About Mutual Funds

What is a mutual fund?
A mutual fund is an investment company that makes investments on behalf of individuals or institutions with similar financial goals who have pooled their money.

What are the benefits of a mutual fund?
There are several reasons why mutual funds are an attractive investment for individual investors:

Diversification
Because mutual funds hold a wide variety of securities, they are, by definition, diversified. A mutual fund can be diversified by:

• Type of security (for example: stocks or bonds)
• Industry
• Country
• Size

Professional Management
A mutual fund is usually managed by an individual or team of individuals who choose the investments based on that fund's objectives, which are stated in the prospectus.

Fund managers utilize their extensive knowledge and research of market conditions and individual companies to make investment decisions. A manager may adjust the portfolio mix based on changes in market conditions or a company's performance to better achieve the fund's stated objective.

Convenience
In addition to diversification and the added benefit of having a full-time professional make the investment decisions, mutual funds offer convenience in several other ways. Mutual Funds:

• Have a low minimum investment amount
• Can be bought or sold on any business day
• Allow free exchanges of funds within the fund family
• Provide various objectives for almost any investment need
• Provide free automatic reinvestment of income dividends and capital gains

How Do I Know Which Mutual Fund(s) to Choose?

Determine your investment goals. When choosing a fund, the fund's goals should match your own. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What am I saving for?
• What is my time frame?
• How much risk am I willing to take?

Identify your asset allocation needs.
Visit our investment pyramids to learn about the four stages of investing and our recommended portfolio weightings for each stage. This will help you identify the types of mutual funds that can help meet your investment objectives.

Research mutual fund companies.
With so many mutual funds available, it can be difficult to know which fund(s) to pick. That's why at Edward Jones, we focus on five preferred fund families** that share our same commitment to service, long-term investment objectives and long-term performance.

All investments, including mutual funds, carry a certain amount of risk. Meet with an Edward Jones financial advisor* to discuss your investment needs and select the most appropriate mutual fund(s) to help meet those needs.

**For complete information on these funds, please contact your local financial advisor for a prospectus. Please read it carefully before investing.

Our Preferred Families

• AGF Funds Management, Ltd.
• AIM Funds Management, Inc.
• Hartford Investments Canada
• Mackenzie Financial Corporation

Mutual Fund Investment Strategy
Systematic Investing
One way to potentially build a mutual fund portfolio is through a program called Dollar Cost Averaging, which is a regular and disciplined investment program. If you invest the same amount each month into the same fund, you buy fewer shares when the price is high and more shares when the price is low, helping to even out the ups and downs.

Although dollar cost averaging can't guarantee a profit or prevent a loss, it ensures you won't invest all your money at a market high. Dollar cost averaging depends on investing over the long term. You should evaluate your ability to continue investing through good and bad markets.

If dollar cost averaging sounds like an option for you, please contact your local Edward Jones financial advisor.