Copyright: Copyright © 1995 Intuit
Citation: Copyright © 1995 Intuit


Help Contents for Mutual Fund Finder
Contents

  How to get information

•	When you start Mutual Fund Finder for the first time, you are guided through the criteria selection.

The next time you open the program, Mutual Fund Finder displays the Search Results window with the results from your last search. Mutual Fund Finder remembers your criteria; you start from where you left off.

To change your selected criteria, click Criteria.

For detailed instructions, see Find fund by criteria.

•	If you want to know about a specific fund, and you know the fund's name or ticker symbol, choose Find Fund by Name or Symbol from the View menu or press Name on the Search Results window. Then enter the requested information and start your search.

For detailed instructions, see Find fund by name or symbol.

  How to close Mutual Fund Finder

•	To close Mutual Fund Finder, choose the Close command from the window Control menu, double-click the Control box or from the File menu, choose Exit.


About Mutual Fund Finder

This window displays the Mutual Fund Finder version number and copyright notice.

If you need to call Technical Support to report a problem, the representative will probably ask you for the version number.


Mutual Fund Finder summary

If you are planning to change, add, or monitor your mutual fund investments, use Mutual Fund Finder to find all the information you need to make sound investment decisions.

You can create a list of funds that meet the risk and return limits you have in mind, see a detailed summary of each fund's performance, trace its history, and understand its fee structure.

The choices you make will limit your search result to only those funds that meet your criteria.

If you've entered their ticker symbols in Quicken's Portfolio View, you'll also see a list of mutual funds you currently own.

1.	Select an asset class type.

Basic Asset Classes: These are broad groups of funds. In the Detail display, Mutual Fund Finder assigns one of these classes (also called "objectives") to each fund on your list.

For more information about basic asset classes, click on a topic:

Domestic stocks

International stocks

Domestic bonds

Global bonds

Other

Extended Asset Classes: If you are looking for a fund with a specific objective, Mutual Fund Finder lists Morningstar's broad range of investment objectives, from the most popular (such as Asset Allocation and Aggressive Growth) to the lesser known (such as Short-term World Income).

Morningstar determines a fund's class by reviewing information in the fund's prospectus or studying how a fund is marketed.

For more information about these objectives, see:

Extended Asset Classes

Selecting specific classes on a list.  Mutual Fund Finder is preset to include all classes in the list when you select an asset class type. You can limit your search to a particular class or a group of classes.

First, select an asset class type (either Basic Asset Classes or Extended Asset Classes). Next, click Clear All. Then, to select one class, click it. To select more than one class, press the Ctrl key as you click the classes you want to include.

2.	Select criteria to limit or expand the list of funds.

You can limit the load, select a Morningstar rating or risk, or limit the expense ratio.

For a description of these special criteria, see:

Other Criteria

You can change the preset settings to specific ones you choose.

•	Select the criteria you want to use, then click Set Default. Mutual Fund Finder will remember them.

•	To use your new defaults, click Use Default.

•	To set the criteria to include all possibilities (that is; any manager tenure, any star rating, and so on), click Include All.

3.	 Click Search to create your list.


Domestic stocks (definition)
Domestic stocks

  This asset class includes open-end mutual funds with the stated objective of maintaining a well diversified portfolio of U.S. stocks. Funds in this asset class must also have at least one year of recorded performance, 80% or more of their assets invested in common stocks, and not more than 15% in foreign stocks. (From Callan Associates Inc.)


Domestic bonds (definition)
Domestic bonds

  This asset class includes open-end mutual funds with a stated objective of maintaining a portfolio of U.S. bonds. Funds in this asset class must also have at least one year of recorded performance and 80% or more of their assets invested in domestic bonds. The average time left to maturity of the bonds held must be greater than one year. (From Callan Associates Inc.)


International stocks (definition)
International stocks

  This asset class includes open-end mutual funds with a stated objective of maintaining a portfolio substantially devoted to international stocks. Funds in this asset class must also have at least one year of recorded performance, 80% or more of their assets invested in common stocks, and at least 40% in foreign stocks. (From Callan Associates Inc.)


Global bonds (definition)
Global bonds

  This asset class includes open-end mutual funds with a stated objective of maintaining a portfolio substantially devoted to international bonds. Funds in this asset class must also have at least one year of recorded performance and 80% or more of their assets invested in bonds. The average time left to maturity of the bonds held must be greater than one year. (From Callan Associates Inc.)


Other funds (definition)
Other

  This group consists of open-end mutual funds of various types that do not meet the criteria of any specific asset class groups. This does not reflect in any way on the suitability of these funds for investment. Any fund in this group can be analyzed individually as a substitute for one or more of the categorized funds in the investment mix. (From Callan Associates Inc.)


Open-end mutual funds (definition)
Open-end mutual funds

  In an open-end fund, the fund sells as many shares as investors want to buy. Money comes in and the fund grows. When investors sell, the number of outstanding shares drops.

Sometimes, when a fund grows too large to be manageable, the fund may be closed to new investors (although current investors can continue investing in the fund).


Other criteria

Select criteria that you want the funds you select to meet.

•	No Front Load is the preset load. You can select a front load from 1.0% to 5.0% or Any Front Load from the drop-down list. For more information about loads, see Front Load.

•	Star Rating of at least 3 Stars is the preset rating. You can select a different rating, from at least one star to five stars or Any Rating, from the drop-down list. For more information about the ratings, see Morningstar rating.

•	Medium Low Risk or better is the preset risk. You can choose a risk rating from Low Risk to Medium-high Risk or Any Risk from the drop-down list. For an explanation of risk ratings, see Morningstar risk.

•	Manager Tenure of at least 5 years is the preset tenure. You can choose a specific minimum tenure of 1, 2, 3, 5, or 10 years or Any Manager Tenure from the drop-down list. To learn about the importance of the fund manager's tenure, see Manager Tenure.

•	Any Minimum Investment is the preset amount for an initial investment. You can choose an investment amount of less than $250, less than $500, less than $1,000, or less than $3,000 from the drop-down list.

•	Expense Ratio of less than 1% is the preset ratio. You can choose a ratio, such as less than 1.0%, less than 2.0%, less than 3.0%, or Any Expense Ratio from the drop-down list. For a detailed explanation, see Expense Ratio.

•	Any Dividend Yield is the preset yield. You can select a specific dividend yield, from 1.0% to 10.0% from the drop-down list. For information about yields, see Yield.

For bond investors: If your investment time horizon is five years or less, yield should not be a driving factor in your decision. It is more critical to focus on funds with a shorter maturity (for example, "Short Duration" funds).

•	Any 5 Year Performance is the preset performance criterion. You can select a specific performance figure, from 5.0% to 15.0%, from the drop-down list.


Extended Asset Classes List
Extended asset classes

 How to find an asset class definition

A

Aggressive Growth

Asset Allocation

B

Balanced

C

Convertible Bond

Corporate Bond--General

Corporate Bond--High Quality

Corporate Bond--High Yield

E

Equity Income

European Stock

Foreign Stock

G

Government Bond--Adj. Rate Mortgage

Government Bond--General

Government Bond--Mortgage

Government Bond--Treasury

Growth

Growth and Income

I

Income

M

Municipal Bond--California

Municipal Bond--National

Municipal Bond--New York

Municipal Bond--Single State

P

Pacific Stock

S

Short-Term World Income

Small Company

Specialty

Specialty--Financial

Specialty--Health

Specialty--Natural Resources

Specialty--Precious Metals

Specialty--Technology

Specialty--Utilities

W

World Bond

World Stock


Asset allocation (definition)
Asset allocation

  Seeks both income and capital appreciation by determining the optimal percentage of assets to place in stocks, bonds, and cash. Managers of these funds decide the correct allocation of assets to these classes, a decision often based on an analysis of business-cycle trends. Sometimes individual managers handle each class of security and an allocator will oversee the process of determining the percentage of assets each asset class receives.


Aggressive growth (definition)
Aggressive growth

  Seeks rapid capital growth, often by investing in smaller companies and using more risky investment techniques, such as frequent trading, leveraging, writing options, and selling short.


