Here are some reminders that you should keep in mind when investing in mutual funds.
Mutual Funds are Not Equal to Stocks
Always bear in mind that mutual funds are not stocks. That means a weak stock market doesn’t automatically means that you should sell the fund. Stocks are single entities with rates of return associated with what the market will bear.
Stocks are driven by the “buy low, sell high” approach, which tells us why, during a market downturn, many investors panic and quickly dump all of their stock-oriented assets.
Mutual funds are not single entities: they are portfolios of financial instruments, such as stocks and bonds, chosen by a portfolio or fund manager in accordance with the fund’s strategy.
An advantage of this portfolio of assets is diversification. There are many type of mutual funds, and their levels of diversification vary.
Sector Funds
Sector funds, for example, will have the diversification, while balanced funds will have the most. Within all mutual funds, on the other hand, the slump of one or a few of the stocks can be offset by other assets within the portfolio that are either holding steady or increasing in value.
Since mutual funds are diverse portfolios instead of single entities, depending only on market timing to sell your fund may be a useless strategy since a fund’s portfolio may represent different kinds of markets.
Selling the Fund
When you are selling your mutual funds units, there are a couple of factors to consider that may affect your return.
Back-end Loads
If you are an investor who owns funds that charge back-end load, the total you receive when redeeming your units will be affected. Front-end loads, on the other hand, are sales fees charged when you initially invest your money into the fund.
If your fund has a back end load, the charges will be deducted from the total redemption value. For most funds, back-end loads usually are higher when you liquidate your units earlier rather than later. That means you need to determine if liquidating your units now is the best strategy after all.
Tax Obligations
If your mutual fund has realized significant capital gains in the past, you may be subject to capital gains taxes if the fund is held within a taxable account.
When you redeem units of a fund that has a value that’s greater than the total cost, you will have a taxable gain.
Changes in the Fund
Bear in mind that even if the fund is calibrated for long term rates of returns, you shouldn’t hold onto it all the time.
Manager Change
When you put your money into a fund, you are putting a certain amount of trust into the fund manager’s expertise and knowledge, which you want to utilize to have an outstanding return on an investment that suits your investment goals.
If your quarterly or even annual report tells you that your fund has a new manager, you have to pay attention. If the fund imitates a certain index or benchmark, it may be less of a worry as these funds tend to be less actively managed.