But those are not your real choices. I simply don't see any reason why a well-informed, intelligent investor should pay a sales commission to invest in a mutual fund. Certainly any investor who is capable of finding the way to this Web site and reading this article is able to recognize and find good funds without paying for that service from a broker whose interests are almost inevitably in conflict with the interests of the investor. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'd rather tell you the facts and let you draw your own conclusion.
Some funds pay such commissions.
They are called load funds. Other funds don't. They are called no-load funds. Some funds charge loads when investors redeem shares, and many funds have loads that include annual fees to cover their marketing expenses. A load goes to the fund's sales force, not its portfolio managers.