At the top is where you’ll find the big-picture information for a fund, including a description of its overall strategy.
The ticker symbol (the letters after the name) is the most accurate way to search for a fund. It’s unique to the fund and share class and is used by third parties, like Morningstar® and brokerage firms. It’s also useful to refer to when you’re comparing two funds with similar names.
Mutual funds often offer different types of shares, or classes, to investors. A fund’s share class determines what kind of fees and expenses you will be charged for the fund. Which share class is right for you will depend on your particular situation. All share classes of a fund invest in the same holdings and have the same investment objectives.
Net asset value (NAV) is the value, or price, of each mutual fund share. Mutual funds price their shares once a day, after the market closes. The price doesn’t change throughout the day. You can also invest in fractions of a share.
See how this fund has done over the years. Keep in mind that many mutual funds are designed for a long-term investing strategy, so the 10-year mark may be a good starting point for your evaluation.
Look for “Returns at NAV” to see the average returns of the fund over time compared to the fund’s benchmark.
We provide a benchmark index for comparison to reflect the fund’s investment universe. Select “Returns at NAV” to see this comparison.
NAV is equal to a fund’s total assets less its liabilities. It is calculated at the end of each trading day based on the closing market prices of the fund’s holdings. It does not include the cost of any sales charges.
A “load” or sales charge principally refers to a sales commission that is paid to a financial professional, broker or other intermediary who helps clients make decisions about which mutual fund to purchase. A front-end load means the fee is charged upon purchase of the mutual fund.
Returns with sales charge are your results after calculating the effect of paying the full sales charge. This impact diminishes over longer time periods.
The shorter the time frame you consider, the less you can determine upward or downward trends. Generally, any time frame less than five years is not long enough to get a picture of a fund’s long-term results.
All mutual funds have fees, which go toward the operation of that fund. However, some fees may be less than others. For example, international funds often have higher fees than domestic funds because it can cost more to research and invest in companies outside the U.S.
To determine what you would actually pay yearly, multiply the expense ratio by the value of your investment. For example, if you invest $1,000 in a fund with a 0.69% expense ratio, you will pay $6.90.
Depending on the mutual fund, it may invest in a number of different types of stocks, bonds or other securities. The composition of these differs from fund to fund in order to align with that fund’s strategy.
You can take a look at a fund’s holdings to better understand the different sectors, industries and companies in which the fund is invested.
S&P 500 Index is a market capitalization-weighted index based on the results of approximately 500 widely held common stocks. This index is unmanaged, and its results include reinvested dividends and/or distributions but do not reflect the effect of sales charges, commissions, account fees, expenses or U.S. federal income taxes.