A mutual fund is a company that buys securities, which are stocks, bonds, money markets, etc. The company employs professional fund advisers that spend their days buying and selling the securities that will make them and their clients money. When an investor buys a share of a mutual fund, they are buying a share of that company.

Mutual Funds Make Investing Convenient

Every business show, investment section of a paper, investment articles online and in magazines explain that diversification is key to investing. Mutual funds make diversification automatic. Diversification is the dispersal of an investor's portfolio funds across different securities, industries, and growth objectives. Diversifying reduces the volatility of an investor's portfolio, and if one company tanks, the investor's other shares in other companies will help keep the portfolio more stable than if the investor had all or most of their money in the failed company, especially if the other companies are doing well.