Investment Planning

Manage your investment portfolio with full-service brokerage offering almost every kind of trade imaginable and tools to help you select the securities right for you.

EQUITIES

• Common Stocks 
• Exchange Traded Funds 
• Closed-end Funds
• Unit Investment Trusts 
• Options

MUTUAL FUNDS 

What Is a Mutual Fund?
A mutual fund is an investment company whose sole purpose is to invest and manage money for its shareholders. Assets from a large number of people are pooled together and invested, according to a shared or "mutual" investment objective, by a professional money manager.

Mutual Funds Offer Significant Benefits for Investors:
• Management by investment professionals who carefully track securities
  and markets on a daily basis.
• Diversification among a number of investments helps reduce the risk of any single holding.
• Affordable low minimum initial and periodic investment amounts.
• Easy access to your investment dollars through sale or exchange of shares at any time.
• Information available through statements, annual reports and educational materials.
• Flexibility in matching investments to your objectives.

Three Fund Examples
There is an increasing range of mutual fund choices. Here are examples of three popular types:
Go to our interactive financial chart 

1. Stock Funds (or Growth Funds)
Stock funds seek to increase in value primarily through appreciation in the prices of the stocks held. Historically, stocks have outperformed every other type of investment, and they have outpaced inflation. However, they do carry a higher level of risk than other investments. That’s because in the short term, their value can rise and fall dramatically with changes in the economy and the financial marketplace.

2. Bond Funds (or Income Funds)
Bond funds generally seek to generate a high level of current income by investing in corporate and government debt securities. Investors purchase bond funds who are looking to supplement their income or are looking to diversify their investment portfolio. They are a conservative investment, but are subject to the risk of interest rates changing and bond issuers going into default.

3. Money Market Funds (or Stable Value Funds)
Money market funds seek to provide stability of principal and a reasonably steady stream of interest income. These investments are considered the most conservative and least volatile. However, they also tend to provide the lowest rates of return. A risk is that inflation will erode the value of your investment over time.

A Wide Range of Funds Available
When you invest in mutual funds, it’s important to consider your objectives and risk tolerance. You should select funds that will meet your investment goals and risk preference, while offering the potential for higher returns.
There is a wide range of funds for you to choose from. Major mutual fund companies include Putnam, AIM, Oppenheimer, American, MFS, and many others, as well as our own MEMBERS® Mutual Funds, a diversified family of funds developed especially for credit union members - all available through CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc.

Mutual Funds are offered by prospectus only. Prospectuses contain more complete information on management fees, charges, and other expenses and should be read carefully before investing or sending money. 

Representatives are registered, securities are sold, and investment advisory services offered through CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc. (CBSI), member NASD/SIPC, a registered broker/dealer and investment advisor, 2000 Heritage Way, Waverly, Iowa 50677, toll-free (866) 512-6109. Nondeposit investment and insurance products are not federally insured, involve investment risk, may lose value and are not obligations of or guaranteed by the financial institution. CBSI is under contract with the financial institution, through the financial services program, to make securities available to members. CUNA Brokerage Services, Inc., is a registered broker/dealer in all fifty states of the United States of America. The Representative may also be a credit union employee that accepts deposits on behalf of the financial institution.