A Guide to Understanding Mutual Funds

(PDF version of brochure)

What Is a Mutual Fund?
Why Invest in a Mutual Fund?
Stock Funds
Bond Funds
Money Market Funds
Investing Internationally
How Mutual Funds Are Structured
Other Types of Investment Companies

Establishing Goals and Realistic Expectations
Three Common Investment Goals
Dollar-Cost Averaging
Establishing Realistic Expectations About Performance
The Risk of Inflation
The Annual Review
Tax Considerations

The Mutual Fund Prospectus and Shareholder Reports
Publications and Websites
How to Read a Mutual Fund Fee Table
Should Fund Fees Affect Your Decision?
Protecting Investors-Who Oversees Mutual Funds?

Useful Addresses
Questions About Business Practices
Glossary of Mutual Fund Terms

To the Reader

The Investment Company Institute is pleased to bring you A Guide to Understanding Mutual Funds. This guide, one of several in the Institute's Investor Awareness Series, is intended to explain mutual funds and the basic principles of investing.

During the past decade, interest in-and information about-investing has increased dramatically. Technological advances have ushered in a vast supply of new services that allow you to invest with ease. Mutual fund shareholders have benefited from these technological advances, as funds have continually offered improved services to meet changing investor needs.

Still, the most important advantages mutual funds offer over other types of investments remain unchanged since the first fund was offered in 1924: professional management-the security of knowing your money is managed by a team of professionals devoted to reaching your investment objectives-and diversification-the ability to invest affordably in a wide range of securities and reap market rewards while diminishing accompanying risks.

This guide is designed to increase your awareness of the benefits of funds and investing, and help you set realistic goals and expectations. If you would like to learn more, please visit our website at www.ici.org.

Paul Schott Stevens
President, Investment Company Institute

Introduction

Establishing realistic financial goals is an essential first step toward successful investing. Understanding the investments best suited to helping you achieve your goals is equally important.

Most Americans invest to meet long-term goals, such as ensuring a secure retirement or paying for a child's college education, but many also have more immediate goals, like making a down payment on a home or automobile.

Mutual funds can fit well into either your long- or short-term investment strategy, but the success of your plan depends on the type of fund you choose. Because all funds invest in securities markets, it is crucial to maintain realistic expectations about the performance of those markets and choose funds best suited to your needs.

Keeping Recent Investment Returns in Perspective

Successful investors base their performance expectations on historic average returns, and keep short-term market movements in perspective.

If your investment expectations are too high, and the market reverts to historic levels, you may fail to reach your financial goals. To achieve your goals, it helps to follow a few basic rules of investing:

1. 1. Diversify your investments;
2. 2. Understand the relationship between risk and reward;
3. 3. Maintain realistic expectations about investment performance;
4. 4. Keep short-term market movements in perspective;
5. 5. Consider the impact that fees and taxes will have on your investment return; and
6. 6. Remember that an investment's past performance is not necessarily indicative of its future results.

This three-part brochure explores these and other investment concepts in greater detail, explaining essential information about fund investing; helping you determine how funds can fit into a well-formulated plan; and offering additional resources that can help you build on your knowledge of funds and investing.

About Mutual Funds

What Is a Mutual Fund?

A mutual fund is a company that invests in a diversified portfolio of securities. People who buy shares of a mutual fund are its owners or shareholders. Their investments provide the money for a mutual fund to buy securities such as stocks and bonds. A mutual fund can make money from its securities in two ways: a security can pay dividends or interest to the fund, or a security can rise in value. A fund can also lose money and drop in value.

Different Funds, Different Features

There are three basic types of mutual funds-stock (also called equity), bond, and money market. Stock mutual funds invest primarily in shares of stock issued by U.S. or foreign companies. Bond mutual funds invest primarily in bonds. Money market mutual funds invest mainly in short-term securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies, U.S. corporations, and state and local governments.

Why Invest in a Mutual Fund?

Mutual funds make saving and investing simple, accessible, and affordable. The advantages of mutual funds include professional management, diversification, variety, liquidity, affordability, convenience, and ease of recordkeeping-as well as strict government regulation and full disclosure.

Professional Management Even under the best of market conditions, it takes an astute, experienced investor to choose investments correctly, and a further commitment of time to continually monitor those investments.

With mutual funds, experienced professionals manage a portfolio of securities for you full-time, and decide which securities to buy and sell based on extensive research. A fund is usually managed by an individual or a team choosing investments that best match the fund's objectives. As economic conditions change, the managers often adjust the mix of the fund's investments to ensure it continues to meet the fund's objectives.

Diversification Successful investors know that diversifying their investments can help reduce the adverse impact of a single investment. Mutual funds introduce diversification to your investment portfolio automatically by holding a wide variety of securities. Moreover, since you pool your assets with those of other investors, a mutual fund allows you to obtain a more diversified portfolio than you would probably be able to comfortably manage on your own-and at a fraction of the cost.

