How to invest in mutual funds is a common question for investors. Investing in mutual funds is now easier than ever. All thanks to the Internet and computer devices. However, there are many factors an investor must consider before picking mutual funds. Mutual funds are of different varieties. These include the ones focusing on various asset groups and the ones seeking to replicate an index.

Moreover, even those which focus on dividend stocks. The list is very long. It includes everything from geographic requirements to specialized investment in securities falling under a specific market capitalization.

The answers to below-mentioned three questions can assist you in navigating through mutual funds. This includes responses to how they work and how to add them to the portfolio.

What Is a Mutual Fund?

Mutual funds act as an option for investors who cannot pay for individually managed accounts. Investors having less money bring their money together. Then, they hire a portfolio manager for running that pooled portfolio. This manager buys different securities in a way matching the fund’s prospectus. Every investor then gets their slice of the pie. The investors also share the expenses related to the fund. These show up in the mutual fund expense ratio. Moreover, this is how a mutual fund is formed.

There are many ways to structure mutual funds. For example, open-ended funds vs. closed funds being one crucial distinction. To know more about how mutual funds are structured, read How a Mutual Fund is Structured. You can also read Money Making from Mutual Funds. This book describes how investors profit or incur losses from owning mutual funds.

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How Do I Select a Mutual Fund?

This is the stage where you need to pay undivided attention. Become a detective while conducting the research. The current number of mutual funds competes with the number of stocks on North-American exchanges. All these funds are unique. However, one can classify them on the grounds of the type of securities held within. At the broadest level, a fund can fall under one of the three classes. These are equity (stocks), fixed income (bonds), and money markets.

Stocks and bonds have further sub-groups. This enables investors to spread a small net with their money. For example, an equity investor may invest in a technology fund which invests only in eco-friendly tech-firms. Similarly, a bond investor seeking current income may invest in a government fund which invests just in government securities. A balanced fund is one which has both bonds and stocks.

The risk level is a crucial factor to consider when assessing mutual funds. An investor must make all efforts to know how much risk he is ready to take. Then the investor must seek a fund falling within his risk tolerance. You invest with some aim in mind. So, narrow down the list by focusing on funds which fulfill your investment needs. Also, stay within your risk limits.

Besides this, check the minimum threshold to invest in a fund. Funds carry different minimum limits depending on the account type. It can be a retirement account or a non-retirement account.

How Do I Buy a Mutual Fund?

You will pay for the mutual funds in dollars. This is unlike stocks, which you buy in shares. You can purchase mutual funds directly from a mutual fund company, brokerage firm or bank. However, before anything, you would need an account with one of these institutions. A mutual fund would either be a “load” or “no-load” fund. This is the financial lingo for either paying or not paying commission. When using a fund manager for help, you would have to pay a load.

Having said this, “no-load” is also not free. Every mutual fund carries an internal expense. A portion of your investment money will pay for the costs related to running a mutual fund. This will also include payment to the fund manager and fund company. Such fees are transparent and taken from the mutual fund’s assets. It would help if you always considered the different charges when buying mutual funds.

You can buy mutual funds online, over the phone or in person. For placing an order, you will tell the amount you want to invest. Then you will understand what kind of mutual fund you want to buy. The closing share price at that day’s end will determine what you pay for the shares.

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How Do Mutual Funds Work?

A mutual fund brings together money to buy bonds, stock, and other securities. This gives investors a cost-effective means of diversifying and reaping market gains.

Are you seeking to invest but also wish to avoid risks? Also, you do not want the hassles related to selecting individual assets? Then, a mutual fund is your answer. It gives the advantages of a diverse portfolio without spending the time to manage one.

What Exactly Are Mutual Funds?

A mutual fund brings together money from different investors. It then invests in a massive class of assets.

In a stock market, investors buy shares from each other. However, in the mutual-fund market, you buy shares directly from the fund, alternatively, from a broker who procures directly from the fund.

Investors also use mutual funds to build their retirement savings. Do you have a 401(k), a Roth IRA, or a traditional retirement account? If yes, then there are high chances your portfolio has mutual funds.

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Types of Mutual Funds

Some mutual-funds focus on just one asset group like bonds or stock. In contrast, others invest in a range of asset groups. Following are the main classes of mutual funds:

Stock funds have the highest amount of risk. However, they also provide the highest potential returns. Market fluctuations can profoundly impact the returns on these funds. There are many kinds of equity funds. For example, a sector fund, growth funds, and income funds. All these types try to keep a portfolio with specific features. (Here’s more about how to invest in stocks and stock funds.)

