If I have $20'000.00 to invest are mutual funds the best way to go?

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http://www.bernanke.cn/what-is-a-mutual-...

good Luck

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Twenty / Twenty ! I would put the $ 20,000 on the ground, pour 20 gallons of gasoline on it, set it on fire, and try to pee on it to save whatever amount you can, rather than buy into a managed mutual fund. You got a better chance of ending up with some money ! If you can't pick 3 or 4 good common stocks on your own to invest in, go down to your bank and get a couple of CD's
and start doing some homework. You could even listen to Cramer on TV, he is no dumbass ! I've had great luck with HD, CAT is looking forward to a good year, tire problems now over.

Also there are Exchange Traded Funds, ask a good discount broker, Scottrade, Sharebuilder.

For investing $20,000, yes. Goldman Sachs has an excellent asset allocation line of mutual funds called Equity Growth Strategy,Growth Strategy, Growth and Income Strategy, and Balanced Strategy. Depending on your risk tolerence, you should go Equity Growth(most aggressive) down to Balanced (most conservative). You get the same treatment with these funds as someone with $100,000,000 (that's not a typo). Great returns and low volatility. Good luck.

If you want to invest in stocks, I think ETFs are a better option for you than open end mutual funds. You can do a lot of research on www.etfconnect.com to compare the many available ETFs out there.

For such a small amount I suggest ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds)

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Yes. Check out Vanguard or another no-load fund company. Stay away from anyone who wants to manage your money or charge you a sales load.