Mutual Funds vs. Shares

Hi,

If one purchases a mutual fund, is this considered the equivalent of purchasing securities that are part of that fund?

Would it be accurate to say the one owns stocks if one only owns them via mutual fund? Would one then be allowed to vote for the board of directors if one only own the stock of a specific company through a mutual fund?

Thanks.

9 Comments
 

Hi Chasxy, any of these threads helpful:

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Or maybe the following users have something to say: H.R.M.-Oomens @tradek1ng" @eddiemac33"

I hope those threads give you a bit more insight.

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Thanks. I guess what I meant was that if I bought interest in an equity fund, or an index fund, such as an S&P fund, is the purchase of interest in such funds considered the equivalent of purchasing the shares included in such a fund?

For example, if purchase a fund that includes shares of IBM. Is this considered the same as owning shares of IBM outright? Would I have voting rights with IBM like I would if I purchased shares of IBM?

Thank you.

 
Best Response

Most mutual funds are not really set up to beat the index. They want to gather assets and marketing.

So than can mean having a few good years on small size then sizing up the fund and becoming an index tracker. Or I’ve seen funds that end up owning what’s popular right now. So buying high. Selling low but when someone purchases the shares you see the big positions being recent winners.

There are some mutual funds I’d be interested in. Bill millers new fund looks interesting but fees are high. I sort of believe something he said that the market right now is tough to beat short term but over a 4-10 year horizon there are good ideas, but most funds are not set up like that.

You also run into tax issues on mutual funds. If they buy and sell you pay taxes on gains like you traded it yourself. ETFs have a different set up so you only pay tax when you buy or sell the etf.

Overall majority of etfs are superior, but there are a few managers I’d might consider.

For bonds though you are better off buying a manager. They have a lot of ways to beat indexes that are not available to equity funds.

 

Who cares. Its not like you're going to vote if you could (for most retail holders if not you), your share count likely is also too low to matter or have any real influence even if you could vote even via direct ownership.

Anyway. You own the mutual fund "security". The fund manager (like BlackRock) trades IBM under their fund, the shares are custodied elsewhere (like StateStreet). You don't get to vote typically. The fund manager legally/typically steals your ability to vote and they do the voting instead.

 

Mutual funds are the biggest scam ever

Most of those funds are sampling and indexing and on top of that they charge you loads and MER.

Wtf?

I can just buy the exact same stocks in the S&P 500 and say "hey guys, I have a mutual fund! give me your money!" and sit on my ass all day.

I honestly never understood the point of buying a unit that tracks the index.

It's all very good marketing. People who don't understand investments think it's the thing to do.

anyways, technically NO you cannot vote since mutual funds are set up as trusts.

 

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