What is index fund  ?  could you define the word ?
438973
It is simply a mutual or exchange traded fund that invests in the securities that are part of a specific index, like the S&P 500 or Dow Jones Industrials.
785178
It is an oversophisticated way of saying the stock is a buy.  The term comes from the concept of portfolio allocation theory, which in general states that a diversified portfolio will in the long run outperform a non-diversified portfolio.  So in theoy in your portfolio you should have a little of this and a little of that.  The overweight concept is that if you have a little more of this than that, you will improve your portfolio return.  \n\nKind of stupid is my opinion of the term. If you overweight the stock, you are no longer as diversified. Oh well it is just a theory anyway.
742738
mutual funds are pools of money, invested in varying amounts by a large number of people. the money is invested according to a specific objective. a professional fund manager runs the fund and sees to it that the investments are in accordance witht he stated objective of the fund. these types of investments have enabled small investors to purchase diversified portfolios with the use of professional managers.
535729
Standard & Poor 500\n\nWhat is it?\n\nAn index consisting of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping, among other factors. The S&P 500 is designed to be a leading indicator of U.S. equities and is meant to reflect the risk/return characteristics of the large-cap universe.\n\nCompanies included in the index are selected by the S&P Index Committee, a team of analysts and economists at Standard & Poor's. The S&P 500 is a market-value weighted index - each stock's weight in the index is proportionate to its market value.\n \nThe S&P 500 is one of the most commonly used benchmarks for the overall U.S. stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was at one time the most renowned index for U.S. stocks, but because the DJIA contains only 30 companies, most people agree that the S&P 500 is a better representation of the U.S. market. In fact, many consider it to be the definition of the market.\n\nOther popular Standard & Poor's indexes include the S&P 600, an index of small-cap companies with a market capitalization between $300 million and $2 billion, and the S&P 400, an index of mid-cap companies with market capitalizations of $2 billion to $10 billion.\n\nA number of financial products based on the S&P 500 are available to investors. These include index funds and ETFs. However, it would be difficult for individual investors to buy the index, as this would entail buying 500 different stocks.\n\nGoogle recently joined the Standard & Poor 500 index.
8551
Standard & Poor's 500 Index - S&P 500\nAn index consisting of 500 stocks chosen for market size, liquidity and industry grouping, among other factors. The S&P 500 is designed to be a leading indicator of U.S. equities, and is meant to reflect the risk/return characteristics of the large-cap universe. \n\nCompanies included in the index are selected by the S&P Index Committee, a team of analysts and economists at Standard & Poor's. The S&P 500 is a market-value weighted index - each stock's weight in the index is proportionate to its market value.
970570
A mutual fund is exactly what the name suggests.It is a fund Created mutually by a no. of investors like me and you.each investor contributes some amount towards the fund and in turn receives units of that mutual fund in proportion to his/her contribution.\n\nThe fund manager will in turn invest that money in the  market and try to generate profits by selling and buying at appropriate times.\n\nhe will then pass on the profits to mutual fund holders(like u and me) after deducting his fee/commission.\n\nmutual funds have a lot of benefits\n1)it takes out the burden of managing your own portfolio of stocks\n2) it provides investors an opportunity to invest in stocks which otherwise are very expensive for a single person to invest \n3)it provides you access to professional management of your investment.\n\nmutual funds are primarily of 3 types\n\n1)Equity oriented funds:most of the money would be invested in equity instruments(shares):high risk and high return.\n\n2)Growth oriented funds:most of the money is invested in Debt instruments e.g.Bonds,debentures etc.:low risk ,low return\n\n3)Balanced funds: half the money is invested in debt ,half in equity:moderate risk,moderate return \n\nhope this helps....cheers
75811
A fund that can sell stocks short. (Mutual funds cannot do it)
178959
with index funds expenses are the key. if you have used one with super low expenses like Vanguard, there would be no reason to change. if you compare performance of all S&P 500 index funds you will find similar results that are usually better or worse only because of the fees. if you are in a fund like s&p or total stock market index, you are well diversified already.
173961
A mutual fund is a collection of some kind of investment, usually stocks. They’re extremely popular. Your parents own at least one mutual fund if they’ve ever worked at a company. Mutual funds work like this: You pick a fund you like (e.g., growth, value, technology, international…), buy shares of the fund, and let a money manager pick the stocks he thinks will yield the best return. In exchange for this diversification and his expertise, you pay an annual fee. \n\nAdvantages: Hands-off approach means an expert money manager makes investment decisions for you. Mutual fund (ostensibly) holds many varied stocks, so if one company tanks, your fund doesn’t go down with it (i.e., it’s “diversified”).\n\nDisadvantages: Annual fees can equal tens of thousands of dollars or more (!) over the lifetime of an investment. If you invest in two mutual funds, they may overlap in investments, yielding a less-diversified portfolio than you really think. In other words, if both funds hold Microsoft and Microsoft tanks, you get hit twice. Although you’re paying an expert to manage your money, they rarely beat the market—the mutual fund industry’s dirty secret!\n\nMuch more clear info in the link below :)
268267
Sounds like a lawyer's way of saying the individual has all his money tied up in "investments" and is unable to pay off some debt or bill or other responsbility.\n\n"Investments" can be stocks, bonds, real estate, term CDs, company ownership, commodities, collectibles -- anything that has value and would need to be sold to get actual money.  In some cases a "liquidity constrained" individual can simply transfer some of these items in lieu of selling.
813759
Simply...yes.\n\nIn fact, there is a whole sector of mutual funds called "life-cycle" funds that invest your money acorss a wide range of mutual fonds and bonds and cash depending on when you want the investment to mature. \n\nAdditionally, there are mutual funds that invest in "open-ended" funds that are the precursors to ETF. Speaking of ETF, those are mutual funds that other mutual funds can, and do, invest in. \n\nOn a contrary note, there are a few restrictions on exactly what funds a mutual fund can invest in competing fund families. That is...Fidelity Contrafund is limited in what it can invest into Vangaurd or Van Campen...(only examples).\n\nHope this helps!!
17439
Try some of these links:\n\nhttp://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:Mutual+fund\nhttp://www.mfea.com/\nhttp://www.guardfamily.org/B06/B0601/A0001_D/glossary/bhs04_glossary.html
315650
It is the benchmark index for the Indian stock market.\n\nKind of like the DOW or S&P 500.
571223
Your question needs to be more detailed...\nvanguard is the cheapest way to invest in index funds..their commission are almost NONEXISTENT..
176395
are you referring to the physical act of transferring the assets or the investment options after the transfer?\n\nanyway, prior answer Vanguard is great for mutual funds. if you are going to trade stocks, they are currently priced higher than most for commissions and they don't clear there own trades. I would look at Schwab/Fidelity/Tradeking/Ameritrade \nfor stocks & fund combinations.
40290
That's the common term for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a venerable but outdated index made up of 30 huge American companies.  AKA "The Dow".
266860
The best investment is a diversified mix of stocks and bonds.  A diversified mix is best because you know how difficult it is to pick good stocks, but buying the index is known to make lots of money in the long run, with a minimum of commissions and taxes.