mutualfunds.about.comMutual Funds

The Balance Search Search Please fill out this field. Search Search Please fill out this field. Budgeting Budgeting Budgeting Calculator Financial Planning Managing Your Debt Best Budgeting Apps View All Investing Investing Find an Advisor Stocks Retirement Planning Cryptocurrency Best Online Stock Brokers Best Investment Apps View All Mortgages Mortgages Homeowner Guide First-Time Homebuyers Home Financing Managing Your Loan Mortgage Refinancing Using Your Home Equity View All Economics Economics US Economy Economic Terms Unemployment Fiscal Policy Monetary Policy View All Banking Banking Banking Basics Compound Interest Calculator Best Savings Account Interest Rates of May 2024 Best CD Rates of May 2024 Best Banks for Checking Accounts Best Personal Loans of 2024 Best Auto Loan Rates View All Small Business Small Business Entrepreneurship Business Banking Business Financing Business Taxes Business Tools Becoming an Owner Operations & Success View All Career Planning Career Planning Finding a Job Getting a Raise Work Benefits Top Jobs Cover Letters Resumes View All More More Credit Cards Insurance Taxes Credit Reports & Scores Loans Personal Stories The Balance Financial Review Board Diversity & Inclusion Pledge View All Follow Us Budgeting Budgeting Calculator Financial Planning Managing Your Debt Best Budgeting Apps Investing Find an Advisor Stocks Retirement Planning Cryptocurrency Best Online Stock Brokers Best Investment Apps Mortgages Homeowner Guide First-Time Homebuyers Home Financing Managing Your Loan Mortgage Refinancing Using Your Home Equity Economics US Economy Economic Terms Unemployment Fiscal Policy Monetary Policy Banking Banking Basics Compound Interest Calculator Best Savings Account Interest Rates of May 2024 Best CD Rates of May 2024 Best Banks for Checking Accounts Best Personal Loans of 2024 Best Auto Loan Rates Small Business Entrepreneurship Business Banking Business Financing Business Taxes Business Tools Becoming an Owner Operations & Success Career Planning Finding a Job Getting a Raise Work Benefits Top Jobs Cover Letters Resumes More Credit Cards Insurance Taxes Credit Reports & Scores Loans Financial Terms DictionaryThe Balance Financial Review Board Diversity & Inclusion Pledge Investing Assets & Markets Mutual funds are a great way to invest in a variety of securities instead of buying individual stocks or bonds. Learn how to pick the best funds for your portfolio. Stocks Annuities Bonds Commodities Options Investing in Real Estate Exchange-Traded Funds See All Your Guide to Investing in and How They Work Best to Buy in 2022 Top Tips for Picking a Winning Mutual Fund vs. Stocks: Risks and Returns of Each Top 9 Things to Know About Mutual Fund Taxation Frequently Asked Questions How do I invest in a mutual fund? Before investing, consider how much money you have to invest and how much risk you are willing to take. Based on that select a fund that aligns with your investment strategy. Once you’ve chosen the fund, you can purchase shares in it through your brokerage account or directly open an account with the fund company. You can also invest in mutual funds through your IRA or 401(k) plan. Learn More How to Invest in a Mutual Fund Which mutual fund should I invest in? There are different types of mutual funds and once you narrow the type that fits in with your investment goals, compare different funds in that category using a fund screener. Evaluate funds based on their historical performance and how they have performed compared to their benchmark index. Consider funds with low expenses or no loads. Avoid funds with a high turnover ratio. Learn More Which Mutual Fund to Invest In? What is a no load fund? A no load fund does not charge sales load. Sales load may be charged upon purchase of fund shares (front-end load) or upon the sale of fund shares (back-end loads). Like commissions, loads are paid to the broker for selling the fund (or advising an investor to buy the fund). You can buy no load funds directly from the fund company or through an advisor. No load funds may still charge other fees. Learn More What Is a No Load Fund? What is a mutual fund expense ratio? Expense ratio is one of the fees charged by mutual funds and it captures a mutual fund’s operational costs. This cost is passed on to the investors as the expense ratio is deducted from the fund’s total assets each year. Expense ratio impacts your return on investment as a higher expense ratio means lower returns. You can easily find a fund’s expense ratio on its website. Learn More What Is a Mutual Fund Expense Ratio? What is a good expense ratio for a mutual fund? For most mutual funds, expense ratios tend to range from 0.25% to up to 1.5% but rarely significantly higher than that. Unless you have specific reasons to invest in a particular mutual fund, it’s generally a good idea to stick with lower expense ratios. Actively managed funds have higher expense ratios than passive funds. Learn More What Is a Good Expense Ratio For a Mutual Fund? What is the difference between a mutual fund and an ETF? While mutual funds and ETFs both use pooled investor funds, there are very different. ETFs trade on exchanges like stocks and trades occur at the market price. Shares of mutual funds are traded based on their net asset value calculated only once a day. Mutual funds can be actively or passively managed. ETFs are typically passively managed leading to lower expenses compared to mutual funds. Learn More What’s the Difference Between a Mutual Fund and an ETF? Key Terms Index Fund Mutual Fund Holdings Mutual Fund Sales Load Mutual Fund Equity Fund Dividend Closed-End Fund Mutual Fund Class B Shares Mutual Fund R-Squared Mutual Fund Beta Mutual Fund Capital Gains Distributions Mutual Fund Total Assets Under Management Index Fund An index fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that seeks to track the return of a particular market index. It does so by investing in all or a portion of the securities in that index. Learn More Mutual Fund Holdings Mutual fund holdings are the various stocks, bonds, and other securities held within a fund. When you buy shares in a mutual fund, your shares are allocated proportionally to the various securities held by the fund. Learn More Mutual Fund Sales Load Mutual fund sales loads are a commission collected by stockbrokers or mutual fund companies when they sell shares of mutual funds to investors. Learn More Mutual Fund A mutual fund is an investment vehicle that aggregates money from many individuals and invests it in stocks, bonds, and other securities. Learn More Equity Fund An equity fund is a special type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests in common stocks, or equities, rather than bonds. Learn More Dividend Dividend mutual funds are mutual funds that invest in stocks that pay dividends. If you invest in these funds, you can reinvest the dividends into more shares. Or, you can use the money as an income stream. Learn More Closed-End Fund A closed-end fund is a type of investment vehicle that is similar to a mutual fund. The key difference between a closed-end fund and an open-end fund like a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF)—and what gives a closed-end fund its name—is that a closed-end fund is created with a fixed number of shares that investors trade on the open market rather than redeeming them with the fund company. Learn More Mutual Fund Class B Shares Mutual fund Class B shares may be one class of shares that investors can purchase when investing in a mutual fund. They do not have a front-end sales charge (like many Class A shares do), but they often have a sales charge when shares are sold. This is why Class B shares are also known as back-loaded shares. Learn More Mutual Fund R-Squared R-squared in mutual funds is a statistical tool that investors use to compare a fund to a given benchmark. A higher R-squared value means the fund moves with the benchmark. Watching...