I am 21 and looking to invest some money for long term growth..?

LOOKING FOR A MUTUAL FUND OR ETF...ANY GOOD ONES OUT THERE AND EXPLAIN WHY!? THANKS

Good question, you're young and the time-value of money really works to your advantage. Start by investing in an IRA now, for the tax advantages. Most require $2000 to open but I started mine (at 21 ironically) with Fidelity with no initial deposit, only $200+ a month contribution (must be direct deposit). I use a managed portfolio that starts aggressive and then reduces risk as you approach retirement. Long term it should yield at least 8%, which translates into over a million dollars (in todays money) when I retired. Talk to Fidelity, Vanguard, Edward Jones etc.. about specific options. Because of the tax implications, do this first!

For more liquid, non-retirement savings you should be looking at things like stocks, bonds, property etc... For long term stocks, stick with ones that have steady business and pay a nice dividend, then reinvest the dividends for additional growth. Look at how stocks like Altria (MO) have preformed over the past 20 years! If you can devote at least 10% of your income to these various investments, you'll set yourself up well for the future.

Don't be afraid to pick up the Wallstreet Journal once in a while or browse Yahoo Finance articles. Our generation has made spending money "cooler" than financial security. Good luck!

-All things being equal, ETF is better than a mutual fund because they charge WAY less $$ in expenses.

-Long term growth means you can be more agressive with the money.

-How agressive you can be with the money also depends on how crazy you'd get with the ups and downs...or if it actually LOST money. (Past performance doesn't predict future performance.)

-In general, focusing on specific markets, smaller businesses, or foreign focused funds tend to be more aggressive and volitile.

That being said, let me recommend a few growth options...

ADRE (lagre cap, emerging markets)
SWHFX (healthcare large cap)
VISGX (small cap)

Morningstar rates funds, and is a good thing to check out too.

Healthcare services HCSG nations leading provider of health care linens. Small dividend and over 400% return for my earliest stocks or

oil. Easily see $100pbl in 08 maybe 150 by 2010

CVX; HES; OXY; MRO are most undervalued.

You want a no-load fund with a low-expense ratio (under 1%). With many funds, there might be a no-load limit of $5,000, which means you can invest say $2,000, but they will take x% of your total funds as an expense. Make sure you have enough money to open your no-load fund to escape any such expenses. You'll want to look at long-term fund returns, such as 3-year, 5-year, 10-year, and life of fund (if it's over 10 years). Don't focus too much on how much it's made year to date (YTD). Vanguard offers a number of funds with low-expense ratios. Morningstar might also be a good starting point to examine funds. You might want to start an IRA or 401(k), depending on your situation, to take advantage of tax-deferred savings. Whatever funds you consider, make sure you read and understand the prospectus for each and every fund in its entirety. Know your product before you buy it.

Without knowing your current financial situation, what "long-term" means to you, the level of risk you are comfortable with and other factors, I can't give any more specific information. Be suspicious of extremely specific suggestions. Don't buy individual stocks, which are extremely volatile and far more difficult to properly assess than mutual funds. Generally speaking, stocks are for entertainment, funds are for investing.

ETFs are cheaper than mutual funds. ETFs have very low annual expenses, nearly 20 basis points or 0.2% less. As against this, actively managed mutual funds show average expenses exceeding 135 basis points (1.35%). This does not include the extra 2% - 5% as loads, 12(b)-1 marketing fees, transactions costs, and soft dollar expenses mutual funds, passed on to you but never informed, except in very fine print that nobody cares to read.
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