Mutual Funds for Dummies by Eric Tyson

Mutual Funds for Dummies by Eric Tyson

1

Getting Started 
with Funds

IN THIS PART . . .
Understand investment options, risks, rewards, and 
diversification.
Discover the pros and cons of mutual and exchangetraded funds.
Get your financial house in order before investing in 
funds.

IN THIS CHAPTER
Defining mutual funds and 
exchange-traded funds
Understanding investments
Weighing your options
Seeing the big picture: Returns, risks, 
and risk reduction

Chapter 1

Making More Money, 
Taking Less Risk

In my years of work as a financial adviser and a columnist answering many 
readers’ questions, I’ve seen the same, avoidable mistakes being made over and 
over. Often, these investing mistakes occurred for one simple reason: a lack of 
investment understanding. People didn’t know what their investing options were 
and why particular options were inferior or superior to others.
By reading this book, you can prevent yourself from making investment mistakes. 
And you can take advantage of an excellent investment vehicle: mutual funds — 
the best of which offer you diversification, which reduces your risks, and low-cost 
access to highly diversified portfolios and professional money managers, who can 
boost your returns with less risk. Mutual funds and exchange-traded funds can fit 
nicely in the context of your overall financial plans and goals. This chapter gives 
you an investment overview so you can see how mutual funds and exchange-

traded funds fit into the overall investment world.

Mutual Funds for Dummies by Eric Tyson