There are many frequent questions that are common about mutual funds. This is probably because mutual funds are so popular these days that many people are already investing in funds or are at least thinking about it. Below are some questions and answers:

Top Mutual Fund Questions Of 2008 - What Is The History Of Mutual Funds?

Mutual funds actually go all the way back to the Netherlands in the early 1800s. Mutual funds were then called an investment trust (which most still are today). Mutual funds came to America in 1889 with the New York Stock Trust. Many mutual funds in America were started in Boston, which was a financial center of some renown back in the 1800s.

Are IRAs the Same as Mutual Funds?

Many retirement accounts use mutual funds as their primary investment vehicle. IRAs were authorized in the United States in 1975 - IRA stands for Individual retirement Account. IRAs have led to explosive growth in mutual fund investing.

What Does No Load Mutual Fund Mean?

No load funds are mutual funds that don't impose a sales fee on the investor when they buy or sell the fund. A sales fee that is charged by the mutual fund company is called a "load".

Top Mutual Fund Questions Of 2008 - What Is A Mutual Fund?

Mutual Funds are pooled investment trusts - the fund buys shares of stocks and you as the individual investor buy shares of the fund instead of the individual stocks.

Index Funds - What Are They?

Most investors are probably best off in the long run buying an Index Fund. This type of fund tracks one of the stock market indexes, whether it is the Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index, the entire stock market index, or some other performance measure of a like group of stocks.

Top Mutual Fund Questions Of 2008 - What Is Net Asset Value?

For most of the funds, the NAV is determined daily, after the close of trading on some specified financial exchange, but some funds update their NAV multiple times during the trading day. Net Asset Value (NAV) is the value of a share in a mutual fund and is calculated by dividing the total value of the fund, less the fund's liabilities, by the number of shares currently issued and outstanding.

What Is A Public Offering Price?

Closed-end funds may trade at a higher or lower price than their NAV; this is known as a premium or discount, respectively. If a fund is divided into multiple classes of shares, each class will typically have its own NAV, reflecting differences in fees and expenses paid by different classes. A Public Offering Price (POP) is nothing more than the net asset value plus a sales commission.

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