As our economic outlook continues to be poor and as the stock market is in turmoil, stock investing has become increasingly difficult. Maintaining a solid investment portfolio can be hard work. One alternative to the difficult work of stock selection is to invest in mutual funds. With thousands of mutual funds to choose from, how can you tell which ones are the best?

That’s why I have compiled a list of the 7 Best Mutual Funds for 2009. After researching the performance, stability, and income of hundreds of top-rated funds, I found the best mutual funds to invest in for 2009 and beyond.

Income-Dividends

One part of my selection process was to find mutual funds with cash flow, either through dividends or bond interest payments (in the form of dividends for mutual funds). This factor is becoming ever more important during a time when stocks continue to decline. Through dividends you can know that you will have an income of the yield percentage.

Future Trends

Another selection criteria was to find mutual funds that are going to perform well for years to come. As you will see, I have included a mutual fund that invests in stocks of alternative energy or “green” companies. The whole environmentally-friendly, green movement is just getting started and will be a boon to the economy for the next 10-20 years. One aspect that is somewhat more of a near-term strategy is the gold focused fund because of the predicted rise in the price of gold over the next year or two.

Long-Term Performance

The last and most important selection criteria was the long-term performance of the mutual fund. Any one stock or mutual fund can perform well over one or two years by luck, but it takes true skill to manage a portfolio that has good returns over a ten year period. A major failure of many investors that buy mutual funds is that they chase the fund that is currently performing the best or just recently had its best year. If the mutual fund is having an unbelievably great year, then either stay away from it because it’s too late or sell it if you own it.

The 7 Best Mutual Funds for 2009:

1. American Century High-Yield Fund (AHYVX)

- With the current state of the economy, your best bet for making money is finding an investment with a stated income (i.e. dividends, bond interest payments). American Century’s High Yield Fund has a dividend yield of 9.38%, which is much larger than most high yielding mutual funds or stocks.

2. The New Alternatives Fund (NALFX)

- this is the perfect mutual fund for times when people and companies are looking for environmentally-friendly ways of doing things. This mutual fund invests in companies that focus on renewable energy sources, as well as companies that are concerned with energy conservation and environmental protection. Over the next decade green and alternative energy stocks will most likely sky-rocket with gaining popularity and necessity.

3. Franklin Utilities Fund (FKUTX)

- A utilities fund is also a great way to get a flow of decent income during a time of poor stock performance. This mutual fund has a dividend yield of 4% and a 10-year annualized return of 5.17%, which is very impressive. Utility companies are a solid investment for having a stream of dividend income.

4. ING Corporate Leaders Trust Fund (LEXCX)

- Although its 10-year annualized return has been hurt by the recent stock market downturn putting it at 3.67% (which is better than all but two main value strategy mutual funds), ING’s fund has performed 10% better than the S&P 500 over the past year. It also has a dividend yield of 2.46%.

5. Franklin Gold and Precious Metals (FKRCX)

- This mutual fund has been a top performer over the past decade with a 10-year annualized return of 14.42% and a current dividend yield of 8.34%. This mutual fund has performed amazingly, and it will continue to perform with gold becoming more of a flight-to-safety investment for investors.

6. Vanguard Energy Fund (VGENX)

- although the commodities boom of earlier this year has faded, oil prices will come back. It is only a matter of time. Vanguard’s Energy Fund has had a 10-year annualized return of 14.81%, which is better than most mutual funds of any kind. It is positioned to perform well over the next few years.

7. Municipal Bond Fund (of your choice)

- municipal bond rates have gone up in recent months and continue to be a great source of extra income. For example, some bonds in Florida are paying 6% a year in interest. Remember with municipal bonds that interest payments are tax-exempt; just make sure you pick a bond that is within your state (otherwise interest payments become taxable). How does a tax-free income of 5% or 6% on your investment sound for 2009- with the U.S. still in recession?



By: Jared Schneider

About the Author:

Jared Schneider is the owner and current writer for InvestorPitStop.com.

