Types of Mutual Funds

Types of Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are divided into two categories: closed-end and open-end.
Closed-end funds have a limited number of shares. If you want to purchase a piece of the fund, you have to purchase an existing share.
Open-end funds have an unlimited number of shares. If you want to purchase a piece of the fund, the fund creates a new share and sells it to you. There are significantly more open-end funds than there are closed-end funds.
Now that you know what types of mutual funds are available, how are those mutual funds classified?

Mutual-fund Classification
Mutual funds are classified by various groups and institutions, but Morningstar is the industry standard when it comes to mutual-fund classification. Morningstar has two classification systems: the Morningstar Style BoxTM and Morningstar Categories.
The Morningstar Style BoxTM is a 3×3 grid that categorizes equity-based mutual funds by the style and size of the equities they hold and fixed-income mutual funds by the duration and quality of the fixed-income instruments they hold.
Mutual funds can also be classified according to the following 48 predetermined categories based on the assets held by the fund:
Diversified Emerging Markets
Diversified Foreign
Diversified World
Europe
General Intermediate-Term
General Long-Term
General Short-Term
General Ultrashort-Term
Government Intermediate-Term
Government Long-Term
Government Short-Term
International Hybrid
Japan
Large Blend
Large Growth
Large Value
Latin America
Mid Blend
Mid Growth
Mid Value
Muni California Intermediate-Term
Muni California Long-Term
Muni National Intermediate-Term
Muni National Long-Term
Muni New York Intermediate-Term
Muni New York Long-Term
Muni Short-Term
Muni Single State Intermediate-Term
Muni Single State Long-Term
Pacific/Asia
Pacific/Asia (ex Japan)
Small Blend
Small Growth
Small Value
Specialty Precious Metals
Specialty Communications
Specialty Emerging Markets Bond
Specialty Financial
Specialty Health
Specialty High-Yield
Specialty International Bond
Specialty Multisector
Specialty Natural Resources
Specialty Real Estate
Specialty Technology
Specialty Utilities
U.S. Hybrid
Now that you know how mutual funds are classified, how can you measure a mutual fund’s performance?

Understanding Mutual Funds

Understanding Mutual Funds
Before you can successfully invest in mutual funds, you need to understand what they are and how they work. Let’s take a look at the basics so you can learn what will make a difference in your portfolio’s performance and what won’t. We’ll start from the beginning—what is a mutual fund?
Mutual Fund
A mutual fund, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), “is a company that brings together money from many people and invests it in stocks, bonds or other assets.” In other words, a mutual fund is like a basket, and that basket holds assets, like stocks. When you buy a mutual fund, you purchase a piece of the fund, or basket. You do not actually own any of the assets the mutual fund owns.
But while you may not own the assets themselves, they are important because the value of the fund is based on the value of the assets it holds. As the stocks, bonds and so on within the fund increase in value, the fund increases in value. Conversely, as the stocks, bonds and so on within the fund decrease in value, the fund also decreases in value.

Now that you know what a mutual fund is, what are the benefits of mutual funds?
Benefits
Mutual funds offer two key benefits: diversification and professional management.

Diversification means owning many different assets at one time. Mutual funds offer instant diversification because each fund, or basket, owns multiple stocks, bonds and so on. When you buy a piece of the fund, you essentially buy a piece of every asset held by the fund.>

Professional management means that somebody who spends a lot more time analyzing financial markets than you do will be helping you invest your money.

Now that you know what the benefits of mutual funds are, what types of mutual funds are available?

UPDATE 1-Lonmin fears sackings could re-ignite S. Africa violence

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Platinum producer Lonmin fears that sacking 3,000 striking South African mine workers, who face a Tuesday deadline to report back to their posts, could lead to more violence after police last week shot dead 34 miners in scenes reminiscent of apartheid bloodshed.
Most of the strikers stayed off the job, saying they had sacrificed too much to return. Police helicopters hovered over Lonmin's Marikana mine, about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, while heavily armed officers patrolled the property.
The world's third-biggest platinum producer Lonmin said about a third of its 28,000 workers at the Marikana mine had returned to work - not enough to extract ore.
Thousands of workers remained off the job due in part to lingering safety concerns and uncertainty if there would anything for them to do since the 3,000 strikers were mostly rock drill operators who are at the front line of breaking up the masses of underground stone
Crowds of workers, watched closely by police, gathered near the site of the shooting, ignoring the company's threat of punishments that could ultimately lead to job losses.