Balanced (definition)
Balanced

  Seeks both income and capital appreciation by investing in a generally fixed combination of preferred stocks, common stocks, and bonds. In general, these funds hold a minimum of 25% in stocks and 25% in bonds at any time.


Equity income (definition)
Equity income

  Seeks current income by investing at least 65% of its assets in equity securities with above-average yields.


Growth (definition)
Growth

  Seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks of well-established companies. Current income, if considered at all, is a secondary objective.


Growth and income (definition)
Growth and income

  Seeks growth of capital and current income by investing in common stock of dividend-paying companies. Combines long-term capital gains with steady income.


Income (definition)
Income

  Invests in both equity and fixed-income securities primarily to realize current income. These funds generally will not invest more than 50% of their assets in equities. Typically, the percentages of assets in stocks and bonds aren't fixed, as they are in balanced funds.


Municipal bond--California (definition)
Municipal bond--California

  Seeks income by investing primarily in bonds exempt from California and federal income tax.


Municipal bond--national (definition)
Municipal bond--national

  Seeks income that is exempt from federal income tax by investing primarily in bonds issued by any state or municipality.


Municipal bond--single state (definition)
Municipal bond--single state

  Seeks income by investing primarily in bonds exempt from the income tax of a single state (other than New York or California). Also, income is exempt from federal income tax.


Municipal bond--New York (definition)
Municipal bond--New York

  Seeks income by investing primarily in bonds exempt from New York City, New York State, and federal income taxes.


Specialty (definition)
Specialty

  Seeks capital appreciation by concentrating its investments in a single industry or sector other than those described in the list of extended asset classes.


Small company (definition)
Small company

  Seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in stocks of small companies.


Specialty--financial (definition)
Specialty--financial

  Seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of financial service companies, such as banks, brokerage firms, and insurance companies.


Specialty--health (definition)
Specialty--health

  Seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of health-care companies, such as pharmaceutical firms, hospitals, and biotechnology firms.


Specialty--natural resources (definition)
Specialty--natural resources

  Seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of companies involved in exploring, distributing, or processing natural resources.


Specialty--precious metals (definition)
Specialty--precious metals

  Seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of companies engaged in mining, distributing, or processing precious metals.


Specialty--technology (definition)
Specialty--technology

  Seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of companies engaged in developing, distributing, or servicing technology-related equipment or processes.


Specialty--utilities (definition)
Specialty--utilities

  Seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity securities of public utilities.


European stock (definition)
European stock

  Generally invests at least 65% of assets in equity securities of European issuers.


Foreign stock (definition)
Foreign stock

  Invests primarily in equity securities of issuers located outside the United States.


Pacific stock (definition)
Pacific stock

  Invests primarily in issuers located in countries in the Pacific Basin, such as Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia.


World stock (definition)
World stock

  Invests primarily in equity securities of issuers located throughout the world, maintaining a percentage of assets (normally 25% to 50%) in the United States.


Government bond--adj. rate mortgage (definition)
Government bond--adj. rate mortgage

  Invests at least 65% of its assets in mortgage or mortgage-related securities with adjustable coupons. These securities are usually backed by the U.S. government.


Convertible bond (definition)
Convertible bond

  Invests primarily in bonds and preferred stocks that can be converted into common stocks.


Corporate bond--general (definition)
Corporate bond--general

  Seeks income by investing in fixed-income securities, primarily corporate bonds with varying quality ratings.


Corporate bond--high yield (definition)
Corporate bond--high yield

  Seeks income by generally investing 65% or more of its assets in bonds rated below investment grade. The price of these issues is generally affected more by the condition of the issuing company (similar to a stock) than by the interest rate fluctuation that usually causes bond prices to move up and down.


Government bond--general (definition)
Government bond--general

  Seeks income by investing in a blend of mortgage-backed securities, Treasury bills, and agency securities.


World bond (definition)
World bond

  Seeks current income with capital appreciation as a secondary objective by investing primarily in bonds not denominated in U.S. currency. These bonds are frequently issued by foreign governments.


Government bond--mortgage (definition)
Government bond--mortgage

  Seeks income by generally investing at least 65% of its assets in securities backed by mortgages, such as those issued by the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA), the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC).


Corporate bond--high quality (definition)
Corporate bond--high quality

  Seeks income by investing in corporate fixed-income securities, at least 65% of which are rated A or higher.


Government bond--Treasury (definition)
Government bond--Treasury

  Seeks income by generally investing at least 80% of its assets in U.S. Treasury securities.


Short-term world income (definition)
Short-term world income

  Seeks income and a stable net asset value (NAV) by investing primarily in a portfolio of bonds not denominated in U.S. currency, usually with maturities of three years or less. Funds in this category seek higher yield than a money-market fund and less fluctuation of NAV than a world bond fund. These funds may engage in substantial hedging strategies to reduce fluctuation of NAV.


How to find a definition

 This is an alphabetic list of the extended asset classes. To find the definition for a particular extended asset class:

1.	Click the appropriate set of letters to jump to asset classes that begin with those letters. The letters are displayed in the topic title area of this Help window.

2.	Click an underlined phrase to pop up the definition.


Search results

You see all the funds that meet the criteria you've set and those mutual funds you currently own. Look in the bottom right corner for the number of funds Mutual Fund Finder has found.

  Ways to look at the list

This list is very flexible. Mutual Fund Finder is preset to display the list alphabetically by name. You can sort the list in other ways, too.

Examples of ways to sort the list:

•	To sort the list by five year performance (best to worst), select 5 Year Perf from the Sort by drop-down list.

•	To see which fund deducted the lowest percentage of assets for fund operating expenses, select Expense Ratio from the Sort by drop-down list.

•	To see the funds' income return on capital investment for the past 12 months (highest to lowest), select Yield from the Sort by drop-down list. This return is expressed as a percentage.

  Using the Views

Not only can you sort the information in various ways, you can also change the information you see about the funds in the list. Use the View drop-down list to do this.

Each view displays a specific set of statistics for the funds on your list.

•	Performance View--With this view, you see how the selected funds performed over several time periods (such as performance over the past three years and the past five years).

•	Fees View--For a thorough analysis, you need to see how much you are paying out in fees. Select this view to see a breakdown of the fees each fund assesses.

•	Rating View--This view highlights the risk and rating for each fund you've selected.

•	Criteria View--This view shows the criteria you selected for your search and shows how each fund meets these criteria.

To customize the search results, you can change how the information is sorted and which set of statistics you use. For example:

•	To display the funds in order from best to worst performer, sort by 5 Year Perf and view by Performance.

•	To display the funds in order from the one with the least fees assessed to the one with the most fees, sort by Expense Ratio and view by Fees.

•	To display the funds in order from the highest to lowest 5-year performance, sort by 5 Year Perf and view by Rating.

  Including funds you own

If you've entered funds you own in Quicken's Portfolio View, you can see how your current funds compare with those on your Search results list. Just select the checkbox in the lower-left corner of the window.

  Printing the list

You can easily print your list. Just click the Print button.

  Narrowing your list

Is your list of funds really long? For some suggestions and ideas about selecting mutual funds, click the Next Steps tab. Callan Associates Inc. provides some information, ideas and concepts to consider.

  Getting down to details

Now that you've studied your list, you'll probably want to look at detailed information about some of the funds.

To select a fund, highlight it in the list and then click Details.


Fund detail (summary)

This summary is a snapshot of basic information about the fund you've selected. Mutual Fund Finder groups the information under several headings to give you a better understanding of the fund.

First you'll see the ticker symbol, name, and phone number for the fund. You'll also see the fund's yield, net assets, and net asset value (NAV).

Look at these groupings for fund specifics:

  Total Returns box

•	Mutual Fund Finder shows how the selected fund has performed compared with two indices (such as Domestic Bonds and Lehman Brothers). You'll see comparisons for several time periods, from the last quarter to as far back as 10 years ago.

For a detailed description, see Total Return.

•	Load-adjusted checkbox. Select this checkbox if your fund has a load. The load will be deducted from the total return to give you a load-adjusted return.

