What is Mutual Fund? How many types are there?
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Mutual fund schemes may be classified on the basis of its structure and its investment objective. \n\nBy Structure: \n\nOpen-ended Funds An open-end fund is one that is available for subscription all through the year. These do not have a fixed maturity. Investors can conveniently buy and sell units at Net Asset Value ("NAV") related prices. The key feature of open-end schemes is liquidity.\n\nClosed-ended Funds A closed-end fund has a stipulated maturity period which generally ranging from 3 to 15 years. The fund is open for subscription only during a specified period. Investors can invest in the scheme at the time of the initial public issue and thereafter they can buy or sell the units of the scheme on the stock exchanges where they are listed. In order to provide an exit route to the investors, some close-ended funds give an option of selling back the units to the Mutual Fund through periodic repurchase at NAV related prices. SEBI Regulations stipulate that at least one of the two exit routes is provided to the investor.\n\nInterval Funds Interval funds combine the features of open-ended and close-ended schemes. They are open for sale or redemption during pre-determined intervals at NAV related prices.\n\nBy Investment Objective:\n\nGrowth Funds The aim of growth funds is to provide capital appreciation over the medium to long- term. Such schemes normally invest a majority of their corpus in equities. It has been proven that returns from stocks, have outperformed most other kind of investments held over the long term. Growth schemes are ideal for investors having a long-term outlook seeking growth over a period of time.\n\nIncome Funds The aim of income funds is to provide regular and steady income to investors. Such schemes generally invest in fixed income securities such as bonds, corporate debentures and Government securities. Income Funds are ideal for capital stability and regular income.\n\nBalanced Funds The aim of balanced funds is to provide both growth and regular income. Such schemes periodically distribute a part of their earning and invest both in equities and fixed income securities in the proportion indicated in their offer documents. In a rising stock market, the NAV of these schemes may not normally keep pace, or fall equally when the market falls. These are ideal for investors looking for a combination of income and moderate growth.\n\nMoney Market Funds The aim of money market funds is to provide easy liquidity, preservation of capital and moderate income. These schemes generally invest in safer short-term instruments such as treasury bills, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and inter-bank call money. Returns on these schemes may fluctuate depending upon the interest rates prevailing in the market. These are ideal for Corporate and individual investors as a means to park their surplus funds for short periods.\n\nLoad Funds A Load Fund is one that charges a commission for entry or exit. That is, each time you buy or sell units in the fund, a commission will be payable. Typically entry and exit loads range from 1% to 2%. It could be worth paying the load, if the fund has a good performance history.\n\nNo-Load Funds A No-Load Fund is one that does not charge a commission for entry or exit. That is, no commission is payable on purchase or sale of units in the fund. The advantage of a no load fund is that the entire corpus is put to work.\n\nOther Schemes: \n\nTax Saving Schemes These schemes offer tax rebates to the investors under specific provisions of the Indian Income Tax laws as the Government offers tax incentives for investment in specified avenues. Investments made in Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) and Pension Schemes are allowed as deduction u/s 88 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Act also provides opportunities to investors to save capital gains u/s 54EA and 54EB by investing in Mutual Funds, provided the capital asset has been sold prior to April 1, 2000 and the amount is in
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In Share market you are directly buying shares (stocks) of a particular company and you become the stock holder.\n\nIn Mutual Funds you are giving the money to a fund company and they are investing on your behalf. In this case you are not issued any share but you are issued units which you can track through the Fund Company's NAV. Secondly mutual fund companies invest in different companies and are not just limited to one single comapny so the risk amount is quite less.
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The answer is exchange traded funds. Click the first link below to see these funds.\n\nFor trading strategies using various types of funds, click the second link.
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Diversified stocks is the fastest, but the most risky.  Most people try a mix of stocks and bonds.  The more risk you are willing to take the more stocks.  Buying mutual funds is usually best.  I like vanguard.com and fool.com for advice.  Fool.com is somewhat tongue-in-cheek
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The best way to evaluate a mutual fund is through the Sharpe and Treynor ratios.  The higher the numbers the better.  When you come across a fund go to yahoo finance and in the risk section on the left you'll find 3,5,and 10 year sharpe and treynor ratios.  An example of a mutual fund with a high sharpe and treynor ratio is PRLAX or TREMX.  These are emerging market mutual funds and are therefore a bit agressive but the sharpe and treynor take into account not just performance but risk as well.  To get more info on the share and treynor just type them into yahoo search with the word defintion. Do one a time of course.\n\nI hope that helps.
