I want to invest money into a mutual fund but don't know which ones would be best for the long run...?

I am 23 years old and I want to start investing some money for my future retirement. I want to put at least a $5000 starting investmest. Is there something that I should be looking for when I invest my money and do you have any tips?

For mutual funds, I like Vanguard.com, other people like Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, and DFA. Buy no-load, low-expense funds. If you are like most people you will invest part of your money aggressively in stock funds, and part conservatively in money market funds and bond funds. Vanguard has an on-line questionnaire which will give you an idea of how to do "Asset Allocation," determining how much to put in each type of fund.

I like index funds. Because of their broad diversification, you are less likely to have a dramatic drop in value. They also have the lowest expenses. For stock funds, I would suggest putting ~70-80% of your money in the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund. and ~20-30% in a foreign stock index fund. However, there are many different opinions out there on what the best mutual funds are. Read the links below and form your own opinion.

If your company offers a 401K plan at work, try to invest the most you can. The money grows tax free, and some companies will match your contribution. Investing in a mutual fund IRA is also a good idea. If you have children, you may want to consider a 529 plan or other college savings plan that grows tax free.

If you have high-interest debt, like credit cards, it is best to pay this off first before trying most of the investment ideas above. You should also have 3-6 months of salary saved up as an emergency fund in a bank or money market fund before trying more risky investments.

Believing advice you get on Yahoo answers can be risky, so read these websites for further information. If you find it too confusing, contact a professional financial advisor. They will charge you significant commissions, however.
Sources:
http://www.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/planni...
http://www.fool.com/school.htm
http://sec.gov/investor/pubs/assetalloca...
http://www.diehards.org/readsites.htm
http://finance.yahoo.com/education/begin...
http://finance.yahoo.com/funds/basics

Asset Allocation Calculators
(Determining how much to put in stocks and how much into bonds and money markets is a personal decision depending on your financial status. These Asset Allocation questionaires give you a rough idea how to do this. I like Vanguard best, but try some of the other sites as well.)
https://personal.vanguard.com/VGApp/hnw/...
https://ais2.tiaa-cref.org/cgi-bin/WebOb...
http://www.ifa.com/SurveyNET/index.aspx

Web forum: http://www.diehards.org/
(Many investment web forums are overrun by scam artists. This one seems the most legitimate site.)

529 plans: http://www.savingforcollege.com

My Total Money Makeover
http://www.daveramsey.com/

You definitely need to be looking for a fund that has a good ing term investment history, also you should see if your job offers retirement matching, this will allow more money to be invested....Try ingdirect.com...Good luck

Sounds like you might be interested in a target date retirement fund.

you pick a target date fund with the year you think you will retire. It is a fix of bonds and stocks. It decreases the risk as it approaches your retirement.

Most mutual fund companies has these funds now.

With mutual fund investing. You always need to pay attention to feeds and loads. Lower the better for both.