His writings have been published on SeekingAlpha.com, and is a featured Expert Author for EzineArticles.com. He is also a luxury real estate professional for Century 21 Elite Properties in Orlando, FL.



With so many options out there for the individual investor, it is sometimes difficult to determine that investments are right for you. The key to having a long-term, stable and profitable portfolio is to diversify your investments. For many investors the process of diversification includes investing in both mutual funds and stocks. The best course is to learn all you can about both types of investments and find your ideal balance between the two.

Mutual funds are open-end funds that are not listed for trading on a stock exchange. They are created by companies who use their capital to invest in other companies. Mutual funds will sell their own new shares to investors. Capitalization is not fixed and normally shares are issued as people want them.

1. Mutual funds have great characteristics for investors

Mutual funds are professionally managed. The mutual funds employ professional managers to operate all investing. These professional managers bring with them many years of experience. They are experts in selecting and evaluating investments for the fund. The managers make all of the buying decisions and selling decisions that relieves the individual investors from that responsibility.

2. Mutual Funds Are Diversified

Another advantage of mutual funds is that most of their portfolios are highly diversified. This means that the mutual fund is invested in a wide variety of stocks. The advantage of diversification is that if a few stocks drop in price the entire fund won™t be dramatically affected. Diversification occurs by investing in many different companies. It can also be accomplished by investing in several different industries. The advantage of diversifying through mutual funds is that the funds can reach a wider diversification than can be reached by individual investors.

3. There are thousands of mutual funds to choose from

Depending on your preferences, you can choose to invest with a mutual fund that covers the whole market or with a fund that focuses on one or two industries. There are even mutual funds available that invest only in foreign markets. Mutual funds can be very convenient for the investor since the fund does all the record keeping. Your mutual fund will provide you with all the forms you need to file your taxes. Additionally, many may offer perks such as the ability to write checks against the money market fund.

4. Stocks Have Greater Returns (Potentially)

On the other hand, purchasing individual stocks has attractive features as well. After the brokerage fee is paid, there is no ongoing fee associate with owning individual stocks. This is in contrast to mutual funds that charge a participation fee. Mutual fund fees can totally negate the mutual fund return that you are expecting.

With investing in individual stocks, an investor has the ability to be very flexible with their investing and move with market if they so desire. Mutual funds are very stable but this also keeps them slow. Individual stock investments can be traded quickly if need be, and purchased just as quickly if the investor finds an undervalued stock.

5. More Control

With individual stock investing, an investor has a greater level of control over their investing. Although brokerage firms are involved there is the opportunity to be more hands on with the stock purchases. This level of involvement is impossible with mutual funds. Many investors like to know exactly where their money is going and this can be hard with a mutual fund that holds shares in 50 or more companies. Investing in individual stocks allows the investor to have a larger relationship with the company they are investing in. This can create a sense of comfort for the investor because they know where their money is being used. They can track the activities of the company they have invested in and feel like a true part of that company.

6. The Verdict

Investing a mixture of mutual funds and individual stocks seems to the best method for a majority of investors. Those who do not want to take the time to research their stocks and would rather let an expert handle things are more comfortable with mutual funds. On the other end of the spectrum, those who want a greater level of participation with their investments will find individual stock investing attractive. As part of a long-term diversification strategy it may be best to look into both in the ratio that you are comfortable with.



By: John Morris

About the Author:
For more great mutual fund related articles and resources check out http://123mutualfunds.info



Money makes the world go round, and don’t we all know it! All of us are looking for ways to get ahead financially. Mutual funds are one way to increase your net worth by becoming involved in collective investing. Investing in mutual funds reduces the risks of individual trading by making you part of a collective of investors. These mutual funds can provide you with a prospectus of fees and their past performance to help you make the right decision about where to put your money. Independent rating services will also guide you in finding a mutual fund that has the same goals as you.

