Mutual Funds For Dummies®, 6th Edition

Mutual Funds For Dummies®, 6th Edition

Released July 2010
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9780470623213

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Book description

Position your portfolio for growth with one of America's bestselling mutual fund books

Indicators are pointing to a rebound in mutual funds, and investors are returning! Newly revised and updated, Mutual Funds For Dummies, 6th Edition, provides you with expert insight on how to find the best-managed funds that match your financial goals. With straightforward advice and a plethora of specific up-to-date fund recommendations, personal finance expert Eric Tyson helps you avoid fund-investing pitfalls and maximize your chances of success.

  • This revised edition features expanded coverage of ETFs, fund alternatives, and research methods

  • Tyson provides his time-tested investing advice, as well as updates to his fund recommendations and coverage of tax law changes

  • Sample fund portfolios and updated forms show you exactly how to accomplish your financial goals

Pick the best funds, assemble and maintain your portfolio, evaluate your funds' performance, and track and invest in funds online with Mutual Funds For Dummies, 6th Edition!

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Praise for Eric Tyson's Mutual Funds For Dummies®
  3. About the Author
  4. Author's Acknowledgments
  5. Publisher's Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
    1. What's New in This Edition
    2. How This Book Is Different
    3. Foolish Assumptions
    4. How This Book Is Organized
      1. Part I: Mutual Funds: Sharing Risks and Rewards
      2. Part II: Evaluating Alternatives to Funds
      3. Part III: Separating the Best from the Rest
      4. Part IV: Crafting Your Fund Portfolio
      5. Part V: Keeping Current and Informed
      6. Part VI: The Part of Tens
    5. Icons Used in This Book
    6. Where to Go from Here
  7. I. Mutual Funds: Sharing Risks and Rewards
    1. 1. Making More Money, Taking Less Risk
      1. 1.1. Introducing Mutual Funds
      2. 1.2. Making Sense of Investments
        1. 1.2.1. Lending investments: Interest on your money
        2. 1.2.2. Ownership investments: More potential profit (and risk)
      3. 1.3. Surveying the Major Investment Options
        1. 1.3.1. Savings and money market accounts
        2. 1.3.2. Bonds
        3. 1.3.3. Stocks
        4. 1.3.4. Overseas investments
        5. 1.3.5. Real estate
        6. 1.3.6. Gold, silver, and the like
        7. 1.3.7. Annuities
        8. 1.3.8. Life insurance
        9. 1.3.9. Limited partnerships
      4. 1.4. Reviewing Important Investing Concepts
        1. 1.4.1. Getting a return: Why you invest
        2. 1.4.2. Measuring risks: Investment volatility
        3. 1.4.3. Diversifying: A smart way to reduce risk
    2. 2. Mutual Funds: Pros and Cons
      1. 2.1. Getting a Grip on Mutual Funds
        1. 2.1.1. Financial intermediaries
        2. 2.1.2. Open-end versus closed-end funds
      2. 2.2. Opting for Mutual Funds
        1. 2.2.1. Fund managers' expertise
        2. 2.2.2. Funds save you money and time
        3. 2.2.3. Fund diversification minimizes your risk
        4. 2.2.4. Funds undergo regulatory scrutiny
        5. 2.2.5. You choose your risk level
        6. 2.2.6. Fund risk of bankruptcy is nil
        7. 2.2.7. Funds save you from sales sharks
        8. 2.2.8. You have convenient access to your money
      3. 2.3. Addressing the Drawbacks
        1. 2.3.1. Don't worry about these . . .
        2. 2.3.2. Worry about these (but not too much) . . .
