As a business owner, you want to protect your investments and mutual fund information resources will give you the knowledge you need to invest wisely. In general, mutual funds are a "safer" investment than single-company stocks because they spread your money out over several companies. If one of them does poorly, then hopefully that will average out with companies that did better.

Even though they may be a safer investment, you still need reference materials on mutual funds to make good choices. You shouldn't rely only on what your investment broker tells you. It's important that you do your own research on mutual funds.

Mutual fund information can help you:

1. Choose between the many mutual fund providers. Different companies have different track records and you should always try to choose a company that makes good investment choices.

2. Assess the fund's performance and determine whether it is a good fit for your company's portfolio. The mutual fund report lists the companies that the fund holds shares in and how it has performed over its lifetime.

3. Determine what industry you want to invest in. Some mutual funds invest in a particular industry, which may allow for higher returns.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use mutual funds information resources to learn the basics of investing

When you first start investing, the amount of information available can feel overwhelming. It's important that you start from the beginning, with a good primer on understanding your investments.

I recommend: There's no need to pay to learn the basics. You need to save your money for investing and there is a wealth of information available for free. Check out the introduction to mutual funds tutorial at Investopedia.com. It teaches you everything from what a mutual fund is to how to read the charts in mutual fund reports. The Motley Fool is a well-respected guide to investments. They also offer many articles to teach you about mutual funds.

Subscribe to newsletters to learn information on mutual funds

Newsletters can be great mutual funds reference materials. Because they don't have to wait to go to print, you can get information that is up-to-date.

I recommend: GuerrillaFunds.com offers a free trial to their newsletter, which offers investment advice. NoLoad FundX offers both print and online versions of their newsletter. It is highly recommended by Forbes magazine.

Request mutual funds information resources from investing companies

All mutual fund providers offer reports on their mutual funds. These explain their holdings and track performance over a given time period. It is the most accurate information that they have to-date.

I recommend: Vanguard is one of the best investment companies. You can search for information on their mutual funds by risk level, fund name or asset class. Fidelity is another great company that manages mutual funds.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Monitor your company's investments wisely. Make sure that you do your research on mutual funds. You should expect occasional dips in the market, but it's important to know when to cut your losses.