What is a Mutual Fund?

A mutual fund allows you to pool your money, along with money collected by investors, to invest in stocks, bonds, and a variety of investments. This option provides individual investors access to portfolios that are run by professional money managers. Professional money managers will choose which stocks and bonds to purchase and sell, and they offer a variety of options and strategies to help maximize profits. They will also review and research portfolios regularly.

Mutual funds are beneficial because they allow for diversification. This means your funds are invested in a wide range of companies at a lesser amount, so there’s a lower risk involved if one of those companies were to fail or file for bankruptcy.

When considering mutual funds as an investment, there are many types to choose from. They include money market funds, bond funds, stock funds, sector funds, regional funds, exchange traded funds, and more. Depending on which type of mutual funds you invest in, there are different advantages and disadvantages to each one.

Mutual funds are a popular investment vehicle because profits can be made a number of ways, including dividend payments, capital gains distributions, and appreciation. Professionally managed mutual funds can be a lower-risk way to increase your portfolio and profits.