Bond Mutual Funds

When investing you have to take into account risk. Risk is the possibility that you will incur loss. When it comes to investing, if you invest in a high risk security, it is very likely that you will lose money. When investing, you want to have the lowest possible risk with the highest possible return. You want to make the most money without having to worry about losing any money.

Some investments have more risk than others. For example, let's say you have an extra $10,000 that you want to invest. You have two friends that want to start a business and each need $10,000 in start up costs. One friend is very reliable and already has a successful business, but is expanding. Even if they fail, you are confident they will pay you back. You have low risk.

The other friend has borrowed money from you before and didn't always pay you back. Sometimes it was just $20 they borrowed for lunch, but somehow they just conveniently forgot about it. They want to borrow the money for their new business that they feel confident about, and they swear they will pay you back. Unfortunately, they have failed in past businesses and didn't pay back the money they borrowed.

The second friend is very risky, but to you, their business idea sounds incredible. You could see it making a lot of money and you're friend promises that you can share half of the profits. On the other hand, your first friend has a pretty ordinary idea and they promise they'll pay you back with 8% interest.

You have a lot more risk in the second friend, but you will make a lot more money with them. You have almost no risk with the first friend, but you're only going to make 8%, no matter how well the business does. You have to decide if you are willing to take the risk on more profit.

This is similar to the difference between investing in a stock mutual fund and a bond mutual fund. If you invest in a conservative bond money, you will probably not lose any money, but you are pretty much guaranteed a low return. If you invest in the stock fund, you can make a lot more, but you might not.

A bond mutual fund is better for conservative investors who are nearing retirement. They don't want to risk too much money because they know they will need to rely on that money in the near future. Bonds are a better bet because they are much less risky and less likely to lose money.

Those in their 20s and early 30s, should invest solely in stock funds in order to make as much money as possible. As they get older, they should gradually shift into more conservative investments.

By: Samantha Asher

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Are you interested in investing in bond mutual funds? Learn more about them and other mutual funds such as money market mutual funds. Learn whatever you can and start investing!