FAP Turbo

Make Over 90% Winning Trades Now!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Beginnings of Mutual Funds

By Jeffrey Mute

Perhaps you are considering mutual funds as a form of investment because youve been hearing so much about it. Questions, like what is it that makes mutual funds so popular and will you be able to benefit from it, enter your mind as you ponder if it is the right type of investment for you. For starters, mutual funds are very popular because it can give impressive returns of investments.

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.

Despite whoever started the idea of a mutual fund, it was readily acknowledged by France and Great Britain as a brilliant investment opportunity. The mutual fund concept only reached the United States by the 1890s but it was very different from how you know mutual funds today. The first time the modern mutual fund began to take shape was when the Alexander Fund was established in Pennsylvania in 1907. The modifications came in later which included semi-annual issues and withdrawals on demand.

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.

Today, the mutual fund industry has gained recognition from the different countries all over the world as more people realize its benefits. And with so much to gain, the mutual fund industry will continue to become a popular investment vehicle for investors in the years to come. - 23208

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home