Providing you professional money management

Put The Benefits of Mutual Funds to Work For You
Whether you are a small or large investor, or prefer conservative or aggressive investments, mutual funds work to give you an opportunity for capital appreciation or competitive yields and liquidity. That is because mutual funds (companies that pool the assets of many shareholders) provide diversification—with the added benefit of professional management.

In addition, most mutual funds offer special features helping to make them among the most popular and convenient investment choices available to today’s investors.

Diversification
Mutual funds, which spread your investment dollars over many securities, give you yield potential and may decrease market volatility through diversification. When pooled, the assets of many investors are invested in a portfolio that might consist of stocks, bonds or government securities, each with their own specific risks and rewards, as outlined in the prospectus.

Professional Management
Professional portfolio management is a benefit that might otherwise be costly to the individual investor. It is a highly specialized field that requires many years of experience as well as ready access to important market information. When you invest in mutual funds, professional investment managers continually monitor the portfolios and strive to meet each fund’s objectives. Mutual funds must also meet other standards including compliance with the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Dividend Options
Dividends and capital gains distributions can be handled in various ways. They can be issued to you in cash or can be automatically reinvested back into additional shares of the fund, allowing your earnings to compound.

Flexibility
Open-end mutual fund shares are always purchased and sold through a mutual fund company, providing investors with liquidity. Plus, if your investment objectives change, many fund families allow you to switch funds within the same family—easily and without the high cost of transferring individual securities. This makes mutual funds among the most flexible of investments. Remember, the amount you receive on the sale of your shares may be more or less than your original investment.

Select Funds Best Suited to Your Needs
Whatever your investment objectives and desired level of risk, there are mutual funds to match. From conservative to aggressive, from immediate income to long-term growth—you choose the fund or funds that best meet your investment needs:

• Money Market Funds
• Fixed Income or Bond Funds
• Equity or Growth Funds
• Balanced Funds
• Specialized Mutual Funds

Money Market Funds

Investment Objectives: Current income, preservation of capital, and seek to maintain a stable net asset value
Taxable money market funds generally invest in short-term, fixed income securities, including:

• Commercial Paper
• Treasury Bills
• U.S. Government Agencies
• Certificates of Deposit

Tax-free money market funds invest primarily in short-term obligations of tax-exempt entities, such as state and local municipalities.

Fixed Income or Bond Funds

Investment Objective: Current income or total return
Fixed income, commonly known as bond funds, are either taxable or tax-free. Taxable bond funds primarily invest in government or agency securities, corporate bonds or sovereign debt bonds. Tax-free bond funds invest in municipal bonds. To achieve a higher level of current income, fixed income funds generally invest in securities with longer maturities and greater credit risk to provide higher yields than their money market alternatives.

If income taxes are relatively high in your state, you may be able to invest in a fund that owns only taxfree municipal bonds issued in that state—giving you at times income that is exempt or partially exempt from both federal and state taxes. Always consult your tax advisor for the applicability of the alternative minimum tax law.

Equity Funds

Investment Objective: Long-term appreciation
Growth funds seek capital appreciation as opposed to providing current income. Although there are a variety of growth funds, there are three basic categories:

Long-term growth or stock funds generally invest in larger, established companies with long-term growth potential. Investment income through dividends is a secondary objective.

Growth and income funds primarily invest in “blue chip” companies, which are companies that have a history of consistent dividend income. The majority of the portfolio may be in stocks; however, there also may be some corporate bonds. Capital appreciation and dividend income are, for the most part, equally weighted in importance.

Aggressive growth funds invest in small, younger companies with strong earnings potential but high-price volatility. Obviously, aggressive growth funds carry greater investment risk than long-term growth funds.

Balanced Funds

Investment Objectives: High current income and capital appreciation
These funds seek to combine current income and capital appreciation through a balance between bonds and stocks. While they tend to be conservatively managed, the potential return can be higher than funds that invest only in bonds.

Specialized Mutual Funds

Investment Objective: Specific to the fund
Examples of this broad category include global, precious metals, health care, natural resources, or telecommunications. Since the objective and the level of risk vary with each fund, it is important to examine the prospectus before making a decision.

Mutual funds are sold by prospectus only. Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks and charges and expenses of the funds carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the funds. Please read the prospectus before investing or sending any money.

Certain investments may also be subject to fees due to early withdrawal.

If you are looking for a versatile investment that offers opportunities for everyone, consider mutual funds: the choice of many investors.

Inquire today and discover how you can put your money to work—in mutual funds!