In today’s investment world, I don’t think anyone is surprised by leading news stories. Over the last ten years the media has released astounding news that seems to stop everyone in their tracks. Call us tainted, but, the investment territory topic has reached some pretty bad lows in behavior. With the exposure of so many companies aligned with questionable overseas and international alliances, many people are now focused on ensure that the no-load mutual fund investments remain USA and American based.
No-load mutual funds remain a sustainable investment, even in a questionable economy. To focus on making sure that your dollars spent remain in the United States, you are going to have to do a little research. To begin with, it might be a good idea to contact a reliable (and trustworthy) investment counselor. Make sure the counselor does not have an alternative agenda by receiving dollar incentives for recommending specific investment companies. A small amount of time spent with the counselor will assist in your research and cut the time you have to spend trying to figure things out.
Investing in no-loading mutual funds that are American based requires that you take a good hard look at a company’s prospectus. This will include any additional corporation names and investments that the company may be associated with. Look at the successful projects that they have worked on (and completed) as well as the current ones. The company does not have to be one of the big-names, start ups are often good to assist in diversification of your portfolio. These may be a bit more risky but often offer a lower dollar investment.
Researching a specific company’s members, board of directors and management: This may sound like it’s a bit too intrusive, but these are the people that are making the decisions for the direction of a company and where the dollars will be spent. A company’s CEO may not be an American citizen and therefore has a hidden agenda for the investment of the company direction. A board of directors may decide to get rid of an American-based staff and send these jobs off-shore. To be truly an American-based company, all aspects of the company investment should be in the USA. This information may take you and your investment counselor a bit of time to resolve. Just because a company appears to be American-based, does not mean that the functionality of the company is all in the USA.
A key factor to remember is that no-load mutual funds are not guaranteed by the FDIC as other investments are; even if you purchase via a well known bank or investment house. Use past performances as a guideline and don’t jump on any investment that had a sudden jump in one year. Long term and gradual elevation is important to view when considering your hard earned dollars.
All no-load mutual funds have some kind of additional expense associated with your investment. If the no front or back end costs sounds too good to be true, find out if there are operating expenses, what they are and where the operating expenses are directed for expenditure.
If you are truly serious about making sure your dollars stay in the United States, then you have to peel off the layers of any company that offers no-load mutual finds. However, after you are done, you will sleep better at night knowing you have placed your money back into your country and the people that work here.
