1. Why did the proportion of equities in long-term funds increase from 38.3 percent in 1990 to over 70 percent by 2000 and then decrease to 63 percent in 2009? How might an investor's preference for a mutual funds objective change over time?
2. How does the risk of short-term funds differ from the risk of long-term funds?
3. What is a 12b-1 fee? Suppose you have a choice between a load fund with no annual 12b-1 fee and a no-load fund with a maximum 12b-1 fee. How would the length of your expected investment horizon, or holding period, influence your choice between these two funds?
4. What are the different categories of hedge funds?