The Basics of Mutual Fund Investment

You may be wondering “what are mutual funds?” Not everyone has a huge deal of knowledge about investing and stocks. Many of us have some money tucked away for a rainy day, and a little in our superannuation. Now, more than ever, is the time to understand how to make your money work for you. Mutual funds pool together money from numerous investors and invest this collective sum into stock, bonds and various other investments. Your money is professionally managed with the aim of benefiting all shareholders in the mutual fund. The risk of losing money is reduced by diversifying the investments. Also, mutual funds are cost efficient. Investing money together increases buying power and reduces operating costs per person. A major perk of investing in mutual funds is that it’s a lot more liquid than other forms of investment, so if you’re finding yourself a little short of cash you can actually sell some of your funds shares.

Investing Your Money In Mutual Funds

Investing in a mutual fund means that you have access to the services of a mutual fund manager. This means a professional is handling the daily trading of assets on your behalf. A mutual fund manager oversees the investment portfolio, and is responsible for finding the best possible returns for the invested dollar.

You can choose to invest your money in lump sums or with automatic investment. Lump sum investment in a mutual fund will typically mean you can invest as much or as little as you have, provided that it is above the minimum requirements of the fund. Automatic investment can help you save money on a regular basis, by transferring a part of your income into the fund on a regular basis.

Making Money From Mutual Funds

The value of a mutual fund is divided into shares, and the value of each share is determined at the end of every trading day. Money is earned in appreciation, dividends or capital gains distribution. It’s important that you look at the past performance when you choose a mutual fund, because not all are equal. Don’t forget to take into account fees and expenses against the average yearly return.

How You Can Benefit From Mutual Funds?

All investment comes with risk. It is possible to lose money invested in mutual funds. Long term, this risk can be managed with some strategic investing, but can be a little disconcerting in the short time. Investments have the potential to both increase and decrease in value, in line with economic change, but in the long term investments do tend to increase with time. These same risks are found in the housing market and traditional stock trading. Mutual funds reduce the risks slightly with the ability to weather some financial instability due to diverse investing.

If anyone you know is still asking “what are mutual funds?” it’s time to let them in on our little secret. Mutual funds are a relatively low risk way to make the most of the money you have. By investing with others you’re able to make the most of the money you have and increase your assets. Your mutual fund manager handles the investment decisions for you whilst your net worth continues to increase over time.



By: Bob Winter

About the Author:

Bob Winter has been in the finance industry for many years and does some writing in his spare time. His area of interest is mutual funds and finding the best mutual fund. He believes that it is important to understand the basics of the money market to get the best out of your investment. Visit him at Super Mutual Funds to get a better insight.



You must have read this statement many a times in the TV commercials and also on the form that you must have filled and wondered what does this line mean. Let me tell you this line means. I do agree that the mutual funds are subject to market risk but that market risk if you go to consider is very minimal. Thanks to the stringent regulations employed by SEBI (Stock Exchange Board of India)..

Please note that mutual funds do not provide any guarantee of returns or capital (initial amount you invested).

Mutual funds are a good place to start because they offer you the opportunity to diversify quickly into a range of investments

Hence, nobody can assure you of returns, or even not suffering losses. Going strictly by the book, the possibility of a fund performing exceptionally poorly and all your savings dwindling to nothing is quite real.

Having said that, please remember that over the long term, the possibility of such an extreme event is quite negligible. If the historical performance is to go by, then there are hardly any diversified equity funds which have delivered negative returns over the last 10 years, if one would have invested through the SIP.

Therefore, there is no need to be overly concerned. Mutual funds are a very convenient vehicle for individual investors.

Moreover, returns tend to be commensurate with the kind of risk you take. Mutual fund schemes are riskier than the assured return schemes like fixed deposits and bonds. But, they also have the potential to generate far superior returns.

It is upon the investor to strike a balance between the return he wants to earn and the risk he wants to take. Having done that, he can invest in an appropriate combination of assured return schemes (National Savings Certificate, Public Provident Fund, post office schemes, bonds from institutions) and mutual funds.

Mutual Funds come under the regulation of the Securities and Exchange Board of India and have to meet stringent regulations. Therefore, they cannot just close shop and run away with investors’ money.

