Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds

No wonder mutual funds have become the investment staple for tens of millions of individual investors: Mutual funds offer instant diversification, and there are mutual funds available to suit any investment style or budget. Yet the decision to invest in mutual funds is only the first of many you must make. You still have to determine which funds are best for your risk tolerance and how to combine funds in a portfolio that’s suitable for your goals. With thousands of funds on the market, where do you begin?

Let Morningstar® Guide to Mutual Funds put you on the right path to building a sound, satisfying, and profitable mutual fund portfolio. This straight-talking guidebook gives you the information you need to make intelligent mutual fund choices, all in the independent, easy-to-understand style that has made Morningstar the most trusted and respected name in investment research and information.

Regardless of your investment experience or expertise, Morningstar® Guide to Mutual Funds will show you how to look beyond flashy advertising and often equally flashy (and unsustainable) performance figures to find the funds to fit your needs today and well into the future. Look to Morningstar’s plain-English explanations for:

• Advantages–and occasional disadvantages–of mutual funds versus other types of investments

• Listings of recommended funds for virtually any investment goal, time horizon, and level of risk tolerance

• In-depth explanations of expense ratios, loads, and other fund charges

• Strategies for assessing a fund’s past volatility and evaluating its future risk

• Diversification techniques across investments, asset classes, and subasset classes

• Optimal investment strategies for meeting short-, intermediate-, and long-term goals

• Key points in assessing the quality of a fund’s management