    3. 3. Funding Your Financial Plans
      1. 3.1. The Story of Justine and Max
      2. 3.2. Lining Up Your Ducks Before You Invest
        1. 3.2.1. Pay off your consumer debts
        2. 3.2.2. Review your insurance coverage
        3. 3.2.3. Figure out your financial goals
        4. 3.2.4. Determine how much you're saving
        5. 3.2.5. Examine your spending and income
        6. 3.2.6. Maximize tax-deferred retirement account savings
        7. 3.2.7. Determine your tax bracket
        8. 3.2.8. Assess the risk you're comfortable with
        9. 3.2.9. Review current investment holdings
        10. 3.2.10. Consider other "investment" possibilities
      3. 3.3. Reaching Your Goals with Funds
        1. 3.3.1. The financial pillow — an emergency reserve
        2. 3.3.2. The golden egg — investing for retirement
          1. 3.3.2.1. 401(k) plans
          2. 3.3.2.2. 403(b) plans
          3. 3.3.2.3. Small business plans
          4. 3.3.2.4. Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
        3. 3.3.3. The white picket fence — saving for a home
        4. 3.3.4. The ivory tower — saving for college
          1. 3.3.4.1. Saving in your own name
          2. 3.3.4.2. Using mutual funds for college cost funding
  8. II. Evaluating Alternatives to Funds
    1. 4. Selecting Your Own Stocks and Bonds
      1. 4.1. Choosing Your Own Stocks and Bonds
        1. 4.1.1. Beware the claims of stock-picking gurus
        2. 4.1.2. Know the drawbacks of investing in individual securities
        3. 4.1.3. Understand the psychology of selecting stocks
      2. 4.2. How to Pick Your Own Stocks and Bonds
    2. 5. Exchange-Traded Funds and Other Fund Lookalikes
      1. 5.1. Understanding Exchange-Traded Funds
        1. 5.1.1. Understanding ETF advantages
        2. 5.1.2. Eyeing ETF drawbacks
        3. 5.1.3. Seeing the pros and cons of trading ETFs
        4. 5.1.4. Identifying the best ETFs
      2. 5.2. Mimicking Closed-End Funds: Unit Investment Trusts
      3. 5.3. Customizing Your Own Funds Online
    3. 6. Hedge Funds and Other Managed Alternatives
      1. 6.1. Hedge Funds: Extremes of Costs and Risks
        1. 6.1.1. Getting the truth about hedge funds
          1. 6.1.1.1. Hedge funds have a much higher risk than mutual funds
          2. 6.1.1.2. Hedge funds have much higher fees than mutual funds
          3. 6.1.1.3. Hedge funds aren't subject to the same regulatory scrutiny
          4. 6.1.1.4. Hedge funds have lower returns compared to mutual funds
        2. 6.1.2. Investigating hedge funds
          1. 6.1.2.1. Read all the important documents
          2. 6.1.2.2. Understand how a fund's assets are valued
          3. 6.1.2.3. Ask questions about fees
          4. 6.1.2.4. Understand any limitations on redeeming your shares
          5. 6.1.2.5. Research the backgrounds of hedge fund managers
          6. 6.1.2.6. Don't be afraid to ask questions
      2. 6.2. Wrap (Or Managed) Accounts: Hefty Fees
      3. 6.3. Private Money Managers: One-on-One
  9. III. Separating the Best from the Rest
    1. 7. Finding the Best Funds
      1. 7.1. Evaluating Gain-Eating Costs
        1. 7.1.1. Losing the load: Say no to commissions
          1. 7.1.1.1. Refuting myths about loads
          2. 7.1.1.2. Exposing loads
        2. 7.1.2. Considering a fund's operating expenses
      2. 7.2. Weighing Performance and Risk
        1. 7.2.1. Star today, also-ran tomorrow
          1. 7.2.1.1. Fidelity Growth Strategies
