A Look Into Incredible Growth in Sustainable Municipal Debt Issuances
Jayden Sangha
|
In this article, we will take a closer look at the nature of...
The $20 trillion mutual fund industry remains one of the most popular landing spots for average investors. In recent years, however, growth in the mutual fund space has begun to slow, while interest in exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, is exploding.
If you are wondering whether mutual funds are right for you, you should read why mutual funds should be a part of your portfolio.
Be sure to also read A Brief History of Mutual Funds.
America got into the act in 1893 with the Boston Personal Property Trust, which was soon followed by the Alexander Fund. Many historians consider this fund to be the first “real” mutual fund, as it allowed for investor withdrawals upon demand. Mutual funds began to appear in their modern form during the Roaring Twenties. Wellington and Vanguard Funds were incepted during this time, and then the market crash and Great Depression led to the filing and disclosure requirements that were laid out in the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
From there, the number of available funds became larger and more diverse, and they grew in usage and popularity through the turn of the century. The internet boom of the 1990s caused mutual funds to explode in popularity as employees and consumers became able to establish savings and retirement accounts online and make instantaneous changes and transactions at the touch of a button.
The Standard & Poor’s American Depository Receipt (SPDR) became the first exchange-traded fund to be offered to the public in 1993, and it was soon followed by a host of other ETFs that invested in every type of asset class, country and type of company in existence. There are now ETFs that function as sophisticated trading instruments that allow investors to take inverse positions against the market and create complex hedging strategies that can satisfy various trading objectives.
See also ETFs vs. Mutual Funds: The Similarities and Differences.
The number of mutual funds in existence has fluctuated since its peak in 2001. As the dot-com bubble was bursting, there were 8,305 different funds. That number shrank to 7,556 in 2010 and has since rebounded to 8,009 as of 2019. As is the case with mutual fund assets, equity funds constitute the majority of funds available. Currently, 59% of funds focus on equities, 27% are fixed-income, 10% are balanced funds and the remaining 5% are money market funds.
According to ICI’s 2019 Investment Company Factbook here, at the end of 2018 there were 1,319 capital appreciation funds, 1,527 world funds and 1,907 total return funds available. There were 604 investment-grade bond funds, 247 high-yield funds, 362 world bond funds, 193 government bond funds, 211 multi-sector bond funds and 293 state municipal bond funds. There were also 264 national muni bond funds, 287 taxable money market funds and 81 tax-free money market funds.
Be sure check our News section to keep track of the recent fund performances.
Receive email updates about best performers, news, CE accredited webcasts and more.
Jayden Sangha
|
In this article, we will take a closer look at the nature of...
Kristan Wojnar, RCC™
|
Our subjects for this week center around making decisions, whether to outsource your...
Concerns about inflation have investors looking for safe and robust returns in the...
Mutual Fund Education
Justin Kuepper
|
Let's take a closer look at how ESG investments have outperformed during the...
Mutual Fund Education
Daniel Cross
|
While CITs and mutual funds share many similarities, there are some key differences...
Mutual Fund Education
Sam Bourgi
|
The phrase ‘bear market’ has been thrown around a lot lately, but it...
The $20 trillion mutual fund industry remains one of the most popular landing spots for average investors. In recent years, however, growth in the mutual fund space has begun to slow, while interest in exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, is exploding.
If you are wondering whether mutual funds are right for you, you should read why mutual funds should be a part of your portfolio.
Be sure to also read A Brief History of Mutual Funds.
America got into the act in 1893 with the Boston Personal Property Trust, which was soon followed by the Alexander Fund. Many historians consider this fund to be the first “real” mutual fund, as it allowed for investor withdrawals upon demand. Mutual funds began to appear in their modern form during the Roaring Twenties. Wellington and Vanguard Funds were incepted during this time, and then the market crash and Great Depression led to the filing and disclosure requirements that were laid out in the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
From there, the number of available funds became larger and more diverse, and they grew in usage and popularity through the turn of the century. The internet boom of the 1990s caused mutual funds to explode in popularity as employees and consumers became able to establish savings and retirement accounts online and make instantaneous changes and transactions at the touch of a button.
The Standard & Poor’s American Depository Receipt (SPDR) became the first exchange-traded fund to be offered to the public in 1993, and it was soon followed by a host of other ETFs that invested in every type of asset class, country and type of company in existence. There are now ETFs that function as sophisticated trading instruments that allow investors to take inverse positions against the market and create complex hedging strategies that can satisfy various trading objectives.
See also ETFs vs. Mutual Funds: The Similarities and Differences.
The number of mutual funds in existence has fluctuated since its peak in 2001. As the dot-com bubble was bursting, there were 8,305 different funds. That number shrank to 7,556 in 2010 and has since rebounded to 8,009 as of 2019. As is the case with mutual fund assets, equity funds constitute the majority of funds available. Currently, 59% of funds focus on equities, 27% are fixed-income, 10% are balanced funds and the remaining 5% are money market funds.
According to ICI’s 2019 Investment Company Factbook here, at the end of 2018 there were 1,319 capital appreciation funds, 1,527 world funds and 1,907 total return funds available. There were 604 investment-grade bond funds, 247 high-yield funds, 362 world bond funds, 193 government bond funds, 211 multi-sector bond funds and 293 state municipal bond funds. There were also 264 national muni bond funds, 287 taxable money market funds and 81 tax-free money market funds.
Be sure check our News section to keep track of the recent fund performances.
Receive email updates about best performers, news, CE accredited webcasts and more.
Jayden Sangha
|
In this article, we will take a closer look at the nature of...
Kristan Wojnar, RCC™
|
Our subjects for this week center around making decisions, whether to outsource your...
Concerns about inflation have investors looking for safe and robust returns in the...
Mutual Fund Education
Justin Kuepper
|
Let's take a closer look at how ESG investments have outperformed during the...
Mutual Fund Education
Daniel Cross
|
While CITs and mutual funds share many similarities, there are some key differences...
Mutual Fund Education
Sam Bourgi
|
The phrase ‘bear market’ has been thrown around a lot lately, but it...