutual funds however due have a period of time 30 to 90 days in which they will charge you a redemption fee if you sell the shares. \n\nMany successful investors buy shares with the intention of holding them for a very long period of time.  That way if they have purchased shares in growing companies, the value of their shares grows with the companies and continues to grow without having to pay taxes to the government in the mean time.  \n\nMutual funds unfortunately are required by law to distribute their realized gains annually on which one does have to pay taxes.  But there is a newer form of fund now available called an index fund that has very little realized gains and therefore little in the way of taxes.  \n\nThe minimum amout somewhat varies.  Some brokers will let you open an account with as little as $500.  And some mutual funds have a minimum initial investment of about $500.  Many however are in the $2000 to $2500 range and some even more. \n\nThe kind of shares I would recommend would be shares in companies that have an established record over at least 10 years and that are selling at a reasonable price relative to their earnings and that pay a dividend.
892142
hi\nI have no idea about your knowledge on mutual fund. so it is difficult to me to understand from where I start and where to end.\nSo I just describe the basic things of mutual funds. Actually mutual fund are share trading companies. \nThink you have invested in five different share of the capital of 10 lakh but you are not related to this field, then it is difficult for you to make decisions when to sell or buy share.\nIn that case the solution is mutual funds, most of mutual fund are created by big financial company or banks. you invest in mutual fund and mutual fund invest in share. so indirectly you investing in shares with the help of professional persons.So mutual fund is more secure than investing in equity share.and secondly mutual fund work under observation of Security Exchange Board of India.\n\nbut risk also exist with mutual fund too because indirectly your money is investing on market.    \n\nmutual fund can be classified such as \nEquity diversified\nhybrid equity oriented\nhybrid Debt oriented\ngilt etc. \n\nfor more details or specific details you can mail me .
319566
I would look at the Vanguard Star fund or a S&P 500 index fund to start - wide diversification, and you'll likely not do any worse than market level returns. \nhttp://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=vgstx\nStar is a instant mix of several funds giving more diversification - as well there is a $1000 min investment. It would take luck and real dicipline to beat that as a start...\nThis depends on your age and other issues - but if your young - buy and enjoy...
823551
Mutual funds let you start with low amounts. If not knowledgeable an index mutual fund is best + is cheapest in internal cost. Schwab.com or 1 of the others makes opening an account easy. If no IRA - open 1 1st. I would chose a global index fund right now\n. SWINX if going with schwab
173961
A mutual fund is a collection of some kind of investment, usually stocks. They’re extremely popular. Your parents own at least one mutual fund if they’ve ever worked at a company. Mutual funds work like this: You pick a fund you like (e.g., growth, value, technology, international…), buy shares of the fund, and let a money manager pick the stocks he thinks will yield the best return. In exchange for this diversification and his expertise, you pay an annual fee. \n\nAdvantages: Hands-off approach means an expert money manager makes investment decisions for you. Mutual fund (ostensibly) holds many varied stocks, so if one company tanks, your fund doesn’t go down with it (i.e., it’s “diversified”).\n\nDisadvantages: Annual fees can equal tens of thousands of dollars or more (!) over the lifetime of an investment. If you invest in two mutual funds, they may overlap in investments, yielding a less-diversified portfolio than you really think. In other words, if both funds hold Microsoft and Microsoft tanks, you get hit twice. Although you’re paying an expert to manage your money, they rarely beat the market—the mutual fund industry’s dirty secret!\n\nMuch more clear info in the link below :)
673311
Getting an education is a great investment in yourself, and being cautious with your investments is wise, but don't ever let anyone tell you that low income families shouldn't invest in the same types of opportunities that anyone else could.\n\nPeople with very low incomes have made themselves into millionaires by a combination of responsible spending and thoughtful investing.\n\nThe best place to start with small balances is mutual funds.  As long as you stick with mainstream funds, you should be fairly safe.  Don't expect a straight upward line, but over time, on average, you should expect the long-term results to be strong over the long run.\n\nMeanwhile, as you build up your portfolio, you can be reading and learning more about investing for the future. By the time you outgrow mutual funds, perhaps you will know more about the different stock market decisions you will need to make.  Perhaps hiring a financial advisor would be wise at this point, or perhaps you can go on your own with your newly acquired knowledge.  \n\nConsider books by Peter Lynch, Jeremy Siegel, and Benjamin Graham as some of the best sources.  \n\nBest of luck to you.
131183
truth is their are no tricks.  Do as much research as you can look at the funds history and REMEMBER to DIVERIFY. IF you spread your risk around you will never had to worry about losing your shirt.  bobbrinker.com has alot of good resources.  Also bankrate.com
43974
http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/research_strategies/mutual_funds?cmsid=P-980434&lvl1=research_strategies&lvl2=mutual_funds\n\nIf this is too specific just go to http://www.schwab.com, click on Research then click on 'Mutual Funds'.
871106
If you are starting out and you dont know anything about stocks it is better to invest in a no load mutual fund, such as Vanguard Equity Income fund. You willneed $3,000 to open yor account and you can add $100 any time. If you buy stocks it will cost you commissions and if you dont have at least $50,000 to start you cant diversify.But stick with large cap stocks . The blue chips. A  mutual fund is your best bet. I am an investor for 40yrs.
1185175
YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING !!!   No one should have more than 5 % of their total investments in any one stock.   If you purchased it at $ .50 (total investment = $ 5,000 ), wait til it hits $ 1.00 and then sell off half.  You now have all of your investment back and no matter what happens,  you are safe.  If it goes to $2.00,  sell off another half.    Then just sit back and hope that it goes to $ 10 and splits.  In a few years, you could have 10,000 shares worth $ 100,000 but, in the meantime, you have had no sleepless nights worrying about it.
139363
Very little. You can start with as little as $10 at www.betterinvesting.org\n\nYou can go directly to a company's "Investor Relations" area and see if they have a direct investment option.\n\nYou can also check out this company that can get you started for $4 plus a commission plus the cost of the stock. www.sharebuilder.com