Going with a Big Family
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Going with a Big Family
When buying your first fund, you might start with one of the larger fund families. Why? The giant funds are closely monitored by the media and by investors. Intense public scrutiny has made it difficult for these shops to wield really poor players for too long; and while it’s unlikely their funds will top the charts year in and year out, they’re generally reliable.
Things To Know
- The big families boast a range of offerings.
- Not all big funds are well diversified.
Why big fund families are popular
Going with one of the bigger families has another benefit: your first fund may not be your last fund, and the big families boast a range of offerings, from domestic large- and small-company funds to international options; taxable and tax-free bond offerings to single-sector funds. It’s possible to build an entire portfolio from just one family.
But don’t confuse "big" with "diversified." While many of the biggest families do offer international funds and bond funds, for example, many of them are generally large-growth specialists. You won’t find much variety there.
Research firms such as Morningstar can help. To see how much variety a family offers, try using their Websites or tools to search for all of the funds available from a given family.