First Investors Tax-Exempt II Fund (EIITX) Class A

This next article you will find the fund review of First Investors Tax Exempt II fund which is one of national municipal bond mutual funds. If you want a tax free income, you should choose municipal bond. Using mutual fund, investors can diversify their investment in this muni bond.

First Investors Tax-Exempt II A (MUTF: EIITX)

The First Investors Tax Exempt II fund objective is to provide a high level of interest income exempt from federal income tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax. This fixed income fund typically invests only in high quality municipal securities that are rated as investment grade at the time of purchase. The fund will purchase bonds with maturities of 15 years or more.

First Investors Tax Exempt II

Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: July 26, 1990
• Ticker Symbol: EIITX
• CUSIP: 30157P300
• Beta (3yr): 1.27
• Rank in category (YTD): 10%
• Category: Muni National Interm
• Yield: 3.59%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.01%
• Net Assets: $ 240.82 million
• Number of Years Up: 18 years
• Number of Years Down: 3 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 91%

Updated on 5/26/2012

Best Fidelity Mutual Funds 2012

The top 10 best Fidelity Mutual Funds of 2012 are Fidelity Mega Cap Stock, Fidelity Total Bond, Fidelity Small Cap Discovery, etc. This post will provide each fund review (stock and bond).

Intro

Mutual funds are one type of the investment funds. Mutual funds combine money from various investors and invest the money in stocks, bonds, money market, or the combination. These mutual funds may be managed by a portfolio manager or passively managed based on index.

One of the popular mutual fund families is Fidelity Investments. Fidelity offers wide selection of mutual funds. There are several of categories to choose from. Some of the categories are domestic stock fund, international stock fund, municipal bond fund, emerging market stock fund, real estate equity fund, diversified bond fund, high yield bond, and balanced fund. There are 263 Fidelity mutual funds; currently there are 238 mutual funds that are open to new investors.

Best Fidelity Mutual Funds

These best Fidelity mutual funds are selected based on the following criteria:

• It has no transaction fees or sales load
• It provides diversification into variety of asset allocation
• It has good performance history
• It has low minimum initial investment requirement of $2,500

You will find other fund information and review such as fund management, expense ratio fee, Morningstar rating, fund performance, top holdings, etc. You can buy these best Fidelity mutual funds by opening Fidelity brokerage account online. They also offers 30 free commission iShares exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Top 10 Best Fidelity Mutual Funds of 2012 are:

1. Fidelity Mega Cap Stock Fund (FGRTX)
2. Fidelity Small Cap Discovery Fund (FSCRX)
3. Fidelity International Discovery Fund (FIGRX)

Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities A (NVOAX) Fund

Having large cap US stock mutual funds can be very essential for many investors. One of the best large cap US stock mutual funds are Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities mutual fund.

Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities A (NVOAX)

The investment objective of Nuveen Tradewinds Value Opportunities fund is to seek long-term capital growth. This large blend US stock mutual fund invests mainly in equity securities of US companies with varying market capitalizations (small-, mid-, and large-capitalization companies). It may invest in non-U.S equity securities and in emerging market countries companies stocks.

Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 12/9/2004
• Ticker Symbol: NVOAX
• CUSIP: 67064Y669
• Beta (3yr): 0.86
• Rank in category (YTD): 9%
• Category: Large Blend
• Distribution: 2.19%
• Capital Gains: 0%
• Expense Ratio: 1.20%  
• Net Assets: $ 3.25 billion
• Number of Years Up: 5 years
• Number of Years Down: 2 years
• Annual Turnover Rate: 77%

Updated on 4/20/2012

Columbia Acorn A (LACAX) Fund

One of the growth stock mutual funds category is mid cap growth fund. This stock mutual fund invests mainly in companies with market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. One of popular mutual funds is Columbia Acorn fund.