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3 years or less I would have to say a CD or ING Direct.  That is not enough time for a mutual fund.
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I personally believe in mutual funds as I have no idea about stock markets. To make good money, invest systematically in well managed diversified equity growth funds. Usually set target for your retirement or kids college tution. I bumped into this blog directly related to India. http://www.dalalstreet.biz/2006/06/sip-art-of-investing-in.html\n\nMaybe this will help.
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I don't know of any ETFs. I looked through at some newspaper stocks to see which mutual fund held them, and the only fund that I saw was Fidelity Select Multimedia.\n\nThey list Gannett, EW Scripps, New Corp, and Washington Post among their top 20 holdings, however they also have internet holdings as well. The November 2005 portfolio (see link below) shows that over 17% of the fund was invested in Yahoo! and Google.\n\nNot sure what your investment goals are, but I would not invest in this fund.
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1) ETFs are essentially "static" as to buying and selling costs, whereas mutual funds are constantly turning over shares.\n2)  ETFs and foreign stocks:  Since ETFs are relatively static, the "set-up" commissions paid are one-shot costs
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Don't buy mutual funds for the long run. They're not good investments. The problem is the fees that are involved. A mutual fund is a pool of money from a number of investors which is then invested and managed by a fund manager and usually his/her employees. This inherently means you get lower returns than if you bought stocks.\n\nThe reason is, the fund manager and employees all have to get paid, which cuts into your earnings. This makes them less attractive, so they often pay advisers to recommend them. This further cuts into your earnings. As a result, stocks are a much smarter option. The IRA isn't a bad idea, and there are different kinds of IRAs you can invest in.
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ADVANTAGES\n\nWhat are the key advantages of mutual fund investing?\n\nDiversification\n\nUsing mutual funds can help an investor diversify their portfolio with a minimum investment.  When investing in a single fund, an investor  is actually investing in numerous securities.  Spreading your investment across a range of securities can help to reduce risk.  A stock mutual fund, for example, invests in many stocks - hundreds or even thousands.  This minimizes the risk attributed to a concentrated position.  If a few securities in the mutual fund lose value or become worthless, the loss maybe offset by other securities that appreciate in value.  Further diversification can be achieved by investing in multiple funds which invest in different sectors or categories.  This helps to reduce the risk associated with a specific industry or category.  Diversification may help to reduce risk but will never completely eliminate it.  It is possible to lose all or part of your investment.\n\n Professional Management:\n\nMutual funds are managed and supervised by investment professionals.  As per the stated objectives set forth in the prospectus, along with prevailing market conditions and other factors, the mutual fund manager will decide when to buy or sell securities.  This eliminates the investor of the difficult task of trying to time the market.  Furthermore, mutual funds can eliminate the cost an investor would incur when proper due diligence is given to researching securities.  This cost of managing numerous securities is dispersed among all the investors according to the amount of shares they own with a fraction of each dollar invested used to cover the expenses of the fund.  What does this mean?  Fund managers have more money to research more securities more in depth than the average investor.  \n\nConvenience:\n\nWith most mutual funds, buying and selling shares, changing distribution options, and obtaining information can be accomplished conveniently by telephone, by mail, or online.\n\nAlthough a fund's shareholder is relieved of the day-to-day tasks involved in researching, buying, and selling securities, an investor will still need to evaluate a mutual fund based on investment goals and risk tolerance before making a purchase decision.  Investors should always read the prospectus carefully before investing in any mutual fund.\n\nLiquidity:\n\nMutual fund shares are liquid and orders to buy or sell are placed during market hours.  However, orders are not executed until the close of business when the NAV (Net Average Value) of the fund can be determined.  Fees or commissions may or may not be applicable.  Fees and commissions are determined by the specific fund and the institution that executes the order.\n\nMinimum Initial Investment:\n\nMost funds have a minimum initial purchase of $2,500 but some are as low as $1,000.  If you purchase a mutual fund in an IRA, the minimum initial purchase requirement tends to be lower.  You can buy some funds for as little as $50 per month if you agree to dollar-cost average, or invest a certain dollar amount each month or quarter.\n\n \n\nDISADVANTAGES \n\nRisks and Costs:\n\nChanging market conditions can create fluctuations in the value of a mutual fund investment.\n\nThere are fees and expenses associated with investing in mutual funds that do not usually occur when purchasing individual securities directly.\n\nAs with any type of investment, there are drawbacks associated with mutual funds. \n\nNo Guarantees.  The value of your mutual fund investment, unlike a bank deposit, could fall and be worth less than the principle initially invested. And, while a money market fund seeks a stable share price, its yield fluctuates, unlike a certificate of deposit. In addition, mutual funds are not insured or guaranteed by an agency of the U.S. government.  Bond funds, unlike purchasing a bond directly, will not re-pay the principle at a set point in time. \n\nThe Diversification "Penalty."