          2. 7.2.1.2. Van Wagoner Emerging Growth fund
          3. 7.2.1.3. Managers Intermediate Mortgage fund
          4. 7.2.1.4. Matterhorn Growth fund
        2. 7.2.2. Apples to apples: Comparing performance numbers
      3. 7.3. Recognizing Manager Expertise
    2. 8. Using Fund Publications
      1. 8.1. Reading Prospectuses — the Important Stuff, Anyway
        1. 8.1.1. Cover page
        2. 8.1.2. Fund profile
        3. 8.1.3. Other fund information
        4. 8.1.4. Investment objectives and risks
        5. 8.1.5. Investment adviser
        6. 8.1.6. Financial highlights
      2. 8.2. Reviewing Annual Reports
        1. 8.2.1. Chairman's letter and performance discussion
        2. 8.2.2. Investment adviser's thoughts
        3. 8.2.3. Performance and its components
        4. 8.2.4. Investment holdings
      3. 8.3. Investigating the Statement of Additional Information (SAI)
    3. 9. Buying Funds from the Best Firms
      1. 9.1. Finding the Best Buys
        1. 9.1.1. The Vanguard Group
        2. 9.1.2. Fidelity Investments
        3. 9.1.3. Dodge & Cox
        4. 9.1.4. Oakmark
        5. 9.1.5. T. Rowe Price
        6. 9.1.6. TIAA-CREF
        7. 9.1.7. Other fund companies
      2. 9.2. Discount Brokers: Mutual Fund Supermarkets
        1. 9.2.1. Buying direct versus discount brokers
          1. 9.2.1.1. Why to buy funds direct
          2. 9.2.1.2. Why to buy through a discount broker
        2. 9.2.2. Debunking "No Transaction Fee" funds
        3. 9.2.3. Using the best discount brokers
      3. 9.3. Places to Pass By
      4. 9.4. Hiring an Adviser: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
        1. 9.4.1. The wrong reason to hire an adviser
        2. 9.4.2. The right reasons to hire an adviser
        3. 9.4.3. Beware of conflicts of interest
        4. 9.4.4. Your best options for help
        5. 9.4.5. If you seek a salesperson
          1. 9.4.5.1. Protect yourself
          2. 9.4.5.2. Make sure you get the best funds
  10. IV. Crafting Your Fund Portfolio
    1. 10. Perfecting a Fund Portfolio
      1. 10.1. Asset Allocation: An Investment Recipe
        1. 10.1.1. Allocating to reduce your risks
        2. 10.1.2. Looking toward your time horizon
          1. 10.1.2.1. Short-term goals
          2. 10.1.2.2. Retirement and other long-term goals
            1. 10.1.2.2.1. Factoring in your investment personality
            2. 10.1.2.2.2. Divvying up your stocks between home and abroad
          3. 10.1.2.3. College savings goals
      2. 10.2. Taxes: It's What You Keep That Matters
        1. 10.2.1. Fitting funds to your tax bracket
          1. 10.2.1.1. Understanding ordinary (marginal) income tax rates
          2. 10.2.1.2. Lower tax rates on stock dividends and long-term capital gains
        2. 10.2.2. Minimizing your taxes on funds
          1. 10.2.2.1. Use tax-free money market and bond funds
          2. 10.2.2.2. Invest in tax-friendly stock mutual funds
          3. 10.2.2.3. Watch the calendar
      3. 10.3. Fund Investing Strategies
        1. 10.3.1. Timing versus buy-and-hold investing
        2. 10.3.2. Active versus index fund managers
      4. 10.4. Putting Your Plans into Action
        1. 10.4.1. Determining how many funds and families to use
        2. 10.4.2. Matching fund allocation to your asset allocation
        3. 10.4.3. Allocating when you don't have much to allocate
        4. 10.4.4. Investing large amounts: To lump or to average?
