6 Responses

1. muncie birder

   February 8th, 2010 at 8:05 am

   1

   Tell you what. Go to your book store and spend $12 on “Investing for Dummies” . That book will give you a more complete answer than we can here.
   I currently own about 3 open end mutual funds, 8 closed end mutual funds, and 3 index funds.
   You can buy the open end mutual funds directly from the fund company. You down load the prospectus and application forms, read the prospectus, fill out the application, and enclose a check, put it in an addressed stamped envelop and drop it in the mail box. That is all there is to it.
   Closed end funds you buy like stocks from a stock broker. You can also buy some open end funds from stock brokers, but they may charge you for the privledge.
   The real trick is not buying the funds. The trick is trying to figure out which ones to buy. That is the hard part. A good place to start is Yahoo finance. Find a couple of funds you might be interested in and then go to the mutual fund company web site and learn more about them. You want to know what the expense ratio is, whether it has a front end load, what the minimum initial investment is, what the average annual return has been in the past, and whether the fund is tax efficient or not. Also how long the current manager has been with the fund.

2. Rocket French or Bust

   February 8th, 2010 at 11:53 am

   2

   My advise (yes I own mutual funds) is to go to a financial adviser. Edward Jones or the like. Unless you are a real whiz at market trends, etc. it’s best to listen to the advise of an expert. This doesn’t mean you can’t do some research on your own (you should). I recommend setting up a monthly payment that goes into the fund, however much you can. Think of it as a monthly bill and forget about it. The adviser can do all of this for you, you just sign the papers and it’s done.

3. Frank Castle

   February 8th, 2010 at 6:27 pm

   3

   Open a brokerage account at Zecco and invest in the Vice Fund.

4. Tamborin

   February 8th, 2010 at 10:36 pm

   4

   When I went to change jobs, I went for advice from the man who handled my old job’s 401K for advice on what to do with my 401K investment. He helped to advise me on what my options are and select mutual funds to invest in.
   Financial planners are a good resource for learning about budgets, investing and planning for retirement. A trusted financial planner can help you select and manage the mutual funds that are best for you.
   You can contact the fiancial institution for where you bank to inquire if they have financial planning resources. You can also contact your local Chamber of Commerce for a list of financial planners that belong to the Chamber. Your employer may already have a financial planner available to help you with your retirement benefits from your office.
   Call a couple financial planners to find out who their target client is to find one that will meet your needs. Find someone you trust and that you believe is knowledgable. That person can advise you about options and any tax benefits or consequences, inform you about mutual funds that you qualify for and would be of benefit and help you choose the investments that are best for your situation.
   A good financial planner will ask you about your risk tolerance and your long-term goals as well as what your income is and help you select a proper level to invest.
   Good luck.

5. zaphodsc

   February 9th, 2010 at 3:35 am

   5

   Over the last 30 years I have bought shares in about 10 mutual funds; I still have 8 of those funds in my holdings.
   It isn’t hard getting started
   What is hard is figuring out your objectives.
   If this is for retirement than you will probably be looking at an IRA (A Roth Ira in all likelyhood). Whether it is for retirement or not; you must decide what you want to invest in, how long your time horizon is and what your objectives are.http://money.cnn.com/http://www.cnbc.com/
   Are two good web sites to narrow down your search criteria.http://www.wealthybarber.com/
   If you read one book, make it that one.
   Once you have figured out what you want, than just call the 800 number for the fund company. Vanguard, T. Rowe Price, Fidelity etc etc etc, there are hundreds of mutual fund companies.
   Order a fund prospectus and application from the Toll Free number or web site and start investing. Many fund houses allow you to have automatic investments drawn from your checking account. Some have minimum purschase requirements.
   Good luck

6. aj_log

   February 9th, 2010 at 5:17 am

   6

   Hi, I’m Faizal. I can guide you on this. Kindly email or YM me at aj_log@yahoo.com.sg, YM id: aj_log for further info.