Mutual-Funds Articles
Operating Mutual Funds How These Profit Exploding Money Makers Actually Work
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 703)
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Although investing in mutual funds isn't the type of subject associated with wild parties and celebrations - it is something the serious investor should consider as a way of increasing their total worth.
"But what EXACTLY is a mutual fund" I hear you ask - "how does it work, who does what and how much do they cost?"
Hang on, slow down - one question at a time please.
What exactly is a mutual fund?
Mutual funds are sold in shares to the public, allowing them to own different percentages of the fund depending on the amount they invest.
Pay more = own more. Own more = get more $$ back again (theoretically)
Simple.
Stocks, bonds, money market securities and the like are purchased through the assets of these mutual funds in the financial markets. Shareholders indirectly own the assets held in the mutual fund, but the fund is guided by the investment company that finds the best way to earn the biggest return. (Indirectly owning the assets through these funds allows them to avoid the big tax hit.)
How does a Mutual Fund work?
Usually, mutual funds are also known as open-ended investment companies. This means that they constantly issue new shares and redeem existing shares, but not all mutual funds are open however. Some mutual funds are 'locked' where they no longer will take on new investors.
The fund's Net Asset Value is the key concept to understanding how a mutual fund operates. By this value you can determine the value of a share of the fund at any time. The market value of the fund's assets less any liabilities, divided by the number of shares outstanding is the formula to understand Net Asset Value.
If you work through that it will show you exactly how much each share in the fund is worth when you are looking to invest in them. By comparing this number over time you can see the returns earned in a percentage. This is generally all done for you on a funds website or on any of the mutual fund sites that feature stats.
Who does what?
Mutual funds basically take your money, combine it with the money of other investors like you and then invest the total pool of money in investments with the best possible return. The returns from the fund are then split to the accounts that bought in by the amount of shares that each person owns. The fund managers then take their cut based on the fees that they charge you and you get your return. These guys are worth it for the money they make you, so why not let them drive the car for a while and let you get the glory?
Different investment plans are a staple of the field, allowing investors to do so on a regular amount weekly, monthly, or however else you want to set it up. Continuously invested accounts tend to get a higher yield on average, but if you don't have the ability to do that, you can still make money. Dollar cost averaging should be your goal; it is the strategy of the top investment experts in the country.
How much do they cost?
Different mutual funds have different types of fees involved with them as well. Some will charge you an up front percentage of your investment (front load).
Some will charge you a percentage of the investment when sold, this is a back end load. Then there are no-load funds which charge you nothing more than the annual operating fees. An individual should seek to only use the no load funds since it saves a lot of your money. There are really no advantages to using a loaded fund unless it offers some incredibly returns. But normally you can find the same returns by several different fund companies.
So hunt around, compare not only price but also service and past record to date. And remember - a mutual fund is still based on products themselves that can reduce in value as well as increase - so never invest more than you can afford to be without, just in case!!
Is It True That Regular Index Investing Performs Good Result With Low Risk
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 300)
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There are many mutual funds and ETF on the market. But only a few performs results as good as s&p 500 or better. Well known that s&p 500 performs good results in long terms. But how can we convert these good results into money? We can buy index fund shares.
Index Funds seek investment results that correspond with the total return of the some market index (for example s&p 500). Investing into index funds gives chance that the result of this investment will be close to result of the index.
As we see, we receive good result doing nothing. It's main advantages of investing into index funds.
This investment strategy works better for long term. It means that you have to invest your money into index funds for 5 years or longer. Most of people have no much money for big one time investment. But we can invest small amount of dollars every month.
We have tested performance for 5-years regular investment into three indexes (S&P500, S&P Mid Caps 400, S&P Small Caps 600). The result of testing shows that every month investing small amounts of dollar gives good results. Statistic shows that you will receive profit from 26% to 28.50% of initial investment into S&P 500 with 80% probability.
We must note that investing into indexes isn't risk-free investment. There are results with loosing in our testing. The poorest result is loosing about 33% of initial investment into S&P 500.
Diversification is the best way to reduce risk. Investing into 2-3 different indexes can reduce risk significantly. Best results are given by investing into indexes with different types of assets (bond index and share index) or different classes of assets (small caps, mid caps, big caps).
Retirement Planning Plan Your Retirement For Income Through Mutual Fund Investment
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 946)
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Most of the people I have met have not planned for their retirement as they say 'future is unpredictable and we need to live in present' but my dear friend's future is the outcome of present, our present will decide our future. When we think of retirement we generally think of old age, a period when you have to give up the job and sit at home doing nothing. Contrary to the fact, most of the retiree lives a very active life. We need to seriously consider out planning towards retirement because once we retiree our income stops coming but our expenses remain as it is and in some cases it rises with the rising inflation.