        5. 10.4.5. Sorting through your existing investments
    2. 11. Money Market Funds: Beating the Bank
      1. 11.1. Money Market Funds 101
        1. 11.1.1. Comparing money funds with bank accounts
        2. 11.1.2. Finding uses for money funds
        3. 11.1.3. Refuting common concerns
          1. 11.1.3.1. I won't have FDIC insurance
          2. 11.1.3.2. The check may get lost or stolen
          3. 11.1.3.3. I may have trouble accessing my money
        4. 11.1.4. Grasping what money funds invest in
          1. 11.1.4.1. Commercial paper
          2. 11.1.4.2. Certificates of deposit
          3. 11.1.4.3. Government debt
          4. 11.1.4.4. Other types of securities
      2. 11.2. Choosing a Great Money Market Fund
        1. 11.2.1. Why yield and expenses go hand in hand
        2. 11.2.2. Looking at your tax situation
        3. 11.2.3. Deciding where you want your home base
        4. 11.2.4. Keeping your investments close to home
        5. 11.2.5. Considering other issues
      3. 11.3. Finding the Recommended Funds
        1. 11.3.1. Taxable money market funds
        2. 11.3.2. U.S. Treasury money market funds
        3. 11.3.3. Municipal tax-free money market funds
    3. 12. Bond Funds: When Boring Is Best
      1. 12.1. Understanding Bonds
      2. 12.2. Sizing Up a Bond Fund's Personality
        1. 12.2.1. Maturity: Counting the years until you get your principal back
        2. 12.2.2. Duration: Measuring interest rate risk
        3. 12.2.3. Credit quality: Determining whether bonds will pay you back
        4. 12.2.4. Issuer: Knowing who you're lending to
        5. 12.2.5. Management: Considering the passive or active type
        6. 12.2.6. Inflation-indexed Treasury bonds
      3. 12.3. Investing in Bond Funds
        1. 12.3.1. Why you might (and might not) want to invest in bond funds
        2. 12.3.2. How to pick a bond fund with an outcome you can enjoy
          1. 12.3.2.1. Don't overemphasize past performance
          2. 12.3.2.2. Be careful with yield quotes
          3. 12.3.2.3. Do focus on costs
        3. 12.3.3. How to obtain tax-free income
      4. 12.4. Eyeing Recommended Bond Funds
        1. 12.4.1. Short-term bond funds
          1. 12.4.1.1. Taxable short-term bond funds
          2. 12.4.1.2. U.S. Treasury short-term bond funds
          3. 12.4.1.3. Municipal tax-free short-term bond funds
        2. 12.4.2. Intermediate-term bond funds
          1. 12.4.2.1. Taxable intermediate-term bond funds
          2. 12.4.2.2. U.S. Treasury intermediate-term bond funds
          3. 12.4.2.3. Municipal tax-free intermediate-term bond funds
        3. 12.4.3. Long-term bond funds
          1. 12.4.3.1. Taxable long-term bond funds
          2. 12.4.3.2. U.S. Treasury long-term bond funds
          3. 12.4.3.3. Municipal tax-free long-term bond funds
      5. 12.5. Exploring Alternatives to Bond Funds
        1. 12.5.1. Certificates of deposit
        2. 12.5.2. Individual bonds
        3. 12.5.3. Guaranteed-investment contracts
        4. 12.5.4. Mortgages
        5. 12.5.5. Exchange-traded bond funds
    4. 13. Stock Funds: Meeting Your Longer Term Needs
      1. 13.1. The Stock Market Grows Your Money
        1. 13.1.1. Be patient
        2. 13.1.2. Add regularly to your stock investments
      2. 13.2. Using Mutual Funds to Invest in Stocks
        1. 13.2.1. Reducing risk and increasing returns
        2. 13.2.2. Making money: How funds do it
        3. 13.2.3. Seeing your stock fund choices
      3. 13.3. The Best Stock Funds
        1. 13.3.1. Mixing it up: Recommended hybrid funds
          1. 13.3.1.1. Vanguard Wellesley Income
          2. 13.3.1.2. Vanguard's funds of funds
          3. 13.3.1.3. Vanguard Wellington
          4. 13.3.1.4. Fidelity Puritan
          5. 13.3.1.5. Fidelity's Freedom funds of funds
          6. 13.3.1.6. T. Rowe Price offerings
        2. 13.3.2. Letting computers do the heavy lifting: Recommended index funds
        3. 13.3.3. Keeping it local: Recommended U.S.-focused stock funds
          1. 13.3.3.1. Fairholme Fund
          2. 13.3.3.2. Fidelity Low-Priced Stock
          3. 13.3.3.3. Sequoia
          4. 13.3.3.4. Vanguard Primecap
          5. 13.3.3.5. Vanguard Selected Value
          6. 13.3.3.6. Vanguard Strategic Equity
        4. 13.3.4. Being worldly: Recommended international funds
          1. 13.3.4.1. Vanguard International Growth
          2. 13.3.4.2. Dodge & Cox International
          3. 13.3.4.3. Masters' Select International Equity
        5. 13.3.5. Expanding your horizon: Recommended global stock funds
          1. 13.3.5.1. Oakmark Global
          2. 13.3.5.2. T. Rowe Price Spectrum Growth
          3. 13.3.5.3. Tweedy Browne Global Value
          4. 13.3.5.4. Vanguard Global Equity
    5. 14. Specialty Funds: One of a Kind
      1. 14.1. Sector Funds: Should You or Shouldn't You Invest in Them?
