A mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests the money in stocks, bonds, short-term money-market instruments, other securities or assets, or some combination of these investments. The combined holdings the mutual fund owns are known as its portfolio. Each share represents an investor’s proportionate ownership of the fund’s holdings and the income those holdings generate.
1. What is the fund’s goal?
The fund’s goal should match your own. If your goals change over time, you may need to reevaluate your investments. If you invest primarily for growth, your goal is to increase the value of your investment over the long term. If you invest primarily for income, your goal is to receive a regular flow of earnings from your investment. If you invest primarily for stability, your goal is to protect your investment from loss. No investment can maximize all three goals simultaneously. Some funds emphasize one goal; others try to assign priorities among goals; still others try to strike a balance among different goals.
2. What is the fund’s investment strategy?
The prospectus describes the range of securities the fund may purchase, how it selects them, the types of securities it emphasizes, and investment practices the fund may use. The fund’s investment strategy relates to its, and your goals.
3. What are the fund’s fees and expenses?
All funds must fully disclose their fees and expenses in a table at the front of the prospectus. To make it easy to understand and compare to different funds, all fee tables must follow a standardized format. You must decide if the cost of owning a particular fund is acceptable to you.
4. How are the fund’s distributions made and taxed?
Fund distributions—your earnings—include dividends earned on the investments the fund holds, and any capital gains made when the fund sells investments for more than it paid for them. Funds must make distributions at least once each year. Many shareholders elect to have their distributions reinvested in the purchase of additional shares of the fund, rather than taking them out as cash. It may also be important to you to determine when distributions are made and how they’re taxed. You will be taxed on all taxable distributions, whether you take them as cash or reinvest them in additional shares. Of course, if you sell your fund shares, you may realize a gain or loss which is subject to taxation.
5. How can you buy fund shares?
Some mutual funds offer their shares through investment professionals who provide investment advice, such as brokers, bank representatives, and financial planners. Other funds offer shares directly to investors through the mail, by telephone, over the Internet, or at their own retail offices. Funds may also be offered through employer retirement plans. No matter how or where you invest, mutual funds, unlike bank deposits, are not insured or guaranteed by the federal government.
6. How can you sell fund shares?
By law, the fund must stand ready to buy back your shares on any business day. Depending on their value at the time you redeem, you may receive more or less than you paid for them. Redemptions may be made by contacting the fund company directly or through your investment professional
