| A mutual fund investment is about pooling money | | | | you are sufficiently diversified. |
| from many investors in order to invest in stocks, | | | | Investing in a particular sector requires that you |
| bonds, real estate or money market securities. | | | | do a lot of research on the fees associated with |
| This has the benefit of diversifying the investors | | | | your investment. Fees and charges that are |
| portfolio, thereby reducing the risks involved and | | | | associated with these funds include Purchase fee, |
| increasing the chances for more revenue. | | | | shareholder fees, annual fund operating fees, |
| However, most investment managers fail to reap | | | | redemption fees among others. These fees are |
| the benefits of diversification by over investing in | | | | charged on the investors account irrespective of |
| one sector and ignoring other sectors of the | | | | whether the fund made money or not. The |
| economy that are seen not to be doing very well. | | | | professional management that you get when you |
| Through experience, i have found that, the best | | | | invest your money in a mutual fund does not |
| performing stocks or bonds today could easily | | | | come for free, it has to be paid for. |
| become the worst performers tomorrow. A | | | | When you, as an investor, decide to invest |
| recent case in point is that of Enron or Worldcom, | | | | money in a fund, its important to understand the |
| where investors lost millions of their hard earned | | | | advantages and the disadvantages involved in that |
| dollars in their stocks. An investor should always | | | | particular investment. Strife to identify the one |
| make sure that his portfolio is diversified enough | | | | that, the merits outweighs the demerits. The |
| and that the mutual fund manager does not | | | | chances that you will succeed will depend on the |
| concentrate on a particular industry. Investing | | | | amount of research that you do and the choices |
| your money in these funds does not mean that | | | | that you make. |