Most equity mutual funds realize that in order to see any true growth or gains, the fund manager will have to invest outside of the domestic markets. The problem is that a lot of domestic equity funds are limited to what they can invest in. Some might get creative and invest in companies with a [...]
If size does not count, then why is it that so many people are still big fans of American Funds? As the second largest mutual fund company in the United States, American Funds manages $915 Billion in assets. They also manage the largest mutual fund on the market, the American Funds Growth Fund of America [...]
When it comes to diversification, the primary purpose is to eliminate security specific risk to the point where all you are left with is systemic risk. What many mutual funds aim to do is further reduce that risk by holding handfuls of securities. Balanced funds will hold cross-sector as well as cross-asset class securities while [...]
One of the most surprising figures surrounding the mutual fund industry should not be much of a surprise at all. The fact that domestic equity funds continue to bleed should not be all that much of a surprise given that positive and attractive gains clocked in other asset classes and equity groups. According to Morningstar’s [...]
Normally the month of May brings about festivities. For example, the Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico’s victory over French forces in 1862. And this type of celebration happens across Europe as well, with many countries putting on “May Day” parades. For some, however, May is reminiscent of a “flash crash” that cut into the market [...]
Warren Buffett did not make billions investing the way all of the popular kids invested. And so it should be that mutual fund investors should not look for solutions that all of the popular equity funds when they are looking for where to invest their money. In fact, our article about contrarian investing suggest that [...]
Regular visitors know that we are fairly bullish on domestic equity funds heading into 2011. Of the different mutual funds we have looked at, most of them have been decent enough for most investors and we can see where they might fit in a moderate-type of investment portfolio. Of course, there are always risks with [...]
No question, small cap funds have been on something of a tear. As the one segment that has actually performed among all equity funds, small cap has seen a lot of action over the past year. In fact, many investors have looked to small caps for protection where large cap funds have been unable to [...]
The idea of using dividend funds as a way to protect against potential pressures in the fixed income area of one’s portfolio makes a lot of sense. But not everyone wants a mutual fund that pays a dividend yield. These people feel that if you want an income fund, you look at bonds or other [...]
People invest in mutual funds for many different reasons, but one of them can simply stated in the following: they want the funds to excel during periods of market strength and to water-down losses when markets soften. This is perhaps even more true with balanced funds, even moderate allocation balanced funds like the Vanguard Wellington [...]
There is a theory among investors these days that large cap domestic equity funds are not the optimal place to invest. Instead, they prefer some of the more popular investment categories, investing instead in mutual funds with abnormal returns for their categories and which encompass a fairly substantial level of risk. Bond funds come to [...]
A decade can be a funny thing. For many, it is a measure of success or failure (e.g. “I wish I had made my first million by 40″), for others a reason to celebrate (e.g. “It’s grandma’s 90th birthday!”). And so it goes with mutual funds. For example, Morningstar recently reported that the past decade [...]
The cash flows for mutual funds tells this story: people are favoring international investments over domestic equity investments. Now, a good chunk of those international investments happen to be in bonds where yields are marginally better and currency hedging is done with ease and simplicity (a lot of investors do not even know it is [...]
As silver prices penetrate a 30-year high and gold edging above the $1,300 mark, it seems somewhat fitting that as part of our Gold Funds section we take a look at the BlackRock All-Cap Energy and Resources Fund (BACAX). It stands to reason that these are the types of mutual funds that people will start [...]
Emerging Markets Funds are arguably one of the hottest mutual funds segments today. For the most part, people who are looking for equity exposure and are fed up with domestic equity funds and their performance will turn to the emerging markets as a way to increase their portfolio’s performance while at the same time avoiding [...]
