Monday, June 13, 2011

Investment Company Ratings – Why Should You Look Over Them?

If you are new to investing, you need to keep up with all the latest investment company ratings. They are a good means of measuring how each company is managed and how well it performs in the industry. Each company is also rated on how well it handles investor’s money. In some cases, the funds managed by a company are owned by other large entities or institutions rather than individuals. A mismanaged fund, unfortunately, can cause financial troubles for hundreds-or thousands -of people.

The reason you should check into investment company ratings is so that you will get an idea about the risk involved in putting your money into particular funds. The ratings are provided by agencies such as Morningstar, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Corporation. All banks and financial institutions have their financial services and products evaluated and rated by such companies, and many investors put their trust in the ratings.

What are investment companies rated on?

Investment company ratings can be based on a number of factors, and a report can include:

Overall management style
The company’s investment philosophy
Backgrounds of the management and investment team
Portfolio analysis
Explanation and overview of the performance

Ultimately, a good investment company is one that does a good job of making investment choices on behalf of shareholders and provides healthy returns to its investors. A lot of responsibility goes into running and managing a financial institution or fund, which makes investment company ratings and reports important resources for investors.

Mutual fund ratings and reviews – If you are thinking about putting your money into a mutual fund, you really need to read reviews and ratings to find out about the best places for you to put your money. Savvy investors take notice of mutual fund ratings and look over them carefully. You can learn how each mutual fund is viewed by insiders, and knowing this will help you determine which ones will be most suitable for your money.

It is essential that you look over investment company ratings for mutual funds since they can be managed poorly or wonderfully, and your financial future can depend on the management of the funds you invest in. After all, buying shares of a poorly managed mutual fund can wipe you out in no time at all! Thus, you should be very careful and do some homework before investing your money.

Reading investment company reports – When reading a report or analysis about a particular investment company, check to make sure that the rating comes from a reputable company, such as the ones mentioned above. Not all investors agree with all rating companies, so make sure you understand the industry just enough to determine whether or not the report you are saying has any real insight.

More often than not, the highest investment company ratings are given to the same, big-name industry leaders, including:

Charles Schwab
ING
Vanguard
E*Trade Financial
TD Ameritrade
Scottrade
Fidelity Investments

These are the big names you will come across often, as they usually receive some of the highest ratings and overall positive reports. There are other good companies and funds too, so make sure you are aware of all your options before making any investments.