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Mutual Fund\nSome or most mutual funds do not allow you to enter or exit except after the close of the trading day. \n\nIn mutual funds, unless you give the orders, it is always "in" the market. Some are limited to how many times you may trade in and out.\n\nYou have no idea whom is managing your money, and have no guarantee from past performance.\n\nA mutual fund will rarely outperform, or match the performance of the S&P or Dow because of their fees.\n\n\nETF's\nIt will take you hours of searching to find a mutual fund cheaper than investing in ETF's. An ETF has no loads or fees except for the commission, like any stock. In general, ETF's are much cheaper to trade.\n\nAn ETF will exactly match the index it is tied to, minus commission cost, which is negligible.\n\nYou can short the market with an ETF (betting on the market going down), which you cannot do with a mutual fund.\n\nThere is no "short-selling rule" like there is with stocks.\n\nI can't imagine why anyone would pay someone you don't know to keep you in the market at all times, when you can do the same thing yourself a lot cheaper, and get out when the markets get risky, like at failures at old all-time highs, like now. \n\nThe best way to do anything yourself is to learn something about it first. You'd be surprised at the thousands of books available on this one subject at your local library.\n\nBut most people spend more time deciding the color of their new car, than they do on a mutual fund advisor, for example. \n\nAre you really wanting to do this yourself, or are you asking about someone who is an expert who can do it for you?\n\nIf you invest in the stock market right now, or just buy into all the ETF's you can afford, it's a crap shoot, like rolling the dice, and the odds are probably not in your favor, whether you have an expert fund manager or not, because mutual funds are always "in" the market.\n\nThey say "Buy and Hold" for the long term is better, but that depends on when you get in, and what your definiton of "long term" is. The phrase "Buy low and sell high" infers that you buy after a decline; decidedly not the case here.\n\nThe Dow has approached all-time highs last seen in Jan 2000 and failed, so if your long-term definition is more than seven years, then you won't mind waiting another seven years for a profit.\n\nIn my opinion, the name of the game is capital preservation. When the risks are high, like right now, you get out of the stock and bond markets and park your cash in a interest bearing money market fund or CD or Treasury Bill.\n\nThis is simply not a good entry point for investors. Be patient, wait a few months, and you'll be able to buy much more stock a lot cheaper, the risks will be lower (even though they will seem higher), and your chance of success greater.\n\nIf you wish to research the “Buy and Hold Strategy” further, or perhaps trade yourself, I recommend two book titles. One is called "Which Is Better, Buy-and-Hold or Market Timing?" The other is "Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Market Timer?" They will give you plenty to think about.
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Unlikely that kind of growth in mutual funds.  They are for safe, slower growth investing.  You would need something volitile, like oil stock to make that much money that quickly, and you stand to lose money that way.
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There are a number of mutual funds in India... The list is enless.. cant be written here... Regarding wothdrawl, you can do it whenever u want but most of the mutual funds keep some exit load if you withdraw before certain time. (Normally 6 months).. There is another class of Mutual Funds called ELSS which have a lockin of 3 years i.e u cant withdraw before three years.. But from the next financial onwards, they will become close-ended. \n\nThere are lot sites that can list all the mutual funds and their technical analysis. My favourites are:\nwww.moneycontrol.com\nwww.valueresearchonline.com\nwww.sharekhan.com\nwww.icicidirect.com\n\n\n..the list is endless..\nStart exploring with these sites, you will get a great deal of knowledge...
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Net Asset value. In other words, the total value of all the holdings of the mutual fund (stock, bonds, cash, etc) divided by the number of shares.\n\nThat is the cost one share of the fund.
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Here is what I suggest. Go to Yahoo mutual fund screen. And imput the parameters of the type of fund you wish to consider and see what pops up. \n\nHere is the link.\n\nThe second link is one of the screens I ran. It shows funds that are no load, with low initial investment that are ranked at least 4 star by Morningstar and are in the top 30% for one year performance.
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A mutual fund is your best bet.  Remember that "quick" money means risky when it comes to investing.  Better to go slow and not lose your money.