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College Mutual Funds
To choose a fund for college many people pick funds that they think will get a lot of money. A bond fund is a good choice because the fund stays steady. Therefore not a lot of money will be lost and you know that you probably will have enough money to go to college. Stock funds or mutual funds are risky because the stock can go way down and money could be lost. Sometimes the stocks could go up and money could be made. If the stocks go up it will be easy to make the money for college, but if the stocks go down you may not have enough. The kind of funds I chose are two mutual funds. These funds were picked because they have gone up during the past ten years. Although these mutual funds are a bit risky, I picked them because both funds invested in things that we use everyday, and I am confident that their upward trends will continue.
Jennison Natural Resources and Hartford MidCap are my two fund picks. If the trend keeps going up, I will have a good deal of money by the time I go to college. Also both of these funds have a five star rating from Morningstar. Jennison’s return on investments went up more than Hartford MidCap, but both focus on value. Hartford MidCap has more stocks than Jennison, and 8.8 percent of Hartford MidCap’s stocks are foreign, whereas 43.3 percent of Jennison’s stocks are foreign. Both of them do not have any bonds. Jennisons average market cap is 10,781 million dollars and Hartford MidCap is only 6,029. Jennison is a large cap fund which is safe. Hartford is a mid cap fund which is also safe, but not as safe as Jennison. For my college savings, I would choose a large cap funds because they are not as risky as smaller cap funds.
Jennison Natural Resources invests in companies that manufacture industrial materials, energy, and utilities. Energy is what I focused on with Jenninson because the gas prices are going up. Since we use gas every day, I have a feeling the stocks will go up. Now many people are using heat because winter is coming which means that the fund will probably increase. If the fund goes up, I will have more money. Jennison also has a small amount of stock in financial services. This year Jennison went up 36.7 % and its ten year total return is 20.63 % annually. Jennison’s total assets are 3,219 million dollars.
Hartford MidCap buys stock in hardware, software, media, and telecommunication companies. It is also invested in healthcare, consumer service, financial service, and business service. I chose Hartford MidCap because it invests in healthcare services. Healthcare is also important in many people’s lives especially since people are living longer, and now as more studies are taking place there is a greater demand for medicines. Hartford also increased its investmentss in technology since many people are buying cell phones, and using computers and the Internet increasing the likelihood of a raise in prices. Telecommunication stocks are also a good investment because more people will use the new inventions. Then the fund will go up and more money will be made. This year Hartford MidCap went up to 10.2 %. Its ten year total return is 18.50%. Its total assets are 3,231 million dollars, making it a sound investment.
Even though mutual funds are risky, I am willing to take the chance with my college savings because I believe that these stocks will continue to do well. Both of these funds are a good choice because sizes are good and their investments are going up. For Jennison, the trend will rise because of its energy investments, and Hartford’s trend will continue to rise because it invests telecommunication and healthcare companies. If I am right, and the trend continues upward, I will have more than enough money for college education.
Bibliography
“Hartford MidCap HLS IA.” 2006. Morningstar.11/29/07. http://quicktake.morningstar.com/fundnet/Snapshot.aspx?Country=USA&Symbol=HIMCX>
“Jennison Natural Resources B.” 2006. Morningstar. 11/29/07. <http://quicktake.morningstar.com/fundnet/Snapshot.aspx?Country=USA&Symbol=PRGNX>
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