In this regard mutual fund has turned out to be the right answer for making retirement planning easier and safer. Mutual fund being managed by professionals is a key to effective retirement planning.
Some people like it. Some people don't but the fact is that retirement is a reality for every working person. Most young people today think cannot think of retirement as reality as they believe in 'living at present'. However, it is important to plan for your post-retirement life if you wish to retain your financial independence and maintain a comfortable standard of living even when you are no longer earning. This is extremely important, because, unlike developed nations, India does not have a social security net. In India people still depend upon bank savings and fixed deposits for retirement purpose, which is unfortunately inadequate.
Retirement Planning acquires added importance because of the fact that though longevity has increased the number of working years haven't, so you end up spending the last phase of your life without earning.
In simple words, retirement planning means making sure you will have enough money to live on after retiring from work. Retirement should be the best period of your life, when you can literally sit back and relax or enjoy your life by reaping benefits of what you earn in so many years of hard work. But it is easier said than done. To achieve a hassle-free retired life, you need to make prudent investment decisions during your working life, thus putting your hard-earned money to work for you in future.
With the special features of mutual funds like Systematic Investment Plan, Systematic withdrawal plan, systematic transfer plan in addition to other unique features of different funds, the investor can easily plan for its post retirement requirements and ways to achieve it.
Unlike many other countries of west, in India we do not have state-sponsored social security for the retired people. While you may be entitled to a pension or income during retirement, but will it be sufficient post retirement.
Although the compulsory savings in provident fund through both employee and employer contributions should offer some cushion, it may not be enough to support you throughout your retirement. That is why retirement planning is extremely important for every one. More over with mutual funds the investors can actually plan for themselves and also achieve their planned objectives. As compared to direct equities this option of mutual fund is much safer for planning your retirement corpus.
There are many reasons for the working individuals to secure their future emergence of separate families and its attendant insecurity, increasing uncertainties in personal and professional life, the growing trends of seeking early retirement and rising health risks are among few important risks. Besides falling interest rates, also the sustained increase in the cost of living make it a compelling case for individuals to plan their finances to fund their retired life.
Planning for retirement is as important as planning your career and marriage. We need to take conscious and careful decisions to prepare for our retirement. Life takes its own course and from the poorest to the wealthiest, every one gets older with time. We get older every day, without realizing. With our coming old age we tend to become more understanding to the facts of life and realize the importance and impact of retirement. The future depends to a great extent on the choices you make today. Right decisions with the help of proper planning, taken at the right time will assure smile and success at the time of retirement.
In my words, retirement planning means making sure you will have enough money to live on after leaving your work. Retirement should be that period of your life, when you can sit back and relax. Retirement should bring more of enjoyment in your life by reaping benefits of what you earn in so many years of hard work. But it is easier said than done. Most of the people live their worst life during retirement. To achieve a hassle-free retired life, you need to make right investment decisions during your working life, thus putting your hard-earned money to work for you in future. If you are not very aware of the investment that you need to undertake then you can easily take help of online advisers to help you with your retirement plan through mutual funds. The earlier you start the better it is for you.
Now retirement planning can be done with a single click and with the advice of a registered mutual fund advisor by Association of mutual funds in India (AMFI). Fill this retirement questionnaire to know your current financial situation and your investor profile which will help you plan for a worry-free retirement.
This is a no obligation free mutual fund advisory; investors can make informed mutual fund investment decisions with the expertise of our advisors.
Get The Mortgage Quote Your Bank Doesn T Want You Tosee
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 261)
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Deciding to consider refinancing of mortgage for home loan is a major determination. Next key issue involved is to find ways to get profitable quotes for mortgage from banks. A thorough research of prevailing market rates is essential to obtain competitive quote from mortgage firms. Being familiar with current trends enables one stand a better chance of bargaining for lower interest charges. Mortgage rates usually increase or decrease in accordance with securities in Wall Street. A careful overview of market trends helps one save considerably on interests.
Comparing different loan schemes from a particular mortgage vendor and also form different vendors would facilitate one to choose the most profitable scheme. Among major tools available in market for evaluating dissimilar loans programs is the Annual Percentage Rate (APR). Laws of the state make it mandatory to expressively disclose APR while marketing their mortgage rates. This is for the benefit of borrower and to prevent them from falling prey to lower advertised rates, and find out if there are any hidden fees and upfront costs involved later.
