In December 2006, I decided I wanted to start doing a little investing outside of my 401k. I'd tried holding individual stocks before and they were always hit or miss. I wanted to find a good mutual fund with low fees, a good track record for performance, and low initial fund minimums.
I opened an account with E*Trade and starting doing a lot of research. I'd heard about the Ariel Funds from a friend of mine and decided to check it out. Here are the essentials:
- Ticker ARGFX
- 3 star overall rating by Morningstar
- Midcap Blend Fund
- No Transaction Fee fund thru E*trade.
- No sales charge
- Low risk fund
- Expense Ratio of 1.03%
So far, even with the recent market turbulence, I have been very happy with the performance of the fund. Usually, I try to shy away from investing decisions from my friends as they tend to chase the "next big thing". This time, they got it right. Listening to my friends allowed me to pick up a nice stable fund that I can keep for the long haul.
Do you have a favorite investment you would like to share?
P.S. I am not an financial professional and if you choose to invest in the Ariel Fund, you are doing so at your own risk. I am not responsible for any losses you may incur.
You should consider looking into ETF's -- they're very similar to mutual funds, but they let you keep more of your interest earnings.