There are a variety of things to look for in a mutual fund before you invest. As mentioned before, the stock market has averaged nearly 11% during the past 70 years. Depending on how aggressively you invest your money, I think you can generally count on a rate of return somewhere in the 10% - 12% range.

Now, what to look for in a mutual fund...

I usually recommend an index mutual fund for most of your investments. An index fund tracks a specific index, such as the S&P 500, which are the largest 500 stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Most index mutual funds do not have specific managers that are in charge of the fund, but rather are mostly automated in their day-to-day operations. If the fund does have a manager, it is important to note that he should have a long track record of good returns on that fund. If that manager or management team has only been with that fund for the past year or so, there is not much chance that the returns will continue to be what they have been over the past few years.

Another important number to look at is the expense ratio. It is fairly easy to find a fund with good returns and expenses less than 1%. The lower the better, but remember, if you buy a fund with an expense ratio of 1.5% that returns 12%, it would be better than a fund with expenses of .5% that returns 9%.

Usually I find that most people only care about one particular number; the past returns of a fund. While this is great information to be armed with, I always caution that past performance is no guarantee of future returns. That is especially true if a new manager is on the job.

An excellent website for free mutual fund research is Morningstar. In addition, they also have a free investor's classroom which contains some great information about not only mutual funds, but also stocks, bonds and other investments. In general, we suggest to start out small with a single mutual fund covering a broad range of the stock market, such as small and large companies as well as international stocks. When you have over $10,000 in investments, you can start branching out to ideally hold 25% in International, 25% in Aggressive mutual funds, 25% in Small companies, and 25% in large companies that pay dividends.

Haven’t you become a member of the large family of mutual fund investors yet? If you keep waiting you may never be able to feel the positive effects mutual funds have on your account. However, you are not the only one who has not managed to overcome some of the basic mental barriers that come in your way toward mutual fund investing.

First of all you may think that you don’t have enough money to invest in a mutual fund. However, as little as $100 can get you started in your trip to a rich mutual fund account, which will provide you with financially secure retirement. No trading costs exist when you invest in the majority of mutual funds, which allows you to invest small amounts of money. As compared to stock investing, the latter eats up a big portion of your money in terms of broker commissions and you end up with less money for investing.

On the other hand, you may be reluctant to invest in a mutual fund, because you find it non-guaranteed or non-insured. However, you should not be worried about the security of a mutual fund because it cannot go bankrupt. A mutual fund usually holds shares of a large number of companies and in order to go bankrupt all of these companies should altogether become insolvent. On the other hand, the insurance companies or bank accounts that are generally viewed as safer can easily go bankrupt and you will end up losing your hard-earned money. What is more, inflation tends to eat up the money you accumulate in your savings account, whereas your mutual fund account enjoys compounding interest.

You may also prefer not to invest in a mutual fund, because you believe you are better at selecting individual stocks. We don’t want to undervalue you stock picking skills, but by purchasing shares of a mutual fund, you immediately enjoy the professional management of your assets by experts that have been in this field for many years. You may really have success at times, but it is equal to your chances of winning in the lottery.

Additionally, many investors make the mistake to invest in the company they work for. This is totally wrong tactic, unless you include in your portfolio other stocks to diversify it. Mutual funds include stocks and bonds of many different companies, which is extremely beneficial in restful economic times.

Finally, most investors don’t want to invest in a mutual fund, because they are worried they don’t understand how it functions. The first step is to browse through our website and get all the information you need to get you started. We have made it easy to use and full of different articles on the subject so that we turn you into an educated and successful mutual fund investor.

Are you in search of some recommendations on what are the best penny stocks to invest in, that you should add to your investment portfolio? There is a weekly newsletter in circulation, entitled "Doubling Stocks" that issues a hot penny stock pick every week. Ever since the newsletter has gone into circulation in early 2007, its stock picks have been consistent winners.

The stock picks are based on the recommendations made by MARL, a stock analysis computer program, that was also developed in early 2007. MARL analyzes thousands by compiling and computing statistics relevant to each stock's past and present performance and makes recommendations on which stocks are likely to see a significant increase in value in the upcoming days or weeks.

Week after week, since its inception, MARL has consistently, without fail, chosen stocks that have seen an average of 105% return on investment. In fact, the company that licenses MARL claims that over 100 people have achieved millionaire status since 2007 thanks to their investments in MARL's recommendations.

For example, in January of 2008, one of MARL's recommendations was a penny stock with ticker symbol IDGJ. It quickly rose from $0.09 per share to a high of $0.32 cents per share, before leveling out at about $0.19 per share. This represents an increase of 100% to 200% in an extremely short span of time. Had you invested $1,000 in IDGJ stock per MARL's recommendation, when it was at $0.09, you could have bought 11,111 shars. Had you sold your shares at their peak value of $0.32 per share, you would have made a profit of $2,555.53 minus any trading commissions.

1 Year Target Estimate: An estimated value of a particular stock that has been calculated by an investment expert who has been tracking the performance of the stock or investment product.

12(b)1 Fee: A fee charged by a mutual fund to cover the fund’s promotional expenses. In order for a mutual fund to charge this fee they must disclose to investors that it charges a 12(b)1 Fee and they must also register it with the SEC.

Common Stocks: An investment product that allows an investor to purchase a share of equity ownership in a public company.

Deleted: When a security is removed from the NASDAQ.

Dual Listed: This term is used to describe several things, however, it commonly is used to describe companies that have listings on both the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ.

Family of Funds: This term is used to describe a group of mutual funds that are all managed by the same financial investment company.

Held: When a security is temporarily taken off the market.

IPO Date: IPO stands for initial public offering. This term refers to the date that the public was first able to purchase shares in a company.

Long Term Gain: A long term gain is a profit that is made on an investment that is held longer than 12 months.

Short Term Gain: A short term gain is a profit that is made on an investment that is held for less than 12 months.

Maturity Date: A maturity date is the calendar date that a bond matures and will pay the holder its full face value.