Mutual Funds: Bleak Year Brought Almost No Winners (Washington Post) Here's how brutal 2008 was for mutual fund investors: The worst performing fund was down nearly 60 percent, the average financial fund declined 42 percent, and not one diversified stock fund bigger than $100 million ended the year with a gain.
Personal Adviser: Financial adviser embraces ETFs, leaves mutual funds behind (Market Watch) Exchange traded funds -- essentially mutual funds that trade on exchanges like stocks -- have taken the investment profession by storm. Our firm recently took the plunge and moved a substantial portion of clients? assets into ETFs to take advantage of their many benefits over traditional mutual funds.
A long downturn could take a toll on mutual funds (Los Angeles Times) Shrinking assets could lead to higher management fees, less choice and inferior research as staffs are cut back. The travails of the financial markets could hurt mutual fund investors in more ways than one.
