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Mutual Fund Definition

Robert Abbott , , , ,

By: Robert F. Abbott, freelance writer and author of Big Macs & Our Pensions

If you’re new to investing, you may have heard about mutual funds, but not really known what they are, or how they can help you save and grow your money.

You’ll see a link below to a definition at BusinessDictionary, which provides some technical details, and after that I’ll provide a couple of mutual fund definition of my own, as well as another link that leads to a longer explanation…

What is a mutual fund? definition and meaning
Definition of mutual fund: An investment vehicle managed by finance professionals that raises capital by selling shares (called units) in a chosen and balanced set of securities to the public. A mutual fund’s capital is invest…

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/mutual-fund.html

In a broader sense, though, think of a mutual fund as a group exercise in buying stocks, bonds, and other securities. As a group, you can get better prices (lower costs), greater diversity (more types of securities), and save time (getting together to hire an expert).

At the same time, there are also some disadvantages, including the fact that you still bear some risk; if the prices of the securities in which your fund invested go down, then the value of your mutual fund will go down.

However, keep in mind that doing nothing but leaving your savings in a bank account or low-interest deposit scheme also poses a couple of risks: inflation and taxes may take away more than you earn.

If I were to ask the question, “What is a mutual fund?” again, one of the best definitions might be that it is the best way for an investing newcomer to get started. It removes many of the hard decisions that investors and stocks and bonds must make before they buy or sell a single security.

Do your homework on information sites like this one, make a plan, and then act.

Here’s more on What is a Mutual Fund?

The Writer

Robert F. Abbotttop mutual funds is a freelance writer; see his profiles and analyses of value stocks at GuruFocus.com . He is also the author of Big Macs & Our Pensions: Who Gets McDonald’s Profits?

In this book, you will:

  • Discover the Ownership Revolution, and what it means to your retirement funding.
  • Find out how much of your lunch bill is a profit for McDonald’s, and who gets the profits.
  • Learn how corporate profits fuel one of the greatest social programs ever developed.

Click here to read a free preview at Amazon.com

 

Robert Abbott

Robert F. Abbott has been investing his family’s accounts since 1995, and in 2010 added options, mainly covered calls and collars with long stocks.In his other writing, Abbott explores how the middle class has come to own much of big business through pension funds and mutual funds, what management guru Peter Drucker called the Unseen Revolution. In Big Macs & Our Pensions: Who Gets McDonald's Profits?, the first of a series of booklets on this subject, he looks at the ownership of McDonald’s and what that means for middle class retirement income.In an eclectic career, Robert Abbott was a radio news writer and announcer, a newsletter writer and publisher, a farmer, a telephone operator, and a construction worker. When not working, he has been a busy volunteer, which includes more than a decade of leadership roles at the Airdrie Festival of Lights, one of North America’s leading holiday light displays. He lives in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada.