Investing in Mutual Funds Chapter 16 Investing in Mutual Funds Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin 16-1

Chapter 16 Learning Objectives Describe the characteristics of mutual fund investments Classify mutual funds by investment objective Evaluate mutual funds for investment purposes Describe how and why mutual funds are bought and sold 16-2

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds Objective 1: Describe the characteristics of mutual fund investments An estimated 87 million individuals own mutual funds Mutual funds grew from 361 in 1970 to over 12,000 in late 2009 In 2009 the combined value of assets owned by mutual funds in the United States totaled over $12.2 trillion 16-3

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) The major reasons investors purchase mutual funds are: Professional management Who is the fund’s manager? Managers can change Be aware of the scandal involving late trading 16-4

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) The major reasons investors purchase mutual funds are: (continued) Diversification Investors funds are used to purchase a variety of investments: this variety provides some safety 16-5

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) CHARACTERISTICS OF MUTUAL FUNDS Closed-end funds (2% of funds) Shares are issued by an investment company only when the fund is organized After all original shares are sold you can purchase shares only from another investor who is willing to sell 16-6

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) CHARACTERISTICS OF MUTUAL FUNDS (con’t) Exchange-Traded fund Fund that invests in the stocks contained in a specific stock index 16-7

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) CHARACTERISTICS OF MUTUAL FUNDS (con’t) Open-end funds (92% of funds) Shares are issued and redeemed by the investment company at the request of investors Investors can buy and sell shares at the net asset value (NAV) 16-8

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) Net Asset Value (NAV) Value of the fund’s portfolio - Liabilities Number of shares outstanding 16-9

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) LOAD FUNDS AND NO-LOAD FUNDS Load Fund Investors pay a commission (sales charge) up to 8.5% every time they purchase shares. This is sometimes called a front load. (Class A shares) Average charge is 3-5% for which an investor can get purchase advice and explanations. No-Load Fund Investors pay no sales charge up front. You deal directly with the fund with 800 numbers or websites or from discount brokers. 16-10

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) LOAD FUNDS AND NO-LOAD FUNDS Contingent deferred sales load (back-end load) (Class B shares) Charged upon withdrawal of funds (1-5%) Generally decreases on a sliding scale depending on the number of years shares are held 16-11

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) MANAGEMENT FEES AND OTHER CHARGES Management fee Charged yearly (0. 5%-1% average) based on a percentage of the funds asset value 12b-1 fees (Class C shares) Annual fee to defray distribution and marketing costs of the fund Cannot exceed 1% of a fund’s assets per year 16-12

Why Investors Purchase Mutual Funds (continued) MANAGEMENT FEES AND OTHER CHARGES (continued) Expense Ratio consists of the different management fees and additional fund operating costs for a specific mutual fund: this fee should not exceed 1 percent 16-13

Classification of Mutual Funds Objective 2: Classify mutual funds by investment objective STOCK FUNDS Aggressive growth funds buy stocks in small, fast-growing companies Equity income funds invest in stock of companies with a long history of paying dividends Global stock funds buy stock in companies in the U.S. and other countries 16-14

Classification of Mutual Funds (continued) STOCK FUNDS (con’t) Growth stock funds buy stock in companies with higher-than-average revenue and earnings growth Index funds buys stocks that mirror an index International funds invest in foreign stocks sold in securities market throughout the world Large-cap funds invest in companies with capitalization of $10 billion or more 16-15

Classification of Mutual Funds (continued) STOCK FUNDS (con’t) Mid-cap funds invest in companies with total capitalization of $2 to $10 billion Regional funds buy stock in companies in a specific region of the world Sector funds buy stock in companies in a particular industry such as biotechnology Small-cap funds buy stock in lesser-known companies with a capitalization of between $300 million and $2 billion Socially responsible funds avoid investing in companies that produce harmful products 16-16

Classification of Mutual Funds (continued) BOND FUNDS High-yield (junk) bond funds buy corporate bonds that are higher risk and higher yield Intermediate corporate bonds (5-10 years) Intermediate U.S. bond funds buy treasury notes with maturities of 5-10 years Long-term corporate bonds (> 10 years) 16-17

Classification of Mutual Funds (continued) BOND FUNDS (con’t) Long-term U.S. bond funds: U.S. Treasury and U.S. zero-coupon bonds with maturities > than 10 years Municipal bonds: Invest in municipal bonds that provide investors tax-free interest income Short-term corporate bond funds: Investment grade bonds with maturities of 1-5 years 16-18

Classification of Mutual Funds (continued) BOND FUNDS (con’t) Short-term U.S. bond funds invest in U.S. Treasury issues of 1-5 years World bond funds buy bonds of foreign companies and governments 16-19

