You're here:  Home --> Articles --> Funds --> No-load Funds

A Few Related Terms

Loads
12b-1 Fees
Expense Ratio
Morningstar

No-Load Fund Investing
Date Added: September 1st, 2005
Article provided by  Ulli Niemann

   What are you thinking when it comes to your no load mutual fund selections? Are you saving pennies and sacrificing dollars? Are you spending your time looking at expense ratios, analyzing Morningstar ratings and searching for funds with low fees and no 12b1 charges? If you are like most people, you know these things in and out. You've spent hours evaluating them, and your chosen mutual funds cost little to purchase and maintain. But they still don't perform to your hopes and expectations.

   So, why is this happening? Because this kind of investing focuses on cost as opposed to value. Investors with this philosophy have usually interviewed numerous advisors. But instead of trying to find someone suitable with a sensible approach, they only want to know who has the lowest fees. That's like going to the cheapest auto repair shop and getting the best price, but your car still doesn't run well.

   Then there are the investors who call or email me wanting a recommendation on a no load mutual fund. They want one with no 12b1 charge, but they completely ignore the issue of how the fund might perform.

   Both of these kinds of investors spend their time trying to save pennies and in the process they are losing dollars. Instead of falling into the penny wise, dollar foolish trap, here are some ideas that will assist you in evaluating the end profit rather than just the short term saving.


  1. Shift your focus from penny pinching to looking at the big picture: What can a mutual fund or an advisor do for you, not how much does it cost? Why? If you buy a given no load mutual fund at the right time and it gains a tidy 15% for you over a 6 week period, would you really care about the costs? If a mutual fund-or an advisor for that matter-can give you superior performance and an increase of several percentage points over your bargain price pick wouldn't you pay an extra 0.25%?
  2. Consider finding a fee-based investment advisor who uses a facts-based methodology and has a track record indicating those kinds of returns. For example, in my own practice I used a trend tracking approach to get my clients into the market on April 29, 2003. Plus, our research and homework led us to recommending funds that gained anywhere from 11.50% to 22.00% over the following 6 week period. How did you do during that time? Do you think any of my clients care whether one of these funds has a small 12b 1 charge? Or whether they have the lowest expense ratios in the industry? I know they don't.

   The bottom line is to look at costs as balanced by performance and that's where you find value. Then seek true value not simple savings, enjoy healthy dollar-level returns and don't sweat the pennies.

Another Great Site!
Be sure to head over to TeenAnalyst for lots of great investment articles!
TeenAnalyst.com

Related Articles

Load vs. No-Load
Unsure of what mutual fund loads are? We'll explain them and tell you why no-load funds are better for you…

Portfolio Turnover
Learn what a turnover rate is and how it can be used to decide what fund to invest in…

Fund Classifications
Learn about the different types of fund classifications and objectives…

Related Books

Morningstar Guide to Mutual Funds by Christine Benz
Common Sense on Mutual Funds by John Bogle
Mutual Funds for Dummies by Eric Tyson
Exchange Traded Funds By Jim Wiandt

# -A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z