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Friday, April 24, 2009

The Beginnings of Mutual Funds

By Jeffrey Mute

You might be hearing a lot about mutual funds and are wondering why it is a popular investment opportunity. Investors prefer to invest in mutual funds over traditional forms of investments such as certificates of deposit and money market accounts because of one thing " the amount of return it brings to them. With a properly managed mutual fund, you can expect the biggest return of your investment.

For the novice investor, investing in mutual funds is recommended because you dont need to take crash courses and make crucial decisions that can affect the potential returns of your investment. Mutual funds allow you to get a feel of the industry before investing a big chunk of your money. It is also considered a low risk investment because it diversifies the funds asset over various investment options.

To fully understand the concept of mutual funds, it is important that we take a look at its history. Some historians believe that it was a Dutch merchant named Adriaan van Ketwitch who conceived the idea of mutual funds. But others believed that that the mutual fund concept started in the Netherlands when King William I launched his closed-end investment companies.

Nevertheless, the idea was so great that France and Great Britain acknowledged it. Soon enough, the United States followed suit. But the mutual funds of the past are very much different from what it is today. It was only during 1907, with the creation of the Alexander Fund, that the modern mutual fund began to take shape. Since then, additional changes have been included in the general concept including withdrawals on demand and semi-annual issues.

It was only when the Massachusetts Investors Trust was established that the modern mutual fund came into existence in 1924. And about a year later, the Trust has grown to acquire almost $400,000.00 in assets with 200 shareholders. By 1928, the fund went public. In the same year, the Wellington Fund was established and was the first one to include stocks and bonds in their investments. Because of this, the value of stocks increased rapidly making 1928 one of the best years in the history of mutual funds.

Not long after came the Wall Street Crash of 1929. This was the worst stock market crash in history, which led to the Great Depression. But one positive thing emerged from these downtimes. Finally, the government noticed the advantage of the mutual fund industry and subsequently passed several laws to protect the investors.

This move was welcomed by the investors and trading in the stock market began to increase again. From then on, the mutual fund industry continued to flourish. Throughout the decades, more and more people become interested in mutual funds with its popularity ever climbing.

Now, a mutual fund is considered as a sound investment from investors all over the world. Whichever way you look at it, mutual funds still has a lot of room to grow in. And the good thing about it is that you can profit from this industry without risking too much. - 23167

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