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.

• Mutual Fund Monday: Morningstar Announces their Choice for Fund Managers of the Decade. These managers were chosen by Morningstar as the best of the decade because the "deftly steered investors through good times and bad". That's saying something. Investing in the '80's and 90's was pretty clear cut, but the 1st decade of the 21st century was anything but easy. As with the......
• 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......
• 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......
• 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......
• Beware Target-Date Funds! Target-date funds were supposed to be the ultimate idiot-proof investment vehicle for retirement savings. The idea is that asset allocation is the single most important factor in determining investing success, and most people get it wrong. Many others never even try because they find the concept too daunting. Many people......

• Investing 101: Mutual Funds (Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for some learning, as we are going to cover the wonderful world of mutual funds.  Hold onto your hats, it's going to be a wacky ride.) Q: What are mutual funds? A: Mutual funds are companies that buy a variety of other investments,......
• Why Vanguard Is My Favorite Mutual Fund Company Greedy financial institutions have gotten a lot of bad press lately.  From AIG to Goldman Sachs to Citigroup, all have been criticized for putting profits ahead of the interests of their customers, employees, and society as a whole.  Now I don't particularly have anything against this behavior;  after all, management......
• Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time, money or space (or all three!) this list of more than 80 top products is just what you need. Everyone's got saving money on their minds these days. Some of us are always looking to......
• Mutual Funds 101 One way that investors can pool their money is mutual funds, which allows them to invest together in a variety of different stocks. Each of the participating investors is charged a percentage fee based on what they invest so that the professional fund manager can receive payment for his work......
• Mutual Fund Investing For Dummies Mutual funds are by far the most effective tool average Americans have for achieving financial security.  Diligent saving and a reasonable, disciplined investing strategy over the long term should in most cases result in a comfortable retirement.  Sure, sometimes life gets in the way of retirement savings but by and......