  General Info

•	Manager: Provides the name of the individual (or individuals) who manages the fund's portfolio.

•	Manager Tenure: States how long the manager has been handling the fund. Typically, the longer the manager's tenure, the more likely the fund is a solid performer.

•	Inception Date: Provides the date the fund was created.

•	Min. Initial Purchase: Lists the minimum amount you must initially invest.

•	Min. Additl. Purchase: Lists the minimum amount for subsequent purchases.

  Ratings & Risk

•	Morningstar Rating: Rates a fund on a one- to five-star rating scale, based on the fund's historical risk and return figures and how it compares with other funds in its class.

•	Morningstar Risk: Compares a fund's risk level with other funds in its class.

•	Beta: Measures a fund's market risk. This is the amount to which the fund fluctuates relative to the average. Typically, funds with a high beta fluctuate more than the average.

•	R2: Shows what percentage of a fund's movement can be explained by movements in its benchmark index.

  Fees & Expenses

•	Front Load: Indicates any one-time deductions or sales charge imposed on the first investment in a fund.

•	Expense Ratio: Shows the percentage of fund assets that pay for operating expenses, management fees, and 12b-1 fees on a yearly basis (does not include loads).

•	Deferred Load: Shows the deduction made when the shares are sold.

•	Redemption Fee: Indicates any fees charged when you sell your shares. This reduces your profit (or increases your loss).

•	12b-1: Shows any annual deduction made from the fund's assets for distribution and marketing costs and sometimes sales commissions.

  Style

Mutual Fund Finder provides two style grids.

•	For stock funds, Mutual Fund Finder displays the Equity style grid.

•	For bond funds, Mutual Fund Finder displays the Fixed Income style grid.

These grids summarize information about the fund's portfolio and help you determine a fund's investment objectives. For information about these grids, see:

Equity style grid

Fixed income style grid

  Printing the results

To print your results, click Print.

  Graphing the results

To see a performance graph for this fund, click the Graph tab.

  Viewing other funds

Click the arrows next to the ticker symbol to view the next or previous fund on your list.


Dividend yield (definition)
Dividend yield

  This percentage represents the income return on capital investment.  Yield is calculated by taking all income distributions for the past twelve months and dividing by the fund's net asset value (NAV) (which has been adjusted for capital distributions).

In some funds, such as a growth fund, the yield is not terribly important. You are looking for future price appreciation rather than dividends when you invest in a growth fund.

In an income or bond fund, however, the yield is important because you selected that fund for income.


Net assets (definition)
 Net assets

  This figure represents the most recently reported net assets of the fund, expressed in millions of dollars. It also indicates how large a fund is, in terms of dollars under management.


Inception date (definition)
Inception date

  This is the date the fund was started. Morningstar only rates funds that have existed for at least three years.


Minimum Initial Purchase Minimum Additional Purchase (definition)
Minimum initial purchase
Minimum additional purchase

 The amounts you are required to pay vary, depending on the type of fund.

Typically, the minimum additional purchase is lower than the minimum initial purchase, particularly if you set up an automatic investment plan.


Net asset value (NAV) (definition)
Net asset value (NAV)

  Net asset value (NAV) is the value of one share of a mutual fund.  Funds compute their NAV by dividing the total net assets of the fund by the number of shares outstanding.

This is the price you'll find listed in the daily newspaper.


Capitalization (definition)
Capitalization

  The market value of a company, as determined by multiplying the number of shares a company has outstanding by the price per share.


Equity style grid

In this grid, Morningstar summarizes a portfolio's characteristics and allows you to determine a fund's investment objectives.

Morningstar characterizes funds by the size of the companies they invest in (along the vertical axis) and by investment style (along the horizontal axis).

  Size (Large, Medium, or Small)

•	Funds with median market capitalizations of less than $1 billion are grouped in the small company or small cap (Small) box.

•	Funds with median market capitalizations greater than or equal to $1 billion but less than or equal to $5 billion are labeled as medium cap (Medium) offerings.

•	Funds with median market capitalizations exceeding $5 billion qualify for the large cap (Large) designation.

  Investment style (growth oriented, value oriented, or a blend of the two)

•	A growth-oriented portfolio (Growth) mostly contains companies that the portfolio manager believes have the potential to increase earnings faster than the rest of the market.

•	A value-oriented portfolio (Value) focuses on stocks that the manager believes are undervalued in price and whose worth will eventually be recognized by the market.

•	A blend fund (Blend) mixes the two philosophies: the portfolio may contain growth stocks and value stocks, or it may contain stocks that have both characteristics.


Fixed income style grid

Domestic and international fixed income funds have a special style grid from Morningstar. This grid focuses on the two "pillars" of fixed income performance:

•	Sensitivity to interest rates

•	Credit quality

To display this information, the Morningstar grid splits fixed income funds into three maturity groups along the horizontal axis and three quality rating groups along the vertical axis.

  Maturity (Short, Intermediate, or Long)

Morningstar displays the average term length of a fund's bond portfolio based on average effective maturity (average weighted maturity for municipal bond funds). Morningstar calculates this statistic by weighting each bond's maturity by its relative size within the portfolio.

•	Short Funds (Short) contain bonds with an average effective maturity of less than four years.

•	Intermediate Funds (Inter.) contain bonds with an average effective maturity greater than or equal to four years, but less than or equal to ten years.

•	Long Funds (Long) contain bonds with a maturity that exceeds ten years.

  Quality Rating (High, Medium, and Low)

In Morningstar calculations, U.S. government securities are considered to be AAA bonds. Nonrated municipal bonds are classified as BB.

•	High quality (High) bond portfolios have an average credit rating greater than or equal to AA.

•	Medium quality (Medium) bond portfolios have average ratings greater than or equal to BBB but less than or equal to AA-.

•	Low quality (Low) bond portfolios have average ratings of BBB- or lower (also known as junk bonds).


Total returns (definition)
Total returns

  Reviewing a fund's total returns is a good way to gauge its success over time. Morningstar calculates the total returns by taking the change in share price (that is, the net asset value), reinvesting all income and capital gains distributions during the month, and dividing by the starting share price (net asset value).

This figure is important because it shows the total increase in value generated by the fund.

•	Use this figure when you compare the performance of one fund with another or one type of fund with another type of fund.

•	In general, you want to invest in mutual funds that have exhibited a high total return over time because they may grow in value more quickly in the future than those with a lower return. Past performance is one indicator of how a fund may perform in the future.


Load-adjusted checkbox

  When you select the Load-adjusted checkbox, Mutual Fund Finder adjusts the total return based on the type of load imposed by the fund. For example:

•	For a front-end load, Mutual Fund Finder deducts the full amount of the load before computing the total return.

•	For a deferred load, Mutual Fund Finder calculates the total return by deducting a fixed percentage of the deferred charge for each year the charge applies. That means that a fund with a deferred charge of 5% (spread over five years) will have its one-year performance figure penalized by 4%.

Mutual Fund Finder provides a load-adjusted return because many people believe that it is a truer indicator of a fund's performance over time than a total return that does not have a load deducted from it.


Manager (definition)
Manager

  The fund manager makes the decisions that affect how well a fund performs and defines the fund's investment style.

Some types of investing (such as buying undervalued small stocks) pay off at certain times, but do poorly at other times. Look at the manager's long-term success rate and the particular style he or she uses.

Sometimes a management team makes the decisions. When a team is in charge, there is often less change in a fund's performance should one individual leave. However, it is more difficult to see the connection between the investment style and how well the fund does if a team is managing the fund.


Manager tenure (definition)
Manager tenure

  If you buy a fund because it has performed well over time, check that the manager who built the record is still in charge. Also, if a fund has performed poorly in the past, but is improving, check the tenure of the current fund manager. Perhaps the improvement is due to the skill of the new manager. Focus your attention on returns since the new manager took over.


