Mutual Funds are For Every Investor

September 2000

The financial markets provide a wide array of investment products for today's investor. The addition of online investing has added even more products for investors to choose from. Which investment is best? Which one should you choose?

While no investment vehicle is perfect, I believe that mutual funds are an investor's best option. Mutual funds offer every investor a simple way to get diversification, low fees, professional management, and excellent service. Mutual funds provide the opportunity to reinvest your capital gains and dividends in the funds. With those features, you get built in dollar cost averaging so your money is always at work. At Hennessy Funds, we further simplify our investing by using time-tested historical models to strategically invest our mutual funds.

There are plenty of mutual fund detractors who point to the drawbacks of mutual fund investing; fees and taxes. Every investment, including investing online, has those same disadvantages. Accounts will incur fees, and inevitably, we all pay taxes. The allure of trading at your desktop and paying less per trade than with a traditional broker cannot alleviate the sting of receiving inferior executions for your orders. That's why we deal with only reputable traders and firms who work hard to get the best possible execution on our transactions at a competitive cost. You can be assured we do everything possible to maximize your return while minimizing your tax consequences. In addition, we are committed to lowering our expenses as we continue to raise assets in our funds.

Hennessy Funds brings you investments you can understand. You are not betting on the whims of a money manager, instead you are choosing funds managed through proven strategies with solid track records. Our historical models help us to use history as our guide, and our strategies don't allow for buying and selling on emotions when the markets or world news create panic. We let the stocks come to us, we do not go looking for them based on relationships we may have with a company or management team.

There is no "perfect" investment product, but I believe that mutual funds remain an investor's best option. With our funds, you get long-term investments you can believe in and understand, and you get a team of dedicated experienced professionals on your side. At Hennessy Funds, what you see is what you get.

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The outlooks reflect the opinions of Neil Hennessy. They are subject to change and any forecasts made cannot be guaranteed.

Past performance is not an indication of future returns. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor's shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. A Fund's performance, especially for short time periods, should not be the sole factor in making an investment decision. The performance returns assume all dividends and capital gains were reinvested in the Funds. Click here for additional performance information of the Funds.

For more complete information about the Funds, including fees and expenses, call 800-966-4354 to obtain a free prospectus. Read it carefully before you invest or send money.

The outlook above reflects the opinions of Neil Hennessy. They are subject to change and any forecasts made cannot be guaranteed.

"Dollar cost averaging" involves investing a fixed dollar amount in a Fund at predetermined intervals. This may help investors reduce their average cost per share because the agreed upon fixed investment amount allows more Fund shares to be purchased during periods of lower Fund share prices and fewer Fund shares to be purchased during periods of higher Fund share prices. In order to be effective, dollar cost averaging should usually be followed on a sustained, consistent basis. Please note, however, that Fund shares bought using dollar cost averaging are purchased without regard to the price on the day of investment or to market trends. Dollar cost averaging does not assume a profit nor does it protect against losses in a declining market. In addition, while you may find dollar cost averaging to be beneficial, it will not prevent a loss if you ultimately redeem your Fund shares at a price that is lower than their purchase price. You may want to consider your financial ability to continue purchases through periods of low price levels.