Top 10 Best Government Bond Mutual Funds 2012

Bond mutual funds can be attractive for income seeking investors. There are various bond mutual funds. One of the safest bond funds is government bond mutual funds. Some of the best government bond mutual funds are: Wasatch-Hoisington US Treasury, PIMCO Long-Term US Government A, T. Rowe Price US Treasury Long-Term, etc. More fund review can be found below.

Intro

There are two major types of bond mutual funds. They are government bond funds and corporate bond funds. These bond funds can be either U.S. bond funds or foreign bond funds. Government bond mutual funds are considered to be the safest class of investments in this fixed income fund category. These funds mostly hold a portfolio of securities issued by the US Treasury and other government agencies. These government bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the US government.

Compare to corporate bond funds, these government bond funds have low yields hence the associated risk is also much smaller. In addition, many of these fixed incomes are exempt from state and local taxes. Using mutual funds, investor can get a well-diversified portfolio and significantly reduce the risk associated with their investment.

Best Government Bond Mutual Funds

The following best performing mutual funds are sorted based on its long term performance. You can also find other fund review information such as: fund management, yield, expense ratio, investment objective, top sector, performance, etc.

ING Value Choice Fund (PAVAX) Class A

There are three types of large cap US stock mutual funds: large blend, large value, and large growth. Large Blend funds returns are often similar to those of the S&P 500 Index. One of the top large blend stock mutual funds is ING Value Choice fund. You can find the review below.

ING Value Choice A (PAVAX)

The investment aim of ING Value Choice fund is to achieve long-term capital appreciation. This U.S. stock fund invests mainly in undervalued equity securities of companies with varying market capitalizations of any size. It may invest include common and preferred stocks, depositary receipts, and convertible securities.

Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: 02/01/2005
• Ticker Symbol: PAVAX
• CUSIP: 44980Q708
• Beta (3yr): 0.85
• Rank in category (YTD): 8%
• Category: Large Blend
• Yield: 0.76%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.39%
• Net Assets: $ 832.83 million
• Number of Years Up: 4 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 66%

Updated on 4/10/2012

Top 6 Best Health Sector Stock Mutual Funds 2012

One of the defensive sector mutual funds is health sector. Investing in these health mutual funds provides a chance for investor to protect their portfolio during good or bad market conditions. Some of the best health mutual funds are: T. Rowe Price Health Sciences, Prudential Jennison Health Sciences A, Fidelity Select Biotechnology, etc.

Health Sector Funds

Investors often rest on on the healthcare sector to defend their valuable investments during a bad market environment. Healthcare and related services continue in demand during difficult market conditions and are a safe haven in difficult times. Several pharmaceutical industries also distribute regular dividends, which help in combating losses from falling stock values.

Choosing health mutual funds are the right selection for investors looking to enter this sector. There is other investment funds can be used as well such as exchange traded funds (ETFs), and closed end funds (CEFs).

Best Health Mutual Funds

Selecting the best health mutual funds is done by looking into the fund long term performance. You will also find other fund review such as fund’s manager, sales load, expense ratio, dividend yield, top holding, Morningstar rating, etc.

Top 6 Best Currency Mutual Funds 2012

Investing in local (USD) or foreign currencies can be done not only through forex account. Investors can also choose various investment funds such as mutual funds and exchange traded funds to invest in this sector. Some of the best currency mutual funds are: Merk Hard Currency Investor, Franklin Templeton Hard Currency A, PIMCO Emerging Markets Currency A, etc.

Intro

As we know, the currency market is the largest and the most liquid market in the world. If you have always wanted to invest in the Forex, or the currency market, forex account is not the only place for investment. There are various alternatives available through investment funds.

Foreign currency mutual funds are appropriate for any investors who wish to venture on a currency and who would like to hedge a currency. If you know about mutual funds, you may be surprise to learn that there are various foreign currency mutual funds. Investors are also taking on the added risk on the currency’s exchange rate by investing in currency mutual funds.

Currency mutual funds objective is to track the value of a currency against another currency, minus the management fees or expense ratio fees. Most currency mutual funds track a currency against the US Dollar (US$ or USD). If you are an American and decide to invest in the emerging markets, you could invest in an emerging markets local currency mutual fund. You may also invest in other currency mutual funds.

WHV International Equity A Fund (WHVAX)

WHV International Equity fund is one of top ranked foreign large blend stock mutual funds. Considered as international stock mutual funds, this WHVAX fund invests mainly in non US companies with growth potential. More review can be found below.

WHV International Equity A (WHVAX)

The WHV International Equity fund seeks to achieve long-term capital growth. This mutual fund generally invests in a combination of equity securities of foreign companies with a potential for earnings growth. This stock fund may focus its investments in specific sectors or industries and may not have exposure to all economic sectors.

Fund Profile

• Inception Date: 07/31/2009
• Ticker Symbol: WHVAX
• CUSIP: 360873871
• Beta (3yr): 1.09
• Rank in category (YTD): 14%
• Category: Foreign Large Blend
• Yield: 0.18%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.50%
• Net Assets: $ 274.86 million
• Number of Years Up: 1 year
• Number of Years Down: 1 year
• Annual Turnover Rate: 2.2%

Updated on 3/23/2012

Top 8 Best Energy Sector Equity Mutual Funds 2012

Mutual funds investing in energy sector have shown tremendous long term prospects and should be part of any diversified portfolios. Some of the best energy equity mutual funds are: Invesco Energy Investor, Waddell & Reed Energy A, Ivy Energy A, Vanguard Energy Inv, etc.

Intro

The last five years, energy sector equity mutual funds have outperformed the next closest US domestic equity fund category by a huge margin. Most of this success is attributable to the oil and natural gas sectors. As part of non-renewable energy, the fast depleting reserves coupled with rising demand have headed to a solid increase in both commodity and stock prices. By investing in Energy mutual funds, investor can greatly reduce the risk involved in investing in this sector because they hold widely diversified portfolios.

Top Energy Stock Mutual Funds

These best equity energy funds are ranked based on its long term performance. You will find some of the fund review from this article: Other information about these energy sector stock funds are: management, sales load, yield, annual holding turnover, initial investment, total net assets, fund objective, top stocks, etc.

Best Global Real Estate Equity Mutual Funds 2012

As part of diversified portfolio component, real estate plays an important role in investment world. Investing in global real estate mutual funds is one of the smart ideas for investor to achieve better goals. The best global REIT mutual funds include: Invesco Global Real Estate Income A, Prudential Global Real Estate A, Cohen & Steers Emerging Markets Real Estate, etc.

Global Real Estate Funds

Investing in real estate sector can be done through several vehicles. Investor can buy real estate asset by purchasing a house or rental house. The other alternative is by purchasing investment funds such as mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), and closed end funds (CEFs). Using these investment funds, investor can easily diversify his/her portfolio. This article will focus on real estate mutual funds especially global real estate mutual funds.

There are two types of real estate mutual funds or REIT funds such as US real estate mutual funds and global real estate mutual funds. Global real estate mutual funds invest mainly in non-U.S. real estate securities, however it may also invest in U.S. real estate stocks / bonds. This global REIT funds may purchase debt and equity securities, convertible securities, and other real estate investment trusts (REITs) entities.