If you ve ever noticed an ad for a mutual fund, you ve probably seen, in a large typeface, some numbers indicating how well the fund has performed in the past few years.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
This isn t just a legal disclaimer - it s the truth. What a fund has done may not be a guide to what it will do. The factors affecting a mutual fund s performance today may be quite different from those of the past - so it s never a good idea to rely on history as an investment guide. If you purchase a fund that has high costs, it must perform better than a low-cost fund to generate the same returns. Before you buy a mutual fund, review its prospectus to evaluate its level of fees and expenses.