Mutual Funds
A mutual fund is an investment vehicle made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets. Mutual funds are operated by money managers, who invest the fund's capital and attempt to produce capital gains and income for the fund's investors. A mutual fund’s portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in its prospectus.
BREAKING DOWN 'Mutual Fund'
One of the main advantages of mutual funds is they give small investors access to professionally managed, diversified portfolios of equities, bonds and other securities. Each shareholder, therefore, participates proportionally in the gain or loss of the fund. Mutual funds invest in a wide amount of securities, and performance is usually tracked as the change in the total market cap of the fund, derived by aggregating performance of the underlying investments.
Mutual fund units, or shares, can typically be purchased or redeemed as needed at the fund's current Net Asset Value(NAV) per share, which is sometimes expressed as NAV. A fund's NAV is derived by dividing the total value of the securities in the portfolio by the total amount of shares outstanding.
1. Money market funds
These funds invest in short-term fixed income securities such as government bonds, bills, bankers’ acceptances, commercial paper and certificates of deposit. They are generally a safer investment, but with a lower potential return then other types of mutual funds. Canadian money market funds try to keep their Net Asset Value (NAV) stable at Rs. 10 per security.
2. Fixed income funds
These funds buy investments that pay a fixed rate of return like government bonds, investment-grade corporate bonds and high-yield corporate Bonds. They aim to have money coming into the fund on a regular basis, mostly through interest that the fund earns. High-yield corporate bond funds are generally riskier than funds that hold government and investment-grade bonds.
3. Equity funds
These funds invest in stocks. These funds aim to grow faster than money market or fixed income funds, so there is usually a higher risk that you could lose money. You can choose from different types of equity funds including those that specialize in growth stocks (which don’t usually pay dividends), income funds (which hold stocks that pay large dividends), value stocks, large-cap stocks, mid-cap stocks, small-cap stocks, or combinations of these.
4. Balanced funds
These funds invest in a mix of equities and fixed income securities. They try to balance the aim of achieving higher returns against the risk of losing money. Most of these funds follow a formula to split money among the different types of investments. They tend to have more risk than fixed income funds, but less risk than pure equity funds. Aggressive funds hold more equities and fewer bonds, while conservative funds hold fewer equities relative to bonds.
5. Index funds
These funds aim to track the performance of a specific index such as the S&P Composite Index. The value of the mutual fund will go up or down as the index goes up or down. Index funds typically have lower costs than actively managed mutual funds because the portfolio manager doesn’t have to do as much research or make as many investment decisions.
6. Specialty funds
These funds focus on specialized mandates such as real estate, commodities or socially responsible investing. For example, a socially responsible fund may invest in companies that support environmental stewardship, human rights and diversity, and may avoid companies involved in alcohol, tobacco, gambling, weapons and the military.
7. Fund-of-funds
These funds invest in other funds. Similar to balanced funds, they try to make asset allocation and diversification easier for the investor. The MER for fund-of-funds tend to be higher than stand-alone mutual funds.
Active vs passive management
Active management means that the portfolio manager buys and sells investments, attempting to outperform the return of the overall market or another identified benchmark. Passive management involves buying a portfolio of securities designed to track the performance of a benchmark index. The fund’s holdings are only adjusted if there is an adjustment in the components of the index.