Why would I buy a mutual fund instead of an ETF?
Unlike ETFs, mutual funds can offer more specific strategies as well as blends of strategies. Mutual funds offer the same type of indexed investing options as ETFs but also an array of actively and passively managed options that can be fine-tuned to cater to an investor's needs.
For instance, some ETFs may come with fees, others might stray from the value of the underlying asset, ETFs are not always optimized for taxes, and of course — like any investment — ETFs also come with risk.
Market risk
The single biggest risk in ETFs is market risk. Like a mutual fund or a closed-end fund, ETFs are only an investment vehicle—a wrapper for their underlying investment. So if you buy an S&P 500 ETF and the S&P 500 goes down 50%, nothing about how cheap, tax efficient, or transparent an ETF is will help you.
Key Takeaways
Mutual funds offer diversification or access to a wider variety of investments than an individual investor could afford to buy. There are economies of scale in investing with a group. Monthly contributions help the investor's assets grow. Funds are more liquid because they tend to be less volatile.
The primary reasons why an individual may choose to buy mutual funds instead of individual stocks are diversification, convenience, and lower costs.
The choice comes down to what you value most. If you prefer the flexibility of trading intraday and favor lower expense ratios in most instances, go with ETFs. If you worry about the impact of commissions and spreads, go with mutual funds.
While these securities track a given index, using debt without shareholder equity makes leveraged and inverse ETFs risky investments over the long term due to leveraged returns and day-to-day market volatility. Mutual funds are strictly limited regarding the amount of leverage they can use.
Both are less risky than investing in individual stocks & bonds. ETFs and mutual funds both come with built-in diversification. One fund could include tens, hundreds, or even thousands of individual stocks or bonds in a single fund. So if 1 stock or bond is doing poorly, there's a chance that another is doing well.
ETFs may close due to lack of investor interest or poor returns. For investors, the easiest way to exit an ETF investment is to sell it on the open market. Liquidation of ETFs is strictly regulated; when an ETF closes, any remaining shareholders will receive a payout based on what they had invested in the ETF.
For most standard, unleveraged ETFs that track an index, the maximum you can theoretically lose is the amount you invested, driving your investment value to zero. However, it's rare for broad-market ETFs to go to zero unless the entire market or sector it tracks collapses entirely.
Why don't people invest in mutual funds?
As the funds are invested in market instruments, they carry certain stock market risks like volatility, fall in share prices etc., which deters us from investing in mutual funds. As we don't want to lose money, we often let it stagnate in our savings accounts.
Disadvantages include high fees, tax inefficiency, poor trade execution, and the potential for management abuses.
Mutual funds provide convenient diversification and professional management through a single investment, but can have high fees, tax inefficiency, and market risk like the underlying securities.
If you're paying fees for a fund with a high expense ratio or paying too much in taxes each year because of undesired capital gains distributions, switching to ETFs is likely the right choice. If your current investment is in an indexed mutual fund, you can usually find an ETF that accomplishes the same thing.
One of the most significant benefits of investing in mutual funds is diversification. With mutual funds, you can invest your money in a variety of stocks, bonds, and other assets. This diversification helps in reducing the overall risk of your investment portfolio.
Given how high the risk is with these mutual funds, it is best to limit yourself to a limited number of small cap mutual funds. Also, avoid putting in a great percentage of your total mutual fund investment in small cap mutual funds. Debt Funds: Ideally 1, but 2 is also good.
The administrative costs of managing ETFs are commonly lower than those for mutual funds. ETFs keep their administrative and operational expenses down through market-based trading. Because ETFs are bought and sold on the open market, the sale of shares from one investor to another does not affect the fund.
For the most part, ETFs are less costly than mutual funds. There are exceptions—and investors should always examine the relative costs of ETFs and mutual funds. However—all else being equal—the structural differences between the 2 products do give ETFs a cost advantage over mutual funds.
At least once a year, funds must pass on any net gains they've realized. As a fund shareholder, you could be on the hook for taxes on gains even if you haven't sold any of your shares.
Index investing pioneer Vanguard's S&P 500 Index Fund was the first index mutual fund for individual investors.
What is the best mutual fund to invest in in 2024?
- Fidelity 500 Index Fund. : Best overall.
- Fidelity Large Cap Growth Index Fund. : Best for growth investors.
- Fidelity Investment Grade Bond Fund. ...
- Fidelity Total Bond Fund. ...
- Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund Investor Shares. ...
- Schwab Fundamental US Large Company Index Fund. ...
- Schwab S&P 500 Index Fund. ...
- Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund.
Too much diversification can dilute performance
Adding new ETFs to a portfolio that includes this Energy ETF would decrease its performance.
Money market mutual funds = lowest returns, lowest risk
They are considered one of the safest investments you can make. Money market funds are used by investors who want to protect their retirement savings but still earn some interest — often between 1% and 3% a year. (Learn more about money market funds.)
Due to having less than 100% equity allocation in all cases, we see that the hybrid funds are the safest in terms of risk. A few other observations: as the market cap of the funds reduces (large-cap > mid-cap > small-cap etc.), the risk increases. within diversified funds, large-cap funds have the least risk.
Mutual funds are largely a safe investment, seen as being a good way for investors to diversify with minimal risk. But there are circ*mstances in which a mutual fund is not a good choice for a market participant, especially when it comes to fees.
