As the stock market sways in a fluctuating economy and the stories of lost investments hit the headlines, no load funds have become an attractive choice for investors. Our society has become accustomed to buckling down and cutting back. This means we are all doing a lot more of the work that we used to pay others to do. No load funds are now included in the mix. Each year is a different story. So what are the top no load funds to go in 2010?
No load funds differ from load funds due to the fact that there aren’t any commissions or additional sales fees associated with them. The down side to this is that you will have to do all of the investigating work yourself. While no one really likes to pay commissions, the investment professionals earn their fees by keeping up with the markets and performances for you.
There hasn’t been any proof to show that load funds out perform no load funds, so if you are religious about keeping tabs on the sites that monitor your no load funds, you have an excellent chance of doing well.
If you are looking at international no load funds, be aware of the foreign taxes and foreign tax credit situation. You will be required to pay foreign taxes but, confer with your accountant, because you may also be able to claim a foreign tax credit.
Monitoring no load funds requires a bit of knowledge. You will want to examine the performance of a company over a longer term to see the overall average performance. Five years is good, ten years is better. This may not be possible with some of the newer companies. Minimum should be three years.
The comparison of performance every calendar year brings new surprises. Keeping up with this information will be your responsibility.
As of April, 2010, here are some of the top no load funds as well as a list of those that have dropped off:
Best for 2010, so far:
Oceanstone Fund (FOUSA05U75)
Van Eck International Investors Gold I (INIIX)
Reynolds Blue Chip Growth (RBCGX)
USAA Precious Metals and Minerals (USAGX)
Robeco Long/Short Eq I (BPLSX)
Matthew China (MCHFX)
Templeton Global Bond Sec CI1 (FVUSA0003D)
Wegener Adaptive Growth (WAGFX)
Temple Global Bond Adv (TGBAX)
First Eagle Gold I (FEGIX)
Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Adv (FGADX)
Dreyfus International Bond I (DIBRX)
Dreyfus International Bond A LW (DIBAX.LW)
Evergreen Precious Metals I (EKWYX)
TCW Emerging Markets Income I (TGEIX)
Guinness Atkinson China & Hong Kong (ICHKX)
ING Global Bond I (IGBIX)
Maxim Global Bond (FOUSA00BGC)
Oppenheimer Gold & Special Minerals A LW (OPGSX.LW)
Fidelity Advisor Gold I (FGDIX)
Fidelity Select Gold (FSAGX)
AIM China I (IACFX)
Iron Strategic Income (IFUNX)
Top no load funds to go in 2010
Baron Small Cap (BSCFX)
CMG Focus (CGMFX)
Dodge & Cox Stock (DODGX)
Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX)
Longleaf Partners (LLPFX)
Selected American Sahres S (SLASX)
T. Rowe Price Equity Income (PRFDX)
T. Rowe Price Mid-Cap Growth
T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Growth
