At the top you’ll find the fund’s key information and a short summary of its overall strategy.
The ticker symbol (the letters after the name) uniquely identifies the fund and its share class. It’s also how brokerages and research sites like Morningstar® identify it. When comparing funds with similar names, it can help you avoid confusion.
Many mutual funds offer different share classes. The classes invest alike but charge different fees and expenses, so your costs depend on the share class you choose. The right share class for you depends on your unique situation.
The fund’s net asset value (NAV) shows the price for each share. Funds price their shares once a day, after the market closes, and the price stays the same until the next day. You also can invest in share fractions.
See how this fund has done over the years. Keep in mind that many mutual funds are designed for a long-term investing strategy, so the 10-year mark may be a good starting point for your evaluation.
Look for “Returns at NAV” to learn the fund’s average returns over time compared to its benchmark.
To help you compare, you’ll find a benchmark index, which reflects the fund’s investment universe. Select “Returns at NAV” to see this comparison.
NAV equals a fund’s assets minus its liabilities. It is calculated at the end of each trading day based on the closing market prices of the fund’s holdings. It does not include the cost of any sales charges.
A “load” or sales charge principally refers to a sales commission that is paid to a financial professional, broker or other intermediary who helps clients make decisions about which mutual fund to purchase. A “front-end” load means the fee is charged when you buy the fund.
Returns “with sales charge” show your results after deducting the full cost of the sales charge. Over longer time periods, the effect lessens.
The shorter the time frame you consider, the harder it is to gauge upward or downward trends. Generally, any period under five years isn’t long enough to assess a fund’s long-term results. a fund’s long-term results.
All mutual funds assess fees that cover the cost of fund operations. Some fees are higher than others, however. For example, international funds often assess higher fees than domestic funds because researching and investing in companies outside the U.S. can cost more.
To calculate what you might pay annually, multiply the expense ratio by your investment amount. For instance, if you invest $1,000 in a fund with a 0.69% expense ratio, you’d pay $6.90.
A mutual fund may invest in different types of stocks, bonds or other securities. The mix of these holdings varies by fund to align with its investment strategy.
Review a fund’s holdings to better understand the sectors, industries and companies in which it invests.
S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index based on the results of approximately 500 widely held common stocks. This index is unmanaged, and its results include reinvested dividends and/or distributions but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, commissions, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes.