The list below displays some of the largest no-load mutual fund companies in the United States. The companies shown in this list do not charge sales loads on at least 80% of their mutual funds. A sales load is the fee an investor pays when buying or selling mutual fund shares. Sales loads do nothing to improve investment performance. Sales loads are just a way for brokers to score commissions from selling loaded funds to uninformed investors who don't know better. These fees are completely unnecessary when plenty of good no-load fund choices exist. Therefore, I recommend investors give preference to no-load mutual funds whenever possible.
Many mutual fund companies allow investors to open and manage accounts online. I would suggest sticking with one of the larger fund families listed below. Personally, I like Vanguard for their numerous index fund options and ultra-low expense ratios. Almost all of Vanguard's mutual funds have $3,000 opening balance minimums and allow subsequent fund purchases of as little as $100. Also, their website is easy to navigate, which is a big plus for do-it-yourself investors. Click on the companies' names to visit their websites.
Largest No-Load Mutual Fund Families, Ranked by Total Assets
(measured in billions of U.S. dollars, rounded to nearest billion)
Vanguard: 1,154 (1 trillion, 154 billion dollars)
Fidelity: 622
T Rowe Price: 270
PIMCO: 212
Doge & Cox: 87
Janus: 63
American Century: 52
Schwab: 50
Russell: 38
Oakmark: 35
USAA: 32
Dreyfus: 31
Royce: 27
Neuberger Berman: 23
Northern: 21
Loomis Sayles: 20
TIAA-CREF: 20
Third Avenue: 18
William Blair: 15
Artisan: 14
For size comparison purposes, the United States equity market is about 10 trillion dollars in size, as represented by the Wilshire 5000 Index. That does not mean all investments within these mutual fund companies are part of the United States equity market. The investments within these mutual fund companies include significant holdings in markets such as fixed income and foreign securities.
The data presented here is current as of December 31, 2008. Morningstar was the source for determining the mutual fund families' total assets and percentage of no-load funds. The list above may not be fully representative of the largest no-load mutual fund families and should be regarded as a sampling rather than a comprehensive list.