Mutual Funds comes under SEBI scanner and so does all the other public offering and there is a security deposit that they have to pay for getting listed. The chance of being fraudulent is negligible. With the growing number of people investing in mutual funds they are making it more reliable.

In fact, India happens to have quite stringent rules and norms regarding the setting up of an AMC and making periodic portfolio disclosures (stating where their have invested their money).

Moreover, in the set-up of a mutual fund, there is a body of trustees who are supposed to look after the interest of investors whose money is being managed under different schemes.

The mutual fund itself is a trust registered under the Indian Trust Act, and is initiated by a sponsor. The sponsor is the person who acts alone or with another corporate to establish a mutual fund. The sponsor then appoints an AMC to manage the investment, marketing, accounting and other functions pertaining to the fund.

Therefore, while it may be possible for a mutual fund to inflict losses to the investors as a result of poor fund management, they just can’t wind up their operations and run away with your money.

Mutual funds you can invest in

Share Market

Kotak Mutual Fund

Franklin Templeton India Mutual Fund

Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund

Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund

HDFC Mutual Fund

TATA Mutual Fund

Sundaram Mutual Fund

Cholamandalam Mutual Fund

Standard Chartered Mutual Fund

DSP Mutual Fund

Principal Mutual Fund

SBI Mutual Fund

Reliance Mutual Fund

Deutsche Mutual Fund

ABN AMRO Mutual Fund

J M Financial Mutual Fund

ING Vysya

Optimix

HSBC Mutual fund

Fidelity AMC

For more information on Mutual Funds and Investments visit Kotak Mutual Fund



By: Mossan Smith

About the Author:



Needless to say, that there are thousands of different mutual fund combinations available out there. That is the reason why finding the best mutual fund might be considered as challenging task in your eyes. What if you are told right now that there is the answer to that question? What if could know for sure the exact best mutual fund to invest right now? Well, it is possible but you can be sure that you will be really surprised.

As a matter of fact, the best mutual fund to invest in is the one that suits your requirements. As you can see, there’s no magic answer, no ’secret fund’ that all the millionaires are using. The best thing about mutual funds is that they’re fully customizable, and they offer instant diversification. It simply means that having a mutual fund allows you to invest a little bit of money into a lot of things, giving you better options for achieving success all around. For example, in the case you invest $2,000 in one or two stocks, you’re taking a huge risk and even while the reward might be worth it, the crash definitely will not. If you incest the same amount of money in a mutual fund you will have your pick of investments. You might also wonder what exactly in a mutual fund is.

Well, you should know that a mutual fund can contain a lot of the following investments, such as stocks, bonds, commodities, real estate, and currency.

It should be also added that to these things, mutual funds can also incorporate other investments. With your $2,000, you’ll get a little slice of any of these that you want, depending on which mutual funds you consider, and how you select to diversify your money. Of course, this might all seem like a lot to take in, and you might be wondering a lot how you’re can keep track of all this info. It is important for you to keep in mind that you need to take in what you can on your own, and then see a financial expert in order to help you to decide which mutual fund will be the best for you and discover what the best way to invest your money is.

The other vital thing that should be pointed out is that mutual funds are easy to invest in, and you can pick from two variable types, In other words if you don’t want to pay heavy fees like you would with stock investments, you don’t have to. You can even get professional picks on the stocks in your mutual fund for free, when it would cost you hundreds or thousands to research before making your investment in stocks alone. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will be 100% successful every single time, but, the truth is that having free professional picks definitely can’t help. So, if you want to find out more info about mutual funds you should find a financial advisor near you now.

Read also about silver bullion and forex investments.
For the review of HYIP Stable Interest – read this publication.

You might want to know the reason why Mutual Funds Investment is called so. Well, as a matter of fact, they are called as such because of the reason the gain is not one-sided but the gain happens for both sides. To put it in other words, everybody is mutually gaining from it especially in the case you know what you are doing. You should also pay attention to that the only technique that you have to know when it comes to Mutual Funds Investment is to invest in indexed mutual funds.

The other useful point for you to be aware of is that it will make you money with less cost by just following the flow of the market. Yes, it is that easy. Actually it could be said that it is the easiest type of investment and this is the reason why Mutual Funds Investment is also considered to be the safest among all the other kinds of investment. In addition it is easy to keep track of the movement according to the fact that there are monitoring software that you are available to purchase to give you support. You should also know that there are even online sites that you can browse to give you a preview on what is happening in the stock market. Needless to say, that these sites really make it easier for you to deal with your investment issues.

In fact, the most difficult decision you will have to make when it comes to mutual funds is choosing the proper type for you because let us face it the investment that you are doing now is for the financial stability of your future. Keep in mind, it is really vital. The point is that in the case you are a first timer and you do not have any idea when it comes to investment and most especially with mutual funds investment, you have the opportunity to get in touch with financial professional that will give you sound advice when it comes to it. And it is highly recommended to do so if such a need appears.

In addition, there is a tool you can use. It will be useful for you to find out that this is a tool that will be able to guide you and tell you exactly whether you are doing the right thing. It should be also pointed out that it is online and it is free. So you see not having knowledge or expertise on investing should not stop you from making a significant profit. There are organizations and tools that will help you to know everything that is required concerning Mutual Funds Investment in order it will be easier for you to make money in this way.

Read also about how to invest into silver bullion.
Practical forex investments for beginners.
The review of Stable Interest published on HYIPNews.com

It has been consistently demonstrated that your investment returns aren’t so much a function of what stocks your invested in, but what sectors/asset classes your invested in. In the dot com boom, it didn’t matter what dot com stock you invested in, if you were invested in dot com companies, you probably did alright. During the dot com bust, it wasn’t just a couple select companies that went down, it was just about all of them. Because of this tendency for similar stocks to move together, it is much more productive to be able to simply buy ” or short – a type of stock, then try and nail the exact right company. But how can you gain exposure to a sector without taking unnecessary risk based on the company?

Exchange Traded Funds are the answer. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) allow you to invest in a group of companies all at once, similar to a mutual fund. The difference is that ETFs are traded directly on a stock exchange just like a stock, they can be bought and sold any time during the day without penalty, and they are both shortable, and optionable allowing you to take advantage of both up, and down moves in the market.

ETFs can focus on certain regions; China for instance, is represented by the FXI. ETFs can focus on certain sectors; Those playing financial stocks may find XLF interesting. It can even focus on certain capitalizations; Those wanting diversification across small cap companies can make a single investment in IWM.

But why shun the mutual fund? Why take the new guy over the established king? Lets start with the tax advantage. When mutual funds endure large sell offs, they have to liquidate many positions, some of which are currently at a gain. They then have to pay capital gains on those positions, and this negatively impacts their return. It would be an understatement to say that Mutual funds generally have higher expense ratios in general compared to ETFs. It can sometimes cost as little as 8 dollars to get into an ETF whereas a mutual fund of 20,000 that grows to 60,000 over a 20 year period may have conservatively lost as much as 18,000 to its competent managers.

Perhaps the biggest consideration is the simple convenience of owning ETFs when compared to mutual funds. They can be bought and sold (or shorted) any time during the trading day, using the same order types available to normal stocks. Free from redemption fees, the only deterrent from actively trading an ETF is belief in the efficient market hypothesis, and the standard commission costs from buying and selling stocks

A great boon to ETF investors, never before experienced by mutual fund holders, is the ability to use stock options to control risk. Stock options can be used to reduce the risk by using covered calls, or buying protective puts. Alternatively, call options can be used to control maximum loss, and potentially increase profits.

There are some disadvantages to ETFs as well. Some ETFs have complex structures that can lead them to deviate from what they are supposed to be tracking. A similar instrument, ETNs, can also easily be mistaken for an ETF, leading to some general confusion about what exactly you are investing in. Yet for those willing to put in the work to learn, ETFs can be a highly profitable venture for the modern day portfolio.

