The Hartford Family Of Mutual Funds

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) was established in 1810. It has grown throughout its existence to be one of the biggest insurance and investment businesses in the United States.

Nevertheless, they also have global offices in numerous other parts of the world which assists them keep in touch with the global markets.

The forerunner to any financial decision always has to get research and this is even more important when it comes to long-term investment, which is exactly what investment in mutual funds is.

Not just that, but most mutual funds investment groups, including the Hartford Financial Services Group, have an assortment of many mutual funds from which to pick.

The current economic crisis has proved to be a very difficult time for mutual funds and investors.

According to Barron's list of best mutual fund families in 2010, the suite of funds at Hartford came in at number 31 with a weighted score of around 65% of that of the funds at the apex of the list.

This was naturally very unsatisfactory for the Hartford investment managers and those who had invested their funds with them.

However, the firm is certain that it is able to reverse the fortunes of the Hartford investment group and make deciding to invest in one or several of their family of mutual funds a wise decision.

In order to make buying mutual funds easy for investors, there is plenty of help on hand from agents and financial advisers on the Hartford website.

The first decision that you will have to take though, whether you go with one of Hartford's mutual funds or not, is whether you are going to put in a lump sum or a monthly amount.

Next, you have to work out how much you are able to afford to save. This is important not least because there is frequently a minimum investment.

Remember that saving for the future, particularly with stocks and shares and mutual funds is a medium to long term investment.

There will almost certainly be financial penalties if you withdraw your money before the end of the plan.

Furthermore, weighty charges are normally levied on the early payments in order to cover fees for administration and advice. This is normal practice right through the business world of investment services.

Charges for joining Hartford's mutual funds are not significantly different from joining any other of the top mutual funds.

Nevertheless, you should discuss charges with your financial adviser before you enter into any deal

It is a good idea to examine the literature that the firm puts out about the group of Hartford's mutual funds before you speak to your financial consultant or one of Hartford's investment account managers. It is not wise to enter these discussions 'blind', as it were.

Luckily, Hartford's website provides masses of data on all of their mutual funds (and the other services they offer) so procuring the information is not difficult

Hartford's mutual funds could be a good choice for recovery, because their group of funds has a decent long term history of sound investment, although they had a bad year in 2010, making them appear quite cheap for high performing mutual funds.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now involved with Hartford Mutual Funds. If you would like to know more, please go to our web site at Mutual Funds