Inside Mutual Funds

TradeKing Review

Jeff — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:17:23 +0000

If you’ve looked for an online broker for any time at all I’m sure you’ve come across the popular online discount broker TradeKing. But how is TradeKing to invest with?

Fees and Commissions

One of the biggest draws to TradeKing is their low commissions and fees. At the time I’m writing this they charge just $4.95 for all stock and ETF trades, whether they are placed online through their website or working with one of their brokers… a service that many brokers charge $40 or more for.

For options TradeKing charges $0.65 per contract plus a base fee of $4.95 for up to 8 contracts. If you need more than 8 you pay $0.15 per contract but they then charge a base of $8.95 for the transaction.

TradeKing also offers many other investment options like Mutual funds at $9.95 per purchase or sale, CD’s at $24.95 per transaction, Bonds at $4.95 per bond ($14.95 minimum) and treasury securities at $24.95 per transaction.

Disclaimer: Be sure to review all of these fees on the TradeKing website before signing up as they may have changed since the time of this writing.

Customer Service

According to SmartMoney’s broker survey, TradeKing ranked #1 for the third time in 2011… which is a great sign that their customer service will be there for you when you need them.

You can contact TradeKing’s customer service either by phone or through their online chat option (which I personally like) and speak to a trained broker (instead of some call service rep) so feel free to ask complicated questions and put them to the test!

Their customer service hours are 8am – 6pm ET, Monday – Friday which is a little light for my taste (I would like to see them open a little longer to accomodate busy professionals) but they are open an hour and a half before the opening bell and two hours after, so there is some room to get aftermarket questions answered.

Trading Tools

TradeKing’s trading tools feature an assortment of research reports, technical analysis charts, calculators for proft and loss and taxes, and stock and options screeners if you’re looking to narrow down your investment options to a specific set of criteria.

One of the things I like the most is that they have a lot of educational tools specifically geared towards new investors which features articles, videos and webinars to get new investors up and running quickly. Even seasoned investors can learn a thing or two, or check out the glossary for a quick refresher.

Opening An Account

I personally opened an account recently and I can tell you it really could not have been any easier. Opening the account took just a few minutes and I could log in and explore all of the tools and features that TradeKing had to offer.

To fund my account I just securely linked my bank account to TradeKing’s site and did an ACH deposit. The whole process was approved in less than a day and I was able to make a deposit the next morning. Once the money was cleared I was ready to go and placed my first trade very quickly and easily.

If you are interested in opening a TradeKing account click here to sign up today.

American Century Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:44:03 +0000

Formerly known as Twentieth Century Mutual Funds, American Century Investments is an investment firm which is privately held. The company serves a variety of groups and individuals such as corporations, individual investors, institutions, and numerous investment professionals. The company philosophy is that the investor’s best interests are their top priority and this belief has fueled their commitment to service excellence where each of their clients is concerned.

The history of American Century Investments

American Century Investments was founded in 1958 in Kansas City, Missouri by James E. Stowers, Jr. and now has over 1,300 employees working in offices in several cities around the world, namely:

Hong Kong
Kansas City, MO
Mountain View, CA
New York City, NY
London, England

Today the company offers numerous investment disciplines, all of which are actively managed through a broad assortment of products including commingled trusts, institutional separate accounts, sub-advisory accounts, and of course mutual funds. The company was named the “Best Large Mutual Fund Company” in the US in 2009 (Lipper).

On an interesting side note, due to their battles with cancer, in 1994 Jim and Virginia Stowers established the Stowers Institute for Medical Research dedicating nearly $2 billion (their personal fortune) in order to endow the organization. Roughly 40% of the profits that American Century Investments earns go to the support of further research for cancer, dementia, and diabetes.

Investment products offered

American Century Investments offers a wide variety of investment products for all types of investors. There are 6 primary categories of investment products that they offer such as:

Asset Allocation Portfolios – features professional investment management of single yet broadly diversified funds

Bond and Stock options – a variety of bonds, stocks, and other investment securities that features a do-it-yourself style of portfolio

CD’s and Money Market funds – enables you to diversify your portfolio, generate more income, and preserve your capital

College Savings Plans – numerous investment options for your future college grad that features spending flexibility and tax benefits

Mutual Funds – a great option for the balancing and diversification your portfolio using professionally managed bonds, money market funds, and stocks

Retirement Investments – numerous options for individuals and businesses

Due to the focus of this article, we are going to discuss mutual funds. If you are interested in any of the other investment instruments listed above, you can always visit an American Century Investments office.

