There are many ways you can go about finding great quality stocks.  You could use newsletters, newspapers, business channels, or screen for stocks.  Some of those can become a bit overwhelming, which is why research sites come in handy so often.  You go through their recommendations, read the how’s and why’s, and decide if you want to invest or not.

The goal, here, is to find unconventional sources that offer a glimpse of stocks that could make you money.  One of those options is to use mutual funds to find great stock recommendations.

Most mutual funds are actively managed.  Each is set up to specifically fit into a unique category (i.e. Dividend Income, Small-Cap Equity, Equity Income) or sector (i.e. Energy, Health Care, REIT).  The fund managers and staff behind them are paid to research and invest in the best stocks that fit those categories.  Finally, a mutual fund is required to report it’s holdings and finding that information is as easy as heading to the fund company website.

The “Top 10 Holdings”

A good place to start is at a mutual fund company’s website, which should contain all the information you need and more.  You can go through each mutual fund individually to find stock ideas or head directly to a specific fund if you already know the type of stock you’d like.

Read through the description of the fund, to make sure it fits your investment strategy and then head to the “Top Ten Holdings” section which can be found in the summary.  This is exactly what it sounds like, the ten largest holdings in that fund.  But it should also have a “% of total assets” and “as of date” listed as well.  Both are very important. Continue Reading…