In short, funds allow you the opportunity to invest in many markets and sectors. That's the key benefit of diversification.

Variety Within the broad categories of stock, bond, and money market funds, you can choose among a variety of investment approaches. Today, there are about 8,200 mutual funds available in the U.S., with goals and styles to fit most objectives and circumstances.

Low Costs Mutual funds usually hold dozens or even hundreds of securities like stocks and bonds. The primary way you pay for this service is through a fee that is based on the total value of your account. Because the fund industry consists of hundreds of competing firms and thousands of funds, the actual level of fees can vary. But for most investors, mutual funds provide professional management and diversification at a fraction of the cost of making such investments independently.

Liquidity Liquidity is the ability to readily access your money in an investment. Mutual fund shares are liquid investments that can be sold on any business day. Mutual funds are required by law to buy, or redeem, shares each business day. The price per share at which you can redeem shares is known as the fund's net asset value (NAV). NAV is the current market value of all the fund's assets, minus liabilities, divided by the total number of outstanding shares.

Convenience You can purchase or sell fund shares directly from a fund or through a broker, financial planner, bank or insurance agent, by mail, over the telephone, and increasingly by personal computer. You can also arrange for automatic reinvestment or periodic distribution of the dividends and capital gains paid by the fund. Funds may offer a wide variety of other services, including monthly or quarterly account statements, tax information, and 24-hour phone and computer access to fund and account information.

Protecting Investors Not only are mutual funds subject to compliance with their self-imposed restrictions and limitations, they are also highly regulated by the federal government through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As part of this government regulation, all funds must meet certain operating standards, observe strict antifraud rules, and disclose complete information to current and potential investors. These laws are strictly enforced and designed to protect investors from fraud and abuse. But these laws obviously cannot help you pick the fund that is right for you or prevent a fund from losing money. You can still lose money by investing in a mutual fund. A mutual fund is not guaranteed or insured by the FDIC or SIPC, even if fund shares are purchased through a bank. Click here for more information about how funds are regulated and supervised.

Stock Funds

Stock funds invest primarily in stocks. A share of stock represents a unit of ownership in a company. If a company is successful, shareholders can profit in two ways: the stock may increase in value, or the company can pass its profits to shareholders in the form of dividends. If a company fails, a shareholder can lose the entire value of his or her shares; however, a shareholder is not liable for the debts of the company.

When you buy shares of a stock mutual fund, you essentially become a part owner of each of the securities in your fund's portfolio. Stock investments have historically been a great source for increasing individual wealth, even though the stocks of the most successful companies may experience periodic declines in value. Over time, stocks historically have performed better than other investments in securities, such as bonds and money market instruments. Of course, there is no guarantee that this historical trend will be true in the future. That's why stock funds are best used as long-term investments.

Volatility: Stock Market Returns Fluctuate from Year to Year
S&P 500 Total Return

Source: Bloomberg

	Stock Market Returns
	The upswings and downturns of the stock market affect stock fund returns. Despite a history of outperforming other types of securities, stocks sometimes lose money (see chart above) Sometimes these losses can be substantial and last for long periods. The average annual return on stocks from 1926 to 2005 is about 10.4 percent.

Bond Funds

Bond funds invest primarily in securities known as bonds. A bond is a type of security that resembles a loan. When a bond is purchased, money is lent to the company, municipality, or government agency that issued the bond. In exchange for the use of this money, the issuer promises to repay the amount loaned (the principal; also known as the face value of the bond) on a specific maturity date. In addition, the issuer typically promises to make periodic interest payments over the life of the loan.

A bond fund share represents ownership in a pool of bonds and other securities comprising the fund's portfolio. Although there have been past exceptions, bond funds tend to be less volatile than stock funds and often produce regular income. For these reasons, investors often use bond funds to diversify, provide a stream of income, or invest for intermediate-term goals. Like stock funds, bond funds have risks and can make or lose money.

Types of Risk

After a bond is first issued, it may be traded. If a bond is traded before it matures, it may be worth more or less than the price paid for it. The price at which a bond trades can be affected by several types of risk.

Interest Rate Risk Think of the relationship between bond prices and interest rates as opposite ends of a seesaw. When interest rates fall, a bond's value usually rises. When interest rates rise, a bond's value usually falls. The longer a bond's maturity, the more its price tends to fluctuate as market interest rates change. However, while longer-term bonds tend to fluctuate in value more than shorter-term bonds, they also tend to have higher yields (see page 24) to compensate for this risk.

Unlike a bond, a bond mutual fund does not have a fixed maturity. It does, however, have an average portfolio maturity-the average of all the maturity dates of the bonds in the fund's portfolio. In general, the longer a fund's average portfolio maturity, the more sensitive the fund's share price will be to changes in interest rates and the more the fund's shares will fluctuate in value.

Credit Risk Credit risk refers to the "creditworthiness" of the bond issuer and its expected ability to pay interest and to repay its debt. If a bond issuer is unable to repay principal or interest on time, the bond is said to be in default. A decline in an issuer's credit rating, or creditworthiness, can cause a bond's price to decline. Bond funds holding the bond could then experience a decline in their net asset value.

Prepayment Risk Prepayment risk is the possibility that a bond owner will receive his or her principal investment back from the issuer prior to the bond's maturity date. This can happen when interest rates fall, giving the issuer an opportunity to borrow money at a lower interest rate than the one currently being paid. (For example, a homeowner who refinances a home mortgage to take advantage of decreasing interest rates has prepaid the mortgage.) As a consequence, the bond's owner will not receive any more interest payments from the investment. This also forces any reinvestment to be made in a market where prevailing interest rates are lower than when the initial investment was made. If a bond fund held a bond that has been prepaid, the fund may have to reinvest the money in a bond that will have a lower yield.

Are Tax-Free Bond Funds Right for You?

With most bond funds, the income you receive is taxable as ordinary income. However, some funds invest in bonds whose interest payments are free from federal income tax, while other funds invest in bonds that are free from both federal and state income tax. Tax-exempt funds may be subject to capital gains taxes.

The income tax benefit typically means that the income from these funds is lower than that of comparable taxable funds. But if you compare the yields after taxes, a tax-free fund may be a better choice, depending on your tax bracket. The chart at right shows how taxable and tax-free yields compare after taxes for investors in different tax brackets.

If you live in an area where there are state or local income taxes, you may be able to find a fund whose interest payments are free from these taxes as well as federal taxes.

Tax Comparison
	A Hypothetical Tax-Free Yield of:	4.0%	5.0%	6.0%	7.0%
	Equals a Taxable Yield in the 28% Tax Bracket of:	5.56%	6.94%	8.33%	9.72%
	Equals a Taxable Yield in the 31% Tax Bracket of:	5.80%	7.25%	8.70%	10.14%
	Equals a Taxable Yield in the 36% Tax Bracket of:	6.25%	7.81%	9.38%	10.94%

Money Market Funds

A money market fund invests in a pool of short-term, interest-bearing securities. A money market instrument is a short-term IOU issued by the U.S. government, U.S. corporations, and state and local governments. Money market instruments have maturity dates of less than 13 months. These instruments are relatively stable because of their short maturities and high quality.

Money market funds are most appropriate for short-term investment and savings goals or in situations where you seek to preserve the value of your investment while still earning income. In general, money market funds are useful as part of a diversified personal financial program that includes long-term investments.

Money Market Fund Risks

The short-term nature of money market investments makes money market funds less volatile than any other type of fund. Money market funds seek to maintain a $1-per-share price to preserve your investment principal while generating dividend income.

To help preserve the value of your principal investment, money market funds must meet stringent credit quality, maturity, and diversification standards. Most money market funds are required to invest at least 95 percent of their assets in U.S. Treasury issues and privately issued securities carrying the highest credit rating by at least two of the five major credit rating agencies. A money market fund generally cannot invest in any security with a maturity greater than 397 days, nor can its average maturity exceed 90 days. All of these factors help minimize risk. However, money market funds do not guarantee that you will receive all your money back. Money market funds are not insured by the U.S. government.

"Inflation risk" - that is, the risk your investment return fails to keep pace with the inflation rate - is another concern if you choose to invest in money market funds or any other short-term investments. See The Risk of Inflation for a broader discussion of inflation risk.

Investing Internationally

International stock and bond mutual funds provide a convenient, low-cost way for you to invest in foreign securities markets compared with investing in these markets directly. Investing internationally offers diversification and the opportunity for higher returns. But these investments also have risks that are usually not present with investments in U.S. stocks and bonds.

For example, U.S. investors usually buy foreign securities in the other country's currency, making the investments subject to changes in the currency exchange rate. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates can have a significant effect on an investor's return. If your fund's investment in a Malaysian stock increased by 10 percent during a six-month period while the value of the Malaysian ringgit declined 10 percent during the same period, you would break even on the investment. Some international funds try to offset this effect by performing "hedging transactions."

Investing in foreign markets may involve additional costs due to the unique operational requirements of an overseas fund, and may also involve volatile political and economic situations-especially in emerging markets.

Thinking of Investing Internationally?

¹ Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE Index (Europe, Australasia, and Far East Developed Market Index)
² S&P 500 Index

How Mutual Funds Are Structured

A mutual fund is usually either a corporation or a business trust (which is like a corporation). Like any corporation, a mutual fund is owned by its shareholders. Virtually all mutual funds are externally managed; they do not have employees of their own. Instead, their operations are conducted by affiliated organizations and independent contractors.

