Mutual funds offer a variety of investment opportunities and benefits. A mutual fund is professionally managed and pools money from many investors who share common investment objectives. It may also offer diversification because a mutual fund typically invests in a wide range of securities. People who buy shares of a mutual fund are its owners/shareholders. Their investments provide the money for a mutual fund to buy securities such as stocks and bonds.

A mutual fund can make money from its securities in two ways: a security can pay dividends or interest to the fund, or a security can rise in value. A fund can also lose money and drop in value.

Mutual funds make saving and investing simple and accessible. The advantages include:

• Professional Management
• Diversification
• Liquidity
• Affordability & Convenience
• Ease of Recordkeeping
• Strict Government Regulation & Full Disclosure

A commission-free mutual fund that sells its shares at net asset value (NAV), either directly to the public or through an affiliated distributor, without the addition of a sales charge. A mutual fund that levies a sales charge up to 8.5%. There are various types of load funds including a front-end load where the fee is levied when buying shares; and a back-end load where the fee is charged when selling shares.