Big, fast, easy money. It is possible, thanks to mutual funds, but first you must determine whether you are willing to assume the obvious risks involved. You must also determine your earnings goals. Big dividends, quick? Expect higher volatility. Not a risk taker? Choose lower-volatility investments, but don't quit your day job. However, the first thing a potential investor must know is, of course, the basics, which is the premise of this speech. There are three significant areas which the beginning investor must have a complete understanding of: what a mutual fund is and how it works, fund structure, and how to choose the mutual fund that best fits your personal investment goals.
             First, let me explain exactly what a mutual fund is. A mutual fund is an investment company that pools together investors' money to buy stocks and bonds. The company's investment managers buy up stocks and bonds of several companies and divide each of these into fractions which are spread out into shares which are sold to individual investors. For example, Dreyfus is a major investment company. The Dreyfus Fund is a division of the Dreyfus Company. This fund's five major holdings are: General Electric, Microsoft, CitiGroup, ExxonMobil, and IBM. This means the Dreyfus Fund owns shares in all five of these companies, among others, and they make up a higher percentage of the fund than any other holdings. Mutual funds allow investors to have a highly diversified portfolio without spending a whole lot of money. What do I mean by a diversified portfolio? First off, a portfolio is a person's collection of investments. Diversification means the portfolio consists of many different investments. The theory of diversification is that it allows an individual stock to drop in price without the overall value of the portfolio also dropping significantly.
             There are different types of mutual funds. Two divisions are open-end and close
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