The Structure of a Mutual Fund

The illustration below shows the business structure of a typical mutual fund.

Other Types of Investment Companies

Mutual funds are one of three types of investment companies; the other two are closed-end funds and unit investment trusts.

A closed-end fund is an investment company whose shares are publicly traded like stocks. As a result, the price of a closed-end fund share fluctuates based on supply and demand. If the share price is more than the value of its assets, then the fund is trading at a premium; if the share price is less, then it is trading at a discount. The assets of a closed-end fund are managed by a professional or a group of professionals choosing investments such as stocks and bonds to match the fund's objectives.

A unit investment trust (UIT) is an investment company that buys a fixed portfolio of stocks or bonds. A UIT holds its securities until the trust's termination date. When a trust is dissolved, proceeds from the securities are paid to shareholders. UITs often have a fixed number of shares or "units" that are sold to investors in an initial public offering. If some shareholders redeem units, the UIT or its sponsor may purchase them and reoffer them to the public.

Establishing an Investment Plan

Establishing Goals and Realistic Expectations

Determining your financial goals is the first step to successful investing. You may have immediate goals, such as making a down payment on a home, paying for a wedding, or creating an emergency fund. You may also have long-term goals, like paying for college or retirement. Establishing goals will help assess how much money you need to invest, how much your investments must earn, and when you will need the money.

The next step is to make a realistic investment plan designed to meet your goals. Setting realistic expectations about your investments and about market performance is an important part of your investment plan. Securities don't always rise in value, and when they fall, the downturns can sometimes be lengthy. A well-conceived, diversified personal investment plan can help you weather these downturns, and give you a measure of comfort when market volatility occurs.

Remember, also, that your plan should paint a broad picture of your personal financial situation now and where you want it to be in the future. In addition to goals, your plan should reflect your time horizon, financial situation, and personal feelings about risk. Establish your goals and create an investment plan now―the sooner you begin investing, the longer your money has to work for you.

Goals and Time Horizon

Generally, your goals will dictate how much time you have to invest. For example, if you are 35 years old and investing for retirement at age 65, then you have a time horizon of 30 years before you plan to begin withdrawing money. Identifying your time horizon is important because it influences how you invest your assets. Typically, a shorter time frame necessitates conservative investments, while a longer period allows you to handle more risk.

Start Investing Now to Take Advantage of Compounding
	Compounding is the earnings on an investment's earnings. For example, if you invest $1,000 at a rate of 5 percent per year, your initial investment is worth $1,050 after one year. During the second year, assuming the same rate of return, earnings are based not on the original $1,000 investment, but also on the $50 in first-year earnings. Over time, compounding can produce significant growth in the value of an investment. So, the earlier you start investing, the faster your investments can grow in value.

Risk/Reward Tradeoff

All mutual funds involve investment risk, including the possible loss of principal. Making an informed decision to assume some risk also creates the opportunity for greater potential reward. This fundamental principle of investing is known as the risk/reward tradeoff. When forming a plan, examine your personal attitude toward investment risk. Is stability more important than higher returns, or can you tolerate short-term losses for potential long-term gains?

Remember, investments that increase in value in a short period can just as quickly decrease in value. But if you've considered the risk/reward tradeoff, you know that investment volatility is a characteristic of a successful long-term plan.

Three Common Investment Goals

Goal No. 1: Retirement

Most individuals buy mutual funds for long-term goals, especially retirement. It is estimated that retirees will need 70 to 80 percent of their final, pre-tax income to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in retirement. If you plan to retire at age 65, retirement savings should last for at least 18.5 years, since the average life expectancy for a 65-year-old is 83.5, and continues to rise. Ideally, individuals use a combination of sources to fund retirement, such as Social Security benefits, employer-sponsored retirement plans-like 401(k) plans-and personal savings, including Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs).

Goal No. 2: Education

Many parents and grandparents use mutual funds to invest for children's college educations. Your time horizon is an essential consideration when investing for education: if you start when the child is born, you have 18 years to invest. However, if a child or grandchild is in your future, the time horizon can be lengthened by investing now.

Goals of Mutual Fund Investors*
	92%	Supplement retirement income
	30%	Pay for education expenses
	19%	Supplement current living expenses
	14%	Buy home or other real estate
	*Multiple responses included

Goal No. 3: Emergency Reserves and Other Short-Term Goals

Emergency reserves are assets you may need unexpectedly on short notice. Many investors use money market funds for their reserves. Money market funds alone, or in combination with short-term bond funds, can also be appropriate investments for other short-term goals.

