When you're investigating a mutual fund
either because you're thinking of buying it or you're
evaluating whether to continue to hold it in your portfolio, there
are some big-picture issues to consider.
The first is whether a fund's investment
objective is in line with your own. A related question is whether
the fund you're considering helps to diversify your investment
portfolio.
You also want to look at the fund's
history, its management, its risks, and its costs in relation
to other funds with similar objectives. You can find
that information in materials the fund publishes,
on its Web site, and in both print and online research from the
financial press and mutual fund research companies such as Lipper,
Morningstar, Inc., and Value Line.
