4a0b8878_h___Virtus_Investment_Partners__Open_End_Mutual_Funds
[Preferred Ranking] #8 [Closed-End Funds] Performance As important as past performance is to open-end fund investors, it is surprisingly less critical to closed-end fund investors. The discount/premium pricing of closed-end funds actually reinforces a contrarian view. Closed-end fund traders often select out-of-favor funds at wider discounts as these have the potential to turn in stronger price performance when sentiment shifts and discounts narrow. [Open-End Mutual Funds] 
Sales Charge The transaction cost to buy an open-end fund is the sales charge – often the final factor in the decision-making process. Funds have various ways to assess them: no-load, front-end load, and back-end load. Investors tend to have preferences as to which fee structure they prefer and open-end funds offer several share classes (often A, C, and I) with different sales charges to accommodate them. Once a fund is selected, the last consideration for the investor is which share class to buy.
Love Me, Love Me Not? Finding the Right Fund Match | Virtus Investment Partners
Open-End Mutual Funds