Picking an Actively Managed Mutual Fund

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal's Getting Going column by Jonathan Clements was about choosing the right actively managed mutual fund. In a nutshell, this is what he said:

1. Keep costs low
2. Watch portfolio turnover. The lower the better
3. Pick a fund that doesn't advertise.
4. Pick a fund family that regularly closes funds that have grown to big or become too popular.
5. Pick a privately owned family of funds.
6. Pick a fund family that has limited offerings.
7. Don't just look at past performance.
8. Consider a team-managed fund
9. Stay away from funds with lots of volatility.

That's it. If you want to know more, check out his column.