Investment Advice
	Professionals such as stockbrokers, financial planners, bank representatives, or insurance agents can help you analyze your financial needs and objectives and recommend appropriate funds. In addition, fund organizations may maintain their own sales forces to help potential investors, or they may sell shares through outside professionals. If you prefer to do it yourself, researching mutual funds and buying shares can be done through the telephone, mail, or personal computer. Many funds can be contacted directly to purchase their shares.

Dollar-Cost Averaging

A systematic approach to long-term investing is called dollar-cost averaging. This refers to the practice of investing the same amount of money in the same investment at regular intervals (like once a month), regardless of market conditions. If you choose the dollar-cost averaging approach, the amount you invest is always the same. Thus, you automatically buy more shares when the price is low, and fewer when the price is high.

Your natural instinct might be to stop investing if the price starts to drop-but history suggests that the best time to invest may be when you are getting good value. Dollar-cost averaging can be an effective strategy with funds or stocks that can have sharp ups and downs, because it gives you more opportunities to purchase shares less expensively.

The benefit of this approach is that, over time, you may reduce the risk of having bought shares when their cost was highest. Instead, as the example below demonstrates, the average cost of your shares will be lower.

Dollar-cost averaging does not assure a profit, however, and it does not protect against investment losses in declining markets.

Saying No to Market Timing

"Buy low, sell high" may seem like good advice, but even the most experienced investors find it impossible to pinpoint market lows and highs with any degree of accuracy and consistency. That's why experts advise putting a fixed amount of money into a stock or bond fund on a regular schedule rather than "timing the market." However, you should keep in mind that dollar-cost averaging can't guarantee a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. So choose an amount you feel comfortable investing under all market conditions.

It's easy to use the dollar-cost averaging method. In fact, you can do it using automatic investment services available from most mutual funds.

An Example of Dollar-cost Averaging
	Let's say, for example, that an investor puts $100 a month into the same mutual fund for six months in a row. The share price is up in some months, down other months. The table below shows how this hypothetical investor might have made out.
	Month	Investment	Share price	Shares bought
	1	$100	$10	10
	2	$100	$ 8	12.5
	3	$100	$ 5	20
	4	$100	$10	10
	5	$100	$16	6.25
	6	$100	$10	10
	Results:
	Total amount invested:			$600
	Number of shares owned:			68.75
	Average cost per share: ($600 ÷ 68.75 shares)			$8.73
	Current share price:			$10

Establishing Realistic Expectations About Performance

A fund investment can help you reach your financial goals, but mutual funds and the stock and bond markets are not an automatic route to financial security. That's why an important part of your investment plan is having realistic expectations about your funds and market performance.

Bull and Bear Markets

A bull market is a prolonged period of rising stock prices, and conversely, a bear market is a prolonged period of declining stock prices. The longest bull market in history has occurred during the 1980s and 1990s. However, bear markets are also a fact of life for most investors.

Experts remind investors that it is unrealistic to expect stock market annual returns of 15 and 20 percent or higher. The stock market's average annual return from 1926 to 1999 is 11 percent. The 1973-74 bear market caused a 41 percent drop in the S&P 500, a leading gauge of stock market performance.

It may be tempting to try to avoid market declines and bear markets by "timing the market"-that is, moving your money out of stocks or other securities when you think their prices will fall. However, you run the risk of missing out if the market goes up.

The Ten Worst Annual Stock Market Declines Since 1926
	Year	Decline in S&P 500 Index
	1931	- 43.3%
	1937	- 35.0%
	1974	- 26.5%
	1930	- 24.9%
	2002	-22.1%
	1973	- 14.7%
	2001	-11.9%
	1941	- 11.6%
	1957	- 10.8%
	1966	- 10.1%

Measurements of Performance

Total return is generally regarded as the best measure of fund performance because it is the most comprehensive. Total return includes dividend and capital gain distributions along with any changes in the fund's share price. A dividend distribution comes from the interest and dividends earned by the securities held by a fund; a capital gain distribution represents any net gains resulting from the sale of the securities held by a fund. Total return, expressed as a percentage of an initial investment in a fund, represents the change in that investment's value over a given period, assuming any distributions were reinvested in the fund.

Yield is the measure of net income (dividends and interest less expenses) earned by the securities in the fund's portfolio during a specified period. Yield is expressed as a percentage of the fund's NAV (including the highest applicable sales charge, if any). Yield does not include the change, if any, in the investment's value over a given period.

Key Considerations About Performance

Past performance cannot predict future results. This year's top-performing funds aren't necessarily going to be next year's winners.

Short-term returns may not tell the whole story. Looking at fund performance over a longer period, such as 10 years, can give you a better picture of how the fund has performed during market fluctuations, and how it compares to funds with similar objectives.

The Risk of Inflation

It may seem logical that the safest investment is one that seeks to preserve your money, like certificates of deposit (bank CDs) or money market funds. While these instruments may play an important role in your overall financial plan, you need to be aware that they may not protect your assets against an easy-to-overlook risk-inflation.

