when investing in mutual funds, (equity based) which is a safer option? dividend or growth option?
546288
Dividend Option gives you timely dividends (depending on fund manager when he feels it right), so you get some amount back....it has two options; re-investment and pay out...with re-investment you can reinvest the money and get some more units and in payout you get money as dividend.\n\nIn Growth option your NAV goes on increasing, as no dividend is declared.\n\nPast Records have shown that Growth options is better if you invest in equity and that for a longer period of time.
754451
It depends. A good stock will perform better than a good mutual fund.  A good mutual fund will perform better than an ETF.  Stocks are subject to more specific risk than a mutual fund or an EFT.  Unless you have a diversified portfolio of about 10 to 20 stocks, there will be less risk investing in a mutual fund or an ETF.  ETFs have lower expense ratios.  They have become very popular lately and there are hundreds of different ones available.  Mutual funds are available in the thousands.  They have a somewhat bad reputation lately because 70% underperform the market in general.  And many have very high expenses.  I do believe there are many mutual funds worth owning, especially investing in those areas where an individual has difficulty investing on his own, such as in small cap stocks, mirco cap stocks, and foreign stocks.  \n\nA good investment plan is to invest in some of each.
1004282
Anytime is a good time to invest in mutual funds, if you take the SIP route.A SIP allos you to benefit from Rupee cost averaging, which means you buy more units when the markets are down & similarly you buy less units when the markets are over-heated.\n\nChoose a good fund based on your risk profile.\nVisit www.valueresearchonline.com to find out the top mutual funds in all categories.\n\nYour fund should be a 4 or a 5 ranker.\n\nAll the best.
204968
Break it up into two strategies - aggressive and safe.\n\nFor aggressive, invest in a mutual fund of stocks after talking to a stock broker(s).\n\nFor safe, invest in either bonds or an Orange Savings Account CD.\n\nThis all assumes you are an adult and not over 50. If you are over 50, put it all into something safe if this is your only networth source.\n\nIf this is the best answer, please rate it the best answer. Thanks!
369295
Morningstar should have most anything you want to know about mutual funds: http://www.morningstar.com/Cover/Funds.html\n\nHowever, there's a good reason why they say for mutual funds that past performance doesn't mean much for future returns.  Often times, the biggest gainers in the 1 year category just took huge risks or got lucky, so use some good judgment and try to do some research before investing, rather than just picking the last hot mutual fund, which is a good way to get underperformance.
944945
manager tenures are important for the more successful ones like Bill Nygren at Oakmark get favorable reviwes in places liek morningstar (and deservingly so) performance look as far back as you can 5-10 year range and go from there. Cap size DOES reduce risk for the large cap sector is well established companies and can withstand periodicall losses in teh market. Small caps are generally younger companies and they will be hurt if the market suddenly tanks. Large cap doesn't have a better track record per say buy large cap would be something like Boeing and a small cap would be NTE big differences between the two. The more risk the more potetional for reward could happen. Barons does a review on mutual fund managers and they are very worthy a look (with Bill I even invested in his funds before moving to ETF's)
892142
hi\nI have no idea about your knowledge on mutual fund. so it is difficult to me to understand from where I start and where to end.\nSo I just describe the basic things of mutual funds. Actually mutual fund are share trading companies. \nThink you have invested in five different share of the capital of 10 lakh but you are not related to this field, then it is difficult for you to make decisions when to sell or buy share.\nIn that case the solution is mutual funds, most of mutual fund are created by big financial company or banks. you invest in mutual fund and mutual fund invest in share. so indirectly you investing in shares with the help of professional persons.So mutual fund is more secure than investing in equity share.and secondly mutual fund work under observation of Security Exchange Board of India.\n\nbut risk also exist with mutual fund too because indirectly your money is investing on market.    \n\nmutual fund can be classified such as \nEquity diversified\nhybrid equity oriented\nhybrid Debt oriented\ngilt etc. \n\nfor more details or specific details you can mail me .
329108
A mutual fund is your best bet.  Remember that "quick" money means risky when it comes to investing.  Better to go slow and not lose your money.
846944
You can never go wrong with investing in an index fund for the long-term. I recommend a total US stock market index that will give you exposure to Large, Mid and Small cap funds. This is the best option for long term investing. You'd be hard pressed to really find something that has a better risk/reward payoff.
342742
To best grow your money you first need to establish the amount of risk your willing to take. Low risk, get into bonds or money market accounts and expect about 5-6% annually. Mutual funds will offer the full range from 5-20% on average, but the more gain means the more lost. For the most aggressive risk (and therefore gain) play in individual stocks, options or on forex (foreign exchange currency market).\n\nThe most important thing is to spread your money around, don't lump all your capital into one or two stocks, because your setting yourself up to take major losses. Educate yourself before jumping into anything. Investopedia.com is a good resource for that - just remember that they are supported by various brokers and agencies, so take recommendations lightly. They do, however, provide good solid information on the basics.
261930
This question has different answers for different people.  It will depend on your risk tolerance and time horizon.  If you have a short time horizon and low risk tolerance then a money market fund would be the answer.  If you have a long time horizon and low risk tolerance then a bond fund may be the answer.  And if you have a long time horizon and a high risk tolerance, then a stock fund would probably be the best choice.  Keep in mind that proper diversification is always best.
199313
Talk to your bank about investing in a mutual fund. Ask for high growth and moderate risk. The reason I suggest this is because it is obvious you know little or nothing of investing, this is what I would buy. You wont see the kind of returns on any other unmanaged investment.\n\nBest Wishes
439706
I like Legg Mason Partners Funds (formerly called Smith Barney). I invest in LMP Aggressive Growth, LMP Fundamental Value, and LMP Appreciation Fund. These are known as "3 Fund Approach." Why? Just like you don't want to invest all your money into one stock, you don't want to invest your money all in one mutual fund (even though it invests 25 to 300 different companies). How you want to diversify your money is up to you, but I put about 33% into all.\n\nMy dealer is PFS Investments and they don't charge any fees to use their services. You can buy or redeem your shares online. You can check the value of your portfolio anytime online too. Oh yeah, make sure the agent is properly licensed and ask about the complimentary financial need analysis (a very useful financial tool).\n\nAnyway, no matter how you invest, don't pull out if the stock market crashes because you know stock market will always rebound (base on past performance).
246979
growth or value?\n\nI've looked at this one.  It might be something that I'd consider, if I was looking for another fund.  Though its a bit toward growth.\n\nhttp://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=PISRX&d=t
820673
Don't buy mutual funds for the long run. They're not good investments. The problem is the fees that are involved. A mutual fund is a pool of money from a number of investors which is then invested and managed by a fund manager and usually his/her employees. This inherently means you get lower returns than if you bought stocks.\n\nThe reason is, the fund manager and employees all have to get paid, which cuts into your earnings. This makes them less attractive, so they often pay advisers to recommend them. This further cuts into your earnings. As a result, stocks are a much smarter option. The IRA isn't a bad idea, and there are different kinds of IRAs you can invest in.
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
47967
It depends on how much risk you want and how much you are hoping to gain. \n\nThe safest would be CDs. Check ingdirect.com, Their 18 month CDs are yielding about 4.5%\nhttp://home.ingdirect.com/products/products.asp?s=OrangeCD\n\nIf you are willing to take some risk you can invest it in mutual funds or even stocks. Investing in the market is more risky but can provide greater returns.