Morningstar rating (definition)
Morningstar rating

  The Morningstar rating is designed to help you compare different funds' risk and return over time. Morningstar's rating has distinct parts: a risk-assessment measure and a load-adjusted performance (return) measure. Morningstar calculates each rating for three time periods: 3, 5, and 10 years, when available. (A fund must have at least a three-year track record before Morningstar will rate it.)

Overall risk and return scores are combined to form the star rating. For funds with a 10-year history, the 10-year period receives a 50% weighting, the 5-year period receives 30%, and the 3-year period receives 20%. For funds with a 5-year history, the weightings are 60% for the 5-year period and 40% for the 3-year period. For funds with a 3-year record, the 3-year number serves as the overall rating.


Morningstar risk (definition)
Morningstar risk

  The Morningstar risk rating is designed to help you compare different funds' risk over time. Morningstar believes that most investors' greatest fear is losing money--and defines loss as a return of less than the risk-free amount an investor can earn from the three-month Treasury bill. Morningstar's risk measure focuses only on that downside risk.

To calculate the risk score, Morningstar plots monthly fund returns in relation to Treasury-bill returns. Morningstar adds up the amounts by which the fund trails the Treasury-bill return and divides that total by the period's total number of months. This number, the average monthly underperformance statistic, is then compared with those of other funds in the same broad investment class to assign Morningstar risk ratings. The resulting risk rating expresses how risky the fund is relative to the average fund in its class.


Beta (definition)
Beta

  A mutual fund's volatility is measured by its beta (which is another gauge of risk level). Volatility is how much a fund goes up and down in price relative to the market.

The market's beta is 1.0. Thus, a fund with a 1.10 beta is expected to perform 10% better than the market in "up" markets and 10% worse than the market in "down" markets.

Conversely, a beta of 0.85 indicates that the fund is expected to perform 15% worse than the market in "up" markets and 15% better than the market in "down" markets.

A low fund beta, however, does not imply that the fund has a low level of volatility. Rather, a low beta means only that the fund's market-related risk is low. A specialty fund that invests primarily in gold, for example, will usually have a low beta, as its performance is tied more closely to the price of gold and gold-mining stocks than to the overall stock market. Thus, though the specialty fund might fluctuate wildly because of rapid changes in gold prices, its beta will remain low.


R2 (definition)
R2

  This figure shows what percentage of a fund's movements can be explained by movements in its benchmark index.

•	An R-squared of 100 means that all movements of a fund are completely explained by movements in the index. Thus, index funds that invest only in S&P 500 stocks will have an R-squared very close to 100.

•	Conversely, a low R-squared indicates that very few of the fund's movements are explained by movements in its benchmark index.

Generally, a higher R-squared indicates that the beta figure is a reliable measure. If the R-squared is lower, then the beta is less relevant to the fund's performance.


Front load (definition)
Front load

 Investment companies sometimes charge a sales fee when you buy (front load) or sell (back load) particular funds from them. For funds with a front-end load, you pay a commission on your purchase and sometimes on your dividend reinvestments, too.

Load fund rates range from 1% to 8.5%.

For example, if you invest $1,000 in a mutual fund with a 4% front load, you pay $40 in sales fees and invest $960 in the fund. Typically you pay higher loads for more advice. If you' re comfortable selecting your own funds, look for low- and no-load funds.


Expense ratio (definition)
Expense ratio

  Look at the expense ratio to get an idea of how much the fund costs to operate. The higher the expense ratio, the lower the amount the fund can pay out to shareholders.

Common stock funds tend to have higher expense ratios than bond funds; likewise smaller funds have higher ratios than larger funds; international funds and precious metal funds have higher ratios than domestic funds. Fixed income and index funds tend to have the lowest expense ratios.

  According to Callan Associates Inc., the average expense ratios for different classes are:

•	Domestic stock funds:  1.39%

•	International stock funds:  1.76%

•	Domestic bond funds:  0.91%

•	Global bond funds:  1.49%


Deferred Load (definition)
Deferred load

  This deduction (from your original investment) is made when shares are sold.  Typically, this amount is based on the age of the investment.  In general, the longer you've held the shares, the smaller the charge. Mutual Fund Finder lists the maximum deferred charge.

This charge, often coupled with a 12b-1 fee, is an alternative to a traditional front-end load.


Redemption fee (definition)
Redemption fee

  The redemption fee is an amount charged when you withdraw money from the fund. This fee differs from a deferred load because many times redemption fees go back into the fund itself rather than to the fund company. The fees do not represent a net cost to shareholders. Also, unlike deferred charges, redemption fees typically operate only in short, specific time clauses, often 30 or 60 days. Charges are not imposed after the stated time has passed.


12b-1 fees (definition)
12b-1 fees

  These fees, named for the SEC regulation that authorized them, are an annual deduction from the fund's assets. These are used to pay for distribution and marketing costs.  They are usually set on a percentage basis, but may be flat rates. They typically range from 0.25% to 0.30%, but can be as high as 1.25%.

These fees can seriously cut into your yield, especially if the percentage is high.


Fund detail (graph)

Here are several ways to look at fund performance.

  If you choose Yearly Return from the Type drop-down list, you'll see:

•	A bar graph showing (by percentage) your fund's performance for each year and how it performed against two indices (the S&P 500 for stocks or Lehman Brothers for bonds and an index comprising other funds in the same basic asset class as your fund).

  If you choose Cumulative from the Type drop-down list, you'll see:

•	A graph showing (in dollars) how your fund fared against two indices (the S&P 500 for stocks or Lehman Brothers for bonds and an index comprising funds in the same basic asset class as your fund) over the entire time period you've selected.

Be sure that the time period you set corresponds to the length of time the fund has existed. (That is, if the fund has existed for five years, set the time period to five years.)

The cumulative graph assumes an investment of $1,000 and assumes that the money was invested at the beginning of the first year shown on the graph. If the graph is set to display returns for a time period prior to the fund's existence, Mutual Fund Finder plots the value of the investment ($1,000) for each year prior to the fund's inception.

  Choosing a time period

•	From the Time Period drop-down list, you can select the number of years for which you'd like to view the fund's performance, up to 10 years. Investors often suggest that you look at a fund's long-term performance (5 to 10 years) before you invest in a fund.

•	You'll notice that the scale on the vertical axis (either percentage or dollar amount) gets larger as the performance highs and lows expand. For example, if you are looking at a fund whose performance varies little over time, the scale may start at 0% and end at 20%. If you are looking at a more volatile fund, the scale may start at -20% and end at 80%.

  Comparing fund performance with the Performance Quartile Graph

Below the Yearly Return or Cumulative graph, Mutual Fund Finder displays the performance quartile graph.

This graph ranks your fund among other funds with the same extended asset class. It compares total return for the calendar year among these funds. The box on the graph represents the quartile in which your fund has been ranked.

For example, in the graph displayed above, the fund ranked in the top 25% of funds in the same extended asset class in 1994.

In general, you want to consider funds that have ranked consistently in the top 50% of funds in that extended asset class.

  Viewing other funds

Click the arrows next to the ticker symbol to view the next or previous fund on your list.


Search by name
Find Fund by Name or Symbol

Enter the name or ticker symbol of the fund you want to learn about.

If you're not sure of the exact name, type in the first few letters of the name and click Search. You'll see a list of funds that begin with the letters you entered.

When you enter a name, Mutual Fund Finder displays the ticker symbol on the Detail screen.

If you want to find the ticker symbol for a fund, here are some ways.

  To find the ticker symbol:

•	Look in the Wall Street Journal (or other financial publications, such as Barron's or the Investor's Business Daily).

•	Ask your broker or mutual fund company.

•	Look at your brokerage or mutual fund account statement.

•	Use an online service, such as CompuServe or Prodigy.


Using Mutual Fund Finder

If you are planning to change, add, or monitor your mutual fund investments, use Mutual Fund Finder to find all the information you need to make sound investment decisions. You can create a list of funds that meet the risk and return limits you have in mind, see a detailed summary of each fund's performance, trace its history, and understand its fee structure.

  How to get information

•	When you start Mutual Fund Finder for the first time, you are guided through the criteria selection.

