General Resources
- Mutual funds are a key part of nearly every investors' portfolio - the right fund can provide instant diversification all by itself, or help hedge a polarized portfolio, or allow investors to invest in stocks without having to make their own picks. There are a ton of funds, with differing objectives, track records, fees, etc... The sites in this section cover a variety of mutual fund topics, and include the most well-known mutual fund site, Morningstar.com.
Fund List
- Our extensive mutual fund list has links to each fund's website (if one exists) and the fund's 800 number (which you can call to request an application and prospectus). The list also includes a number of international funds.
Research
- The sites in this section offer profiles, data (such as current holdings), historical performance, and other information that will help you choose an excellent fund.
Ratings
- It would be nearly impossible for an individual investor to keep track of even a small fraction of the available mutual funds, so these sites take it on themselves to rate the performance of the different mutual funds and fund managers.
Screening
- These fund screening tools will help you cull out mutual funds based on a wide variety of criteria, including fund family, minimum investment, loads and fees, and fund objective.
Prospectuses
- A prospectus is a legal document offering securities or mutual fund shares for sale, required by the Securities Act of 1933. It must explain the offer, including the terms, issuer, objectives (if it is for a mutual fund) or planned use of the money (if securities), historical financial statements, and other information that could help an individual decide whether the investment is appropriate for him/her. These are required by the SEC act of 1933, and for good reason. You should always obtain a prospectus before purchasing a mutual fund (or any other investment product), and make sure you understand what it's saying. These sites allow you to obtain prospectuses online for thousands of different mutual funds.
Online Trading
- InvestorGuide.com has compiled this extensive list of sites that allow investors to purchase mutual funds online.
Index Funds
- One investment strategy that has become increasingly popular in recent years is that of indexing. An index fund is a passively managed mutual fund that tries to mirror the performance of a specific index, such as the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Since the index funds are attempting to mirror a stock index, decisions are automatic and transactions are infrequent. This also does not require the management of a professional money manager, and therefore expenses tend to be lower than those of actively managed funds. These sites offer information and research on this type of fund.
Internet Funds
- Some of these funds invest solely in internet stocks, others are online funds that take novel approaches to managing the fund (including real-time posting of trades and holdings).
Hedge Funds
- Hedge funds are funds that are allowed to use a variety of aggressive investing strategies (such as futures and arbitrage) to seek higher returns. These funds are generally only used by institutional and very wealthy investors, and are restricted by law to less than 100 investors per fund. These sites offer hedge fund research and market analysis.
<< Back to Links Directory |
