mutual funds to begin?

[jackdaniels]

Ok, the other thread about stocks kept me thinking.
Lets say you want to start investing some money. Lets be honest, stocks and bonds are not as easy as we think. Im talking about beginers, not all of us here have the knowlege to invest wisely on the stock market.
What are your thoughts on mutual funds?
because being managed (not entirely) by a person with more experience and knowledge is a reason why it becomes less risky.
Any advise, critics, ideas, dislikes, etc..
Thanks

[pacificfame]

Safe way to go. Not a huge amount of return, but you can expect some profit. Good way to play it safe and earn a little.

[pbradish]

Jack, I've held a mutual fund for over ten years. There are plenty of reputable mutual funds out there that produce a small/medium sized (but healthy) return.

[jackdaniels]

Jack, I've held a mutual fund for over ten years. There are plenty of reputable mutual funds out there that produce a small/medium sized (but healthy) return.

Ive never invested on mutual funds.
I actually want to inves a cuple of dollars i have. And i say a couple because im starting a business with a partner so i cannot go all the way with the MF.
If you can give me some advise on how to start with a mutual fund
How do i contact a mutual fund firm?
Which are the ones you recommend?
How do i start investing?
Thanks for your help guys

[excelyourbiz]

I invest in American Funds, the largest mutual fund company in the nation, they have over 1 trillion in assets. One of the only few companies not to invest in Enron before it fell over! The have about 30 different funds, with returns avg between 5%-30% per year. With mutual funds, they are long term so when looking at the return rate, I normally look at the 5ry, 10yr, and lifetime returns.

With American Funds they are one of the lowest cost mutual funds in the industry, meaning you only need $250 to meet the fund min. You can also do a bank draft of $50 per month to meet the $250. You can only purchase there mutual funds from financial advisor firm like Edward Jones, Smith Barney, A.G. Edwards, LPL, and the other hundred different firms.

So all you need is a financial adivisor, a mutual fund application, the $250 fund min or set up a bank draft, and your done. This only applies to American Funds though. Then you just invest little by little for the rest of the time you have your account open and let your money grow.

A mutual fund consists of like 100 different stocks within it. Meaning one mutual fund can contain stocks from Google, Oracle, Microsoft, Walmart, and so on. This mutual fund may also contain a stock like Ford Motor Company, which has dropped in value, but has little affect to the overall price of the mutual fund because it only represents maybe 1% of the total mutual fund as whole.

If you only owned Ford stocks, then you have losted plenty of money by now which is one risk you can avoid with a mutual fund. MF are for long term and not for overnight riches.

[DJ Samson]

Are there any sites that review/list different mf?

[excelyourbiz]

http://www.fool.com, is a great site to educate yourself on all types of investments!

http://finance.yahoo.com/funds, lists all top performing MF and so much more!

[dosrotties]

Contact JDL securities in Newport Beach. These guys never invested in Enron and are pretty good. Double money every 5 - 7 years.
http://www.jdlsecurities.com/

[MarcL]

Try doing forex... Forex.com...

[Zoxak]

An alternative to Mutual Funds that I personally like are Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Basically, an ETF buys the major players in a particular stock index to 'imitate' its performance. In this way, you get the diversity of the entire exchange which hedges your long-term risk. The benefit of ETFs over MFs however, is that ETFs can be bought just like a regular stock. Therefore you won't be charged management fees and other expenses that are associated with Mutual Funds. You'll only be charged the one-time commission fees that you would have with any normal stock.

Another advantage of ETFs is that you can leverage your investments toward foreign exchanges, without actually opening an international account and dealing with currency conversion and the like. Let's say (hypothetically) that you like where the South Korean economy is going and think its stock index will be going up soon. If you buy the ETF for South Korea, you'll be buying a basket of stocks from the South Korean index, under a US fund (or wherever you're from, assuming that the stock exchange you deal with has that ETF available).

Just an idea. Some Mutual Funds are great, but a lot of them are stinkers that chip away at your investment with fees and expenses.

[jackdaniels]

Thats exactly what i was thinking, Mutual funds are a "secure way" to grow your money. But about the fees and every other way they charge for services and managemet.
What do you actually keep of the overall growth?
You guys mentioned some mutual fund firms. How bad are they when it comes to fees and charging for their services?
Ill check out the ones you guys mentioned...
Thanks for the info.. Great stuff

[dosrotties]

Call them and ask them. JDL has me 60% international and I never asked about the fees. Never Really notice them.

[SpencerB]

Fees can add up quickly. Demand a low fee when searching. If you find one you like with a high fee, do a little more research and you'll find an identical one somewhere else with low fees.

How much captial are you starting with? If its less than $5k, you should look at ETF's. I know with Fidelity, there is a flat $75 brokerage charge to be initiated into a new fund, where-as ETF's are under the standard fee schedule (around $10). So, for example, if you start with $1000, that $75 fee means you are instantly down 7.5%.

An S&P 500 index ETF is what I would put you in right off the bat.

Also, you'll need to sign up with an online broker. I use Fidelity but most of the big ones are similar. I hear good things about Scott Trade as well.

[SpencerB]

Try doing forex... Forex.com...

........

[jackdaniels]

Call them and ask them. JDL has me 60% international and I never asked about the fees. Never Really notice them.

This is what i found about how they charge you @ JDL

http://www.jdlsecurities.com/pdf/How_We_Are_Paid.pdf

lets say i want to start with $1000
ill put in some more later, but for now, thats what i would like to start with..