Personal meeting with lenders, bank officials' and mortgage professionals' help in getting a competitive interest quote for your loan. Being well prepared with entire documentary evidence in support of your financial situation before meeting the people at bank enhances chances of receiving lower interests. Presenting documents to support your favorable credit history would tempt bank managers to provide you with lucrative mortgage quotes. Papers essential to obtain fast and lucrative loans rates include:
Is An Index Mutual Fund The Best Choice For Long Term Investing
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 319)
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Do you believe that the world economy will grow? Do you believe that US economy will grow? I do. The major stock indexes are indicators of economy grow. You can make money use this opportunity buying index funds. Investing into index mutual funds is easy, interesting, and profitable. It takes 5 minutes every month! If you are long-term investor, index funds is for you!
It doesn't matter what index you choose. This index will grow due to economy sector grow rate. There are many indexes in the world. But how to get money from indexes grow?
There are many indexes mutual funds. Fund share price change accordance index performance. There are thousands of mutual funds have S&P 500 as a base of their portfolio. The differences from one fund to other are operating company and expenses. Choose fund with fell known operating company and smallest expenses.
Small expenses are very important. If fund have big expenses, the managers steal investors' money. Index fund manager don't buy expensive stock market researches, don't arrive at a difficult decision witch stock to buy. Index fund manager buy stock included into index only. It isn't expensive!
The best investment strategy for indexes mutual funds is to invest some dollar amount monthly. And be the long-term investor - invest for 10 years or more. Our computer modeling of this strategy shows that you will receive profit, if you invest on monthly base during 10 years. I can't give you guaranties that you will get profit but the probability of this is close to 100%.
And the last, if you can, diversify you portfolio. Divide you portfolio into three parts. Buy large capitalization company index fund (S&P 500, DJA), small capitalization index fund (S&P 600) and developed market index fund or international index fund. It makes you portfolio more profitable and more stable.
Going Global Through Mutual Funds
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 335)
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There are more than 13500 different publicly traded companies in the world today, and there are over 700 more companies expected to go public within a year. In addition, every major developed country offers investors various bonds to invest in. All of this makes for a lot of different investments and plenty of choice. Investors can take advantage of this choice through a good global balanced fund that invests in bonds and stocks or a global equity fund that invests in stocks all around the world.
A global equity fund invests in stock markets around the world. These funds will have a portion of their investments invested in North America. Europe, and Asia. Some of these funds will own hundreds of securities in order to participate in the growth prospects of many firms while diversifying the risk associated with investing in different companies. A good global equity fund will be a foundation for a well-diversified mutual fund portfolio for almost any investor. Investors could consider including the AGF International Value Fund, the BPI Global Equity Fund, or the Fidelity International Portfolio Fund in their portfolios.
A global balanced fund is a fund that invests in both stock and bond markets around the world. These funds will also always have a portion of their investments invested in stock and bond markets located in North America, Europe, and Asia. They are more conservative than global equity funds because they invest in a combination of stocks and bonds, which affect the fund's performance. Over the long term these funds will provide a lower rate of return for investors but they will also exhibit a lot less risk than a global equity fund. They exhibit less risk because bonds are less volatile than stocks; they do not decline in value to the same magnitude or at the same time as global equity funds. A conservative investor should find a good global balanced fund that will serve as a good foundation for a diversified portfolio.
Mutual Fund Expenses
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 530)
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An informed investor knows where his money is going. For an investor in mutual funds, it is essential to understand the expenses of mutual funds. These expenses directly influence the returns and cannot be neglected.
The expenses of mutual funds are met from the capital invested in them. The ratio of the expenses associated with the operation of the mutual fund to the total assets of the fund is known as the "expense ratio." It can vary from as low as 0.25% to 1.5%. In some actively managed funds it may be even 2%. The expense ratio is dependant on one more ratio - "the turnover ratio".
"The turnover rate" or the turnover ratio of a fund is the percentage of the fund's portfolio that changes annually. A fund that buys and sells stocks more frequently obviously has higher expenses and thus a higher expense ratio.
The mutual fund expenses have three components:
The Investment Advisory Fee or The Management Fee: This is the money that goes to pay the salaries of the fund managers and other employees of the mutual funds.
Administrative Costs: Administrative costs are the costs associated with the daily activities of the fund. These include stationery costs, costs of maintaining customer help lines and so on.
12b-1 Distribution Fee: The 12b-1 fee is the cost associated with the advertising, marketing and distribution of the mutual fund. This fee is just an additional cost which brings no actual benefit to the investor. It is advisable that an investor avoids funds with high 12b-1 fees.
The law in US puts a limit of 1% of assets as the limit for 12b-1 fees. Also not more than 0.25% of the assets can be paid to brokers as 12b-1 fees.
It is important for the investor to watch the expense ratio of the funds that he has invested in. The expense ratio indicates the amount of money that the fund withdraws from the funds assets every year to meet its expenses. More the expenses of the fund, lower will be the returns to the investor.
