Bogleheads:Featured article/Mutual fund

Mutual funds are registered investment companies that pool investors' capital for the purpose of investing in securities. Mutual funds are managed by professional money managers. They are a primary funding vehicle for the corporate contributory retirement system in the United States. As of 2017, a total of 9,356 U.S. mutual funds held over 18 trillion dollars of assets, owned by forty-five percent of American households and an estimated 101.9 million individuals.

Mutual funds offer investors the advantage of diversification, professional management, liquidity, and convenience. These advantages are offset by such factors as costs, fund turnover, and the consequences of organizational structure. (more...)