The next time you open the program, Mutual Fund Finder displays the Search Results window with the results from your last search. Mutual Fund Finder remembers your criteria; you start from where you left off.

For detailed instructions, see Find fund by criteria.

•	If you want to know about a specific fund, and you know the fund's name or ticker symbol, choose Find Fund by Name or Symbol from the View menu. Then enter the requested information and start your search.

For detailed instructions, see Find fund by name or symbol.

  How to close Mutual Fund Finder

•	To close Mutual Fund Finder, choose the Close command from the window Control menu, double-click the Control box, or from the File menu, choose Exit.


Find fund by name or symbol

If you are planning to change, add, or monitor your mutual fund investments, use Mutual Fund Finder to find out all the information you need to make sound investment decisions.

To retrieve information about a particular fund:

1.	From the View menu, choose Find Fund by Name or Symbol. Or, from the Search Results window, click Name.

2.	Enter either the fund name or ticker symbol.

If you aren't sure of the entire fund name, enter just the first word or two followed by a space. Mutual Fund Finder will provide a list of funds that begin with the words you entered.

To find the correct ticker symbol for a particular fund:

When you enter a name, Mutual Fund Finder displays the ticker symbol on the Detail screen. Here are some other ways to find the ticker symbol for a fund.

•	Look in the Wall Street Journal (or other financial publications, such as Barron's or the Investor's Business Daily).

•	Ask your broker or mutual fund company.

•	Look at your brokerage or mutual fund account statement.

•	Use an online service, such as CompuServe or Prodigy, or special software, such as Quicken Quotes.

3.	Click Search to see detailed information about the fund you've selected.


Find fund by criteria

You can create a list of funds that meet the risk and return limits you have in mind, see a detailed summary of each fund's portfolio, trace its history, and understand its fee structure.

1.	From the View menu, choose Find Fund by Criteria. Or, from the Search Results window, click Criteria.

2.	Select an asset class type.

•	Basic Asset Classes: In the Detail display, Mutual Fund Finder assigns one of these classes (also called "objectives" or "goals") to each fund on your list.

•	Extended Asset Classes: If you are looking for a fund with a specific objective, Mutual Fund Finder lists Morningstar's broad range of investment objectives, from the most popular (such as Asset Allocation and Aggressive Growth) to the lesser known (such as Short-Term World Income).

Morningstar determines a fund's class by reviewing information in the fund's prospectus or studying how a fund is marketed. For descriptions of these classes, see:

Extended Asset Classes

You can select all Extended Asset Classes or pick specific classes from the list.

3.	Select criteria to limit or expand the list of funds.

•	You can limit the load, select a Morningstar rating or risk, or limit the expense ratio or performance ratio.

For detailed information, see Other Criteria

•	You can change the preset settings to your specific requirements. Mutual Fund Finder will remember them. To use your new defaults, click Use Default.

4.	Click Search to create your list.


Next steps

Now that you've compiled a list of funds that meet the criteria you've set, you are ready to analyze your list and perhaps make some decisions.

Call the mutual fund companies (the number is on the Detail page for each fund) and request a prospectus. Talk to your friends and ask financial professionals about the various funds on your list.

For some suggestions about what to consider and what to look for, Callan Associates Inc. has provided some additional information and suggestions.

Simply click the button for the asset class of interest to you. You'll see a list of considerations and suggestions for analysis.


What next--Domestic Stocks
Next Steps--Domestic Stock Funds

Review these ideas and suggestions from Callan Associates Inc. for selecting domestic stock funds.

•	Diversification. If your objective is to diversify your current portfolio of mutual funds, use information in the Style box on the Summary tab to identify funds with complementary styles to your current funds.

For example, if you own a large cap growth fund, perhaps select a small cap value fund as your next investment. By diversifying across investment styles, you can reduce the interim volatility of your portfolio returns and potentially increase the return.

•	Out-of-favor funds. If you have identified a list of funds with similar performance over longer time periods (five to ten years), focus on funds that have underperformed over recent periods. They may be ripe for an upturn.

If you buy a fund when it is at the bottom of its investment cycle, you may have the advantage of buying into the fund when it is on an upward performance trend.

•	Fees. When choosing between two funds with comparable characteristics, focus on those without redemption fees and 12b-1 fees.

•	Implementation. Are you tied to one particular broker or mutual fund provider? If you want to maintain an account with only one brokerage firm or mutual fund company to consolidate fund reporting, you may be limited to a subset of funds selected in your mutual fund search.

Compare the funds you have identified with a listing of mutual funds from your current provider. See whether or not any funds on the list are available from your broker or provider.

•	Assets of the fund. Focus on those funds with $100 million or more in assets. On the other hand, be cautious of those funds with a billion dollars or more in assets and a relatively short track record (three years). These funds may not be able to invest the assets in a timely manner and may be forced to hold the assets in cash.

•	Relative performance. All things being equal, focus on those funds with returns above the average fund in the given asset class for one-, three-, five- and ten-year time periods. (You'll find this information on the Summary tab for each fund.)

Although past performance is no guarantee of future performance, this guideline will help you assess whether or not the fund has been able to outperform other funds with a similar investment style.


Next Steps--International Stocks
Next steps--International stock funds

Review these ideas and suggestions from Callan Associates Inc. for selecting international stock funds.

•	Country/region specific vs. core international investing. Consider the managers' investment strategy. If this is your only international exposure, focus on those funds with broad international or global country exposure, rather than limiting yourself to the volatility of a specific country, region, or emerging market. The fund's name should help you determine the strategy of the fund.

•	Out-of-favor funds. If you have identified a list of funds with similar performance over longer time periods (five to ten years), focus on funds that have underperformed over recent periods.

If you buy a fund when it is at the bottom of its investment cycle, you may have the advantage of buying into the fund when it is on an upward performance trend.

•	Fees. When choosing between two funds with comparable characteristics, focus on those without redemption fees and 12b-1 fees.

•	Implementation. Are you tied to one particular broker or mutual fund provider? If you want to maintain an account with only one brokerage firm or mutual fund company to consolidate fund reporting, you may be limited to a subset of funds selected in your mutual fund search.

Compare the funds you have identified with a listing of mutual funds from your current provider. See whether or not any funds on the list are available from your broker or provider.

•	Assets of the fund. Focus on those funds with $100 million or more in assets. On the other hand, be cautious of those funds with a billion dollars or more in assets and a relatively short track record (three years). These funds may not be able to invest the assets in a timely manner and may be forced to hold the assets in cash.

•	Relative performance. All things being equal, focus on those funds with returns above the average fund in the given asset class for one-, three-, five- and ten-year time periods. (You'll find this information on the Summary tab for each fund.)

Although past performance is no guarantee of future performance, this guideline will help you assess whether or not the fund has been able to outperform other funds with a similar investment style.


Next Steps--Domestic Bonds
Next steps--Domestic bond funds

Review these ideas and suggestions from Callan Associates Inc. for selecting domestic bond funds.

•	Time Horizon Preference. If your investment time horizon is less than seven years, focus on those funds with an average maturity of less than seven years. The name of the fund should help you determine the time horizon of the fund (for example, "Intermediate Bond Fund").

However, if you are interested in a short-term bond fund (such as one that matures in the next three to five years), focus on funds called "Short Duration" or "Short-Intermediate."

•	Sector Preference. If you are interested in a fund that emphasizes a specific area or sector of the bond market, look for fund names that contain that area or sector. For example, if you are looking for a tax-free bond fund, choose a state-specific or national municipal bond fund, or if you are looking for a mortgage-backed or high yield fund, select one described in that way.

•	Fees. When choosing between two funds with comparable characteristics, focus on those without redemption fees and 12-b 1 fees.

•	Implementation. Are you tied to one particular broker or mutual fund provider? If you want to maintain an account with only one brokerage firm or mutual fund company to consolidate fund reporting, you may be limited to a subset of funds selected in your mutual fund search.

Compare the funds you have identified with a listing of mutual funds from your current provider. See whether or not any funds on the list are available from your broker or provider.

