It is really unfortunate that small investors are being forced into equities due to interest rates remanining near zero while financial institutions charge loan rates five to eight points higher than the savings rates. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where most of the invested money is going after a painfully slow or instant evaporation of hard-earned savings. Mutual funds in this market are not for the small investor and may never be again. The entire game has changed dramaticallly since I first started investing in 1968. There is no longer a level playing field. Rather than a percentage gained or lost in advertised funds performances I would like to see the amount earned or lost on each dollar invested, i.e. after management fees, taxes, etc. That would indicate true fund performance. A percentage is incomplete and misleading. As it is now, the investor takes the advice of a fund salesman and hopes for the best. And a lot of people wonder how they lost so much so quickly.