Bonds are fixed income funds. They are less risky than equity funds. There are several kinds of bonds. Hence, you must study every mutual fund carefully. This helps you identify the risk associated with each.

Hybrid funds invest in a blend of bonds, equity, and other assets. Many of these funds are funds of funds. They invest in a class of additional mutual funds. One typical example is a target date fund. This fund automatically picks and reassign assets toward safer options as you near retirement.

Money market funds give the lowest returns. This is because they have the smallest amount of risk. These funds have the legal obligation to invest in high-quality, short-run investments issued by the US government.

Active vs. Passive Funds

The performance and fees of a mutual fund depend on how it is managed. That is, passively or actively.

Passive funds invest as per a fixed strategy. They aim to match the performance of a particular market index. Hence, they do not need much investment skill. As these funds need little oversight, they have lower fees than active funds.

Below are the two kinds of mutual funds famous for passive investing:

Index funds – These trail a market index like Nasdaq or S&P’s 500. These funds comprise entirely of stocks of a specific index. Hence, the risk is the same as that of the market. Also, so are the returns.

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – You can trade them like individual stocks. However, they also give the diversification advantages of mutual funds. Their fee is lower than traditional mutual funds. However, active traders may find the costs to be high.

Active funds aim to beat market indices. They have the potential for higher returns than passive funds. However, their potential risk is also high. Studies reveal that passive investing often gives better returns.

Active funds carry a higher fee than passive funds. This is called the expense ratio. Expense ratios vary from .05% to 1% or more. You get charged yearly as a percent of your invested amount. A high expense ratio can eat into your returns over time. Hence, carefully study these fees.

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Benefits of Investing in Mutual Funds

Diversification is a crucial principle of investing. Suppose you have all your money in one company. One day, that company fails. You are then left with nothing. Now, suppose you invest in many companies, and one fails. In this case, you lose only a small amount. Mutual funds help gain access to a diverse portfolio. Plus, you are free from the hassles of tracking so many assets daily.

Simplicity is another crucial role in mutual funds. Once you identify a mutual fund with a decent record, your position becomes little afterward. For some, this lack of control is a turn-off. You have no power over its purchases, and you don’t know its composition. However, many prefer this as they don’t have the time to manage a significant portfolio.

The main demerit is the fees associated with mutual funds. As someone manages the fund, you’ll pay some fees regardless of the fund’s performance. Investors need to pay yearly fees, sales charges and so on. All this, with no guarantee of returns. That said, most investment approaches charge fee without a 100% guarantee.

How Do I Earn Money from Mutual Funds?

On investing in mutual funds, value or cash may increase from 3 sources. These are:

Dividend payments: A fund may get interests or dividend on the securities in the portfolio. It then distributes a proportional sum of this interest/dividend to the investors. When buying shares in a mutual fund, you have two choices. One is to get your distribution directly. Second is to get them reinvested in your fund.

Capital gain: When your fund sells security facing price rise, this is capital gain. In contrast, the sale of security facing price decline is a capital loss. Most funds give any net capital gains yearly.

Net asset value: The fund’s value increases. This is the same as the stock price increase. You will not get any instant distributions. However, your investment’s value increases. Hence, you will make money if you sell it.

Retirement Funds You Can Hold Forever

Retirement investing means investing for the long-run. Such long-run investing must have individual stocks. However, it should also have index funds and low-cost ETFs.

Index funds and ETFs can be vital in retirement planning. This is because they help in reducing the burden of choosing individual stocks. Plus, they increase diversification and improve current income, among other benefits.

Different investors have different goals concerning retirement. Undoubtedly, every retirement portfolio is diverse. There are some universally reasonable choices which investors at different phases of retirement-planning must consider.

Below are seven ETFs and index funds which you can buy-and-hold in retirement accounts. This also includes individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF (SCHV)

Expense ratio: 0.04%/year, or $4 on an investment of $10,000.

The Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF (NYSEARCA: SCHV) merits a place on lists highlighting retirement funds for many reasons. Firstly, it has a low yearly fee of just 0.04%. This makes SCHV and its index fund equivalent the cheapest value funds in the market. SCHV clients can realize extra cost savings as they can trade the stocks commission-free.

Secondly, in the long run, the value factor is among the best-performing investment factors. Besides, value stocks are less unstable than their momentum and growth counterparts.

SCHV has around 360 stocks. It trails the Dow Jones U.S. Large-Cap Value Total Stock Market Index. This fund assigns 20% of its mass to financial services stocks. It allocates 29% of the collective weight to consumer-staples and tech stocks.

