By: Michael E. Martinez

Nothing in life ever comes free, this includes some mutual funds. In the past when I've been asked about mutual funds, I've always said to try to find a good, no load mutual fund. No load fees are in which you don't have to pay up front or when you sell the fund. No sales charge is set. Investors buy shares in no load funds directly from the fund companies, rather than through a broker. Some no load funds allow you to switch of assets between other investment vehicles.

If you aren't so lucky to own a no load mutual, chances are you have to pay a load fee. The two types of load fees are front load fees and back end load fees. Front end load fees are charged at the time of the initial purchase for an investment. It is deducted from the investment amount and thus, lowers the size of the investment.

The use of loads is suggested to prevent frequent trading of the fund, which can hurt a fund if it has to hold large cash reserves to meet payouts. Back end load fees are similar except when you sell your mutual fund in a certain amount of time, usually seven years. 12b-1 Fees allow a fund to pay distribution fees out of fund assets only if the fund has adopted a plan authorizing their payment. With any investment, be sure to read the prospectus report, that should be sent to you if you already own shares.

My suggestion is to find a good no-load mutual fund so you can maximize gains. Load mutual funds are known from eating into your gains and expanding losses. Remember that mutual funds are designed to be held for a long period of time, so please don't trade them as if they were stocks.