Maximum Fit Magazine

Your grandfather was right about mutual funds after all.  Since when did mutual funds become such a good thing?  I posit since Bogle founded Vanguard in the 1970s, but really since probably the invention of index funds and Vanguard becoming more mainstream, in the 1980s. Before then, look at these mutual funds: Harwick Fund (1970-72) lost -97% S&P/InterCaptial Dynamics (1969-74) lost -96% Chase Frontier Capital Fund of Boston (1968-80) lost -93% Mutual Securities Fund of Boston (1961-72) lost -90% and another 16 funds on the list, with the least losing fund losing -76%. Even a traditional mutual fund like Tri-Continental, which has been around since the 1920s, has not fared well:  today it sells for less than it did in 1983. The point being:  mutual funds were not always a sure thing back in the days...