•	Assets of the fund. You should focus on those funds with over $100 million in assets. Bond funds benefit from a heavy asset base because the manager is able to receive better pricing for bonds if they are traded in large volume.

•	Relative performance. All things being equal, focus on those funds with returns above the average fund in the given asset class for one-, three-, five- and ten-year time periods. (You'll find this information on the Summary tab for each fund.)

Although past performance is no guarantee of future performance, this guideline will help you assess whether or not the fund has been able to outperform other funds with a similar investment style.


Next Steps--Global Bonds
Next Steps--Global Bond Funds

Review these ideas and suggestions from Callan Associates Inc. for selecting global bond funds.

•	Country/region specific vs. core international investing. Consider the managers' investment strategy. If this is your only international exposure, focus on those funds with broad international or global country exposure, rather than limiting yourself to the volatility of a specific country, region, or emerging market. The fund's name should help you determine the strategy of the fund.

•	Time horizon preference. If your investment time horizon is less than seven years, focus on those funds with an average maturity of less than seven years. The name of the fund should help you determine the time horizon of the fund (for example, "Intermediate Bond Fund").

However, if you are interested in a short-term bond fund (such as one that matures in the next three to five years), focus on funds called "Short Duration" or "Short-Intermediate."

•	Fees. When choosing between two funds with comparable characteristics, focus on those without redemption fees and 12b-1 fees.

•	Implementation. Are you tied to one particular broker or mutual fund provider? If you want to maintain an account with only one brokerage firm or mutual fund company to consolidate fund reporting, you may be limited to a subset of funds selected in your mutual fund search.

Compare the funds you have identified with a listing of mutual funds from your current provider. See whether or not any funds on the list are available from your broker or provider.

•	Assets of the Fund. You should focus on those funds with over $100 million in assets. Bond funds benefit from a heavy asset base as the manager is able to receive better pricing for bonds if they are traded in large volume.

•	Relative performance. All things being equal, focus on those funds with returns above the average fund in the given asset class for one-, three-, five- and ten-year time periods. (You'll find this information on the Summary tab for each fund.)

Although past performance is no guarantee of future performance, this guideline will help you assess whether or not the fund has been able to outperform other funds with a similar investment style.


Callan Associates, Inc.
Callan Associates Inc.

Callan Associates Inc. is a privately held, independent investment consulting firm that provides a full range of consulting services to corporate pension and profit-sharing plans, multi-employer plans, endowments and foundations, public pension plans, high net-worth individuals, and investment management organizations. Callan's sole aim is to improve the performance of their clients' investment funds by providing unbiased information and guidance regarding the management of fund assets. Among the services Callan offers are: asset allocation studies, investment policy development and implementation, investment manager research and evaluation, and performance evaluation services. The firm, which has five offices across the United States, was incorporated in 1973, presently has 145 employees and a diverse client base of over 265 organizations.


Mutual Fund Finder

This step-by-step tour of Mutual Fund Finder helps you select top-performing mutual funds that meet your financial needs and tolerance for risk.

  To continue, click the Next button in the bottom right corner of the Intro screen.

  To read the software license agreement, see:

Software license agreement


Mutual Fund Finder Summary
Mutual Fund Finder Summary tab

If you are planning to change, add, or monitor your mutual fund investments, use Mutual Fund Finder to find all the information you need to make sound investment decisions.

You can create a list of funds that meet the risk and return limits you have in mind, see a detailed summary of each fund's performance, trace its history, and understand its fee structure.

The choices you make will limit your search result to only those funds that meet your criteria.

If you've entered their ticker symbols in Quicken's Portfolio View, you'll also see a list of mutual funds you currently own.

To create a list of funds, follow these steps:

1.	Select an asset class type.

Basic Asset Classes: These are broad groups of funds. In the Detail display, Mutual Fund Finder assigns one of these classes (also called "objectives") to each fund on your list.

For more information about basic asset classes, click on a topic:

Domestic stocks

International stocks

Domestic bonds

Global bonds

Other

Extended Asset Classes: If you are looking for a fund with a specific objective, Mutual Fund Finder lists Morningstar's broad range of investment objectives, from the most popular (such as Asset Allocation and Aggressive Growth) to the lesser known (such as Short-term World Income).

Morningstar determines a fund's class by reviewing information in the fund's prospectus or studying how a fund is marketed.

For more information about these objectives, see:

Extended Asset Classes

Selecting specific classes on a list.  Mutual Fund Finder is preset to include all classes in the list when you select an asset class type. You can limit your search to a particular class or a group of classes.

First, select an asset class type (either Basic Asset Classes or Extended Asset Classes). Next, click Clear All. Then, to select one class, click it. To select more than one class, press the Ctrl key as you click the classes you want to include.

2.	Select criteria to limit or expand the list of funds.

You can limit the load, select a Morningstar rating or risk, or limit the expense ratio.

For a description of these special criteria, see:

Other Criteria

You can change the preset settings to specific ones you choose.

•	Select the criteria you want to use, then click Set Default. Mutual Fund Finder will remember them.

•	To use your new defaults, click Use Default.

•	To set the criteria to include all possibilities (that is; any manager tenure, any star rating, and so on), click Include All.

3.	 Click Search to create your list.


Mutual Fund Finder

Select the asset class or classes you want to include in your search.

To complete this window:

   First, select Basic Asset Classes or Extended Asset Classes. Then select one or more asset classes from the list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn about asset classes, see:

More Information (Asset Classes)


Next button

Takes you to the next window.


Back button

Returns you to the previous window.


Mutual Fund Finder

Limit the front load for funds you want to consider.

To complete the window:

   Select a front load from the drop-down list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn more about front loads, see:

More Information (Front Load)


Mutual Fund Finder

Select a Morningstar star rating.

To complete the window:

   Select a star rating from the drop-down list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn more about Morningstar star ratings, see:

More Information (Star Rating)


Mutual Fund Finder

Select a risk rating.

To complete the window:

   Select a risk rating from the drop-down list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn more about Morningstar risk ratings, see:

More Information (Risk Rating)


Mutual Fund Finder

Select a manager tenure.

To complete the window:

   Select the manager tenure duration from the drop-down list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn more about manager tenure, see:

More Information (Manager Tenure)


Mutual Fund Finder

Select the minimum amount you'd like to invest.

To complete the window:

   Select a minimum investment amount from the drop-down list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn more about minimum investments, see:

More Information (Minimum Investment)


Mutual Fund Finder

Select an expense ratio.

To complete the window:

   Select an expense ratio from the drop-down list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn more about expense ratios, see:

More Information (Expense Ratio)


Mutual Fund Finder

Select a dividend yield.

To complete the window:

   Select a dividend yield from the drop-down list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn more about dividend yields, see:

More Information (Dividend Yield)


Mutual Fund Finder

Select a 5-year performance level.

To complete the window:

   Select a 5-year performance level from the drop-down list.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button

To learn more about 5-year performances, see:

More Information (5 Year Performance)


Mutual Fund Finder

Import symbols for mutual funds you track in Quicken to Mutual Fund Finder.

The symbol you assign to a fund in Quicken must match the symbol that Mutual Fund Finder uses. If a symbol doesn't match, the fund cannot be imported to Mutual Fund Finder.

To complete the window:

   (Optional) Select a Quicken file to import symbols from. Mutual Fund Finder is preset to import from the latest Quicken file you have opened.

To select a file, click Browse. Then select the drive and directory.

   Click Import.

   Click Next.

What you see:

Back button

Next button


More Info (About)
More Information (Intro)

  How to get information

•	When you start Mutual Fund Finder for the first time, you are guided through the criteria selection.

The next time you open the program, Mutual Fund Finder displays the Search Results window with the results from your last search. Mutual Fund Finder remembers your criteria; you start from where you left off.

For detailed instructions, see Find fund by criteria.

•	If you want to know about a specific fund, and you know the fund's name or ticker symbol, choose Find Fund by Name or Symbol from the View menu. Then enter the requested information and start your search.

For detailed instructions, see Find fund by name or symbol.

  How to close Mutual Fund Finder

•	To close Mutual Fund Finder, choose the Close command from the window Control menu, double-click the Control box, or from the File menu, choose Exit.