      2. 14.2. Landlording Made Easy: Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Funds
      3. 14.3. Profiting from What Everyone Needs: Utility Funds
      4. 14.4. Arming for Armageddon: Precious Metals Funds
      5. 14.5. Commodity Funds
      6. 14.6. Hedging: Market Neutral (Long-Short) Funds
      7. 14.7. Matching Morals to Investments: Socially Responsible Funds
        1. 14.7.1. Evil is in the eye of the beholder
        2. 14.7.2. Ways to express your social concerns
    6. 15. Working It Out: Sample Portfolios
      1. 15.1. Getting Started
        1. 15.1.1. Starting from square one: Melinda
        2. 15.1.2. Silencing student loans: Stacey the student
        3. 15.1.3. Living month to month with debt: Mobile Mark
        4. 15.1.4. Competing goals: Gina and George
        5. 15.1.5. Wanting lots and lotsa money: Pat and Chris
      2. 15.2. Changing Goals and Starting Over
        1. 15.2.1. Funding education: The Waltons
        2. 15.2.2. Rolling over (but not playing dead): Cathy
        3. 15.2.3. Wishing for higher interest rates: Nell, the near retiree
        4. 15.2.4. Lovin' retirement: Noel and Patricia
      3. 15.3. Dealing with a Mountain of Moola
        1. 15.3.1. He's in the money: Cash-rich Chuck
        2. 15.3.2. Inheritances: Loaded Liz
      4. 15.4. Getting Unstuck . . .
    7. 16. Applications, Transfers, and Other Useful Forms
      1. 16.1. Taking the Nonretirement Account Route
        1. 16.1.1. Filling in the blanks: Application basics
          1. 16.1.1.1. Account registration
          2. 16.1.1.2. Your personal information
          3. 16.1.1.3. Your investment
          4. 16.1.1.4. Your method of payment
          5. 16.1.1.5. Dividend and capital gains payment options
          6. 16.1.1.6. Wiring and automatic investment options
          7. 16.1.1.7. Check-writing option
        2. 16.1.2. Buying in to discount brokerage accounts
          1. 16.1.2.1. Borrowing money so you can invest: Margin accounts
          2. 16.1.2.2. Getting personal
          3. 16.1.2.3. Accessing your cash: Checks and debit cards
          4. 16.1.2.4. Transferring your dough into a new brokerage account
            1. 16.1.2.4.1. Information about your (new) brokerage account
            2. 16.1.2.4.2. Information about the account you're transferring
            3. 16.1.2.4.3. Brokerage account transfers
            4. 16.1.2.4.4. Mutual fund transfer forms
            5. 16.1.2.4.5. Bank, savings and loan, or credit union transfers
            6. 16.1.2.4.6. Attach your account statement!