The Invisible Tax

Think of inflation as an invisible tax that erodes the purchasing power of any investment. For example, $1,000 in a deposit account earns 5 percent interest, but inflation is 2 percent per year. Although this money will earn $50 in interest after one year, inflation cuts the actual worth of this $50 down to $49. In addition, the initial $1,000 will also erode by 2 percent to $980. Therefore, after one year, the account has a balance of $1,050, but due to inflation, its purchasing power is only $1,029. This is the effect of inflation risk. To maintain an investment's purchasing power, its total return must keep pace with the inflation rate.

The Effect of Inflation
	In 2005, the inflation rate was 3.4 percent. Even at this historically low rate, inflation will erode the value of $1,000 by more than one-quarter in 15 years:
	In this many years...	$1000 will be worth...
	5	$846
	10	$716
	15	$606
	20	$512
	25	$433
	30	$367
	35	$310
	40	$263
	assuming 3.4 percent annual inflation

The Annual Review

At least once a year, it's a good idea to review your investment plan. Because different investments grow at different paces, your current distribution of money among stock, bond, and money market funds may no longer correspond with your original allocations. If this happens with your investments, you will probably want to consider whether to redistribute some money to bring your allocations back in line with your plan.

Changing Lifestyles

In addition to the annual review, whenever you make a major life change, it's time to reassess your overall financial situation. Some common examples of life changes:

Most of these events are likely to affect your ability to invest, your time horizon, and your overall financial picture, both short-term and long-term.

It's never easy to find the time to review your investment plan when you're in the midst of any of these life changes, but it's worth making the effort. You don't want to enter a new phase of your life with a plan that was designed for different circumstances.

By staying on course with your asset allocations, you will help ensure that your overall portfolio continues to work effectively toward achieving your investment goals.

Tax Considerations

Mutual funds make two basic types of taxable distributions to shareholders every year: ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions. These two types of distributions are reported differently on your income tax return. If you're investing in an IRA, 401(k), annuity, or other tax-advantaged retirement vehicle, tax issues are not generally a consideration.

Distributions

Dividend distributions come primarily from the interest and dividends earned by the securities in the fund's portfolio after expenses. These payments must be reported as dividends on your tax return.

Capital gain distributions represent the fund's net gains from the sale of securities held in its portfolio for more than one year. When gains from these sales exceed losses, they are distributed to shareholders.

At tax time, your mutual fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV that tells you what earnings to report on your income tax return. You report ordinary dividends as dividend income on your tax return and capital gains distributions as long-term capital gains regardless of how long you have owned your fund shares. Certain long-term capital gains are taxed at different rates. For PDF, see hard copy, newest form is attached.

Tax-Exempt Funds

Fund dividends from municipal bond interest are generally exempt from federal income tax and, in some cases, state and local taxes as well. Tax-exempt money market funds, for example, invest in short-term municipal securities, and also pay tax-exempt dividends.

Even though income from these funds generally is tax-exempt, you must still report it. Your tax-exempt mutual fund provides this information in a year-end statement, and will explain how to handle tax-exempt dividends on a state-by-state basis.

For some taxpayers, portions of income earned by tax-exempt funds may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax; your tax professional can advise you on this issue. Even though municipal bond dividends may be tax-free, an investor may realize taxable capital gains when redeeming shares.

Taxes Can Affect Your Investment Return
	It is important to understand the impact that taxes can have on the return of any investment you choose. Taxes can especially affect the investment return generated in taxable or "non-retirement" accounts. The returns you earn in your company retirement plan are most likely tax-deferred-and you don't begin to pay taxes until you take money out, usually when you retire. In taxable or "non-retirement" accounts, regardless of the underlying investment, you will be responsible for taxable income (such as interest or dividends) realized from that investment. Thus, you may want to consider the typical size and frequency of income distributions that are paid. Another significant factor that affects whether you will be faced with a tax obligation is how often you sell any security, since each securities transaction is a "tax event."

Share Sales and Exchanges

When you sell mutual fund shares, you will have a capital gain or loss in the year the shares are sold. An exchange of shares from one fund to another in the same fund family is taxed the same as if you sold the shares and purchased new ones with the proceeds. You are liable for tax on any capital gains arising from the sale, just as you would be if you sold individual securities. Losses may be used to offset other gains in the current year and thereafter.

The amount of the gain or loss is determined by the difference between the "cost basis" of the shares (generally, the original purchase price) and the sale price. To figure the gain or loss on a sale of shares, it is essential to know the cost basis.

Recordkeeping

Recordkeeping is critical to calculating taxes due on mutual fund investments. To figure out gains and losses, you will need a complete record of your purchases and sales of fund shares. Fortunately, funds provide you with all the records that you need to compute cost basis, and you should keep these records. As a special service, some funds will provide cost basis information to their shareholders or compute gains and losses for shares sold.

Calculating Cost Basis
	Assuming no sales charges, the cost basis of a mutual fund share is simply the purchase price. If there were fees or commissions paid at the time of purchase, they are included in the basis. Let's say you bought 100 shares of Blue-Chip Plus Fund at $10 each and paid an up-front sales charge of 2 percent, or $20, on the purchase. The cost basis for each share would be $10.20 ($1,020 divided by 100). If you later sell the 100 shares for $1,500, your capital gain will be $480 ($1,500 - $1,020). When you reinvest dividends and capital gain distributions to buy more shares, do not forget to include the cost of those shares in the cost basis of your account.

Becoming an Informed Investor

The Mutual Fund Prospectus and Shareholder Reports

To protect investors, all mutual funds are highly regulated by the federal government through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Federal law requires that all funds provide two types of documents to current and potential investors free of charge: a prospectus and a shareholder report.

A mutual fund's prospectus describes in plain English the fund's goals, fees and expenses, investment strategies and risks, as well as information on how to buy and sell shares. You can get a copy of a fund's current prospectus from the fund or your broker or financial planner. Many funds also make prospectuses available on their websites. The SEC requires a fund to provide a full prospectus either before you invest or together with the confirmation statement for your initial investment.

Annual and semiannual shareholder reports document the fund's recent performance and include other important information. By examining these reports, you can learn if a fund has been effective in meeting the goals and investment strategies described in the fund's prospectus.

What to Look for in a Shareholder Report

Shareholder reports typically include two main types of information:

The annual report discusses the factors and investment strategies that affected the fund's performance during the period covered by the report. Also included in a fund's annual report (with the exception of money market funds) is information comparing the fund's performance at the end of each of the past 10 years (or since the first year the fund was in operation) with one or more market indices, such as the S&P 500 Stock Index or the Lehman Brothers Corporate Bond Index. Charts and tables assume a $10,000 investment was made at the beginning of the first fiscal year. (The SEC requires that the performance discussion and chart be included in either the shareholder report or the prospectus; most funds include it in their shareholder reports.)

Evaluating Fund Performance
	A fund's annual report or prospectus contains charts and tables, like the one below, allowing for an easy comparison of the fund's performance versus a similar market index. When comparing mutual fund performance with that of an index, remember that your fund's performance is calculated after fees and expenses have been deducted; the performance of the index does not reflect the costs associated with constructing and maintaining an identical portfolio.
		Past 1 Year	Past 5 Years2	Past 10 Years2
	Index Fund	30.29%	6.70%	10.99%
	S&P 500 Index1	28.68%	-0.57%	11.07%
	1The S&P 500 is the Standard & Poor's Composite Index of 500 Stocks, a widely recognized, unmanaged index of common stock price. 2Average annual return.

Publications and Websites

In addition to fund prospectuses and shareholder reports, there are many other sources of mutual fund information available to you. However, none can substitute for reading the prospectus and shareholder reports.

Information found in newspapers, magazines, independent reports, websites, and other outside sources of information can be valuable because they provide third-party views and comparisons of different funds.

To learn how to obtain information from many of these sources, look at the Other Resources section at the end of this booklet.

Newspapers and Magazines

Many newspapers, business magazines, and financial publications cover mutual funds. They can be a source of information on industry trends, expense ratios, rankings, and profiles of various funds.

Newspapers can be a good way to track mutual fund performance. Most major dailies publish the latest mutual fund share prices and performance.

In some papers, the share price (NAV) is identified as the sell, or bid price, which is the amount per share you would receive if you sell a share (less any deferred sales charges or redemption fees). Also listed in the paper is the offering price, sometimes called the buy, or asked, price which is the price investors pay to purchase shares. The offering price is the share price plus any sales charges.

Online Information

Many fund companies have Internet websites. You can usually access fund information and download prospectuses and annual reports from these sites. Some companies use the Internet to provide educational material and to allow shareholder transactions. Fund information can also be found on the SEC's website.

How to Read a Mutual Fund Fee Table

There are two basic types of costs associated with mutual funds. Some funds charge shareholder fees when you purchase or redeem shares of the fund, i.e., sales commissions. In addition, all funds have operating expenses, which represent the costs of running the fund. A mutual fund's fees and expenses are required by law to be clearly disclosed to investors in a fee table at the front of the fund's prospectus.

Mutual funds compete vigorously to keep costs low, since the performance figures reported by the fund, and the total value of your mutual fund account, are provided after all fees and expenses have been deducted. For example, the fund returns published in newspapers, advertisements, and official fund documents already are "net" of any fees the fund charges you. Thus, any time you consider a fund's past performance, your decision reflects the impact fees have had on the fund in the past.

Particularly important to your assessment of costs is the fund's expense ratio. The availability of this figure in all fund prospectuses allows you to easily compare how much more or less one fund costs versus another-an important part of making an informed investment decision.

The Statement of Additional Information
	After reviewing the prospectus, if you want more information, ask the fund for its Statement of Additional Information (SAI), which the fund will send you free of charge. Most SAIs are lengthy and fairly technical but include many additional details about the fund, such as: more information about the fund's securities, risks, and policies; the fund's audited financial statements; the fund's portfolio securities as of the date of the SAI; an information about anyone who owns 5 percent or more of the fund's shares.

Mutual Fund Fee Table Required by Federal Law

(example is hypothetical; estimated expenses are based on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Mutual Fund Cost Calculator, www.sec.gov/investor/tools/mfcc/get-started.htm)

Shareholder Fees			Annual Fund Operating Expenses
A	Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of offering price)	4.5%	G	Management Fee	0.52%
			H	Distribution (12b-1) Fee	0.25%
B	Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load)	None	I	Other Expenses	0.20%
			J	Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses (Expense Ratio)	0.97%
C	Maximum Sales Charge (Load) on Reinvested Dividends	None	K	Example This example is intended to help an investor compare the cost of investing in different funds. The example assumes a $10,000 investment in the fund for one, three, five, and 10 years and then a redemption of all fund shares at the end of those periods. The example also assumes that an investment returns 5 percent each year and that the fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions an investor's estimated expenses would be:
D	Redemption Fee	None
E	Exchange Fee	None
F	Annual Account Maintenance Fee	None
				1 year 3 years 5 years 10 years	$547 $754 $977 $1,617

Shareholder Fees are charged directly to an investor for a specific transaction, such as a purchase, redemption, or exchange.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses reflect the normal costs of operating a fund. Unlike transaction fees, these expenses are not charged directly to an investor but are deducted from fund assets before earnings are distributed to shareholders.

Should Fund Fees Affect Your Decision?

If two funds were identical, except for the fees and expenses they charge, the lower-cost fund would be a better option.

But rarely, if ever, are funds identical. For example, stock funds typically cost more than bond and money market funds, but stock funds historically have provided a significantly higher return-even after expenses are deducted. Even different types of stock funds, U.S. or foreign, typically vary in cost.

In short, there are many factors that affect the fees and expenses a fund charges. Only after weighing all of the relative benefits of different funds, including an analysis of their costs, can you decide if owning a particular fund is acceptable to you. A fund with higher costs may make more money for you, even after accounting for the costs you pay, than a fund with a lower cost. The opposite may also be true.

How to Calculate the Annual Fund Fees You Pay

It's easy to compare the annual costs of two or more funds. Costs are displayed prominently at the front of each fund's prospectus in a standardized fee table. The fund fee table displays annual costs as a percentage of fund assets-the expense ratio. The expense ratio allows you to make simple but exact comparisons of annual fees. Finally-and equally important-the fee table includes a hypothetical example that tells you in dollars and cents what a $10,000 investment would cost based on a five percent return. This cost includes transactional charges, if any, and the fund's annual fees. Thus, in the hypothetical $10,000 investment example, a fund with a 0.75 operating expense ratio would cost a shareholder $6.25 a month.

You can also perform cost calculations and comparisons on your own based on your own investments. Some websites offer cost calculators, like the one found on the Securities and Exchange Commission website (at www.sec.gov/mfcc/mfcc-int.htm), that supply you with dollars-and-cents cost comparisons.

Protecting Investors - Who Oversees Mutual Funds?

Most experts agree that a primary reason for the mutual fund industry's popularity and success is its reputation for honesty, fairness, and integrity. That reputation is built on a system of fund regulation specifically designed to ensure that funds are operated in the best interests of fund shareholders. Funds are also governed by a board of directors, a majority of whom must be independent from the fund and who are required to act as shareholder advocates. In practice, many funds go beyond the legal requirement and maintain a majority of independent directors on their boards.

The System of Fund Regulation

Mutual funds must comply with an extensive set of strict federal laws and regulations. These laws are vigorously enforced and actively monitored by regulators to ensure compliance.

Securities and Exchange Commission

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the main federal agency responsible for regulating mutual fund activities. The SEC monitors fund compliance with the chief federal statute governing mutual funds: the Investment Company Act of 1940. The 1940 Act imposes restrictions not only on mutual funds but also on the investment advisers, directors, principal underwriters, officers, and employees that carry out the business of the fund. The SEC also monitors how funds comply with other federal statutes, including the Investment Advisers Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Securities Act of 1933.

The SEC Division of Investment Management oversees and regulates funds specifically, and also considers changes to the securities laws affecting funds and other investment companies. Working within the guidelines of the 1940 Act, the SEC Division of Investment Management: