Mutual Funds: Getting Started With Funds

The three most important tenets of planning an investment portfolio are: diversification, diversification and diversification. But diversifying when buying stocks isn't cheap, making it tough for the individual investor.

As with most dilemmas in life, a product has been created to address the problem: the mutual fund.

A mutual fund holds a group of stocks, bonds or other investment vehicles and is managed by an advising company. In buying a mutual fund, you get to hold a broad range of stocks and/or bonds because your money is thrown in to a much larger pot of money from other investors. The upshot: For a modest sum, you get a professionally managed portfolio. ...