Which is the best mutual fund for me to invest in? I have about a thousand dollars.?
824382
I believe most mutual funds require $2500 initial investment, so you may be limited in your choice.  I would get a copy of Money  magazine and look at their listings of mutual funds to see which ones allow you to start with $1000.  \nThere will be statistics on all of the funds showing you which ones are doing the best for 1,5, and 10 year periods.\nIf it is for long term investment, I would recommend an S&P 500 index fund like Vanguard index 500, or a growth and income fund.  If you want to gamble  a little for higher returns, you \ncould try an aggressive growth fund.  A good friend of mine has done well with CGM focus fund.\nLook for no-load funds, and ones with the smallest maintainance fees.  These fees don't sound too important but over many years of compounding they are very important.\nPaying a load up front has never been shown to increase your returns on the average (contrary to what some brokers will try to tell you), so don't.\nAnd if you are young, stay away from bond funds; stock funds are much better.  Some of the better companies are Strong, Janus , Fidelity and Vanguard.\nGood luck!
348676
Hello,\nWelcome to the investment world.\nSince you do not have a prior experiance of investment then forget about managing your own portfolio. Choose to invest in any mutual funds.  One thing you have to keep in mind is the higher the return on the fund, the riskier it is. so whats your risk level?\nSome mutual fund are made for capital gain and some for dividends(income)... so which one do you prefere?\n\nYou might want a fund that is focused on hot secters like: oil, gas, biotech, hightech... the future is looking good for these sectors. \nI have put my money with Fidelity, TD waterhouse(canada).. in a very risky aggressive funds and they showed handsome returns...\n\nhope this will help..!\nSpecialist$$$
261930
This question has different answers for different people.  It will depend on your risk tolerance and time horizon.  If you have a short time horizon and low risk tolerance then a money market fund would be the answer.  If you have a long time horizon and low risk tolerance then a bond fund may be the answer.  And if you have a long time horizon and a high risk tolerance, then a stock fund would probably be the best choice.  Keep in mind that proper diversification is always best.
450413
First I recommend, be patient.  No need to make any quick decision(s).  Keep an open mind, and listen to suggestions.  Think for yourself then, and you will make the appropriate decision.  Look at your circumstances.  If it is a windfall, and not needed right now, take $10000 of it and find a no-load mutual fund as an investment.  Then leave it alone and your investment ought to double about every 7 years.  That is what us "little" people do.  A no-load fund means, no fees to buy and no charges when you sell later on.  Hold the remaining $5000 and think some more.
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.
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.
722674
Your best bet is a no load mutual fund. But you need to be a little selective. I have run a yahoo screen of candidate mutual funds for you to consider. \n\nThe best results come with having a quarterly, some say monthly, investment plan--say add $100 to $200 quarterly. That way you average out the market swings buying less stock when the market is up and more when the market is down. \n\nNote: mutual funds have a year end distribution of realized gains. It is best to purchase right after the distribution because the price reflects the amount distributed.
1018690
Magnum is a little bit risky with the contrarian style. I might lean towards Reliance, or HDFC out of the ones that you have named. Best in general is hard to define. The best fund for you will be the one that best matches your risk tolerance and your time frame for investing.\n\n\nHDFC:\nWITH absolute returns of around 90 per cent over the past year, the HDFC Prudence Fund remains the top choice among the balanced funds available to the investor. \n\nIts performance in 2003 reinforces the case for investing in a fund based on its track record across two or three market cycles. The NAV of the fund's Growth Plan has quadrupled since the end of 1998, and now stands at Rs 45.71 . \n\nSuitability: Investors with an appetite for risk, who are looking to build equity exposures now, should consider routing their exposures through the HDFC Prudence Fund. Given the sharp run-up in equity market levels, any investment made now in an equity-oriented fund, is likely to carry a big dose of downside risk. \n\nBut as a balanced fund with a near-40 per cent exposure to debt or debt equivalents, the HDFC Prudence Fund may provide better downside protection than a pure equity fund, while allowing you to participate in any further appreciation in equity values. \n\nPerformance: With a 90 per cent return over the past one year, the fund outperformed the Crisil Balanced Fund Index, its benchmark, by a wide margin. Though only 60-65 per cent of the fund's assets are invested in equities, the fund has managed to outpace a good number of pure equity funds, both over the past one year and over a five-year time-frame. \n\nHDFC Prudence Fund adopts a flexible asset allocation pattern; both its equity and debt exposures can swing between 40 and 60 per cent of its assets. But in practice, the fund has tended to stick with a particular asset allocation pattern for two to three years, based on its view of the equity and debt markets. \n\nFor the past couple of years, the fund has been allocating 60-65 per cent of its portfolio to equities and the rest to debt and money market instruments. In 2003, the fund appears to have periodically rebalanced its equity portfolio to keep equity in the 60-65 per cent range. \n\nBetween June and December 2003, despite the sharp appreciation in equity values and in the NAV, the equity exposure has actually fallen from 62.2 per cent to 60.6 per cent. \n\n\n\nReliance Vision:\nAn Indian fund, Reliance Vision, was the second best performing fund globally in the April-June quarter, according to Lipper Asia Ltd, which tracks approximately 80,000 funds worldwide. \n\nThe fund operated by Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd gained 34.86 per cent last quarter, second only to Aberdeen Select Indonesian Equity Fund, managed by Aberdeen Asset Management Asia Ltd, which rose 34.95 per cent. \n\nMagnum Contra:\n\nA normal diversified equity fund is one that invests in the stocks of various companies in different sectors. Magnum Contra does the same thing.