Columbia Acorn A (Ticker: LACAX)

This Columbia Acorn fund uses its assets to buy small- and mid-sized companies with market capitalizations under $5 billion at the time of purchase. It invests the most of assets in U.S. companies, however also may invest some part of assets (<33%) in foreign companies in developed markets and in emerging markets.

Columbia Acorn Fund

Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: Oct 13, 2000
• Ticker Symbol: LACAX
• CUSIP: 197199102
• Beta (3yr): 1.22
• Rank in category (YTD): 34%
• Category: Mid-Cap Growth
• Distribution Rate: 0.05%
• Capital Gains: 0%

Top 10 Best Closed End Funds 2012 & 2013

This article will provide best closed end funds for 2012 and 2013. They are PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunity fund, DWS Municipal Income Trust fund, John Hancock Tax-Advantage Dividend Income fund, etc. Investors will find best stock and bond CEFs review.

Introduction

Closed-end funds (CEFs) are one of investment funds available for investors. This fund can provide an attractive choice for you to get income and capital growth. These CEFs are traded like stocks during intraday trading. You can buy and sell these funds using your brokerage account.
Note: Brokerages: TD Ameritrade, Schwab, Lightspeed, Zecco, Scottrade, etc.

Most of these closed end funds are managed actively by the fund manager. It may trade either at a discount or premium to its NAV. Currently there are more than 600 closed end funds across various classes. Some of the fund classes are: covered call, core stock, growth stock, value stock, preferred stock, real estate stock, global stock, emerging market stock, convertible, corporate bond, emerging markets bond, mortgage bond, municipal bond, high yield municipal, etc.

Best Closed End Funds

These top closed end funds are chosen based on its performance, expense ratio, fund management, holding turnover. More review can be found below.

The top 10 best closed end funds for 2012 and 2013 are:

1. PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunity (PTY)
2. Templeton Global Income (GIM)
3. PIMCO High Income (PHK)
4. DWS Municipal Income Trust (KTF)

PIMCO Convertible Fund (PACNX)

One of the popular PIMCO mutual funds is PIMCO Convertible fund. This convertible mutual fund invest in variety of convertible securities. You will find this bond mutual fund review below.

PIMCO Convertible A (Ticker: PACNX)

The investment aim of PIMCO Convertible fund is to achieve maximum total return, consistent with prudent investment management. This PIMCO fund uses its assets to purchase a diversified portfolio of convertible securities. It may use forwards or derivatives such as options, futures contracts or swap agreements. This convertible bond fund may invest in both investment-grade and high-yield bonds.

Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: May 31, 2011
• Ticker Symbol: PACNX
• CUSIP: 693391849
• Beta (3yr): 1.06 
• Rank in category (YTD): 66%
• Category: Convertibles
• Yield: N/A

Top 8 Best Bank Loan Mutual Funds 2012

As part of taxable bond mutual funds, bank loan funds provide high income for investors. Some of the best bank loan funds are: Credit Suisse Floating Rate High Income fund, Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage fund, Fidelity Floating Rate High Income fund, etc.

Top Bank Loan Funds

Intro

There are several types of taxable bond mutual funds. They are corporate bond, government bond, multisector bond, bank loan, etc. Bank loan are popular among investors who are concerned about rising interest rates. Bank loans or floating rate loans are debts that offered by banks to companies as part of a leveraged buyout deal.

These bank loan funds have limited interest rate risk, but they have high credit risk. These bond funds typically have low credit quality or non-investment grade rating. They also have higher yield than investment grade rated bond funds.

Best Bank Loan Funds

You find the fund review from this top mutual fund list. Investors can find the fund performance, management, expense fee, sales load, top holding, effective duration, etc.

Top 8 Best Bank Loan Mutual Funds of 2012 are:

1. Credit Suisse Floating Rate High Income A (CHIAX)
2. Eaton Vance Floating-Rate Advantage A (EAFAX)
3. Fidelity Floating Rate High Income (FFRHX)