Mutual Funds - There Are Three Things That Every Investor Wants

Three things that every investor wants most: More money; more time; and less stress.

1. More money: You have a clear choice. Will you choose to match the market's performance or try to beat it? Anyone who can read and do simple math can invest in a diversified, core, mix of no load, low cost, index funds and match the market's performance less the cost of your mix of investments. If you try to beat the market, you are experimenting with your hard earned money, because you have never done it before--long term. Nor has your investment adviser ever beat it. Ask for his or her long term track record and you will see the truth. By the way, cherry picked funds that the expert did not own back then and cherry picked time-frames don't count as a track record. If you don't have a long term track record of at least ten years, what are the odds against you having the skills to pick managed funds that will beat the market--long term? Be honest. Always tell the truth to yourself. That way you will make fewer mistakes.

2. More Time: Picking a mix of index funds and monitoring them for results is fast because you are only concerned about cutting your cost, and you should do that whenever you have an opportunity to do so. Picking a mix of managed funds and/or asset-allocation, target-date, lifecycle, lifestyle, and balanced funds requires more time because each fund has many parts.

3. Less Stress: Whether the market goes up, down, or sideways, if you invest in index funds, you always know what your results will be: you will match the market's performance, less the cost of your investments. And you will beat the pants off most experts. That kind of knowledge can be comforting. If you invest in managed funds, and/or asset-allocation, target-date, lifecycle, lifestyle, and balanced funds it will be an emotional roller-coaster ride like you have never been on before. One thing you can count on is this. The market will go up, down, or sideways, and you will be excited if your investments happen to beat the market. However, you will feel stress in the years that your picks underperform it, and you may even wish you had followed this rule: Keep it simple.

Keep your eyes wide open every time you invest your hard-earned money, always. That way you'll have a better chance of doing the right thing for yourself and your loved ones. See?