      2. 16.2. Preparing for Leisure: Retirement Accounts
        1. 16.2.1. Retirement account applications
          1. 16.2.1.1. Register for an account
          2. 16.2.1.2. Choose your investment method
          3. 16.2.1.3. Select your account service options
          4. 16.2.1.4. Designate your beneficiaries
        2. 16.2.2. What to do before transferring accounts
        3. 16.2.3. Filling out transfer forms
          1. 16.2.3.1. Account ownership and address
          2. 16.2.3.2. Where the retirement account funds will be invested
          3. 16.2.3.3. Account being transferred
          4. 16.2.3.4. Authorization to transfer your account
      3. 16.3. Investing on Autopilot
      4. 16.4. Finding Help for a Overwhelmed Brain
  11. V. Keeping Current and Informed
    1. 17. Evaluating Your Funds and Adjusting Your Portfolio
      1. 17.1. Deciphering Your Fund Statement
        1. 17.1.1. Trade date or date of transaction
        2. 17.1.2. Transaction description
        3. 17.1.3. Dollar amount
        4. 17.1.4. Share price or price per share
        5. 17.1.5. Share amount or shares transacted
        6. 17.1.6. Shares owned or share balance
        7. 17.1.7. Account value
      2. 17.2. Interpreting Discount Brokerage Firm Statements
        1. 17.2.1. Portfolio overview
        2. 17.2.2. Account transaction details
      3. 17.3. Assessing Your Funds' Returns
        1. 17.3.1. Getting a panoramic view: Total return
          1. 17.3.1.1. Dividends
          2. 17.3.1.2. Capital gains distributions
          3. 17.3.1.3. Share price changes
          4. 17.3.1.4. Tallying the total return
        2. 17.3.2. Focusing on the misleading share price
        3. 17.3.3. Figuring total return
        4. 17.3.4. Assessing your funds' performance
          1. 17.3.4.1. Bond benchmarks
          2. 17.3.4.2. U.S. stock benchmarks
          3. 17.3.4.3. International stock benchmarks
      4. 17.4. Deciding Whether to Sell, Hold, or Buy More
        1. 17.4.1. Handling bear markets
        2. 17.4.2. Dealing with fund company consolidations
      5. 17.5. Tweaking and Rebalancing Your Portfolio
    2. 18. The Taxing Side of Mutual Funds
      1. 18.1. Mutual Fund Distributions Form: 1099-DIV
        1. 18.1.1. Box 1a: Total ordinary dividends
        2. 18.1.2. Box 1b: Qualified dividends
        3. 18.1.3. Box 2a: Total capital gains distributions
        4. 18.1.4. Box 3: Nondividend distributions
        5. 18.1.5. Box 4: Federal income tax withheld
        6. 18.1.6. Box 6: Foreign tax paid
      2. 18.2. When You Sell Your Mutual Fund Shares
        1. 18.2.1. Introducing the "basis" basics
        2. 18.2.2. Accounting for your basis
          1. 18.2.2.1. Specific identification method
          2. 18.2.2.2. The "first-in-first-out" method
          3. 18.2.2.3. The average cost method
        3. 18.2.3. Deciding when to take your tax lumps or deductions
          1. 18.2.3.1. Cashing in long-term gains and keeping taxes low
          2. 18.2.3.2. Selling for tax deductions and the famous wash sale rule
        4. 18.2.4. Looking at fund sales reports: Form 1099-B
        5. 18.2.5. Getting help: When you don't know how much you paid for a fund
      3. 18.3. Retirement Fund Withdrawals and Form 1099-R
        1. 18.3.1. Minimizing taxes and avoiding penalties
        2. 18.3.2. Making sense of Form 1099-R for IRAs
        3. 18.3.3. Withdrawing from non-IRA accounts
        4. 18.3.4. Understanding form 1099-R for non-IRAs
    3. 19. Common Fund Problems and How to Fix Them
      1. 19.1. Playing the Telephone Game
      2. 19.2. Trouble-Shooting Bungled Transactions
      3. 19.3. Specifying Funds to Buy at Discount Brokers
      4. 19.4. Making Deposits in a Flash
      5. 19.5. Verifying Receipt of Deposits
