We all have mutual funds, be it in your 401 (k) or investing non-retirement money for capital gains. What most do not consider is the actual mutual funds stocks, that are in the portfolio. We all want our mutual funds returns to do well, but unless we know what the stocks are contained in the mutual fund it can be difficult to know where your fund is going in the future.
Examine in yahoo finance, stocks that are currently in your funds Top 10 holdings. Often these are derived from the previous end of quarter report of stock holdings. Examine those top ten stock holdings and find out if they possess qualities that you want to be invested in. Also, try calling up your mutual fund and asking what the current top holdings are. They may or may not divulge that information, but it sure does not hurt to ask.
Yes, this is a lot of work, especially when most mutual fund investors want to “set it, and forget it,” but if you have a significant amount of money in mutual funds you want to keep up with what mutual funds stocks are in your portfolio.