Mutual funds offered

American Century Investments offers 83 different funds in the following categories:

18 Asset Allocation funds – Morningstar Asset class funds including Livestrong, One Choice Portfolio, and Strategic Allocation funds
21 Bond funds – short-term, intermediate, and long-term bond funds of all types
5 Money Market funds – includes California Tax-Free, Capital Preservation, Premium Money Market, Prime Money Market, and Tax-Free Money Market
39 Stock funds – large and small blend funds as well as small cap, mid-cap, and large cap funds are the primary funds in this group, although there are foreign investments and precious metals funds available

Bank of New York Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:43:14 +0000

The oldest financial institution in the US is the Bank of New York Mellon or BNY Mellon for short and is a historically significant company as well having been founded in 1784. The company currently operates in 6 primary financial sectors providing services such as:

asset management
asset servicing
advisory services
broker-dealer
issuance services
treasury services

BNY Mellon was established in 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York Company, Inc. and Mellon Financial Corporation. They are one of the industry leaders where asset management and security services are concerned. Their commitment to their clients involves managing and moving their particular assets in order to help them succeed in a marketplace that is constantly changing.

BNY Mellon currently holds over $22 trillion in assets which are under administration or custody, and over $1 trillion of them are currently managed. The company serves primarily three different groups of businesses or individuals including:

advisors and consultants
corporations and institutions
private individuals

The company is currently located in 34 countries worldwide with 56 offices and 42,000 employees which serve over 100 different markets (as of the end of 2009).

Company history

BNY Mellon is steeped in history having been founded over 225 years ago by its well-known founding father Alexander Hamilton. From a historical standpoint the company is woven into the history of the US as well. Not only was Hamilton the company’s founding father, he also wrote their constitution and in BNY Mellon’s earlier years, he was the most active individual in the corporation.

It has oftentimes been said that Hamilton was a man of great financial vision and had a firm grasp of the basic financial principles. Based on his role with company, Hamilton would go on to become the first Secretary of the US Treasury as well as being one of George Washington’s first cabinet members. During the company’s entire history, they have served their clients effectively and efficiently while at the same time maintaining their vision of growth and a history of performing through bad or good economic times.

Mellon Financial mutual funds

The financial investment division of BNY Mellon is Mellon Financial which was founded 4 years after the end of the US Civil War by Thomas Mellon along with sons Andrew and Richard. The company merged with the Bank of New York in 2007. The types of mutual funds that they offer include:

business or corporate trusts
capitalization funds
closed-end or open-end mutual funds
exchange-traded funds (ETF’s)
equity funds
growth and value funds
index funds
managed funds
initial public offerings (a.k.a. IPO’s)
unit investment trusts

This presents somewhat of challenge to the novice investor who is not that educated where these different fund groups are concerned. For more information regarding the different types of funds offered, visit the Bank of New York Mellon or you can call your local area BNY Mellon office and speak with a company representative.

Charles Schwab Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:42:12 +0000

Originally founded as a brick-and-mortar brokerage, the Charles Schwab Corporation is based in San Francisco, CA and is one of the largest mutual fund companies in the world today. Although the company offers the same products and services that the traditional brokerage does, they offer lower commissions and fees than the standard stock brokerage. Currently, they now serve nearly 8 million clients with their brokerage accounts. As of March of this year, they have nearly $1.5 trillion in assets.

The Charles Schwab Corporation now has roughly 300 office locations throughout the US. Additionally, they now employ 13,300 people and offer access to their products and services via the internet, telephone, and wireless devices. Besides being a discount brokerage, the company also offers the following:

annuities
bond trading
checking accounts
investment research
mortgage loans through the Charles Schwab Bank
mutual funds

Additionally, the corporation was originally founded as the First Commander Corporation in 1971 but changed the name to Charles Schwab & Company, Inc. two years later.

