Even after we’ve suffered a downturn in the market, mutual funds are still popular investments. They offer a way to diversify, are professionally managed, and are easy to buy and sell. In the recent past, mutual funds have been thought of as nearly a no-lose investment, but now that we know that’s not always the case, learning about mutual funds basics can help avoid these kinds of losses in the future.

Mutual funds are everywhere, too – there are more than 10,000 different funds, and they’ve together amassed more than $4 trillion in investments! If you want to profit through mutual fund investing, you need to kow the basics and whether they are truly “safe”.

Given that mutual funds have provided good returns in the past, no wonder they’ve become so popular. Until late 2008 and into 2009, investors expected these funds to supply diversification in one’s portfolio, and to be fairly safe and post solid profits. It’s true that they offer an easy way to diversify, and risk levels as a result may have been somewhat less than for individual stocks.

Mutual funds are structured to raise their investment capital from a group of investors who buy shares on the open market. The fund management uses that capital to invest in stocks, bonds, and other securities that match the investment objective of the fund. Usually, there are multiple investments within a fund. As the value rises or falls, so the investors each have a share of that gain or loss. When a dividend is paid to the fund, the shareholders receive a dividend proportionally. this arrangement makes it easier to be invested in a wide variety of vehicles under one umbrella.

Mutual funds are designed as special types of corporations, which are allowed by charter to combine funds receied form investors, and invest that pool os cash for the whole group, based on the defined objectives of the fund. To raise investment capital there is an offering of shares of the fund to be sold to the general public, just as any public company wolud seek to sell stock on the market. Then the funds take the proceeds from selling shares and use it to purchase a variety of investments, such as stocks, bonds, derivatives, or money market instruments.

Shareholders investing in shares of the fund receive a proportional share position in the mutual fund. Literally the shareholders each have ownership of a piece of the securities within the fund. Generally speaking, shareholders are permitted to freely sell any fund shares they own at any time, with the price to be determined by the daily price fluctuations in the share price, based on the performance of the investments.

It’s also true that many investors get their investment ideas based on just a few criteria: the total performance of the fund in the recent past, or through tips from a friend or acquaintance, or by reading magazines or online publications. Even though there is a chance these efforts could result in choosing a good mutual fund, it’s still very risky to buy on this basis alone. It’s better to have some idea of fund’s characteristics, and whether it’s a good addition for that particular investor.

Each individual mutual fund has characteristics unique to it, such as its performance history, the philosophy of the management, specific investment objectives and so on. Your choice should be based on how you have designed your overall financial plan, and not just the past performance of the fund. It’s best to determine your individual goals first, including your personal financial priorities, what investment resources you have available to invest, and how much risk you are comfortable with. You will also want to include a timeframe for achieving your goals.

Everyone likes to talk about the super star funds, the high fliers that had double digit annual returns, to which everyone flocked with their cash. Today, we are a bit more realistic, and know that what comes up, can easily come down again. So, hopefully, you’ve learned that the performance of a fund is not the most important metric. Instead, examine the returns in the perspective of the underlying investments, and whether they are good long term investments. Don’t forget that past performance is never any guarantee of future results. Start out by looking at other mutual funds on the market which are in categories that match your overall strategy, whether it be bond funds, growth funds, equity income funds, etc.

By learning more about mutual fund basics like there, you are helping to minimize your loss in the market, by knowing more about what exactly you’re holding. Use these ideas to analyze which investments, if any, will lay the strongest part of your investment foundation.