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM)

Expense ratio: 0.08%

The Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (NYSEARCA: VYM) is a highly respected name among U.S. dividend ETFs. It always appears on lists stressing basic income strategies. However, this fund also gets serious thought by buy-and-hold retirement planners.

Its yearly fee is just .08%. This makes VYM cheaper than 92% of competitive strategies. This fund is placed as a high-yield play. However, it also has real dividend growth credentials. Eight out of VYM’s leading ten stocks have a dividend growth of almost a decade. Some even longer. Besides, VYM assigns 30% of its joint weight to the fin-and-tech services. These are two mainstays of S&P500 dividend progress in current years.

VYM has nearly 400 holdings and generates 3% on a trailing 12-month basis.

Power Shares S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility Portfolio (SPHD)

Annual Fee: 0.3%

The Power Shares S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSEARCA: SPHD) cover low-fluctuation and high-yield dividend stocks. These are two features which serve long-run investors well. Besides the value factor, the low-fluctuation factor is among the best-performing investment factors.

SPHD has 50 S&P500 members with the lowest instability and highest dividend. Unsurprisingly, this mix leads to a substantial joint weight (43%) to utilities and real-estate stocks. However, there are a few industry surprises — for example, an 11% weight to tech stocks.

SPHD has a five-star Morningstar rating. Its distribution rate is 3.7%. There is one more SPHD perk. This ETF pays a monthly dividend. Hence, it leads to a more consistent income stream than quarterly pay-outs.

LifePath Index Retirement Fund (LIRAX)

Expense ratio: 0.41%

The LifePath Index Retirement Fund (MUTF: LIRAX) is a multi-security index fund. BlackRock, which is a target-date retirement fund, issues this. Target-date funds have expiry dates. On their expiry, they are liquidated with proceeds given back to investors.

LIRAX is a concept for older retirement investors. Also, for conservative investors. This is because its asset blend inclines toward fixed income. It assigns over 58% weight to bonds. Around 73% of LIRAX’s holdings are in only two assets. First is a BlackRock Russell 1000 index fund. Moreover, second is a BlackRock aggregate bond index fund.

In the last one, three and five years, LIRAX beat the average fund returns among its Morningstar peers.

Vanguard Target Retirement Income Fund (VTINX)

Expense ratio: 0.13%

The Vanguard Target Retirement Income Fund (MUTF: VTINX) needs a minimum investment of $1,000. This fund is perfect for very conservative investors. Why? Because it uses five other Vanguard index funds to offer an asset combination of 70% bonds and 30% equity.

It assigns 16% weight to international fixed income security. Apart from this, VTNIX’s bond exposure is quite conservative. It mainly tilts toward mortgage-supported and US Government securities.

VTNIX is also good for cost-conscious retirees. Why? Because its yearly fee makes it cheaper than 68% of competing strategies.

iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol EAFE ETF (EFAV)

Expense ratio: 0.2%

Retirement investing does not mean you cannot include global stocks. Yes, global stocks are more unstable than national shares. However, the iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol EAFE ETF (BATS: EFAV) allows retirees to hold ex-U.S. shares.

The $8.8 billion EFAV trails the MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility (USD) Index. This is the low-volatility comparable of the popular MSCI EAFE Index. As it is low-volatile, EFAV’s roster is quite smaller than traditional diversified international ETFs. EFAV has only 274 holdings.

Financial services, healthcare, and consumer staples make for half of this fund’s weight. EFAV does deliver on its low fluctuation promise. This is evident from a 3-year standard deviation of only 9.72%.

VanEck Vectors High-Yield Municipal Index ETF (HYD)

Expense ratio: 0.35%

Retirees favor municipal bonds. This is because of the tax benefits that accrue with these bonds. These bonds offer a steady income stream and high credit quality. Retirees can increase its municipal bond returns immensely. For this, they need to take a little more risk with the VanEck Vectors High-Yield Municipal Index ETF (NYSEARCA: HYD). This fund has an annual return of 4.26%.

HYD has more than 1,800 bonds. It trails the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Custom High Yield Composite Index. The effective duration of the ETF is 7.6 years. HYD’s top 10 securities combine for 29% of its rota.

The state governments in New-York, California and Illinois issue municipal bonds. They make up for 37.1% of HYD’s rota. The risk in this trio is Illinois. This is due to the junk-rated Chicago. However, California and New York have high ratings.

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