  To review the software license agreement, see:

•	Software license agreement


More Info (Load)
More Information (Front Load)

Investment companies sometimes charge a sales fee when you buy (front load) or sell (back load) particular funds from them.

For example, if you invest $1,000 in a mutual fund with a 4% front load, you pay $40 in sales fees and invest $960 in the fund. Typically you pay higher loads for more advice. If you' re comfortable selecting your own funds, look for low- and no-load funds.


More Info (Star Rating)
More Information (Star Rating)

The Morningstar rating is designed to help you compare different funds' risk and return over time. Morningstar's rating has distinct parts: a risk-assessment measure and a load-adjusted performance (return) measure. Morningstar calculates each rating for three time periods: 3, 5, and 10 years, when available. (A fund must have at least a three-year track record before Morningstar will rate it.)

Overall risk and return scores are combined to form the star rating. For funds with a 10-year history, the 10-year period receives a 50% weighting, the 5-year period receives 30%, and the 3-year period receives 20%. For funds with a 5-year history, the weightings are 60% for the 5-year period and 40% for the 3-year period. For funds with a 3-year record, the 3-year number serves as the overall rating.


More Info (Risk Rating)
More Information (Risk Rating)

The Morningstar risk rating is designed to help you compare different funds' risk over time. Morningstar believes that most investors' greatest fear is losing money--and defines loss as a return of less than the risk-free amount an investor can earn from the three-month Treasury bill. Morningstar's risk measure focuses only on that downside risk.

To calculate the risk score, Morningstar plots monthly fund returns in relation to Treasury-bill returns. Morningstar adds up the amounts by which the fund trails the Treasury-bill return and divides that total by the period's total number of months. This number, the average monthly underperformance statistic, is then compared with those of other funds in the same broad investment class to assign Morningstar risk ratings. The resulting risk rating expresses how risky the fund is relative to the average fund in its class.


More Info (Manager Tenure)
More Information (Manager Tenure)

The fund manager makes the decisions that affect how well a fund performs and defines the fund's investment style.

Some types of investing (such as buying undervalued small stocks) pay off at certain times, but do poorly at other times. Look at the manager's long-term success rate and the particular style he or she uses.

Sometimes a management team makes the decisions. When a team is in charge, there is often less change in a fund's performance should one individual leave. However, it is more difficult to see the connection between the investment style and how well the fund does if a team is managing the fund.


More Info (Minimum Investment)
More Information (Minimum Investment)

Check out the amount you must invest for subsequent purchases. Many times the minimum amount you must invest is lower after the initial purchase.


More Info (Expense Ratio)
More Information (Expense Ratio)

Common stock funds tend to have higher expense ratios than bond funds; likewise smaller funds have higher ratios than larger funds; international funds and precious metal funds have higher ratios than domestic funds. Fixed income and index funds tend to have the lowest expense ratios.

According to Callan Associates Inc., the average expense ratios for different classes are:

•	Domestic stock funds:  1.39%

•	International stock funds:  1.76%

•	Domestic bond funds:  0.91%

•	Global bond funds:  1.49%


More Info (Yield)
More Information (Dividend Yield)

This percentage represents the income return on capital investment.  Yield is calculated by taking all income distributions for the past twelve months and dividing by the fund's net asset value (NAV) (which has been adjusted for capital distributions).


More Info (5 Year Performance)
More Information (5 Year Performance)

The star rating combines both risk and return in one measure. The five-year performance measure looks at return only and does not factor in the fund's riskiness.


More Info (Asset Classes)
More Information (Asset Classes)

Basic Asset Classes: These are broad groups of funds. When you look at detailed information about a fund, Mutual Fund Finder assigns one of these classes (also called "objectives") to each fund on your list.

For a detailed description of the basic asset classes, click on a topic:

Domestic stocks

International stocks

Domestic bonds

Global bonds

Other

Extended Asset Classes: If you are looking for a fund with a specific objective, Mutual Fund Finder lists Morningstar's broad range of investment objectives, from the most popular (such as Asset Allocation and Aggressive Growth) to the lesser known (such as Short-term World Income).

Morningstar determines a fund's class by reviewing information in the fund's prospectus or studying how a fund is marketed.

For detailed descriptions of these objectives, see:

Extended Asset Classes

Selecting specific classes on a list.  Mutual Fund Finder is preset to include all classes in the list when you select an asset class type. You can limit your search to a particular class or a group of classes.

First, select an asset class type (either Basic Asset Classes or Extended Asset Classes). Next, click Clear All. Then, to select one class, click it. To select more than one class, press the Ctrl key as you click the classes you want to include.


Find Fund by Criteria command

Opens the Summary screen for Mutual Fund Finder. You can change your search criteria here. Then press Search to have Mutual Fund Finder create a list of funds that meet your criteria.


Find Fund by Name or Symbol command

If you know the name of the fund you want information about, you can enter it in the Search for a Fund by Name or Symbol dialog.

If you aren't sure of the entire fund name, enter the first word or two of a fund's name, followed by a space. Mutual Fund Finder provides a list of funds that begin with the words you entered.


Search for Help on
Search for Help On command

Searches in Help for information related to topics on which you want more information.

Enter the topic or select it from the list in the Search dialog box. Then click Show Topics to see related topics.

To display a particular topic from the list of topics, select it and then click the Go To.


Import command

Imports the ticker symbols of the mutual funds you track in Quicken to Mutual Fund Finder.

The symbol you assign to a fund in Quicken must match the symbol that Mutual Fund Finder uses. If a symbol doesn't match, the fund cannot be imported to Mutual Fund Finder.


Importing mutual fund symbols from Quicken

You can import fund symbols from Quicken to Mutual Fund Finder at any time. Go back to the Import tab and import the symbols.

1.	From the Search Results window, click Criteria.

2.	Select the Import tab.

3.	(Optional) Click Browse to select a Quicken file to import fund symbols from.

Mutual Fund Finder is preset to import from the latest Quicken file you've used. You can select a different file here.

4.	Click Import.

Mutual Fund Finder lets you know how many fund symbols have been sent from Quicken.


Software License Agreement

Important

Intuit Inc. ("Intuit") is willing to license this software, user manual and related materials (the "Software") only on the condition that you agree to all the terms of this agreement. Please read these terms carefully. After reading the terms, if you agree to them and do not return the Software as described below your use of the Software will be governed by this Agreement.  If you do not agree to these terms, return the Software and your dated proof of receipt to Intuit within sixty (60) days from your purchase of the Software for a full refund.

License and certain restrictions

You may use the Software on a single computer. You may copy the Software only for backup purposes, provided that you reproduce all copyright and other proprietary notices that are on the original copy of the Software. You may transfer the Software and all rights under this Agreement to another party together with a copy of this Agreement if the other party agrees to accept the terms of this Agreement. If you transfer the Software, you must at the same time either transfer all copies whether in printed or machine-readable form to the same party or destroy any copies not transferred.

You may not copy the Software, nor print copies of any related material.  The Software contains trade secrets, and in order to protect them you may not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise reduce the Software to human-perceivable form.  You may not modify adapt, translate, rent sublicense, assign, lease, loan, resell for proof, distribute, or network the Software, disk or related materials or create derivative works based upon the software or any part thereof.

Title, ownership rights, and intellectual property rights in and to the Software belongs to Intuit and its licensors.  The Software is protected by the copyright laws of the United States and international copyright treaties.  Title, ownership rights and intellectual property rights in and to the content accessed through the Software is the property of Intuit, and where applicable, to the licensor content owners and may be protected by applicable copyright or other law.  This Agreements gives you no rights to such content.

Disk warranty and limitation of liability

The sole warranty regarding the Software is that the original disk is free from physical defects in material and workmanship, assuming proper use, for a period of sixty (60) days from date of your purchase.  If such defect occurs during this period, you may return your faulty disk to Intuit, along with a dated proof of purchase.  If such defect occurs after 60 days from the date of your purchase, you may send the defective disc together with a check for $15.00 made payable to Intuit.  (For all orders shipped within the U.S., please add all applicable state and local sales tax for the product as well as tax on shipping and handling. Any unpaid tax will be charged back to you.)