Products and services offered by Schwab

One of the benefits of establishing an account with the Charles Schwab Corporation is the variety of products and services that they offer. They currently offer 8 different categories of investment vehicles which will more than enable an individual the diversification that they need in their investment portfolio. These products and services include:

Annuities – great for creating guaranteed monthly income and boosting your retirement savings
Bonds and fixed-income securities – over 28,000 of these fixed-income securities to choose from
CD’s and money market funds- high yield investments that help you maximize your money
ETF’s or exchange traded funds – a great investment instrument for diversifying your portfolio
Managed accounts – access to professional fund managers who can assist you in building and managing your portfolio
Margin loans – convenient and flexible credit lines at competitive interest rates
Mutual funds – thousands of no-load mutual funds are available with no transaction fees to be concerned with
Stocks and options – take advantage of fast execution and trading as well as key research tools at low prices

Mutual funds offered by the Charles Schwab Corporation

There are three primary categories of mutual funds that the company offers clients. These include the Mutual Fund One Source Select List, no-load mutual funds, and the Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List. Here are the specifics involved with each category:

Mutual Fund One Source Select List – this category includes international funds as well as large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap funds, specialty funds, taxable bonds, and tax-free bonds.

No-load mutual funds – more than 2,000 funds (information available at the Charles Schwab Corporation website.

Schwab Income Mutual Fund Select List – top 10 list of 3rd party funds and affiliate funds are the primary funds in this group which incorporates equity funds, mid and large-cap funds, and a few others.

T Rowe Price Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:26:31 +0000

T. Rowe Price is a mutual fund company which is publicly owned and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Their primary product is mutual funds, but they also offer sub-advisory services. In addition to these, they offer account management services for financial intermediaries, individuals, institutions, and retirement plans. They also offer investment guidance and planning services for their clients. As of this past March (2010), the company now employs 4,779 people worldwide.

The company offers their clients 70 different investment funds including:

25 bond funds
25 domestic stock funds
15 international funds
5 money market funds

Besides the 20 plus offices they have nationwide, they also have 11 international offices that serve their overseas clients. These offices are located in:

Amsterdam
Buenos Aries
Copenhagen
Hong Kong
London
Luxembourg
Singapore
Sydney
Tokyo
Toronto
Zurich

As of this past March (2010), T. Rowe Price was globally managing $419 billion in assets and was ranked in the top 20 investment companies in the world. Additionally, “Business Week” magazine rated them as one of their Customer Service Champs.

T. Rowe Price History

Thomas Rowe Price, Jr. founded the company in 1937 and launched their first mutual fund – the T. Rowe Price Growth Stock Fund – in 1950. Some of the more significant years, besides the two above, in the company’s history include:

1960 – expanding into the small-cap equity investment market in the US
1974 – introduction of the first T. Rowe Price retirement accounts in the US
1986 – IPO or initial public offering
2000 – acquired Fleming International forming the current company
2009 – T. Rowe Price invests $100 million in Twitter

Interestingly enough, Price Jr. is credited for developing what is known as the “growth stock philosophy of investing”, which placed an emphasis on dividends and earnings which would grow in value faster than economic or inflationary growth. Additionally, instead of charging a commission, Price based and charged the fees on managed assets.

T. Rowe Price Mutual Fund Offerings

T. Rowe Price currently offers their clients and investors 6 different categories of investment funds including:

Asset Allocation funds – combines securities from different classes of assets in one fund in order to diversify the client’s portfolio

Domestic Bond funds – focuses on bonds for those investors who want to combine investment securities from several asset classes into one convenient bond fund

Domestic Stock funds – features a variety of domestic stocks that have the potential for substantial gains while attempting to reduce the risks involved

International funds – these funds pursue financial and investment opportunities overseas

Money Market funds – capital preservation is the primary characteristic of these funds which have the potential of realizing short-term gains

Retirement funds – when you reach age 65, you will have a diversified portfolio that satisfies your retirement income needs

Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:22:01 +0000

About Franklin Templeton Investments

Franklin Templeton Investments is an investment firm comprised of Franklin Resources, Inc. and its subsidiaries and was originally founded in New York City in 1947. Rupert Johnson, Sr., the company’s founder was an admirer of Benjamin Franklin, so he chose the last name as the name of the company. They are primary mutual funds company but they also offer retirement planning services. The company headquarters would be moved to San Mateo, CA from New York City in 1973.

