return of beating the S&P 500. I looking for a agressive but diversified fund or ETF a good yeild couldn't hurt either. I'm sick of watching all the news on every stock I own and following the fundamentals and earnings constantly , Not to be lazy , But im far too busy .
Thanks in advance
Does sort of keep one off the streets, doesn't it?
Check out Bruce Fund. Search for in on the internet. It has a supurb track record. Mine should be 1/2 as good. It is a small fund that invests in small cap stocks. You will not find it in Morningstar or on Yahoo finance. Too small.
A larger fund with an excellent very long term track record is Pennsylvania Fund, run by Royce Funds. Also a small cap fund.
Closed end funds. GAM. Very good and very long track record. Large cap stocks. IIF. Invests in Indian stocks. TDF. Invests in Chinese stocks. SWZ. Invests in Swiss stocks.
Index funds. Few have a long track record. They do have low expenses for the most part. SDY is a conservative solid vehicle and pays 2.9% dividend. that should increase with time. IVE is another. 8.9% return over 5 year. It is one of the older index funds. IWM 13% return over 5 years.
Here is something to consider. Do not pick just one. Pick a variety and place a portion of your dinaro in each. Remember the concept of diversification. That concept also applies to investing in funds. Not everything is going to continue to beat the S&P 500 in the future. The 500 will eventually come back into vogue with investors, maybe. So place a portion into that index too.
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What exactly is a front load? What is a back load?
What is a reasonable percentage for either, and what is getting too high?
A front end load is a sales charge that is prepaid when the stock is bought. Ex. $5000 invested in a 5% front end load fund will actually only purchase 4,750 in shares at current NAV. A back end load is a sales charge that is paid when you sell. $5,000 of mutual fund sold with a 5% deferred sales charge will net only $4,750.
The back end load will decrease over time Typically it will drop 1% each year after the initial year. Funds with back end loads will also typically have higher expense ratios.
Front end load remains in place for each purchase. Expense ratios are higher than institutional class shares but lower than back end funds.
A Class shares are generally front end loads
B Class shares are generally back end loads
C Class shares are also generally back end loads
Institutional class funds are only sold to 401k's, retirement plans, etc etc etc and have no loads and the lowest expense ratios. An individual can get these if they invest in the millions.
In the retail market, the sales charge is not fixed at what you read on Morningstar or Yahoo. It is typically dependent upon how much you invest and your preference for the loads. Ex. American Funds A class shares list a 5% front end load. But if you invest 100k with them that load is only 3.5%. Theory is that the more you invest, the more they earn and they can charge a lower percentage to reach that profit level due to the expense ratios and the loads. So, as you invest more you'll see first the loads disappear and then once that's gone you'll shift out of that class of fund into institutional pricing. They WILL get their money from you…
That too is why it's sometimes better to invest in a 401k than an IRA. If you're investing in mutual funds you can quite often get institutional pricing inside a 401k whereas in an IRA you'll get hit with a load and higher expense ratios. That difference can totally defeat the purpose of the IRA; even a ROTH!
As for reasonable? zero is reasonable. I think they hide the profits and make it difficult to compare prices. There are no load funds out there. But there are good funds that charge a load. Don't shun a load fund simply because it's got a load. Better to get a quality fund then worry about loads. Typical loads are 5% for front end adn 5.75% on back ends. Back end loads tend to be the most expensive in terms of overall fees.
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In this half hour show produced for Fairfax Public Access TV in Virginia, the host Ben Rivers interviews Steven Golberg of TG Investments, an investment manager and financial advisor, about mutual funds, international investing, and the stock market.
Duration : 28 min 34 sec
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Do these people who manage these funds have any clue about how the stock market works and what a bear market is?
How did these fools ever get their jobs?
Why did so many of these professionals continue to loadup on Wachovia stock even as the shares were going down down down?
How about the Fidelity Magellan fund manger who continued to buy bank stocks that got obliterated?
the mutual fund managers tend to get their jobs because they are buddies with the owner of the mutual fund company or a relative
it has nothing to do with them having any investing skills or knowlege
a lot of the mutual fund industry executives like to hire their daughters to mange the funds
these are just cushy jobs for priveledged people
and you will never see any of these screwups getting fired either
and being replaced with people that actually have the skill and the knowlege
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Example. You’ve received that big bonus you’ve been waiting for, or perhaps you expect a sizable tax return you’d like to put to work for your financial future. The stock market is where many have made their fortunes, but individual stocks require research that you haven’t the time for, and you would rather begin your investing with some built-in diversity. Mutual funds have been quite popular, but you want to avoid the sales charge. What is available to meet that need?
One avenue open to those who have decided on investing in mutual funds, but are turned off by the sales fees, are no-load funds. When you purchase a mutual fund, companies often charge a sales fee, which is, more or less, a commission paid to the sales staff. Sales fees can be as high as 8 1/2 % of the value of the investment which, when calculated for thousands of dollars in investment principal, can equate to quite a lot of money that will no longer be working for you. No-load mutual funds are no different than loaded funds, but don’t charge any sales fees. There are an increasing number investment companies offering this type of product to investors, with a diverse selection of funds to choose from.
While the benefit of not having to pay a sales fee up front can be significant, the prospective investor should be aware that funds do not operate for free, and should pay careful attention to other expenses. There are other non-sales related fees that you will have to pay, and they will be deducted from the funds assets, which includes your investment capital. Costs such as redemption fees, purchase fees, account fees, and exchange fees can all be charged to you to defray the administrative costs of the funds and erode your investment gains. Fortunately, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, limit the amount that can be charged in these fees, and it typically does not exceed two percent of the principal.
Every mutual fund is overseen by an investment advisor, who is also paid by the shareholders in the form of a percentage of fund assets, listed under management fees. The SEC sets limits for the amount of this percentage and will vary between funds.
Another fee which can be found in the prospectus is the 12b-1 fee. From the 12b-1 fee, marketing expenses, sales commissions to brokers, advertising and other miscellaneous administrative costs are deducted. The National Association of Securities Dealers, or NASD, imposes limits to these fees of .75 percent.
When initial inquiries are made to a mutual fund company, broker, or investment advisor, you will receive a prospectus. The prospectus is a legal form of disclosure to potential investors, which provides all legal information as well as fee costs. This document should be utilized fully by the investor to better understand the amounts to be deducted from their capital. All fees and commissions are delineated within its pages, and should be completely understood before committing your hard-earned money.
It should be understood that all mutual funds include administrative and management fees, not just no-load funds. The percentages can vary significantly from company to company and should be fully disclosed in the prospectus. Funds should be considered primarily for their investment merits, but associated costs which will impact the overall return should also be factored in early in the selection process.
As you can see, no-load mutual funds can save you a great deal of money by not deducting a considerable amount in sales charges. But, as with any investment vehicle, caveat emptor, or buyer beware, should always remain in effect.
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A mutual fund is simply a large group of people who lump their money together for a management company to invest. And, like most things in life, there are fees and commissions involved. A load mutual fund charges you for the shares/units purchased plus an initial sales fee. This charge is typically anywhere from 4% to 8% of the amount you are investing or it can be a flat fee depending on the mutual fund provider. This is added to your purchase as a sales fee. For example, if you invested $1,000 into a 5% load mutual fund, you would actually be investing only $950 with the remaining $50 going to the company as a commission. A no-load fund simply means that you can buy and redeem the mutual fund units/shares at any time without a commission or sales charge. However, some companies such as banks and broker-dealers may charge their own fees for the sale and redemption of third-party mutual funds.
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