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Tools for Crunching Mutual Fund Numbers
By JLP | December 18, 2005
On Wednesday, in an article about mutual fund disclosure ($), the Wall Street Journal offered up list of sites to help investors check out their mutual funds. According to the article, mutual funds must make the following disclosures:
- Fund expenses must be translated into plain English.
- Holdings must be reported quarterly, not just twice a year.
- Funds must reveal how management compensation is determined, and if managers have personal stakes in their funds.
Here’s a list of sites that can help you check out your mutual funds:
BetterInvesting – Shows quarterly changes in a fund’s portfolio. You can sign up and get the first 90 days free. After that, it will cost you $50 per year.
IndexUniverse – Has a detailed screening tool for mutual funds and ETFs. This service is free.
Morningstar – Offers portfolio analysis tools; research on fund holdings and managers. They offer basic service for free, but in order to fully use Morningstar, you’ll have to pay $13.95 per month or $125 per year.
NASD – Fund expense analyzer and commission discount search tool. This is a free service.
PersonalFund – Calculates cost of trading one fund for another. This service costs $19.95 per month or $200 per year.
I haven’t used any of these services, other than the NASD, so I can’t tell you which one is the best. If it were me, I would try the free services first and then if you feel you need more information, try a free trial of one of the other services.
Topics: Investing, Mutual Funds | No Comments »