Sunday, 10 April 2011

How To Pick Mutual Funds

By Joe Maldonado


Investing is no game for the faint of heart. If you don't know how to pick mutual funds you could lose everything you ever worked for. The market has more currents than the ocean has tides. If you are trying to navigate it without a plan and solid information you are bound to sink.

It takes a certain amount of skill to be able to read the market. When new investors come along a lot of them make the same mistakes they buy and sell at the wrong time. Mutual funds can be a great way to get prepared for your retirement but if you learn how to pick mutual funds you could be wasting not only time but valuable resources.

There are so many mutual funds in the market that picking a good one is like looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. There are good ones and bad ones out there. The problem is a lot of new investors and some veterans do not know how to tell them apart. Read on for a few pointers on how to pick mutual funds that will be beneficial for you.

1. One of the most important points to consider when picking mutual funds is your ultimate goal. In other words why are you investing? Will you be long or short term? When investing for the short term, that is 1-3 years you want to pick mutual funds that are tied to large blue chip companies.

2. Learning to profile the risk probabilities is key to picking mutual funds. Though in general mutual funds are a lot safer for investors than direct speculative investing it does have risks. The higher the risk the greater the return is how it goes but you have to know for yourself when the risk outweighs the possible benefits.

3. Reading a fund houses past performance is also a useful tool that can help you to decide when picking mutual funds. Though the fact that they have done well in the past is not a guarantee it is a good indicator of the level of their skill and proficiency with regards to making investments. It says a lot for a firm if they have longevity on their side. Most of the newer firms are here today and gone tomorrow.

This does not represent even half of the things you should know before picking a mutual fund. It is designed to get you to the point that you seek out more information. It is often said that knowledge is power, in this case knowledge is money in the bank.




About the Author:



No comments: