To decide which funds would be most appropriate for you to invest your hard earned money you must first decide on what you would like to accomplish with your investments.

Where are you now? Are you in your twenties just starting out in your chosen career? Perhaps you’re in your fifties approaching the peak of your career. Maybe you’re preparing to send your oldest child off to their first day of school and you want to make sure he or she will be able to attend college. Maybe you want to save and invest for that house or vacation hideaway you’ve been dreaming about for years. What do you want to accomplish? What are your goals? These are the questions you must answer that are unique to your situation.

Investing in mutual funds is not some sort of get-rich-quick scheme. Investments in mutual funds are generally for the longer term – they should be measured in years, not weeks or months. You should not be investing money in mutual funds if you will need that money next month.

Generally your twenties and thirties are a time of beginnings: career, marriage, children, first home, etc. It is also a good time to begin investing in mutual funds. With time on your side, growth and aggressive growth funds may be a good choice to begin your mutual fund investing. These funds could be used for future college costs, a new home, or to get a head start on your retirement.

Your forties and fifties are likely to be your peak earning years. Perhaps a time when you should have less of your mutual fund assets in growth funds and more in income and tax-free income funds.

In your sixties and beyond, most of your biggest expenses are behind you, i.e., college expenses, housing, etc., and you have more time to enjoy yourself. Perhaps a time to shift more of your assets into fixed income funds to increase income for living expenses or leisure activities.

Another factor to consider when choosing a mutual fund (or group of funds) is your tolerance for risk. While all investments have some risk associated with them, no investment is worthwhile if you stay awake at night worrying about it. Your comfort level with risk is important in determining how aggressively or conservatively you choose to invest and must be balanced with your desire to achieve your financial goals.

We suggest you call or write a few of the mutual fund companies and ask for some literature regarding their funds. Once you receive their literature, read it! One of the items you will receive is the prospectus. All funds will provide one. The prospectus will provide you with the investment objective of the fund – how it invests your money. It will also contain a wealth of other information: how to buy and redeem shares, sales charges (if any), initial and subsequent investment requirements, fund expenses, information on the funds investment advisor, and much more. In short, the prospectus contains most of the information you need to make an informed decision on whether to invest in that particular fund or not.