Mutual funds can help lower investing risks

Less risk through more diversification

One mutual fund can invest in hundreds—sometimes thousands—of individual securities at once. So if any one security does poorly, the others are there to help offset that risk.

Lower costs

With a no-load mutual fund, you pay one (hopefully low) expense ratio—instead of racking up the commissions you'd pay when buying and selling individual securities yourself.

Professional management

You don't have to keep track of every security your mutual fund owns. The fund is managed by experts who take care of that for you.

Convenience

You can buy and sell mutual fund shares online or by phone and set up automatic investments and withdrawals.

Choosing which Vanguard mutual funds to invest in can be as simple as picking one fund to do the work of an entire portfolio or as customized as building your portfolio from a variety of fund options.

Once you've selected your funds, it's easy to open your account online.