Buying Mutual Funds

It looks like the market is ready to start up again so it is time to buy mutual funds, but you only want to invest your money in funds that go up. First, you don't want to start with a loss so be sure to purchase no-load mutual funds. There is no need to ever pay commissions as there are several thousand funds that have no commission whatsoever for either buying or selling.

If you talk with a broker he will try to confuse you that a commission fund is better than a no-load fund. He is lying. Find another broker. Also don't pay any attention to who the fund manager is. All big name fund managers have cold periods when their funds go down.

Another thing the "experts" tell you is look at the expense ratios. Nonsense again. Whether it is 1%, 2% or 3% the only thing you are concerned with is is it going up because that is the net figure for your bank account. If you buy a fund at $20/share and it goes to $40/share do you care if the expense ratio is 10%? (It won't be.) The only thing that counts is the bottom line.

Now the most important thing. Which no-load fund? There are several good sources. Go to the library to look in recent back issues of Investor's Business Daily. On the first page of the second section under "Making Money in Mutuals" near the bottom there will be a box listing 25 to 50 funds. You will want to find the top funds for the past 3 months, 6 months and 9 months sometimes in several different issues of the paper. Don't pay any attention to a longer period of time than 12 months. You want funds that are going up now. In the same paper you will find the toll-free phone numbers listed by the names of the funds.

Or if you can use a computer go to www.smartmoney.com. Click on Mutual Funds. Then click on 25 Top Funds. Here you will find another list of the best performing funds for the past year. Most of them are no-load and if there is a load charge it is shown in the Fee column. There are many Internet sources like this if you want to hunt for them.

Call to be sure they have no redemption fees if you decide to sell them in a short period of time. This is important.

With your computer or you can use one at the library I suggest you go to www.bigcharts.com or www.cbsmarketwatch.com to look up each fund by the symbol. You will immediately see why these particular funds are a good buy. They have been going up even when the general market was going down. As long as this upmove continues you will want to own these funds. When they start down you must sell them to protect your capital and your profits. Never stay with a fund that is going down. Brokers will not do this for you. You must be in charge of your own money.

This may or may not be the start of the next bull market move, but if it is this is the right way to buy mutual funds now or any time. (Cut out and save this column.)