|
Home / Finance / Stock Market Investing / Mutual Funds
What are no-load mutual funds?
By:Michael Saville
Copyright 2006 Michael Saville
No load mutual funds are mutual funds whose shares are sold without a commission or sales charge. The reason for this is that the shares are distributed directly by the investment company, instead of going through a secondary party. This is the opposite of a load fund, which charges a commission upon the initial purchase at the time of sale.
Since there is no cost for you to enter a no-load fund, all of your money is working for you. If you purchase $10,000 worth of a no-load mutual fund, all $10,000 will be invested into the fund. On the other hand, if you buy a load fund that charges a commission of 5% upon purchase, the amount actually invested in the fund is $9,500. If both funds return 10%, the no-load fund would have grown to $11,000 while the loaded fund only rose to $10,450.
The major idea behind a load fund is that you will make up what you paid in commissions with the solid returns that the managers will provide. However, most studies show that loads don't outperform no-loads.
Most load mutual funds are sold through brokerage houses, financial planners, and people known as "Registered Representatives." With very few exceptions, most of these people operate on the basis of selling as many fund shares as possible. Their commissions are collected up front, as a back end charge, or both. Whether you make money or lose it isn't their primary concern. What matters most to these folks is how often you buy (and generate new commissions for them).
No load funds have traditionally been marketed directly by the mutual fund companies themselves. But today, more and more funds are being offered through discount houses like Fidelity, Schwab, and a host of others. The advantage to this is that you have an unlimited choice of mutual funds in one place. You don't have to open a separate account for each mutual fund family that you purchase.
Most fee based investment advisors have independent relationships with the major discount firms. They're able to offer clients just about any no load mutual fund that is available. They receive no commissions from the firm and only get paid by the client according to a pre-determined fee arrangement. Under this type of arrangement, there's no hidden agenda to try to sell you a particular mutual fund in order to earn a larger commission.
It is best to stick with no-load or low-load funds, but they are becoming more difficult to distinguish from heavily loaded funds. The use of high front-end loads has declined, and funds are now turning to other kinds of charges. Some mutual funds sold by brokerage firms, for example, have lowered their front-end loads to 5%, and others have introduced back-end loads (deferred sales charges), which are sales commissions paid when exiting the fund. In both instances, the load is often accompanied by annual charges.
On the other hand, some no-load funds have found that to compete, they must market themselves much more aggressively. To do so, they have introduced charges of their own.
The result has been the introduction of low loads, redemption fees, and annual charges. Low loads--up to 3%--are sometimes added instead of the annual charges. In addition, some funds have instituted a charge for investing or withdrawing money.
Redemption fees work like back-end loads: You pay a percentage of the value of your fund when you get out. Loads are on the amount you have invested, while redemption fees are calculated against the value of your fund assets. Some funds have sliding scale redemption fees, so that the longer you remain invested, the lower the charge when you leave. Some funds use redemption fees to discourage short-term trading, a policy that is designed to protect longer-term investors. These funds usually have redemption fees that disappear after six months.
Probably the most confusing charge is the annual charge, the 12b-1 plan. The adoption of a 12b-1 plan by a fund permits the adviser to use fund assets to pay for distribution costs, including advertising, distribution of fund literature such as prospectuses and annual reports, and sales commissions paid to brokers. Some funds use 12b-1 plans as masked load charges: They levy very high rates on the fund and use the money to pay brokers to sell the fund. Since the charge is annual and based on the value of the investment, this can result in a total cost to a long-term investor that exceeds a high up-front sales load. A fee table is required in all prospectuses to clarify the impact of a 12b-1 plan and other charges.
The fee table makes the comparison of total expenses among funds easier. Selecting a fund based solely on expenses, including loads and charges, will not give you optimal results, but avoiding funds with high expenses and unnecessary charges is important for long-term performance.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: mutual funds, mutual funds loads, no-load mutual funds, no load mutual funds
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Michael Saville has over twenty five years experience in providing finance and investment advice. He has written a free five-part short course on 'no load mutual funds' which is available at www.buy-mutual-funds.com
|
|
| Top Mutual Funds Articles |
|
|
|
|
- 3). Mutual funds: protect yourself with segregated funds By : Tony Reed
Segregated funds were initially developed by the insurance industry to compete against mutual funds. Today, many mutual fund companies are in partnership with insurance companies to offer segregated funds to investors. Segregated funds offer some unique benefits not available to mutual fund investors.
Segregated funds offer the following major benefits that are not offered by the traditional mutual fund.
|
- 4). How to select a mutual fund By : Tony Reed
One of the most common ways of selecting a mutual fund is to invest with the crowd in today's hot funds. Unfortunately, jumping from one winning fund to another is a recipe for disaster. The mutual funds that the crowd follows typically have had a hot recent performance and tend to gather all the new mutual fund sales.
Investors as a whole are primarily allocating their new investments to a small number of mutual funds and to a smaller number of mutual fund companies.
|
- 5). Is It True That Regular Index Investing Performs Good Result With Low Risk? By : Alexander Korablev
There are many mutual funds and ETF on the market. But only a few performs results as good as s&p 500 or better. Well known that s&p 500 performs good results in long terms. But how can we convert these good results into money? We can buy index fund shares.