      6. 19.6. Transferring Money Quickly
      7. 19.7. Losing Checks in the Mail
      8. 19.8. Changing Options after Opening Your Account
      9. 19.9. Making Sense of Your Statements and Profits
      10. 19.10. Changing Addresses
      11. 19.11. Finding Funds You Forgot to Move
      12. 19.12. Untangling Account Transfer Snags
      13. 19.13. Eliminating Marketing Solicitations
      14. 19.14. Digging Out from under the Statements
      15. 19.15. Getting Older Account Statements
    4. 20. Fund Ratings and Forecasters
      1. 20.1. Avoiding the Bad Stuff
        1. 20.1.1. Looking into market timing and crystal balls
        2. 20.1.2. Keeping them honest and providing new fodder: The Hulbert Financial Digest
        3. 20.1.3. Using bogus rankings, token awards, and mystery testimonials
        4. 20.1.4. Pitching a product: Filler and ads in newsletter form
        5. 20.1.5. Investing newsletter Hall of Shame
          1. 20.1.5.1. Dwayne Dweeb's Personal Finance
          2. 20.1.5.2. Harry Hacker's Mutual Fund Investing
      2. 20.2. Getting In on the Good Stuff
        1. 20.2.1. Morningstar Mutual Funds
          1. 20.2.1.1. Reading a Morningstar bond fund report
          2. 20.2.1.2. Reviewing a Morningstar stock fund report
        2. 20.2.2. No-Load Fund Analyst
        3. 20.2.3. The Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors
        4. 20.2.4. EricTyson.com
    5. 21. Harnessing Your Computer's Power
      1. 21.1. Using Computer Software
        1. 21.1.1. Getting-and-staying-organized software
        2. 21.1.2. Accessing investment research software
      2. 21.2. Entering Cyberspace: Internet Sites
        1. 21.2.1. Investment Company Institute
        2. 21.2.2. Morningstar.com
        3. 21.2.3. T. Rowe Price
        4. 21.2.4. Securities and Exchange Commission
        5. 21.2.5. Vanguard.com
  12. VI. The Part of Tens
    1. 22. Ten Common Fund-Investing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
      1. 22.1. Lacking an Overall Plan
      2. 22.2. Failing to Examine Sales Charges and Expenses
      3. 22.3. Chasing Past Performance
      4. 22.4. Ignoring Tax Issues
      5. 22.5. Getting Duped by "Advisers"
      6. 22.6. Falling Prey to the Collection Syndrome
      7. 22.7. Trying to Time the Market's Movements
      8. 22.8. Following Prognosticators' Predictions
      9. 22.9. Being Swayed by Major News Events
      10. 22.10. Comparing Your Funds Unfairly
    2. 23. Ten Fund-Investing Fears to Conquer
      1. 23.1. Investing with Little Money
      2. 23.2. Investing in Uninsured Funds
      3. 23.3. Rising Interest Rates
      4. 23.4. Missing High Returns from Stocks
      5. 23.5. Waiting to Get a Handle on the Economy
      6. 23.6. Buying the Best-Performing Funds
      7. 23.7. Waiting for an Ideal Buying Opportunity
      8. 23.8. Obsessing Over Your Funds
      9. 23.9. Thinking You've Made a Bad Decision
      10. 23.10. Lacking in Performance
    3. 24. Ten Tips for Hiring a Financial Adviser
      1. 24.1. Communicator or Obfuscator?
      2. 24.2. Financial Planner or Money Manager?
      3. 24.3. Market Timing and Active Management?
      4. 24.4. Who's in Control?
      5. 24.5. Fees: What's Your Advice Going to Cost?
      6. 24.6. How Do You Make Investing Decisions?
      7. 24.7. What's Your Track Record?
      8. 24.8. What Are Your Qualifications and Training?
      9. 24.9. What Are Your References?
      10. 24.10. Do You Carry Liability Insurance?
  13. A. Recommended Fund Companies and Discount Brokers

Product information

  • Title: Mutual Funds For Dummies®, 6th Edition
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: July 2010
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9780470623213