How can a teen invest money? (mutual funds)?

How does it work and how much do I need to start? How much can I make? What about pros and cons?

I know.. but I can have my mom do it for me. Anyways I didnt ask how old you had to be I asked how it works,

You might indeed consider mutual funds. They are easy and have a bunch of pros picking your investment portfolio. Most mutual fund companies have really good Web sites that will help you in picking a fund based on how much risk you want to take and how long you plan to leave the money invested. Many companies also will let you open an account with no initial investment, by making automatic investments each month for as little as, say $50. If you have no earned income (no job), you can't have an IRA, but you can still have Education Savings Accounts, College 529 plan accounts, and nonretirement accounts (all with your mom's help).

Pros - you are starting early and will be miles ahead of everyone else when you have a nice nest egg and everyone else has a credit card bill.
Cons - Take care not to fall for high-fee services. Check things out carefully. Look at the company's track record. Don't let fees cut into your earnings. Consider no-load mutual funds and get free help instead of paying a broker.

You can't Have to be 18, or emancipated.

Dont listen to the first guy... i am 15 and have a custodial account which means a parent sponsors me and then i am able to trade on my own. To open a stock trading accout there is usually a $2,000 minimum. While the big names like TD Ameritrade or Fidelity sound nice its hard for us teens because we dont have much money and paying $20 to buy and sell stocks really cuts into our profit. So I reccomment www.just2trade.com its a trustworthy site that i use with trades for just $3. If you are good at investing you can make 50% a year. There is risk involved but there is even more reward possible! Plus it takes a small amount of time to make alot of money. If you want advice on specific stocks email me at tmac5445 @ yahoo.com.

Very, very smart thinking. I believe tmac5454 gave some good advice. I would also like to add that savings bonds,although they don't pay well but guaranteed to earn interest, are a good start until you learn more on investing. I'm trying to teach my daughter that every time she makes a useless purchase she only makes the rich richer. She is a very bad money manger. She lives to spend. You seem level headed. Have your mom search answers for you.