Mutual Funds Starter Guide

Investors with limited knowledge, time or money benefit heavily from the simplicity and instant diversification of mutual funds.

 
MUTUAL FUNDS STARTER GUIDES
What Are Mutual Funds?
A mutual fund pools money from a bunch of investors to purchase securities. Mutual funds come with advantages and disadvantages – learn the ins and outs here.
How Do Mutual Funds Work?
Investments are managed by a portfolio manager – they decide when to buy and sell investments. Learn about how mutual funds work and how to make money off them.
Advantages And Disadvantages?
Thinking of investing in mutual funds? It’s critical you know the advantages and disadvantages of investing in a mutual fund over a single stock.
How To Buy Mutual Funds?
Thinking about investing but not sure how to buy mutual funds? The selection process is actually easier than you think. Learn how and where to buy mutual funds
Mutual Funds Ratings
Need a quick-and-dirty opinion on a fund? Get familiar with mutual funds ratings. It’s important to know how a fund has performed before investing in it.
Compare Mutual Funds
Comparing mutual funds requires careful examination. To get the full picture, it’s important to look at the fund’s performance over a period of time.
Types Of Mutual Funds
There are so many different types of mutual funds to choose from. Find out which mutual fund types are best suited to your personal investing style.

Build your wealth faster with best stock picks: See our new June 29, 2025 ranking of the Best Stock Newsletters.


Ranking of Top Stock Newsletters Based on Last 3 Years of Stock Picks as of August 16, 2025

We are paid subscribers to dozens of stock and option newsletters. We actively track every recommendation from all of these services, calculate performance, and share our results of the top performing stock newsletters whose subscriptions fees are under $500. The main metric to look for is "Return vs SP500" which is their return above that of the S&P500. So, based on August 16, 2025 prices:

Best Stock Newsletters

RankStock NewsletterPicks
Return
Return
vs SP500
Picks
w Profit
Max %
Return
Current Promotion
1.Seeking Alpha logo
Alpha Picks
74.7%51.1%78%969%August, 2025 Promotion:
Save $50
Summary: 2 picks/month based on Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating; Retail Price is $499/yr. See complete details and analysis in our Alpha Picks Review.
2.Moby logo
Moby.co
52.5%18.1%73%2,406%August, 2025 Promotion:Next pick free!
Summary: 60-150 stock picks per year, segmented by industry; Retail Price is $199/yr. Read our Moby Review.
3.Zacks logo
Zacks Top 10
33.0%15.1%73%170%August, 2025 Promotion:$1, then $495/yr
Summary: 10-25 stock picks per year based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review.
4.TipRanks logo
TipRanks SmartInvestor
18.6%7.6%65%386%Current Promotion:
Save $180
Summary: About 1 pick/week focusing on short term trades; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2015. Retail Price is $379/yr. Read our TipRanks Review.
5.Motley Fool logo
Stock Advisor
41.7%6.1%76%299%August, 2025 Promotion:
Get $100 Off
Summary: 2 picks/month and 2 Best Buy Stocks lists focusing on high growth potential stocks over 5 years; Retail Price is $199/yr. Read our Motley Fool Review.
6.TheStreet logo
Action Alerts Plus
25.9%4.9%65%210%Current Promotion:
None
Summary: 100-150 trades per year, lots of buying and selling and short-term trades. Read our Jim Cramer Review.
7.Motley Fool logo
Rule Breakers
35.6%1.2%78%273%Current Promotion:
Save $200
Summary: 2 picks/month focusing on disruptive technology and business models; Lifetime average return of 355% vs S&P500's 149% since 2005; Now part of Motley Fool Epic. Read our Motley Fool Epic Review.
8.Zacks logo
Zacks Home Run Investor
3.5%-1.3%44%200%August, 2025 Promotion:$1, then $495/yr
Summary: 40-50 stock picks per year based on Zacks' Quant Rating; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Zacks Review.
9.
IBD Leaderboard ETF
11.4%-1.8%n/an/aAugust, 2025 Promotion:Save $129/yr
Summary: Maintains top 50 stocks to invest in based on IBD algorithm; Retail Price is $495/yr. Read our Investors Business Daily.
10.Motley Fool logo
Stock Advisor Canada
23.5%-4.6%69%378%August, 2025 Promotion: Save $100
Summary: 1 pick/month from the Toronto stock exchange; Retail Price is CD$199/yr. Read our Motley Fool Canada Stock Advisor Review.
Top Ranking Stock Newsletters based on their 2024, 2023, 2022 stock picks' performance as compared to S&P500. S&P500's return is based on average return of S&P500 from date each stock pick is released. NOTE: To get these results you must buy equal dollar amounts of each pick on the date the stock pick is released. Investor Business Daily Top 50 based on performance of FFTY ETF. Performance as of August 16, 2025.
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