At the end of 1995, the fund had 73,500 investors and assets of 1.8 billion dollars. There are now well over 7000 mutual funds available. A bond fund is a mutual fund targeted at the buying and selling of bonds. When you own an individual bond, the par value is yours upon maturity providing the issuer has remained viable. When you own a share of a bond fund, you do not have this assurance.
Diversification helps to reduce risk.
By owning shares of multiple companies, the fund's share value is not devastated by the poor performance of an individual company. The selection of which securities to buy, the allocation of cash and securities, and the timing of purchases is performed by the fund manager or management team. These individuals have the resources, time, and training to make well informed investment decisions subject, of course, to their individual style, skill, and experience. There may be other advantages to a mutual fund as well. The fund may be part of a family of funds in which the investor can switch between different funds at no cost, including switching in and out of a money market fund.