I’m down with the flu this week, which means I’m taking it easy – but not too easy. I’m catching up on some reading and found some nuggets of knowledge regarding mutual funds that you may not already know about and you may enjoy reading. So, without further ado (because I need to get to bed now), the blogs:

First up, from  The Oblivious Investor, comes
11 Tips for Selecting Mutual Funds. This short, concise list of things that matter (and why they matter) when picking a mutual fund will ensure you get in the right frame of mind, before you do anything rash and costly.

Next, the Amateur Asset Allocator has a great primer on the various Types Of Mutual Funds that will help sort out the differences between open-ended, closed-ended, indexed vs. actively managed and more.

And lastly, while we’re on the subject of index funds, Retirement Savior reminds us that some mutual funds do outperform indexes, and tells us when (and why) When NOT to Use Index Funds.

• How Much Do Mutual Funds Really Cost? Q. How much does it cost to own a mutual fund? A. More than you think. Most investors know about a fund's expense ratio, and use that attribute for comparing various funds before buying. But there are a host of hidden costs that are much more difficult to uncover for......
• Mutual Fund Share Class Comparison Gets Easier. Investors who own shares of mutual funds are probably familiar with the 3 most common classes of shares: A, B, and C. But recent market conditions have led over 400 mutual funds to eliminate class B shares form their offerings. The reason for the elimination is cost. It simply costs......
• How to Tell When the Stock Market is at the Bottom. When bubbles burst, markets tumble. Sometimes the tumble is long and pervasive. Other times it's a fast a furious free fall. Whatever form a market crash takes, it will eventually end and the market bottoms. What follows is a set of common indicators that the market may be at or......
• Rate Your 401(k) Plan With BrightScope. Have you ever wished there was a rating system for 401(k) plans? I've had a reason to in the past. I was looking at two job offers recently and one of the things that set the two apart was the benefit package. Obviously, a big part of any benefit package......
• 5 Things to Do When You Have a Bad 401(k) Plan. 401(k) plans can be a great way to save for retirement and let your savings grow tax-free. But the plans are chosen by employers and managed by 3rd parties and don't always have the best options. IRAs give you the entire universe of investments to choose from, but most employers......

• Best Mutual Funds With Low Minimums Investing can be hard when you're young and don't have much money to invest. Sure, companies like T Rowe Price will let you invest as little as $50 up front in an IRA if you promise to invest an additional $50 per month deducted automatically from your checking account, and......
• Systematic Investment Planning Systematic is the word that describes you. Organized, well-managed and planned in every part of life, whether it is earning, saving or spending, everything is done in a systematic manner. A SIP is planning of investment with horizon of long-term, which allows you invest regularly that too with even......
• What The "Best Mutual Funds" Are Depends On Your Goals It's a bit of a national past-time, within the financial press, to publish "best-of" lists.  Especially when you can't think of anything better to write about.  Hence, "best mutual funds" lists have cropped up in newspapers, magazines, and websites across the globe for time immemorial.  Heck, I'm pretty guilty of......
• Why Index Funds are Bad Investments The entire personal finance blogosphere is in love with index funds, and I'm here to tell you why they're bad for your investment portfolio. This should go over well.  Black sheep anyone? I realize this thesis will not be a popular one, but from my perspective as an active investor......
• Weakon 205: Mutual Funds, Introduction PF blog regulars have likely been met with "introduction to mutual fund" blog posts every couple of weeks. Its almost a right of passage for bloggers to write about as the mutual fund is generally accepted as the most important bucket your money will ever sit in. Wikipedia does a......