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To decide which funds would be most appropriate for you to
invest your hard earned money you must first decide on what
you would like to accomplish with your investments.
Where are you now? Are you in your twenties just starting
out in your chosen career? Perhaps you're in your fifties
approaching the peak of your career. Maybe you're preparing
to send your oldest child off to their first day of school
and you want to make sure he or she will be able to attend
college. Maybe you want to save and invest for that house
or vacation hideaway you've been dreaming about for years.
What do you want to accomplish? What are your goals? These
are the questions you must answer that are unique to your
situation.
Investing in mutual funds is not some sort of get-rich-quick
scheme. Investments in mutual funds are generally for the
longer term - they should be measured in years, not weeks or
months. You should not be investing money in mutual funds
if you will need that money next month.
Generally your twenties and thirties are a time of
beginnings: career, marriage, children, first home, ect. It
is also a good time to begin investing in mutual funds.
With time on your side, growth funds might be a good choice
to begin your mutual fund investing. These funds could be
used for future college costs, a new home, and to get a head
start on your retirement.
Your forties and fifties are likely to be your peak earning
years. Perhaps a time when you should have less of your
mutual fund assets in growth funds and more in income and
tax-free income funds.
In your sixties and beyond, most of your biggest expenses
are behind you, i.e. college expenses, housing, ect., and
you have more time to enjoy yourself. Perhaps a time to
shift more of your assets into fixed income funds to
increase income for living expenses or leisure activities.
We suggest you call or write a few mutual fund companies and
ask for some literature regarding their funds. In the next
few chapters we have listed over 1,000 mutual funds along
with their addresses and phone numbers (in most cases their
800 toll-free number).
Once you receive their literature, read it! One of the
items you will receive is the prospectus. All funds will
provide one. The prospectus will provide you with the
investment objective of the fund - how it invests your
money. It will also contain a wealth of other information;
how to buy and redeem shares, sales charges (if any),
initial and subsequent investment requirements, fund
expenses, information on the funds investment advisor, and
much more. In short, the prospectus contains most of the
information you need to make an informed decision on whether
to invest in that particular fund or not.
*** End of Chapter ***