Beyond the initial sales charge or lack thereof, the difference in fee structure between load and no-load mutual funds virtually disappears. These fees are usually not seen directly by investors but instead are specified in the fund's prospectus and statements of additional information. Investors should note that transaction costs tend to vary depending on the type of securities in the fund. Trading foreign securities, for instance, can cost almost twice as much as trading domestic securities. The service differential With thousands of individually managed accounts currently available, not to mention more mutual funds than the total number of stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange combined, finding the right investment can be difficult.
Some investors find that appealing.
What initially seems attractive, however, can turn into a serious drawback. Investors should not be hasty to discount the Financial Advisor's role. Among other things, the advisor can help the investor determine how to allocate assets in response to changing market conditions and financial needs, adjusting as appropriate, as the investor moves through different life stages. How investors allocate their assets among stocks, bonds, real estate, cash and other investment categories is often much more important to overall financial performance than the selection of any single investment. Certainly, investors with the time and expertise to conduct their own research, make their own analyses, absorb highly technical information from prospectuses, and keep up with market conditions and other factors can choose to do without a Financial Advisor's services.