What is the best way to invest in mutual funds?

without paying higher than necessary management fees?

You can open accounts at Vanguard or Fidelity, both have lower expense ratios compared to the competition. Most funds have a minimum initial investment of $2500, unless it's for an IRA. You can set up automatic deductions to buy into the fund monthly.

Alternately, you can buy ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). There may be an ETF that tracks a specific mutual fund you are looking at. Vanguard has a huge list on their web site. You can buy the ETFs through a discount online broker like scottrade.com or etrade.com. You pay per transaction but the maintenence fees are usually slightly lower than buying an actual mutual fund.

Do it online. They would charge you less money and beside upon commitement some of them might even let you try it for free but go on google.com and put in free stock market.

But my personal advice if this is your first time then imagine you putting in 10,000 dollars and watch the news the newspaper and everything and then see how your 10,000 grows if it grows then keep it going if not then you need to hit the books again. but since its past christmas and everyone is broke i wouldn't invest now.....let the month pass then do your buisness

Mutual funds are recommended for an investor who intends to invest for a minimum 3-5 year period. You do not have to invest for that time period. Before you invest in a mutual fund company, you need to decide how much you have to invest and whether you want to open a regular account or an IRA of which there are two types(IRA and ROTH IRA). You also need to decide what type of mutual fund you want to invest in based on your risk factor. Bond funds have the lowest risk and are generally considered the safest and also have the lowest return. Value funds have a higher risk than bond funds and some of them have had good returns. There are high risk funds that people invest in for short periods of time with the hope of getting a high return (ex. a fund that invest in only companies in China). There are many good mutual fund companies that have good returns on one or more of their funds. When you find a mutual fund company you think you might want to invest in call their 800 #. Ask them to send you a perspectus on the fund you are interested in, there is a wealth of information in it which also includes the management fees. Ask them what the 1,3, and 5 yr. return has been. Ask them for the name of the manager of the fund and how long he has worked for the company and how long he has been the manager of that particular fund. Also ask them what are the top 10 or 15 companies that the particular fund is invested in. You could invest in several mutual fund companies. One company's value fund. A different company's bond fund. etc. Compare several mutual fund company's value funds and decide which one you want to invest in. Do the same with several mutual company's bond funds if you intend to invest in those. Here are two company names that I know of: Berger in Denver,Co;Legg Mason in Baltimore,MD. I am not promoting these companies in any way. These are just two companies you can call and request information from. You may also want to look into investing in mutual funds through your place of employment, many people invest this way. You also have the option of investing your money in a CD at a bank. You can call or visit your local bank to get information on what their returns are. These are all just suggestions.

Answer these question for yourself:

1) What is my financial goal? Am I saving for my childs wedding 15 years from now or, do I want to save for retirement? The answer will tell you which "Financial vehical" is right for you (Indiviudal, Joint, Trust, UGMA, College Savings, Retirement). This also tells you about the risk you're willing to take. If you're not needing the money for years, then you can handle more risk. If you expect to use the money to take the family to Disney land next year, be more cautious with the investment choice.

2) How much do I have to invest? If you have greater than $4,000.00 (Vanguard's minimum for all new accounts/funds) or, Can you put money away monthly from your paycheck/bank account? Most fund companies will let you do an automated investment with them providing you sign an agreement to meet the minimum in a set time frame.