However it is also essential to keep the performance of the funds in mind too. A fund may have higher expense ratio, but a better performance can more than compensate higher expenses. For example, a fund having expense ratio 2% and giving 15% returns is better than a fund having 0.5% expense ratio and giving 5% return.
Investors should note: It is not sensible to compare returns of funds in different risk classes. Returns of different classes of funds are dependant on the risks that the fund takes to achieve those returns. An equity fund always carries a greater risk than a debt fund. Similarly an index fund that invests only in relatively stable and thus less risky index stocks, cannot be compared with a fund that invests in small companies whose stocks are volatile and carry greater risk.
Avoiding funds with high expense ratio is a good idea for the new investor. The past performance of a fund may or may not be repeated, but expenses usually do not vary much and will certainly reduce returns in future too.
Mutual Funds Protect Yourself With Segregated Funds
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 429)
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Segregated funds were initially developed by the insurance industry to compete against mutual funds. Today, many mutual fund companies are in partnership with insurance companies to offer segregated funds to investors. Segregated funds offer some unique benefits not available to mutual fund investors.
Segregated funds offer the following major benefits that are not offered by the traditional mutual fund.
1. Segregated funds offer a guarantee of principal upon maturity of the fund or upon the death of the investor. Thus, there is a 100 percent guarantee on the investment at maturity or death (this may differ for some funds), minus any withdrawals and management fees - even if the market value of the investment has declined. Most segregated funds have a maturity of 10 years after you initial investment.
2. Segregated funds offer creditor protection. If you go bankrupt, creditors cannot access your segregated fund.
3. Segregated funds avoid estate probate fees upon the death of the investor.
4. Segregated funds have a "freeze option" allowing investors to lock in investment gains and thereby increase their investment guarantee. This can be powerful strategy during volatile capital markets.
Segregated funds also offer the following less important benefits:
1. Segregated funds issue a T3 tax slip each year-end, which reports all gains or losses from purchases and redemptions that were made by the investor. This makes calculating your taxes very easy.
2. Segregated funds can serve as an "in trust account," which is useful if you wish to give money to minor children, but with some strings attached.
3. Segregated funds allocate their annual distributions on the basis of how long an investor has invested in the fund during the year, not on the basis of the number of units outstanding. With mutual funds, an investor can invest in November and immediately incur a large tax bill when a capital gain distribution is declared at year-end.
There has been a lot of marketing and publicity surrounding segregated funds and how much value should be placed on their guarantee of principle protection. In the entire mutual fund universe, there have been only three very aggressive and specialized funds that lost money during any 10-year period since 1980. Thus, the odds of losing money after ten years are extremely low. If you decide you need a guarantee, it can cost as much as 1/2 percent per year in additional fees.
However, with further market volatility these guarantees could be very worthwhile. In addition, most major mutual fund companies also offer segregated funds.
Retirement Income Planning Mutual Funds
(category: Mutual-Funds, Word count: 381)
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When willing to invest in mutual funds for Supplemental Retirement Income Planning, you have millions of alternatives. It is always important to analyze the plan, its limitations and the risks you will be running, and thus, it would be easier for you to narrow your alternatives. For this matter, it could be helpful to get in contact with a Retirement Income Planning financial professional.
Mutual funds are classified in three main categories that differ in regards to their risks, features and rewards. They are money market funds, bond funds, which also receive the name of "fixed income" and finally, stock funds, which are also called "equity funds". Let's take a deeper look at each one of them.
Money Market Funds can only invest in just some high-quality, short-term investment that be issued by the U.S. government, U.S. corporations and local governments. These funds attempt to keep the value of a share in a fund, called the net asset value (NAV) at a stable $1.00 a share. The returns for these funds have always been lower than the other two kinds of funds. Because of this, money market funds investors have to be aware about the "inflation risk". Although Bond Funds are a bit risky than money market ones, most of the time, risks can be controlled with greater certainty than stocks. In addition, due to the fact that there are many types of Bund Funds, their risks and rewards vary greatly. These risks may encompass credit risk, which refers to the possibility that issuers whose bonds are owned by the fund do not pay their debts; interest rate risk and prepayment risk, which is associated to the chance that a bond be "retired" early. Finally, there are differences between one stock fund and another. For instance, Growth Funds are focused on stocks that provide large capital gains, Income Funds invest in stocks that pay regular dividends, and Sector Funds are specialized in particular industry segments. In general, they present a medium-to-high level of risk.
Thus, people who are planning to invest in a fund that combines growth and income, which are definitely key factors, may find mutual funds an interesting balanced alternative choice for Supplemental Retirement Income Planning.
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