Transaction and operating expenses. Review it carefully. Most funds charge redemption or exchange fees. Some funds also charge a maintenance fee to shareholders whose balances drop below a certain amount. A prospectus also spells out the methods of purchasing, redeeming and making additional investments in the fund.
Most policies vary from fund to fund, so be sure to read through the prospectus carefully.
For example, some funds allow telephone transactions, while others have low purchase requirements if you set up an automatic investment plan. Fund prospectuses include a great deal of valuable information. You should consider past performance, up front and backend sales charges and fees, breakpoints, annual expense ratios and consistency of the funds financial performance and management, when determining the fund that's right for you.