Investing In Mutual Funds Versus Stocks And Bonds

By Debra Kennedy


All investments carry some level of risk. Whether that be through buying a company stock, a junk bond, real estate or investing in mutual funds. Most often, the latter is used in retirement planning. In most cases, an employer will provide employees with a 401K and the vehicle will be funded with different securities.

These type investments are are often considered a safer investment than others. One reason being that most of these entities have portfolio managers which work with clients on a one-on-one basis. Whereas, others may only host a service center which serves multiple clients. While there is no actual definition for the term, these type investments are based on specific investment vehicles and open-end investment companies.

To build a portfolio, an investment company will pool money from a number of different investors. After which, the portfolio manager will purchase a variety of different type securities for each portfolio based on client needs and goals. The manager then manages the portfolio by staying abreast of current trends in the stock market, then buying and selling client holdings over time.

It is important when making these type investments to go through legal channels. For, all these type investments must be registered with the securities and exchange commission. In addition, anyone working in this area must hold a Section 7 license. Otherwise, the investor, portfolio manager and company could all be fined. To learn more about these regulations, please see the Investment Code Act of 1940 as set forth by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States.

Regardless of these requirements and associated risks, most employers love stocking 401K retirement accounts with these type funds. While this is the case, there are both advantages and disadvantages to employees. For, an employee could work for twenty years, place a great deal of money into a retirement account, then lose everything if a company were to go bankrupt.

There are three different types of investments in this market. These are open-ended, exchange-traded and non-exchange traded. The open-ended type allows investors to buy back shares on any business day either through the exchange or outside channels. Whereas, exchange-traded or unit investment trusts must always be traded through the stock exchange. While, non-exchange have always been the most popular, exchange traded funds have been rising in popularity.

When it comes to the stock market, there are generally four categories of trading. These are equity or stock, bonds, hybrids and fixed-income. Generally, a portfolio manager will label a fund as actively or passively managed. Most often, as there are multiple securities for various investors in this type fund, holdings are monitored on a daily basis.

For many investors, one of the biggest drawbacks is that the management fees for an investment company or portfolio manager are paid out of the fund. As such, if there are little to no profits, a fund can turn upside down simply due to these fees. As such, it is imperative to have anyone managing a portfolio provide information with relation to the success or failure of these type investments on a regular basis.




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