Friday, July 11, 2008

Which one is better for investing: Mutual Funds or Stocks




Comparison between Mutual Funds and Stocks.

Comparison between Mutual Funds and Stocks
Diversification
Mutual fund companies invest in a variety of stocks, bonds, and money-market investments, so mutual funds carry much lower risk than stocks.
Professional Management
Mutual funds enable investors to pool their money and place it under professional investment management. These managers have been around the industry for a long time and have the academic credentials to back it up.
Greater Upside Potential
Individual stocks have a greater upside potential than most mutual funds. Fluctuation in stocks is greater than mutual funds, so you have greater chance to earn more return.
Risk and Return
In general, Risk and return depend each other, the greater the risk, the higher the potential return; the lower the risk, the lower the expected return. Mutual funds try to reduce their risk by investing in a diversified group of individual stocks, bonds, or other securities.
Efficiency
Mutual funds have large sums of money to invest and often they trade commission-free and have personal contacts at the brokerage firms.
Conclusion
By investing in stocks you can get more return than mutual funds but, by investing in mutual funds your risk is lower. Mutual funds are great for funding retirement plans and investors that don't have the time or energy to consider individual stocks.
It is noticeable that most expert traders in stock market invest in mutual funds too. I recommend investing in both of mutual funds and stocks but, if you have experience, time and energy you can invest most of your money in individual stocks.