The company today is a global investment firm and is publicly owned. Currently, company offices are located in 30 countries worldwide and their services are offered in over 150 countries as well. The satellite offices are located in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Franklin Templeton Investments offers over 100 mutual funds as well as 529 college plans and Coverdell ESA’s.

History of the company

When Rupert Johnson, Sr. founded the company in the late 1940’s, he had been operating a very successful retail brokerage from his Wall Street office. Rupert retired in the 1950’s and his son Charles took over as the CEO and President of the company at the age 24 in 1957. At that time, the assets under company management totaled only $2.5 million and the firm employed only a few individuals. At the time, the company was not doing that well because of how competitive insurance companies were in the investment marketplace.

In 1971, the company went public and by 1979, there were roughly 60 employees and $250 million in managed assets. When the 1980’s began, Franklin Templeton Investments saw some significant growth by doubling or nearly doubling its assets for 6 consecutive years. In the latter part of the decade, the company’s managed assets had grown from just under $2 billion to over $40 billion by 1989.

Franklin Templeton Investments mutual funds

As was mentioned earlier, the primary products that the company offers are mutual funds and retirement planning services. They are divided into several categories based on the actual name of the fund including:

Franklin funds
Franklin Templeton funds
Mutual
Templeton

Depending on the type of mutual fund you are interested in investing in, you kind find anything from small-cap to income growth to retirement funds. So it is wise to contact one of their offices and discuss this with a knowledgeable employee if you are uncertain as to which fund would best suit your current and future financial needs.

We have taken the time to list the top five mutual funds which have performed positively over past years that Franklin Templeton Investments currently offers their clients including:

Franklin International Small Cap Growth Advanced
Franklin Oregon Tax-Free Income A
Templeton Global Bond A
Franklin Templeton Moderate Target A
Franklin Minnesota Tax-Free Income A

If you would like to discuss your financial needs with a savvy broker or gather further information regarding the different mutual funds that Franklin Templeton Investments offers, you should visit their financial advisors today.

Vanguard Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:21:09 +0000

Based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, the Vanguard Group is a managed investment group and mutual fund company in the US that manages roughly $1 trillion in assets. It offers a number of financial products to investors, but most importantly, mutual funds both in the US and internationally. John C. Bogle, the company founder and former CEO has been credited with creating the first ever index fund that became available to investors.

Additionally, he is recognized as the individual who popularized index funds overall as well as driving down the costs of mutual fund investments. Unlike other companies that sell mutual funds, Vanguard is owned by the funds themselves. With this particular structure, each fund contributes a fixed amount of capital towards the following:

distribution services
marketing
shared management

This type of structure is better at orienting management towards the interests of its shareholders.

In addition to their excellent mutual fund offerings, the company also offers 5 other key products and services including:

401(k) rollovers
529s, ESA’s and UGMA/UTMA’s college funds
Health savings accounts
IRA’s
Plans for small businesses

A brief history of Vanguard Mutual Funds

Originally founded in 1975, Vanguard has evolved into the largest pure no-load mutual fund company in the world. There are primarily known for their low-cost index fund offerings, but they also offer a wide array of actively managed, low-cost mutual funds a line of ETF’s (exchange-traded funds) which were originally known as VIPER’s. Additionally, the company also provides the following:

asset management
brokerage services
educational account services
financial planning
fixed and variable annuities
trust services

Currently, the oldest mutual fund that they offer is the Wellington Fund which was established prior to the stock market crash of 1929 in the month of July. Despite the fact that the corporate headquarters are located in the state of Pennsylvania, they also have a number of different offices worldwide including Asia, Australia, and Europe.

