Mutual Funds: Portfolio Structures, Analysis, Management, and Stewardship
Despite recent turmoil in the financial markets, the mutual fund industry continues to be one of the extraordinary growth stories in the history of American financial markets. In 1984, net mutual fund assets totaled $370 million. Today, they are at $10.1 trillion. A major reason for their popularity is that mutual funds provide even the smallest investors with investment performance and investment alternatives, objectives, and services traditionally reserved for institutional and large individual investors. However, mutual funds also have numerous shortcomings that call for fund stewardship of shareholders, trans-parency in disclosure, investor education, and investor-oriented regulation.As part of the Robert W. Kolb Series in Finance,  Mutual Funds brings together some of the finest minds in academia, investment management, and mutual fund management to provide the nature and important elements of mutual funds.Covering major theoretical and management issues in fund analysis and portfolio management, it is an authoritative guide to understanding mutual funds and getting the most out of your investments in them. The authors first provide an overview of the nature, structure, and services of open-end mutual funds, introducing the characteristics of an open-end fund and how they compare to those of alternative investment vehicles. They then explain how the financial markets really work and how prices are set—offering some well-researched cautions about active versus passive portfolio management. The authors go on to discuss specific strategies for investing in mutual funds, making a strong case for index fund investing, and also compare the advantages and disadvantages of mutual funds versus exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The book concludes with a hard look at the recent scandals in the mutual fund industry and offers sound advice on how to evaluate whether the managers of the funds you own are truly acting as trustees of other people's money.The open-end mutual fund offers investors a range of desirable features, including liquidity, diversification, professional management, and more. For anyone who wants to make more informed decisions about choosing funds, this collection of in-depth contributions will prove to be an essential guide.