Index Funds seek investment results that correspond with the total return of the some market index (for example s&p 500).
|
- 6). What are mutual funds loads? By : Michael Saville
Copyright 2006 Michael Saville
Loads are the most talked about fees that mutual funds charge. A "load" on a mutual fund is just another way of saying that the fund charges a sales commission for purchase, sale, or both. There are funds that charge loads and there are funds that do not charge loads (known as "load funds" and "no load funds" respectively).
|
- 7). Operating Mutual Funds - how these profit exploding money makers actually work By : Duncan Roberts
Although investing in mutual funds isn't the type of subject associated with wild parties and celebrations - it is something the serious investor should consider as a way of increasing their total worth.
"But what EXACTLY is a mutual fund" I hear you ask - "how does it work, who does what and how much do they cost?"
Hang on, slow down - one question at a time please.
|
- 8). Retirement Income Planning: Mutual Funds By : Verticalag
When willing to invest in mutual funds for Supplemental Retirement Income Planning, you have millions of alternatives. It is always important to analyze the plan, its limitations and the risks you will be running, and thus, it would be easier for you to narrow your alternatives. For this matter, it could be helpful to get in contact with a Retirement Income Planning financial professional.
|
- 9). Mutual Funds Expenses By : Michael Saville
Copyright 2006 Michael Saville
Sometimes investors think of mutual funds as a straight choice between no-load funds or load funds, because that is what they read about in the financial or popular press. But, there are a host of mutual fund expenses that can be charged to a no-load mutual fund as well as a load mutual fund.
About 99% of mutual funds charged fees.
|
|
|
| New Mutual Funds Articles |
- 1). What are mutual funds loads? By : Michael Saville
Copyright 2006 Michael Saville
Loads are the most talked about fees that mutual funds charge. A "load" on a mutual fund is just another way of saying that the fund charges a sales commission for purchase, sale, or both. There are funds that charge loads and there are funds that do not charge loads (known as "load funds" and "no load funds" respectively).
|
- 2). Is An Index Mutual Fund The Best Choice For Long-Term Investing? By : Alexander Korablev
Do you believe that the world economy will grow? Do you believe that US economy will grow? I do. The major stock indexes are indicators of economy grow. You can make money use this opportunity buying index funds. Investing into index mutual funds is easy, interesting, and profitable. It takes 5 minutes every month! If you are long-term investor, index funds is for you!
It doesn’t matter what index you choose.
|
- 3). What are no-load mutual funds? By : Michael Saville
Copyright 2006 Michael Saville
No load mutual funds are mutual funds whose shares are sold without a commission or sales charge. The reason for this is that the shares are distributed directly by the investment company, instead of going through a secondary party. This is the opposite of a load fund, which charges a commission upon the initial purchase at the time of sale.
|
- 4). Mutual Fund Expenses By : Sachin A
An informed investor knows where his money is going. For an investor in mutual funds, it is essential to understand the expenses of mutual funds. These expenses directly influence the returns and cannot be neglected.
The expenses of mutual funds are met from the capital invested in them. The ratio of the expenses associated with the operation of the mutual fund to the total assets of the fund is known as the “expense ratio.
|
- 5). Why You Should Buy No-Load Funds! By : Sachin A
Load is defined as the fee or the commission that an investor pays to a mutual fund at the time of purchasing or redeeming the shares of the mutual fund.
If the commission is charged when the investor buys the shares, it is known as a front-end load. On the other hand if the commission is charged when the investors redeems his shares, it is known as a back-end load.
|
- 6). Secure Your Retirement with a Rollover IRA By : AlphaProfit
Switching your job? Retiring? Congratulations! A window of opportunity opens for you with the Rollover Individual Retirement Account or Rollover IRA.
In an era of corporate restructuring and outsourcing, Rollover IRA is among the most powerful means available for securing one’s retirement. Yet, its potential to enlarge one’s assets for the sunset years commonly remains under-appreciated.
|
- 7). Exchange Traded Funds: Why You Should Never Buy a Mutual Fund Again By : John M. McClure
Copyright 2006 Equitrend, Inc.
Many investors still don't know about Exchange Traded Funds (or ETFs) and their advantages over traditional mutual funds. In this article, we'll examine Exchange Traded Funds, their history, performance and advantages and why you should never buy a mutual fund again.
ETF 101
Exchange Traded Funds can most accurately be described as the happy marriage of a stock with a mutual fund.
|
- 8). Why you should avoid load Mutual Funds (part 2) By : Michael Saville
Copyright 2006 Michael Saville
Paying a load is akin to throwing away most or all of the supposed advantage you get from having a salesman choose a fund for you. If it's true that asset allocation accounts for 95 percent of investment results over long periods of time, then only 5 percent is left over as a reward for having the "right" fund and the "right" manager.
|
- 9). Operating Mutual Funds - how these profit exploding money makers actually work By : Duncan Roberts
Although investing in mutual funds isn't the type of subject associated with wild parties and celebrations - it is something the serious investor should consider as a way of increasing their total worth.
"But what EXACTLY is a mutual fund" I hear you ask - "how does it work, who does what and how much do they cost?"
Hang on, slow down - one question at a time please.
|
- 10). Investors Are Finding Opportunities Beyond Their U.S. Borders By : Stan Kingstone
Experts say global and international mutual funds can represent a world of opportunity for investors.
Foreign-based companies now comprise fully half of the world's equity market capitalization, up from about one-third in 1970, and many key industries such as oil and gas, wireless telecommunications and building construction are dominated by foreign companies.
|
|
|