Vanguard Mutual Fund Offerings

No matter what your investment needs are, chances are Vanguard offers a mutual fund account that best suits your needs. There are several types of mutual fund accounts that Vanguard currently offers its investors. These include the following categories:

Balanced mutual funds – asset allocation funds, convertible securities, 4 different Life Strategy funds, 3 types of Managed Payout funds, STAR funds, at least 10 different Target Retirement funds, tax-managed, Wellesley Income, and Wellington funds

Bond inter-term, long-term, and short-term treasury funds – 8 state-oriented funds, GNMA funds, high-yield corporate, high-yield tax-exempt, inflation-protected, 3 different intermediate term funds, limited-term tax-exempt, 3 different long-term funds, and 4 different short-term funds

Money market funds – Admiral Treasury, Federal Money Market, 4 state-oriented funds that is tax-exempt, Prime Money, and tax-exempt funds

International funds – Global Equity, International Explorer, International Growth, International Value, and Tax-Managed International funds

These are the primary groups of mutual funds and you can find out more information about all the different categories and types of mutual funds available by visiting your local Vanguard office.

Dreyfus Corporation Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:19:16 +0000

The Dreyfus Corporation is one of the world’s leading financial and mutual fund companies that is currently headquartered in New York City. They have been recognized as one of the investment industry leaders and were the first firm of its type to advertise their products and services to the consumer. Additionally, they were also the first financial corporation to develop a high-yield fund.

In 1994, Dreyfus Corporation merged with Mellon Financial and is now one of the Bank of New York Mellon’s subsidiaries. Dreyfus Corporation had over $280 billion in managed assets as of mid-2009 and currently administers approximately 200 different mutual funds. The company has over 1,400 employees. BNY Mellon Asset Management is listed as the actual parent company of the Dreyfus Corporation.

Brief History of Dreyfus

The Dreyfus Corporation was founded in 1951 by Jack Dreyfus, a legendary investor who had opened his brokerage house – Dreyfus & Co. – in 1947, considered to be the year of the company’s origin. During the 1950’s, Dreyfus’ interest in mutual funds propelled him to hire John G. Nesbett & Co., Inc., a small company that was quite active in the area of asset and mutual fund management.

The company went public in 1965 and was one of the first management firms to actually tap into the stock market in order to gain additional operating capital. In 1976, the Dreyfus Corporation was one of the first mutual fund companies to introduce municipal bond funds that were tax-exempt, a rather revolutionary concept at the time. As of July of 2007, the company had passed the $200 billion mark in managed assets.

Dreyfus products and services

In additional to their vast line of mutual funds, the Dreyfus Corporation also offers other products and services including the following:

annuities
brokerage services
IRA’s (individual retirement accounts)
separate accounts

However, it is their line of fund products that has made the company one of the larger mutual fund companies in the world. They have categorized their mutual fund listings as either Dreyfus Funds (bond and equity funds) or Money Market Funds (general and retail funds), including the types of funds offered in each category:

Bond Funds – short, intermediate, and long-term maturity bonds

Equity Funds– small, mid, and large capitalization funds

General Funds – municipal (or tax-exempt) and taxable funds

Retail Fund – municipal (or tax-exempt) and taxable funds

According to Morningstar Research, a firm that focuses on mutual fund and stock performance as well as opinions on when to purchase or sell, they have listed the Dreyfus Corporation’s top 5 mutual funds as follows:

Dreyfus Opportunistic Small Cap
Dreyfus Greater China A
Dreyfus/Standish Global Fixed Income I
Dreyfus Mid-cap Value A
Dreyfus/Standish International Fixed-Income I

If you are considering adding mutual funds to your portfolio, any of these above are rated as a wise choice. However, if there are other funds that are listed in the four groups above these 5, then you should probably contact the Dreyfus Corporation for more information regarding the different choices.

Janus Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:05:02 +0000

The Janus Capital Group, Inc. is one of the larger mutual fund companies whose headquarters are located in Denver, CO and is publicly owned. The company has over 1,100 employees today and they provide their clients with growth as well as risk-managed strategies for better investing and manage the following types of funds:

Balanced mutual funds
Equity funds
Fixed income funds
Money market funds

Financial experts often claim that it is Janus’ rigorous research which has made them so successful when it comes to recommending certain funds for their clients and not just the types of funds that they currently manage. Janus Capital Group has grown into an asset management company that operates globally and now manages assets to the tune of $165.5 billion. Offices outside of the US are located in several cities in Asia, Australia, and Europe namely Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Milan, Singapore, and Tokyo.

Janus Company History

Janus Capital Group’s origins date back to 1969 when it was founded by Thomas H. Bailey a young Wall Street entrepreneur who left his job in order to relocate to Denver, Colorado in order gain a better perspective of the different financial markets. He founded his own asset management firm with a small handful of investors and immediately began selecting certain stocks for his flagship investment known as the Janus Fund.

It was at this point in time that Bailey realized the value of research where the financial markets and investing was concerned. His proprietary research focused on the scrutiny of various companies from every operational angle possible. Suffice it to say, this research that Bailey started over 40 years ago is what clearly defines the Janus Capital Group and has made them the successful company that they are today.

Janus Products and Services

In addition to their line of mutual funds, the Janus Capital Group offers clients a variety of financial planning services including investment, retirement, and tax planning services. They can also provide the investor with certain investment tools that enable the person to know and understand what they are doing when investing in the different funds available. These are just a few of the services they can provide you with and many more are listed at the Janus website.

Janus mutual funds

The Janus Capital Group offers four different types of mutual funds (total of 36 funds) categorized as follows:

Asset Allocation funds – 3 different funds (conservative, moderate, and growth)
Bond funds – 3 different funds (flexible, high-yield, and short-term)
Equity funds – 28 different funds (alternative, core, growth, international and global, risk-managed, specialty growth, and value funds)
Money Market funds – 2 different funds (Janus money market and Janus Government money market funds)

The following is Morningstar Research’s choice for the top 5 Janus funds to consider:

Janus Aspen Balanced Instl
Janus Aspen Overseas Instl
Perkins Small Cap Value L
Janus Balanced T
Janus Contrarian D

For more information on the Janus Capital Group or for the different funds they offer, you can visit their representatives today.

Fidelity Investments Mutual Funds

Jeff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:04:06 +0000

One of the world’s largest mutual fund companies is Fidelity Investments whose venture capital arm is Fidelity Ventures. FIL or Fidelity International, Ltd. is the international affiliate that was originally establish over 40 years ago and serves most countries globally. The company currently manages one of the largest mutual fund families in the world today but also provides a variety of other services such as:

discount brokerage services
fund distribution services
investment advice services
life insurance
retirement services
securities clearance and execution
wealth management services

The parent company where the NYSE is concerned is FMR LLC which stands for Fidelity Management and Research LLC. Their primary format of operations involves financial planning, investing and trading, retirement planning, and of course, mutual funds and the distributors of them. The company is widely recognized for their flat rate of $7.95 for online trades with clients here in the US, although this fee does not apply to transactions involving foreign stocks or restricted securities.

Those transactions that involve special handling may cost more as well. A $2,500 minimum deposit is required to open any type of a brokerage account with Fidelity Investments. However, there may be some waivers that do apply. Additionally, there may be a variance in the commission schedules for certain stock plans geared to company employees. Based on specific asset levels or the combination of asset levels and trading activity, other fees may come into play.

History of Fidelity Investments

Edward C. Johnson II founded Fidelity Investments in 1949 and the company is still under the control of the Johnson family today. The company’s division of investment management in the US and Fidelity Management and Research Company is the investment advising firm to the Fidelity mutual fund family. There are now three fund divisions under the parent company (FMR LLC), namely Equity (Boston, MA), Fixed Income (Merrimack, NH), and High Income (also located in Boston, MA).

Fidelity Investments Mutual Fund Offerings

Fidelity Investments offers a broad array of different funds in order to facilitate the needs of all types of investors. These include the following 4 groups of funds and the different ones offered in each group:

Asset Allocation Funds – Fidelity Asset Manager Funds, Fidelity Freedom Funds (a.k.a. Lifecycle), and a couple of “Hybrid” funds

Bond Funds – High Yield, International/Global, National Municipal, State Municipal, and Taxable bond funds

Index Funds – Bond and Stock index funds

Stock Funds – Domestic, International/Global, Real Estate, and Specialty/Sector stock funds

All of these funds target a different form of investing so it is best to study them before choosing the ones to invest in. You would probably be wise to contact a company representative to get the information you are looking for, but you do need to know what investment direction you want to take. Just remember that mutual funds are a great way to balance out and diversify your portfolio.