How do I choose a fund manager? My fund manager put all the $$ into mutial funds with 4%management fee?

I belive 4% fee is high.
1- With so many fund managers out there how do I choose the one that works best for your money- In real estate we have top performers..do we have any for a local city?
2- I dont know anything about mutual funds , what are key indicators to look for.
3- Which good sites are out there that will help in stocks, mutual funds, finance etc...

1- Where then can I do my own research the best index funds

4% is obscene.

Here's what you will be paying over time:

http://www.retireearlyhomepage.com/advis...

Consider:

"Looking at longer time periods, indices continue to exceed a majority of active funds. Over the past three years (and five years), the S&P 500 has outperformed 65.7% (72.2%) of large-cap funds, the S&P MidCap 400 has beaten 68.6% (77.4%) of mid-cap funds, and the S&P SmallCap 600 has outpaced 80.2% (77.7%) of small-cap funds."

http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf...

So, buy index funds. Vanguard is my favorite.

Here's how to set up a good portfolio:

http://www.amexsux.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB...

Plan on spending a day a year to rebalance.

There, now you will pay 0.2% in expenses instead of over 4%. :)

Are you talking about your benefits person at your job? Are you talking about your 401k. We need more info. Please read my profile and send me an email.

You don't need a "fund manager." Learn the basics of investing and you can do it better yourself. Start with the book "Investing For Dummies." Also, there are many good websites like money.aol.com and investopedia.com that have tutorials. That 4% management fee is a total ripoff. He's probably got you in lousy loaded funds as well.

Hello,

First, 4% is an outrageously high fee. That fund would not be a consideration for me. Expense ratios vary greatly. For an equity fund, I would not pay more than 1.5%.

The best way to start is to read as much as possible about security markets in general and mutual funds specifically. Mutual funds can be very good investments if you do the necessarily mutual fund research to find the best mutual funds for you. Some of the factors that I look at are historical mutual fund performance, expenses, consistency and especially the quality of management. I am very selective when it comes to mutual fund manager and analyst backgrounds and experience. You do not necessarily have to pay any more for a highly qualified mutual fund manager, so why not select mutual fund managers with the best credentials. Of course when selecting any investment, it is very important to consider various factors such as your objectives, time horizon, financial circumstances, risk tolerance, etc.

Investopedia.com has several good tutorials on its website for beginners including one on mutual funds. Here is the link:

http://www.investopedia.com/university/b...


As far as index funds are concerned, Vanguard has the best selection while Fidelity has a few index funds that have even lower expenses.

I hope this helps.

Michael A. Weiss, CFA
The Editor
The Mutual Fund Investor
http://www.mutualfundinvestor.net