The only reason not to use ETFs is a lack of understanding, for they really are one of the most revolutionary investment tools of the 21st century. Their ability to reduce risk through diversification across an asset class, while still effectively giving an investor exposure to an entire sector, should be taken advantage of by everybody, for both long and short plays. ETFs are an invaluable asset for everyone invested in any stock market, and their advantages should be used to the fullest.

About the Author:

My first investment was in mutual funds which is what most people invest in because the mutual fund industry is very effective at promoting its products. There is a certain sense of security knowing that everyone else is also buying mutual funds.

The problem is that for most of us we have been sold a product that does what it says but does not deliver what you need.

Yes, mutual funds do invest in the stock market.

Yes, mutual funds do diversify the risk over hundreds of stocks but

No, most mutual funds do not give you the returns you need.

Diversify and Die?

Mutual Funds will give you built in diversification. Some of them invest in entire stock market indexes, others invest into a combination of stocks and bonds, and some invest into other company mutual funds (which are called Fund of Funds, yikes!).

Diversification of your investment money is important. You should never put all of your money into one company. Because you have no control over how that company does or how other investors react to the company’s news, it is best to hedge your dollars by spreading the risk around.

Yet it is possible to over-diversify. Because mutual funds have so much money to invest, they struggle with finding good companies to buy. To keep to the rules of diversifying the portfolio, they cannot invest usually more than 5% of their assets in one single company. This results in lots of dollars being invested into companies you would never consider.

Mutual Funds have to buy lots of mediocre or bad companies because they need to diversify and do something with the billions of dollars they have. It gives the fund shareholders the impression that their money is being invested and the fund managers gladly charge you a healthy management fee.

Active Management is an Expense

Professional management of millions of dollars does not come cheap for most mutual funds. You can expect to pay 2% up to 8% for some specialized funds. These means that if you make 5% return, you would have actually have earned 8% if the Management Fee is 3%. That means that the Mutual Fund has to earn 3% before they can even pay you.

Dollar Cost Averaging is not a benefit if you are getting poor returns. Believe me, I invested consistently for fifteen years directly into various mutual funds. I bought over $125,000 in mutual funds with the biggest dealer and ended up with an averaged return of a criminal 2.05% a year!

It makes far more sense to contribute to a money market fund where there are no fluctuations and then use that fund to make your investment purchases.

Mutual funds do have the advantage of providing liquidity. You can sell and have your cash within a couple of days. But the question is begged why are you pulling out? Investment money is money you should not need right away.

Mediocrity is the Name of the Fund

The sad fact about Mutual Funds is that most them rarely beat the market. It is estimated that only 1.3% of American Mutual Funds will beat the S&P 500. Mutual Funds are investment products and should not be seen as a complete investing solution.

Mutual Funds that get 20% returns in one year have a poor chance of duplicating their results. Companies do a better job of providing consistent performance compared to MFs. If you buy a mutual fund that did well you have a greater chance of it doing poorly the following year.

But just like the stock market where most of them are not worth investing into, the same thing exists in the mutual fund industry. There does exist a small segment that does capture decent, but not market-beating returns. If you want to delegate some of your investment dollars to the responsibility of another, then mutual funds are the way to go. But when doing so, you need to lower your expectations.

The Best Solution: Take Control

If you want diversity protection, low management expenses, and equivalent to market results get Exchange Traded Funds. They should make up a decent portion of your portfolio. You can only get those by opening up a brokerage account.

But while you are opening up a brokerage account and doing dome research into Exchange Traded Funds, you might as well look into investing into stocks. It is only in the stock market where you can get market beating returns and stay way ahead of inflation and taxes.

Stop accepting the pale imitation of stock market returns through the veil of mutual funds. Invest directly and take control. There are plenty of information about Exchange Traded Funds, direct investing in Equities, and Stock Options. Its a classic scenario of time vs money. You are saving time but losing control, and also lots of opportunity to make money.

About the Author:
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