Under no circumstances, and under no legal theory, tort, contract or otherwise, will  Intuit or its licensors, be liable to you for any damages, including any lost profits, lost data or other indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages, arising out of the use or inability to use the Software or any data supplied, even if Intuit, its licensors or authorized Intuit dealer has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other party.   This limitation of liability shall not apply to liability for death or personal I injury to the extent applicable law prohibits such limitation.  Furthermore, some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation  of incidental or consequential damages so this limitation and exclusion may not apply to you.

Your sole and exclusive remedy for any breach of warranty is that Intuit Inc. will at its option either refund you or replace your Software so long as you return the Software with a copy of your dated proof of purchase.  Except for the express warranty of the original disks set forth above, this software is provided "As-Is"  and you accept the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Software.  To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Intuit and its licensors, disclaim all other warranties, express or implied, by statute or otherwise, regarding the Software, including the fitness for a particular purpose,  quality, merchantability, or their noninfringement. No oral or written information or advice given by Intuit and its licensors, their respective employees, distributors, dealers or agents shall increase the scope of the above warranties or create any new warranties. The liability of Intuit or its licensors under the warranty set forth above is limited to the amount paid by the customer for the product.  Some states do not allow this exclusion of implied warranties, so the exclusion may not apply to you.  In that event, any implied warranties are limited in duration to 60 days from the date of your purchase of the Software.

Government Licensee

If you are acquiring the Software on behalf of any unit or agency of the United States Government, this provision applies. The Government acknowledges Intuit's representation that the Software and its documentation were developed at private expense and no part of them is in the public domain. The Government acknowledge Intuit's representation that the Software and its documentation were developed at private expense and no part of them is in the public domain. The Government acknowledges Intuit's representation that the Software is "Restricted Computer Software" as that term is defined in Clause 52.227-19 of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and is "Commercial Computer Software" as that term is defined in Subpart 227.401 of the Department of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS). The Government agrees that:

If the Software is supplied to the Department of Defense (DoD), the Software is classified as "Commercial Computer Software" and the Government is acquiring only "restricted rights" in the Software and its documentation as that term is defined in Clause 52.227-7013(c)(1) of the DFARS, and If the Software is supplied to any unit or agency of the United States Government other than DoD, the Government's rights in the Software and its documentation will be as defined in Clause 52.227-19(c)(2) of the FAR.

Restricted Rights Legend

Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at DFARS 52.227-7013, and when applicable subparagraphs (a) through (d) of the Commercial Computer-Restricted rights clause at FAR 52.227-19, and in similar clauses in the NASA FAR Supplement.

Intuit Inc.

66 Willow Place, P.O. Box 3014

Menlo Park, CA 94026-3014

Export law assurances

You acknowledge and agree that the Software is subject to restrictions and controls imposed by the United States Export Administration Act (the "Act") and the regulations thereunder. You agree and certify that neither the Software nor any direct product thereof is being or will be acquired, shipped, transferred or exported, directly or indirectly, into any country prohibited by the Act and the regulations thereunder or will be used for any purpose prohibited by the same.

Certain limitations

This Software does not recommend or endorse any specific investment, investment strategy, or guarantee the performance of any investment.  Although the Software may provide some general financial guides, Intuit and its licensors do not endorse, recommend or give any investment or financial advice regarding the nature, potential value, or merits to any investment, transaction or strategy or financial condition.  The Software contains preset values and assumptions, together with dated content which may not be relevant to your particular financial situation.  Consequently, neither Intuit nor its licensors represent, warrant, or guarantee the accuracy and timeliness of the content contained in the Software.   Intuit and its licensors will have no responsibility of any kind to you, or to any other party, on account of any inaccuracies in or untimeliness of the data, or for any delay in such data contained in the Software.  Various information in the Software constantly changes, and the information in the software is only current as of a particular date or time.   You may not rely on the Software without confirming research from other sources, obtaining current information, separate analysis by you for your  own particular investment or financial situation.  Intuit and its licensors can not warrant that the operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or error free, that the software will meet your requirements.  Intuit, its licensors, officers, directors, agents, employees, distributors or dealers are not responsible for any financial losses due to the direct or indirect use of this software.

Miscellaneous

This Agreement will be governed by the internal laws of the State of California. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable, that provision will be removed and the remaining provisions will remain in full force. This Agreement is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between us which supersedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written, and any other communications between us is relation to the subject matter of this Agreement.

If you have any questions concerning this Agreement, you may contact Intuit by writing to Intuit Inc., P. O. Box 3014, Menlo Park,  CA 94026-3014, Attn: Legal Department.

You acknowledge that, in providing you with the Software, Intuit and its licensors rely upon you to read this Agreement, understand it, and agree to be bound by its terms and not those contained in your purchase order.


Print Setup Command

This window displays the name of your current printer and other printer settings. If you'd like to change to a different printer or change printer settings, such as paper size and page orientation, you can do that here.


Exit command

Saves your Search Results list and the criteria you've selected and closes Mutual Fund Finder. Double-clicking the Control-menu box has the same effect as choosing this command.


Cascade command

Arranges open windows in an overlapping pattern, so that the title bar of each window is visible.


Arrange Icons command

Arranges icons in the main Mutual Fund Finder window in rows.

You can shrink any window to an icon by minimizing it.


About command
About Mutual Fund Finder command

Displays the Mutual Fund Finder version number and copyright notice.

If you need to call Technical Support to report a problem, the representative will probably ask you for the version number.


Contents
Contents command

Displays the table of contents for the Help system.


Quicken Deluxe Gateway command

Displays a menu listing most applications on the CD-ROM disk. Simply click a menu item to go to the application. Click Deluxe Index to go to the complete index for the CD-ROM.


Search Results
Search Results window

From this window, you can move between the Search Results list and the Next Steps tabs.

Select the tab you'd like to learn more about:

Search Results

Next Steps


Details window

From this window, you can move between the detail summary window and detail graph window for a particular fund.

Select the tab you'd like to learn more about:

Fund detail (summary)

Fund detail (graph)


1, 2, Command
1, 2, ... command

Mutual Fund Finder displays a list of currently open document windows at the bottom of the Window menu.  A check mark appears in front of the document name of the active window.  Choose a document from this list to make its window active.


Help
Help command

Click to display Help for the window you currently have opened.


Print setup

This window displays the name of your current printer and other printer settings. If you'd like to change to a different printer or change the settings, you can do that here.

Use the Print Setup to make these changes:

What you see:

Printer

Orientation

Paper

Options

Network


Printer

To print to a different printer, select it from the drop-down list.

If your printer is not listed, use the Windows Control Panel to install the printer driver for your printer. See your Microsoft Windows User's Guide for installation instructions.


Orientation

Click Portrait to print in a vertical format. Click Landscape to print in a horizontal format.


Paper

The Paper Size box sets your printer's default paper or form size.

The Paper Source box sets the default paper input tray or option.

You can use the Auto Select setting if your printer has more than one paper tray.

You can also use the Auto Select setting if you print on more than one size of paper. For example, you can use a letter-size paper tray for one tray and a legal-size paper tray for the other. When you choose letter paper from Financial Address Book, the printer will automatically select the letter-size paper tray.


Options

Click Options to change settings that are specific to the printer model you are using.


Network

Click Network to change a printer connection or set printer options.


Print

This window displays the name of the active printer and the printer connection.

What you can do here

  In the Print Range box, specify the pages you want to print.

•	Select All to print the entire document.

•	Select Pages if you want to print just some pages. Type page numbers separated by commas, or a range of pages with a hyphen between the page numbers. For example, to print pages 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8, type 2,4-6,8.

  Change the print quality. You can choose High, Medium, or Low from the drop-down list.

  Select the Collate Copies checkbox if you want pages organized when you print multiple copies.

  Click Setup to open the Print Setup window. Go there to select a printer and a printer connection. You can also control default printer settings for the selected printer.