Search for North American mutual fund families on brokerage websites

If you already have an account with a brokerage firm, you're in business. You can start building and controlling your own mutual funds' portfolio. Please keep in mind that not all brokerage firms will carry all of the North American mutual fund families; instead, you may have to contact the brokerage firm. The brokerage firm's website is a valuable tool in that it has a mutual fund section where you'll enter your investment criteria. The website will then bring up the list of mutual fund families in North America that fit your investment criteria. When you're ready to trade, you'll enter the mutual fund's ticket symbol and the number of shares you want to purchase.

I recommend: At optionsXpress you can execute trades on your list of mutual fund families in North America. OptionsXpress gives you valuable information about fund families in North America. Scottrade is another brokerage firm that provides worthwhile information on mutual fund families in North America. Scottrade offers more than 1,000 no-load funds. You can also access more than 10,000 mutual funds from popular fund families in North America.

Search for North America fund families on investment research websites

This ought to be the first place to go if you're new to fund families in North America. In fact, brokerage firms usually get information on mutual fund families in North America from investment research websites. You can find information on the best mutual fund families in North America, including performance, ratings, top holdings, and other pertinent details.

I recommend: Check out Morningstar’s website, which is well-known in the investment industry. You can rest assured that Morningstar will have information on all of the mutual fund families in North America. Look at its analysts’ recommendations on what North American fund families to invest in. Subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, where you will also find in-depth information on mutual fund families in North America, including how they performed in 1 year versus 5 years.

Examine North America fund families on the mutual fund company's website

What better way to find out valuable information than by going directly to the source. The mutual fund company's website enables you to download the mutual fund's prospectus and even set up an account so you can start investing. You can find key information, including historical prices, top holdings, and other details.

I recommend: Check out the American Funds’ website. Many institutional investors invest in American Funds because of its long-term conservative approach to investing. American Funds has been in business since 1931. You can also look at OppenheimerFunds; it is another stable firm that has been in business since 1960.