Mutual Fund or CD?

I plan on investing about $2,000 in a mutual fund. I'd like to have this fund for a long time and compound the money I make (if any) back into the fund. I know this will take some time. So, should I invest in a large-value, or small-growth fund?
Or should I put the money in a one or five year CD? I guess my question is, "Is it a safe time for average guys like me to invest in the stock market through mutual funds?"

Its a great time to invest in the market using mutual funds. With $2000 you can diversify into several different funds including large-value and small-growth plus several others. Please see my profile and respond back to me.

If you are sure you can wait 5 yrs. or more, then I'd go with the mutual fund. Here are a few suggestions that are just my opinion:

1) The average mutual fund does worse than just buying the S&P 500 (e.g ticker IVV). But,... There is still a small but sizeable percentage of mutual funds that beat the S&P consistently year after year. What's the point? Either just buy the S&P, or do some serious homework studying which fund is the best.

2) There is always the risk that you will put your money in, near or at a top. Two techniques will help avoid that.

Once you decide which fund you like, watch it for a while. If the market panics for a day or three and the fund's price drops, then that's the time to buy.

The other technique is to not put all of your money in at once. Buy into the fund in pieces, over time. But since your money is small, I'd probably buy in all at once. I'd guess you are young, so you can always add to your fund over time.

Remember, if you are confident in your fund, when everyone else is panicing and your fund is down, this is the time to buy more. These times usually happen at least once per year.

3) I'd avoid small caps right now. Probably overvalued. Large cap is the place to be. Buy either large cap growth or a blend of growth & value. This latter will be similar to the S&P 500.

4) You probably want some international exposure. I like DODFX. You might consider putting all of your $2K into this one, and then buying a US fund when you add more money.

5) Watch out for the cost of the fund, or "expense ratio." Don't pay over 1% expense ratio unless the performance is really outstanding.