Classification of Mutual Funds (continued) OTHER FUNDS Asset allocation funds: Invest in various asset classes, such as stocks, and bonds, with precise amounts within each type Balanced funds: Invest in both stocks and bonds, with the primary objectives of conserving principal, providing income as well as growth 16-20

Classification of Mutual Funds (continued) OTHER FUNDS -Funds of funds: Invest in shares of other mutual funds -Lifecycle funds (target date funds): Initially invest in more risk-oriented securities and become increasingly conservative and income-oriented as a specified retirement date approaches Money Market funds: Invest in CD’s, government securities, and other safe investments 16-21

Classification of Mutual Funds (continued) FAMILY OF FUNDS A family of funds exists when one investment company manages a group of mutual funds Each fund in the family has a different financial objective Exchange privileges allow you to move your money from one fund to another within the fund family with little or no charge for the transaction 16-22

How to Decide to Buy or Sell Mutual Funds Objective 3: Evaluate mutual funds for investment purposes MANAGED FUNDS VERSUS INDEXED FUNDS Most mutual funds are managed funds which means there is a professional fund manager or a team of managers choosing the investments An index mutual fund is the mirror image of a specific index 16-23

How to Decide to Buy or Sell Mutual Funds (continued) MANAGED FUNDS VERSUS INDEXED FUNDS (con’t) Majority of the managed funds have failed to outperform the S&P 500 index over a long period of time Index funds have a lower expense ratio, typically around 0.50 percent or less Research is the key to determining the best investment 16-24

How to Decide to Buy or Sell Mutual Funds (continued) THE INTERNET Use web sites to research a fund. http://finance.yahoo.com www.businessweek.com www.morningstar.com (also other advisory services, such as Value Line) www.smartmoney.com 16-25

How to Decide to Buy or Sell Mutual Funds (continued) HOW TO READ THE MUTUAL FUNDS SECTION OF THE NEWSPAPER The fund family and fund name Net asset value Net Change is the difference between the price paid for the last share today and the price paid for the last share on the previous trading day Year-to-date percentage of increase or decrease for a fund 16-26

How to Decide to Buy or Sell Mutual Funds (continued) MUTUAL FUND PROSPECTUS Mutual fund prospectus includes the funds objective and: A statement describing the risk factors A description of the fund’s past performance A statement describing the type of investments in the fund’s portfolio Dividends, distributions and taxes Information about the fund’s management The process for investors to buy or sell shares Services provided to investors The turnover ratio of the fund’s investments Information on how to open an account Performance, investments, assets and liabilities 16-27

How to Decide to Buy or Sell Mutual Funds (continued) FINANCIAL PUBLICATIONS Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, Kiplinger's Personal Finance and Money are sources of information Money Magazine: Investors Guide 2010 includes information such as the... Fund size and type of fund Actual fund name Performance over selected time periods Expense ratio as a percent of assets Minimum investment required to open an account 16-28

The Mechanics of a Mutual Fund Transaction Objective 4: Describe how and why mutual funds are bought and sold You can open an account from $250 to over $2,500 depending on the fund & family Open-end, no-load funds can be bought directly from the investment company by phone, mail, online, or from a discount broker Closed-end or exchange-traded funds are purchased through a securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market 16-29

The Mechanics of a Mutual Fund Transaction (continued) RETURN OF INVESTMENT Income dividends: earnings funds pay to shareholders from dividend and interest income (Taxed as regular income) Capital gains: sell shares at a price > than you paid (Report directly on Schedule D or Form 1040). When selling the shares are taxed on a short-term or long-term basis depending on the length of time the funds are held 16-30

The Mechanics of a Mutual Fund Transaction (continued) RETURN OF INVESTMENT (continued) Capital gain distributions: Payments to shareholders from sale of securities held by the fund (Show on Schedule D and Form 1040) These are taxed as long term capital gains regardless of how long you own shares in the mutual fund Income and capital gain distributions can be automatically reinvested 16-31

The Mechanics of a Mutual Fund Transaction (continued) TAXES AND MUTUAL FUNDS: Funds reinvested in the purchase of additional shares are still taxable The “turnover ratio” measures the percentage of the fund that has been replaced in one year. In funds that are not tax deferred (401(k) or 403(b)), this will affect your tax liability 16-32

The Mechanics of a Mutual Fund Transaction (continued) PURCHASE OPTIONS Automatic investments: Money is taken from your checking account monthly and invested in a fund Reinvestment Plan: Income from dividends and capital gains distributions are automatically used to repurchase additional shares Telephone Switching: Call your fund and move money from one fund to another in the same family Withdrawals: Various withdrawal options; you can withdraw funds by phone, letter, online, etc. 16-33