FINRA is a great resource for multiple reasons. One reason is to do mutual fund research and another is to research a broker to see if they have a good track record. Today I will focus on the mutual fund research aspect of the FINRA tools. You can also use the tool to research ETF funds like VYM and DGRO.

For the sake of illustration, I picked two funds: one from Fidelity and one from Vanguard. Here are the steps:

Go to the Fund Analyzer (use the first link provided below at the end of this post) and do the following as an exercise:

  1. Enter the ticker symbol for a fund (FUSEX) and the click the heart to save it.
  2. Enter the next ticker symbol (VFINX) and click the heart to save it.
  3. Your two funds should show at the bottom of the screen. Click ANALYZE.
  4. You can scroll down or navigate using the options on the left side of the screen.
  5. Review expenses. You can click on the field of blue dots to see other funds. See example.
  6. Review returns. Think ten-years, not one year. I like 8-10% returns.

Based on expenses and returns, which are very similar, either fund would be just fine. Anything with a low expense ratio and 10-year returns of somewhere between 8-10% is a good investment, in my opinion.

https://tools.finra.org/fund_analyzer/

Finra Help: http://www.finra.org/investors/using-finra-fund-analyzer

Broker check link: https://brokercheck.finra.org/