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Investment in Mutual Fund
Investment in Mutual Fund
A mutual fund is an investment vehicle in which a pool of investors collectively put forward
funds to an investment manager to make investments on their behalf. The fund is regulated by
the Securities Exchange Commission, or SEC.
When involved with a mutual fund, each investor benefits proportionally to the amount of
money they invested. Mutual funds may invest in stocks, bonds, money market instruments,
or other assets.
Depending on the vehicle of investment and redemption patterns, mutual fund investment can
offer tax benefits.
The advantages of mutual funds are the ability to diversify a portfolio across industries, low
fees, and availability of professional expertise in the guise of fund managers.
The disadvantages of mutual funds are that they do not provide ownership of underlying
holdings to investors; hence, investors do not have much say on the composition and
constituents of mutual funds.
Mutual funds are also more expensive and riskier as compared to index funds.
They usually invest in a large number of securities, and their performance is tracked as the
change in the market cap of the fund, which itself is determined by the performance of the
underlying investments.
Mutual funds charge a sales commission, known as load, as well as management fees related
to the fund’s administration. While all funds charge management or administration fees, there
are funds in the market that are no-load, meaning they do not charge a sales commission.
The returns of a mutual fund are based on the performance of its constituents. Therefore, skill
and expertise is required to pick equities that provide desired returns. Highly-trained
professionals function as fund managers for mutual funds.
You can use fund rankings issued by research firms like Morningstar and Standard & Poor to
select funds. Buying shares of a mutual fund does not give investors voting rights in a
company; instead the fund manager votes on their behalf.
However, since mutual funds generally incorporate hundreds of different securities, it does
give investors the benefit of diversification of their portfolios.
Investment in Mutual Fund
The value of a share of mutual fund is called the net asset value per share, or the NAV. The
price is determined by taking the net value of all the securities in the fund and dividing by the
outstanding shares.
The share price of an open-end fund is based on the net asset value of its constituents.
Closed-end mutual funds function in the opposite manner i.e., they issue a fixed number of
shares and redemption is not allowed.
Instead, the only way for an investor to “redeem” a share is by selling it to someone else.
Therefore, their price is based on the dynamics of supply and demand and they always trade
at a discount to the net asset value of their constituents.
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Investment in Mutual Fund
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Types of Mutual Funds
Broadly there are four types of mutual funds. They are as follows:
Money Market mutual funds: Money market mutual funds invest in short-term
debt issued by corporates, government, state, and municipalities. For example,
they might invest in US treasuries and debt issued by established companies
like Apple Inc. or Exxon. The aim of this type of mutual fund is to
generate income while minimizing risk.
If mutual funds are traded from inside a retirement account, then capital gains accruing from
the sale are deferred.
If, however, the trades occur outside a retirement account, then the investor is responsible for
paying the prevailing capital gains tax.
Dividends from the mutual fund or redemption of units contained within the fund are
also taxed at regular rates for income and capital gains.
Mutual funds are available in various flavors and help diversify a portfolio
across sectors and industries.
Mutual funds enable regular investors, who do not have much knowledge
about the markets, to access sophisticated and professional expertise of fund
managers at low costs.
Active mutual funds that take large positions in stocks can make a significant
difference to the performance of that equity and generate profits for investors
who hold shares in that fund.
Mutual funds are a liquid market, meaning it is relatively easy to trade and
find a buyer for them. The same cannot be said for several assets.
Mutual funds do not offer ownership of shares. Therefore, it is not possible for
investors to select or pick the composition of a fund to align with their values.
Mutual fund fees can add up over time. According to 2016 research by the
Investment Company Institute (ICI), the after-fee return for $1,000 annual
investment averaging 7% return over 30 years for mutual funds is $86,000.
Investment in Mutual Fund
Index funds offer $99,000 over the same timeframe due to lower management
fees.
While they are a type of mutual fund, index funds have become more popular
in recent times as compared to regular index funds. This is because they are
cheaper and less risky. Unlike mutual funds, whose constituents are selected
with rigorous analysis, index funds stick to a tried-and-tested formula and
track indices.
For those who hold very few units of mutual funds, returns can be negligible
or very low, especially when they are compared to similar equity investments.
A mutual fund is an investment vehicle in which a pool of investors collectively put forward
funds to an investment manager to make investments on their behalf. The fund is regulated by
the Securities Exchange Commission, or SEC. When involved with a mutual fund, each
investor benefits proportionally to the amount of money they invested.
The four types of mutual funds are: equity mutual funds, money market mutual funds, bond
funds, and balanced funds.
The advantages of mutual funds are the ability to diversify a portfolio across industries, low
fees, and availability of professional expertise in the guise of fund managers. The
disadvantages of mutual funds are that they do not provide ownership of underlying holdings
to investors; hence, investors do not have much say on the composition and constituents of
mutual funds. Mutual funds are also more expensive and riskier as compared to index funds.
If mutual funds are traded from inside a retirement account, then capital gains accruing from
the sale are deferred. If, however, the trades occur outside a retirement account, then the
investor is responsible for paying the prevailing capital gains tax.
Buying shares of a mutual fund does not give investors voting rights in a company; instead
the fund manager votes on their behalf.
Investment in Mutual Fund
AB O UT THE AUTHOR
True Tamplin, BSc, CEPF®
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True Tamplin is a published author, public speaker, CEO of UpDigital, and founder of
Finance Strategists.
True is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®), author of The Handy Financial
Ratios Guide,