Category: Damaging Mutual Funds

What is a mutual fund wrap program? A mutual fund wrap program is a platform through which investors pay fees to gain easy access to a plethora of mutual funds. Not to be confused with a mutual fund platform providing free access…

What is a target date mutual fund? A target date mutual fund is an asset allocation fund in which the allocation changes over time. The date cited in the fund name refers to the time of the event for which you are…

What is a managed mutual fund? A managed mutual fund is one in which a decision-making process determines security selection. While index funds seek to mimic the returns of a particular index such as the Standard & Poor’s 500, a managed mutual…

What is a long/short mutual fund? When you own shares of a stock, in the vernacular of Wall Street you are “long” that stock. If you sell stock that you do not own – stated otherwise, you owe stock to someone –…

What is a C-share mutual fund? A C-share mutual fund is a class of fund with continuous sales charges instead of high upfront or back-end fees. Like B-shares, those sales charges result in a very high expense ratio. Unlike B-shares, those extra…

What is a B-share mutual fund? B-share mutual funds have sales charges as high as A-shares, but they hit in a less obvious fashion. For years, reps faced resistance from prospective clients who objected to the immediate loss of money after purchasing…

What is an asset allocation fund? An asset allocation fund is a mutual fund with both stocks and bonds presented as a one-stop shopping solution to your portfolio management needs. While some such funds use the words “balanced” or “equity income” in…

What is an A-share mutual fund? An A-share mutual fund, also known as a front-end loaded mutual fund, incurs a sales charge at purchase. If the load is 6%, your investment of $10,000 will leave you $9,400 worth of shares at the…

What is a loaded mutual fund? A loaded mutual fund is a mutual fund whose shares can only be acquired by paying sales charges. These charges might be collected up front at the time of purchase, later on upon sale, or daily…

What is a currency fund? A currency fund is a mutual fund consisting of foreign currencies and securities denominated in foreign currencies. The fund can hold actual money but more likely will invest in money market instruments and futures contracts. Why you…