what is a mutual fund 
mutual funds are pooled investments managed by professional money managers they trade on exchanges and provide investors with access to a wide mix of assets selected for the fund a professional fund manager handles this mix of investments and the fund s assets and goals are detailed in the prospectus for those who deposit into their mutual funds from their paychecks they offer automatic investing and lower investment risk than buying stocks on your own because most funds have diverse holdings investopedia ellen lindnerthese funds hold much of the retirement funds of middle income americans but this wasn t always the case in 1980 under 6 of u s households had money in mutual funds 1 by 2023 about 52 of american households were invested in them and these households held shares for a vast majority 88 of all mutual fund assets 23