A reliable “No transaction fee” mutual fund with a low minimum start amount

[The Desolate One]

Hello all. I’m LITERALLY brand new to the investment arena. I’ve been trading for a total of 3 DAYS. I’m as green as they get. Bought a few stocks so far, and am waiting to see how that goes. The first question I have (I’m sure of MANY) is what would be a good mutual fund to invest in that doesn’t have a sky high minimum fee? Also, I want to invest in a “no transaction fee”, or “no load” fund. I’d like a fund that’d recognized as being very stable. I’d be putting small amounts in the fund over time, anywhere from $10.00 to $50.00 as my budget allows. Any help regarding this would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Bolimomo]

Why bother with seeking for a mutual fund? Most mutual funds cannot beat the market (benchmark S&P index) anyway. You are better off buying the the market (proxy: e.g. SPY for S&P and QQQQ for Nasdaq) than having to rely on someone to manage your money and hope that they will make you money. (assuming if you are bullish on the market. If you are bearish, buy the Ultrashort fund (e.g. SDS for SPY, QID for QQQQ, etc.)

See my post:

http://www.onlinetradersforum.com/showthread.php?t=53092

[LongArm]

If you're looking for a relatively stable fund, one of the very best mutual funds out there--and recently re-opened to new investors--is OAKBX. This is what's called a "balanced" fund, meaning it's part stocks and part bonds. It provides much of the upside reward of the stock market, yet proportionately much less of the downside risk. Just as an example, in 2002, it dropped only 2%, while the market tanked 22%. Then, in 2003, when the market gained 28%, OAKBX didn't trail too far behind at 23%. Its 10-year annualized trailing return is over 11%, while the market's is only around 3%. Great risk/reward fund.

Yes, most mutual funds underperform index funds/ETFs. But some mutual funds are clearly superior, and this is one of them.

BTW, this is a no-load fund. Whether it's no-transaction-fee depends on whether it's on your particular broker's NTF list or not. If you buy it directly from Oakmark, there will be no fee.