How to get mastered in Mutual Funds.  And What is the key to success in mutual Funds?
455951
Here are some websites that will give you a knowledge of how to invest in mutual funds.
349626
However much money you want to put into it.  A lot of times it depends on which company (Edward Jones, Vanguard, Fidelity, etc. etc.) you want to start it with and if you already have accounts w/these companies or not.  If you get a mutual fund through a company and you have a full-service one, then you will have to pay fees/commissions but its not much (like 5%) and its TOTALLY worth it b/c then you don't have to worry about, manage it, or diversify it.  And once you have the mutual fund, it will always grow unless there is a recession in the economy or a big stock market decrease.
820673
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.
498699
Start out by buying a standard stock mutual fund, so your money can grow while you're learning; and watch what they do.  Meanwhile, start reading about stocks.  Books like "Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham, "One Up on Wall Street" by Peter Lynch, and maybe something on the Warren Buffett style would be a good start.  Or visit websites like Smart Money or Motley Fool.  \n\nGood luck to you.
742738
mutual funds are pools of money, invested in varying amounts by a large number of people. the money is invested according to a specific objective. a professional fund manager runs the fund and sees to it that the investments are in accordance witht he stated objective of the fund. these types of investments have enabled small investors to purchase diversified portfolios with the use of professional managers.
737511
Mutual funds are not designed to appreciate in price quickly since they offer wide diversification (frequently hundreds of stocks).  It stands to reason that some of those stocks will rise, but others will decline.  Naturally you expect (or at least hope) that they will all rise, but the more stocks owned by the fund, the greater the chance that some will decline.  If you own one stock, and its price rises substantially within a short time, you will get rich quick.  With a mutual fund, this cannot happen.  The diversification in a mutual fund is designed to minimize risk.
436540
there are mutual funds with small initial investments. $500 for example. Some even less. That is a good way to start. I have included a link through Yahoo finance showing funds of that nature that are rated better than average by Moringstar. Yahoo sometimes does not provide correct information so you need to use this as a starting point and research a little furture. \n\nAnother way is to open an on line brokerage account and buy shares directly in good solid companies that have a good track record and pay dividend that have tended to increase over time, such as BAC, for example. But that is more risky without having at at least 5 and preferably 10 different stocks in your portfolio to reduce the risk of a piece of bad news causing disaster. You also have the option of buying exchange traded index funds. That is an inexpensive method to participate in general market trends. I personally do not like the idea, but a lot of people do.
539848
Be in control of your money...budget & discipline!When you learn to invest the proper way your money will work for you.Although,there are more riches in life other than trying to be as rich/richer than the next guy...
318964
For us little people, I find the best way to invest is with no-load mutual fund accounts.  That way there are no charges or fees either up front or when you eventually sell out.  Also professional managers take care of the investing and do much better than we could ever do.  Second, I find the best way is to make the investment LONG TERM, let it sit no matter and over time I have found my investments always do well.  May I suggest a conservative long time company:  Lord Abbett Affiliated Fund has been excellent for me.
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.
1132639
First, look in the phone book.  There will be many popular companies such as Edward Jones, Merril Lynch, Ameriprise, and also many that are local to your area.  You really should set up a consultation with many of them.  You want to get a feel of how they work and how they get paid.  Some get paid a percent of assets under management and some work for flat fees.  You truly want to completely trust whom you intend to control some of your money.   Basically, they will develop a financial plan for you, depending on your feelings toward risk.  They will offer you many other "products" such as life insurance, long-term care insurance on top of the mutual funds/investment products.  They should develop a financial plan that suits your needs.  Shop around for the best one for you and your family.  Good luck.
332949
These 2 sites are pretty good for learning. The beginner will do best investing in mutual funds.
317907
The 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. \n\nThe Dow is now approaching all-time highs last seen in Jan 2000, so if your long-term definition is more than seven years, then you won't mind waiting another seven years for a profit. There have been periods of over twenty years when the Dow went nowhere. This is not investing, but rather blind hope.\n\nFor most people, 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.
1171141
Invest in HDFC Prudence........]\nYou can get more infos at\nhttp://www.valueresearchonline.com\nhttp://www.moneycontrol.com/mutualfundindia/\nhttp://mutualfunds.moneycontrol.com/mf/bestpicks/index.php\n\nYou can select the fund depending uopn your preferences and risk taking ability.
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'.
795327
Hey!  You do not have to invest all your money with just one fund manager.  In fact, that would be somewhat imprudent.  If you like a Fidelity fund, buy some.  Be careful though.  Do not buy funds simillar to those that you already own.  There are plent of good funds available for you from plenty of different companies.  You might even consider a couple of closed end funds, traded like stocks.  Give some thought to TDF which invests in China and IIF which invests in India.  Spread your money around geographically.
535179
mutual funds ..as the name suggests is pool of funds contributed by large no. of individuals which is invested by financial experts in different fields to give a good retuen on the investment to the contributers. A company, trust, financial instituion as the case may be in a country invites funds from individuals and hires experts to invets the same into equity, debt, commodities and even real estate to generate profitable returns on them and investors thus gain from their investment as the profits made on investments are distributed among different contibuters to the fund in the ratio of their contribution. thus mutual funds help small investors to gain advantages of diversified portfolio and gain from specialised knowledge of experts who invest the money. to know more email me at siderminator@yahoo.co.in