You just received a hot tip from your girlfriend on a mutual fund guaranteed to double your money. You have some money to invest so you decide to
place an order to buy 100 shares…but wait, are you sure the fund has returned 100% this year? Is there a minimum initial investment requirement? Will you be charged a sales load? What type of stocks
does the fund invest in? Is it a riskier investment than you are willing to accept? Here at MsFiscallyFit.com we stress the importance of conducting your own
research before making any investment. So how do you check out a mutual fund when you have limited time and limited resources? A great online research tool is the Quicken Mutual Fund Finder. The
Quicken Finder will help you sift through the thousands of mutual funds to identify the fund that best fits your investment parameters. No more long hours at the library thumbing through the Morningstar mutual
fund booklets searching for the right fund. The Quicken Finder does all the work for you. Although there is no guarantee that the information on the Quicken Finder will result in a profitable investment, at
least you have the tools at your fingertips to help make an intelligent investment decision. The Quicken Finder can get as broad or as detailed as you like. Using Quicken (click here to get started), start off with
selecting a mutual fund type – your choices range from the popular large growth funds to the specialized Latin American stock funds. Next identify a return period – either one, three, five or ten years and click
on "Go". You will be immediately transported to the Quicken site where you will find a listing of mutual funds. You can tighten your scope even further by using the "Full Search". This function will
allow you to determine your mutual fund type, performance standards, fund expenses, return, minimum initial investment and even the Morningstar rating (1 to 5 star). The "Popular Search" is helpful, because it's
set up to identify select mutual funds that fall into certain categories like "Best No-Load Funds" or "Ranked by 5 Year Performance". Once you have a listing of all the funds that match your parameters, it's time to
review each one and select the best one for you. If you click on the "Quote Plus" you will receive an easy-to-read table summarizing all the funds vital statistics like the manager's name and the fund's 5 year
performance. On the left hand side of the Quote Plus screen is the Navigation Bar with options for the mutual fund's top holdings and charts necessary to evaluate performance. Additionally, you can click on
"Value Line Rating" and "Morningstar Rating" and receive the results from their research (both are excellent sources for mutual fund rankings). If you click on the "Detail Background" at the bottom of the page,
you will find a brief description of the fund and the toll free telephone number so you can order the prospectus and annual report. Some mutual funds also have a "Fact Sheet" which summarizes the mutual fund's
investment philosophy and fund manager's background. It is important to review the fund's philosophy to determine whether it fits your level of risk and desired investment style. Many of our readers have emailed
us here at MsFiscallyFit.com about how helpful this resource has been for them. I believe you will also find this a very valuable tool for years to come. |
