The Kiplinger Mutual Fund Screener

A mutual fund screener that is free and easy to use!

To use the mutual fund screener:

http://kiplinger.com/tool/investing/T041-S001-mutual-fund-finder/index.php

1. Students begin by using a pull-down menu to select the type of fund they want (any fund, U.S. stock funds, international stock funds, taxable bond funds, or municipal bond funds).
2. They refine their choice by choosing a fund style (large cap, emerging markets, high yield bond, etc.)
3. Next, students select performance and fee and management criteria, (total return for different time periods, risk, load charges, if any, expense ratio, etc).
4. The last step is to click the “Find Fund” button at the bottom of the screen.

Teaching Suggestions

You may want to use the information in this blog post to:

• Help students realize that a fund screener can be a logical first step in finding the right fund for their investment portfolio.
• Demonstrate how the Kiplinger Mutual Fund Screener works or create a homework assignment where students use the Kiplinger Mutual Fund Screener.
• Remind students that while a fund screener can identify funds that meet the investment criteria they have provided, there is a very real need to complete a more in-depth evaluation before investing their money.

Discussion Questions

1. What are the benefits of using the Kiplinger Mutual Fund Screener?

2. In addition to the information provided by the Kiplinger Mutual Fund Screener, what other types of information would you want before investing your money? Where would you obtain this information?