Even though I've been buying stocks for 15 years, I have been buying mutual funds for just as long. Stocks? Mutual funds? Living together? Definitely. See, stocks and funds aren't exactly like cats and dogs under the same roof -- even though that is certainly a harmonious working relationship in many cases.
It's just that, as much as I trust in my ability to pick some market-thumping stocks and relish the investing lessons that I can muster when I really blow it from time to time, I just can't wean myself off owning the occasional fund or two.
It's as simple as that. With as many mutual funds to choose from as there are stocks on the trading exchanges, do you really think that there isn't a mutual fund out there that could fit into your investing philosophy? If you don't think so, I have four reasons that I think may change your mind.
1. Sharp insight from sharp minds
Through a good chunk of the 1990s, I owned shares in Acorn International and Oakmark Fund. I was a big fan of Oakmark's Robert Sanborn and Acorn's legendary Ralph Wanger. I would look forward to their quarterly updates like some giddy kid breathing against the glass at a candy store. Their market insight was usually on the money. Most importantly, I welcomed the opportunity to learn more about what these savvy money managers were buying and selling. It was through Wanger and Sanborn that I was introduced to great stocks like International Game Technology
These days, you don't need to wait by the mail for your quarterly updates. Many fund families broadcast them online. And even though you don't need to be a shareowner in any particular fund to read through the latest reports, nothing beats the daily interaction of owning a particular equity fund.
2. Treading where your feet never touch the ground
The only fund I own at the moment is Oakmark International Small Cap Fund. I bought in shortly after its inception and have been rewarded nicely over the years. No, you can't follow me there. The fund has been closed to new investors for a few years now. However, there are plenty of other quality funds out there that specialize in buying promising overseas companies just as they are starting to make their leaps into relevancy.
Motley Fool Champion Funds singled out a no-load way to play the booming Asian markets earlier this year and picked a pair of proven international funds last year. I have owned foreign stocks from time to time. Odds are, at any point in time, that there is a market -- out there, somewhere -- trouncing the domestic averages. However, I don't have the time or the connections to know every particular nuance of every particular company that is percolating in a developing market or even a growing developed nation. Mutual funds offer a great way to get in on the overseas action without ever having to stamp your passport.
3. Pocket change adds up
If you had $200 to throw at the market right now, spending it all on one particular stock would be pointless. Trading commissions would put you in a 3% to 10% hole right away. However, a mutual fund that Shannon Zimmerman recommended last month to Champion Funds newsletter subscribers has top holdings that include companies like hot homebuilder NVR
This particular fund allows you to buy into all of these companies, without skimming a commission off the top, for just $200, as long as you agree to have at least $50 automatically invested every month thereafter.
4. Diversify, diversify, diversify
You can't believe that I waited this long to mention the best reason to stock a few mutual funds into your portfolio, can you? A mutual fund investment creates a vested interest in a pocket of stocks. Instantly. As much as I love picking stocks, even low-priced stocks, if someone tells me that he has a few hundred bucks to invest in the market, I just wouldn't feel right singling out any particular stock. That's because diversification is important. If you've been in the market long enough you have probably seen some seemingly worthy companies wiped out completely. It's only natural.
However, the diversification of mutual funds is also important for the investors with a significant portfolio and a lot more money camping out on the sidelines. That's because, if you're like me, your stocks tend to gravitate toward certain areas where you feel comfortable. Why do I own shares in both Disney
The feeling is mutual
Have I convinced even the staunchest stock purist in the lot? Probably not. However, if you do touch bases with me in another 15 years, odds are that I will have even more mutual funds in my portfolio to talk about. It makes too much sense not to own that mutual fund that is just right for your portfolio.
That's why you owe it to yourself to check out Shannon's Champion Funds newsletter -- or at the very least try a 30-day free trial on for size. Even if our equity research products seems to be more up your alley, look deep into your portfolio, and I'm sure that you will find a hole or two just waiting to be filled with the right fund. Shannon can help you out there by weeding out thousands of crappy funds to single out the top potential performers. The same commitment to ferreting out winning stocks applied to a mutual fund investing philosophy?
Sweet.
DreamWorks and Pixar are Motley Fool Stock Advisor recommendations. Oakmark is a Champion Funds pick. You can find the stocks that best suit your investing style by taking a free trial of any of our suite of newsletters today.
Rick Munarriz did have a cat and a dog living in his home while growing up. They got along pretty well. He does own shares in Pixar and Disney. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