Obama warns Syria of ‘enormous consequences’ over use of chemical, biological weapons

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama said Monday the U.S. would reconsider its opposition to military involvement in the Syrian civil war if President Bashar Assad’s beleaguered regime deploys or uses chemical or biological weapons. He called such action a “red line” for the United States.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Obama said the use of such weapons of mass destruction would considerably widen a conflict that has already dragged on for a year-and-a-half and killed some 20,000 people, according to activists. Syria possesses extensive chemical and biological weapons stockpiles and has threatened to use them if the country comes under foreign attack.
“That’s an issue that doesn’t just concern Syria. It concerns our close allies in the region, including Israel. It concerns us,” Obama said, also acknowledging the possibility that militant groups might acquire some of those weapons. “We cannot have a situation where chemical or biological weapons are falling into the hands of the wrong people.”
The president noted that he has not ordered any armed U.S. intervention yet, but said: “We have communicated in no uncertain terms with every player in the region, that that’s a red line for us, and that there would be enormous consequences if we start seeing movement on the chemical weapons front, or the use of chemical weapons. That would change my calculations significantly.”
The remarks outlined for the first time the point at which the administration could feel forced to intervene militarily in Syria’s increasingly messy war, even if Obama stopped short of saying WMD use would necessarily prompt an American military response.
His administration has been reluctant to get too involved in Syria’s spiraling violence out of fear that it would further militarize the conflict and worsen chances of a political solution. Continued deadlock at the United Nations means there is no clear mandate for the U.S. to help patrol Syrian airspace to stop airstrikes on rebel outposts, as Sen. John McCain and others have urged. And administration officials insist they know too little about much of Syria’s opposition to start providing them weapons.
In issuing its threat last month, Syria acknowledged for the first time that it has what is believed to be among the biggest chemical and biological weapons programs in the world. Assad’s military regime is believed to have mustard gas like the type used by Saddam Hussein against Iran and Iraq’s Kurdish minority in the 1980s, as well as nerve agents such as tabun, sarin and VX that can be delivered in missiles, bombs, rockets, artillery shells or other large munitions.
Obama said U.S. officials were monitoring the situation “very carefully,” and have assembled a range of contingency plans.

Nigeria: Fun Seekers Besiege Bar Beach Despite Ocean Surge - Four More Bodies Recovered

Lagos — Large numbers of fun seekers besieged the Bar beach in Lagos yesterday despite the state government's warning to residents of the state to move away from the beach as a result of the wave from the ocean which has already claimed over 15 lives.

Meanwhile, four more bodies have been recovered, bringing the number of the dead recovered from last Saturday's ocean surge disaster to eight.

When Daily Trust visited the Bar beach, an adjoining beach from the Kuramo beach yesterday , the bodies were lying on the sand-filled shore of the beach.

They were covered up, and awaiting evacuation by officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA).

Three men were identified by residents as security officials working with the management of the ocean while the fourth body, a kid was yet to be identified at the time Daily Trust left the scene.

The state government has demolished all the structures and shanties at the Kuramo beach while work is in progress to sand-fill and reclaim it. The state's Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Prince Segun Oniru, told Daily Trust that divers would continue to search for bodies of the missing people. He said government has warned people living in the area several times to move away, but they refused.

He said the Eko Atlantic project has nothing to do with the strong wave.

"Lagos coast line is about 182-183 kilometres of 852 coastlines in Nigeria. The project has nothing to do whatsoever with the project. On the contrary, if you look at the Ahmadu Bello way today, there is no problem there because of the permanent solution the state government put in place," he said.

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About Felix Asibor Felix

I am an Engineering graduate from University of Benin, Benin City. 1987.My secondary school days were spent in Edo College, Benin City.

I am currently a corporate member Nigeria society of Engineers with registration number 11882 ,also a chartered engineer with COREN Registration number R. 9849. I am married with Kids, we live in Africa.

I have gone through various project management training such as 

Ø  Project Management training for Engineers SPONSORED BY SHELL,

Ø  Contract Administration course

Ø  Enhanced contract management course,

Ø  Construction management course,

Ø  HSE Competence development course -level 3

Ø  Report writing & Time management,

Ø  Window XP,

Ø  AutoCAD,

Ø  Scaffolding & Inspection in construction etc.

While working as SENIOR CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER [with an indigenous company] ,Seconded to Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited,i am committed to:

Ø  Supervising all UUEDP civil and allied activities in line with Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental (QHSE) procedures.

Ø  Ensuring adherence to Quality Standards in all UUED projects with effective implementation of Quality management tools on project site.

Ø  Review of contractor`s method statement for various activities in UUEDP

Ø  Ensuring that there is PTW for every activity on site before commencement of work.

Ø  Assisting to Manage and close out all unsafe Act and unsafe conditions through hazard identification report. [HIR].

Ø  Participating in monthly and weekly HSE  meetings on site.

Nature of Projects:

SODA (Southern Swamp Associated Gas, OK NLG, Domestic Gas and Associated Gas Solutions) is a multi-project organisation responsible for delivering domestic gas supply projects (East and West Of Niger Delta in Nigeria). Associated Gas Solution projects, in identified fields and other oil and gas facilities/infrastructure projects. The projects are at various stages of implementation in different offshore and onshore locations.

12.5 km length of domestic gas pipeline [ bulk line, test line and return line]

Reinforced concrete foundation works for Chemical injection package and rain water shelter, Export gas scrubber, FAR electrical and instrument, Pig launcher and Pig receiver (NAG 1 & 2) etc

 I am also involved in internent marketing business as residual income source.
Felix Asibor Felix