Part 2 examines a variety of issues that impact mutual fund investors in a general manner, more or less on an ongoing basis. The impact is persistent, if not always substantial, and it is negative. These issues can be overcome with some effort and knowledge, although often they are not.
I label these issues general problems, but they are certainly not insignificant. Investors are faced with a bewildering barrage of information about funds, much of it misleading or of little value, they often cannot or do not know exactly what they are buying in terms of the fund company and its shares, the classes of fund shares are confusing, and investors often do not appreciate the conflicts of interest inherent in the sale of fund shares by brokers and financial advisors.
Investors may reasonably assume that safeguards are in place to protect their interests. After all, each fund must have an independent board of directors. In today's mutual fund industry, you make such assumptions at your own peril. However, once you are aware of potential problems, you often can deal with them with modest effort.
