A type of mutual fund that charges its holders 12B-1 fees instead of up-front or back-end commissions. 12B-1 funds take a portion of assets held and use them to pay expense fees and distribution costs. These costs are included in the fund's expense ratio and are described in the prospectus. The name 12B-1 comes from the Investment Company Act of 1940's Rule 12B-1, which allows fund companies to act as distributors of their own shares. Rule 12B-1 further states that a mutual fund's own assets can be used to pay distribution charges. Originally, the rule was intended to pay advertising and marketing expenses; today, however, a very small percentage of the fee actually goes toward these costs.
An annual marketing or distribution fee on a mutual fund. The 12b-1 fee is considered an operational expense and, as such, is included in a fund's expense ratio. It is generally between 0.25-1% (the maximum allowed) of a fund's net assets. The fee gets its name from a section in the Investment Company Act of 1940. Back in the early days of the mutual fund business, the 12b-1 fee was thought to help investors. It was believed that by marketing a mutual fund, its assets would increase and management could lower expenses because of economies of scale. This has yet to be proved. With mutual fund assets passing the $10 trillion mark and growing steadily, critics of this fee, which today is mainly used to reward intermediaries for selling a fund's shares, are seriously questioning the justification for using it. As a commission paid to salespersons, it is currently believed to do nothing to enhance the performance of a fund.
A type of risk that a fund or managed portfolio creates as it attempts to beat the returns of the benchmark against which it is compared. In theory, to generate a higher return than the benchmark, the manager is required to take on more risk. This risk is referred to as active risk. The more an active portfolio manager diverges from a stated benchmark, the higher the chances become that the returns of the fund could diverge from that benchmark as well. Passive managers who look to replicate an index as closely as possible usually provide the lowest levels of active risk, but this also limits the potential for market-beating returns.
1. A general financial strategy in which an investor attempts to build the value of his or her portfolio to a desired size.2. In the context of mutual funds, a formal arrangement in which an investor contributes a specified amount of money to the fund on a periodic basis. By doing so, the investor accumulates a larger and larger investment in the fund through his or her contributions and the increase in value of the fund's portfolio. 1. A prudent accumulation plan is key to building a financial nest egg for retirement. Many investors accumulate investment funds with regular contributions and the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. Generally, the goal is to keep funds invested, reinvest income and capital gains, and have these compound for as long as possible.2. An accumulation plan can be useful for investors who wish to build their positions in a mutual fund over time. It also provides the benefits of dollar-cost averaging.
The return that an asset achieves over a certain period of time. This measure looks at the appreciation or depreciation (expressed as a percentage) that an asset - usually a stock or a mutual fund - achieves over a given period of time. Absolute return differs from relative return because it is concerned with the return of a particular asset and does not compare it to any other measure or benchmark. In general, a mutual fund seeks to produce returns that are better that its peers, its fund category, and/or the market as a whole. This type of fund management is referred to as a relative return approach to fund investing. As an investment vehicle, an absolute return fund seeks to make positive returns by employing investment management techniques that differ from traditional mutual funds. Absolute return investment techniques include using short selling, futures, options, derivatives, arbitrage, leverage and unconventional assets.Alfred Winslow Jones is credited with forming the first absolute return fund in New York in 1949. In recent years, this so-called absolute return approach to fund investing has become one of the fastest growing investment products in the world and is more commonly referred to as a hedge fund.
A mutual fund that has long positions and short positions in its portfolio. Specifically, in a 130/30 mutual fund, the fund is long 100% of its assets, and in addition it shorts 30% of the value portfolio and uses the cash received in the short sale to invest long in more assets. So in total, the fund is 130% in the long portfolio and 30% in the short portfolio, hence 130/30. Watch: Mutual Funds For example, if the fund is worth $100, it would invest the $100 in equity and then would short $30 worth of equity. In a short sale, the fund receives $30 cash and uses that $30 to invest long in more assets. So the fund is now long $130 and short $30. This is a popular strategy because it allows the manager to invest $160 for every $100 the investor puts into the fund.
A no-load mutual fund that is allowed to use fund assets to pay for its distribution costs. The 12B-1 plan mutual fund is an alternative to paying the sales fees encountered in loaded funds. By charging an annual percentage based on the current value of the investment on an annual basis, investors avoid paying a front-end or back-end load when purchasing or redeeming the fund. The government typically restricts 12B-1 fees to 1% of the current value of the investment on an annual basis, but they generally fall somewhere between 0.25-1%. This fee must be voted on by the mutual fund's directors, and must be disclosed in the mutual fund prospectus. Because this fee is a little less obvious (not an upfront charge like the 12B-1 fee), investors should read mutual fund documentation thoroughly to understand the fees they are paying.
A mutual fund that attempts to achieve the highest capital gains. Investments held in these funds are companies that demonstrate high growth potential, usually accompanied by a lot of share price volatility. These funds are only for non risk-averse investors willing to accept a high risk-return trade-off. Also commonly referred to as a "capital appreciation fund" or "maximum capital gains fund". Aggressive growth funds have large betas, which means they have a large positive correlation with the stock market. They tend to perform very well in economic upswings and very poorly in economic downturns. An aggressive growth fund may also invest in a company's IPO and then quickly turn around and re-sell the same stock to realize large profits. Some aggressive growth funds also invest in options to boost returns.