Largest Mutual Fund Companies By Assets

Ever wonder about the largest mutual fund companies? Researching the biggest companies by assets can give you a good idea about the strength of some fund families.

On the other hand, as Warren Buffet sometimes complains, having a large amount of cash to deploy in a meaningful way gets harder as the size of your company increases. For Berkshire Hathaway, the choices are limited to stocks or companies with large market capitalizations, since any sizable stock purchase of small or medium companies will drastically affect their share price.

Additionally, to make any acquisition worthwhile, top management team will need to purchase companies large enough to make an actual difference on flow-through earnings. Fortunately, smaller investors don’t have that problem, as there are many advantages to investing in funds from large mutual fund companies.

Longevity and Data

Sizeable mutual funds tend to have a long history, and will provide comprehensive historical data regarding their performance. You never see a very young mutual fund company with $50 billion in assets under management (AUM), and even so, their returns can be tied to a few lucky stock picks over a short period of time.

Fund companies who have stood the test of time have been able to survive through the ups and downs of the market, recession or depression. These are the mutual funds that have built investment strategies for the long-term, or are at least flexible enough to change their course when needed. Moreover, strong performance demonstrated over decades offers stability and the potential for less variance.

Lower Costs

Generally speaking, larger funds get the best deals and discounts, which they then pass on to investors. The largest mutual fund companies get charged lower commissions by brokers because they buy shares in bulk, or millions at a time, resulting in lower administrative fees.

These administration costs are paid by shareholders or investors in the fund, so lower fees means higher returns, especially when you are investing with very little money.

Top Management

Like everything else in life, the larger and more prestigious funds attract the best money managers. A mutual fund company’s ability to draw in and pay the top talent, from managers to analysts, plays a big part in whether investors want to put their money with the fund.

The reputation, guidance, and special investment knowledge of a great money manager or advisor can offer stability, confidence and peace of mind, not to mention higher returns.

A Few Interesting Facts

• Total U.S. Net Assets in Mutual Funds: $11.6 Trillion
• Number of Households Owning Mutual Funds: 52.3 million
• Percentage of Households Owning Mutual Funds: 44%
• Median Mutual Fund Assets of Fund-Owning Households: $120,000
• Total U.S. Retirement Market Assets: $17.9 Trillion