\n\nHowever, as the name suggests, it will follow a contrarian view to investing and takes contrarian bets on stocks. This means the fund manager will deliberately bypass the popular stocks that everyone else is chasing. Instead, s/he will pick stocks that have the potential to appreciate (rise in price over time) but are undervalued and out of favour with other investors.\n\nThe fund manager will focus on stocks that have strong fundamentals but are trading at a significant discount to their intrinsic value. In layman's terms, this refers to a stock whose share price is, say, Rs 15 right now but has the potential to be Rs 100 over a period of time. Yet, it does not feature in the 'favourite list' of other stock pickers. \n\nIn other words, the fund managers of such funds will invest in companies that are out of fashion, yet sound. These will be stocks that are strong on fundamentals, but whose value is not yet recognised by the market. To put it very simply, it is
221386
Fidelity Diversified International Fund.\n\nI've been doing VERY well with it.  The fast growth is going to be found overseas for the next 10 years or so, so put some money to work outside the US.  Keep yourself diversified, but if you're not overseas, this is a good choice.  [note, if you do lose money, I'm sorry but I will too]
1119494
Just starting out, a mutul fund is a good approach. Some you can buy from brokers like Fidelity or TD Ameritrade.  Others you need to buy directly from the mutual fund company.  There are some good funds but most are not so you must do your research.  To begin with search for funds that have a good long term record and are invested mostly in stocks.  Windsor fund is one offered by Vanguard although its record over the last 5 years has not been too good.  The best performing funds over the last 5 years have been gold funds, oil funds, and foreign market funds.  Your guess is as good as mine as to whether that will continue but China looks rather more enticing than the U S for sure.
36461
Hi well you can try mutual funds. Especially if you dont have the time to track them and do the research.\n\nGood Luck\n\nPedro
1116570
Look, before you do anything foolish with the money, get yourself an education in investing. You're going to have no idea if the advice people give you is any good unless you understand how money works. Personally, I recommend "The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need" by Andrew Tobias. It's an easy read and it will give you a firm foundation so that whenever you're presented with a financial choice or recommendation, you'll make an informed decision. No one's ever going to care as much about your money as you are, so you'd better learn how to handle it and make it grow. Good luck.\n\nOh, and have a look at Vanguard, T Rowe Price and Fidelity for your mutual funds.  Each of them has a large variety of funds which will fit your age and risk tolerance.\n\nAlso come over to getrichslowly.org .  A bunch of us money geeks congregate there to discuss everything from saving to investing.  Feel free to wander around and ask questions.  No get rich quick schemes there.  Just diligent and disciplined saving and investing.
369295
Morningstar should have most anything you want to know about mutual funds: http://www.morningstar.com/Cover/Funds.html\n\nHowever, there's a good reason why they say for mutual funds that past performance doesn't mean much for future returns.  Often times, the biggest gainers in the 1 year category just took huge risks or got lucky, so use some good judgment and try to do some research before investing, rather than just picking the last hot mutual fund, which is a good way to get underperformance.
808200
You already have several answers suggestion a Roth IRA.  That is an excellent choice, but only if you will not be needing the money until 59 1/2.  It is a retirement account.  There are some exceptions.   You should place some of the 10k where you can get to it in an emergency, maybe 3k.  It is always a good idea to have some cash available.  ING has internet savings accounts that pay 5% with direct transfer to your checking account.  \n\nYou are young so you can afford to be a little aggressive with your money in the hopes that it will yield a very good return over the long term.  Assuming that you would invest 7k,  separate it into 3 about equal piles and invest 1 part in small cap stocks.  Royce Funds has a great selection of them and a terrific track record yielding  about 13% annually over the long term.  1 part in a value stock fund.  There is a decent index fund that is a value fund--EFV.  It has done extremely well so far with a 30% annual return.  But do not expect that to continue.  10 to 12% would be an excellent return.   The last part in a growth stock index fund or mutual fund.  FXI would fall into that category.  It is a China index fund.  Up about 38%  this year.
290600
Dude, you need to check out what is called an indexed mutual fund. The way it works is the company guarantees your full invested capital; so you can't lose that. The money that they make is added to the value of your fund, but you have to lock it in for a minimum amount of time; can be as long as ten years. This is a good place to start out. If your feeling more daring invest in silver or mining companies like Pan American Silver trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PAA. This baby is on rails right now, you can check them out on their web site and research their history. Hey your the blunt guy aren't you? Well good luck towards your first million and keep living the American dream.
1087020
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.
342742
To best grow your money you first need to establish the amount of risk your willing to take. Low risk, get into bonds or money market accounts and expect about 5-6% annually. Mutual funds will offer the full range from 5-20% on average, but the more gain means the more lost. For the most aggressive risk (and therefore gain) play in individual stocks, options or on forex (foreign exchange currency market).\n\nThe most important thing is to spread your money around, don't lump all your capital into one or two stocks, because your setting yourself up to take major losses. Educate yourself before jumping into anything. Investopedia.com is a good resource for that - just remember that they are supported by various brokers and agencies, so take recommendations lightly. They do, however, provide good solid information on the basics.