The Best No Load Mutual Funds

No load mutual funds are funds that don't charge an up-front sales charge (a front-load) or a sales charge when you withdraw your money (a back-end load). Most experts agree that no load mutual funds are the best way to go, but if you have a broker, he'll probably try to steer you away from no load mutual funds. Why? Because brokers receive part of the "load," and therefore, they don't make any money when you buy no load mutual funds. Don't let your broker's bottom-line influence your investment decisions - buy only no load mutual funds! After all, you there are plenty of no load mutual funds out there.

Definitions: This article breaks down no load mutual funds into six categories determined by two criteria - capitalization and investment style.

Capitalization refers to the size of the companies that the no load mutual funds invest in. "Large cap" means that the fund only invests in big companies, and "small cap" means they only invest in small companies - "mid cap" would therefore be somewhere in the middle.

Investment style is either "value" or "growth." Growth no load mutual funds invest in companies that could be considered "hot stocks." Value no load mutual funds invest in companies that have been beaten down, but should recover. Thee are the type of companies Warren Buffett has made his billions investing in.

Best No Load Mutual Funds - Large Cap Value

American Century Equity Income, American Funds Fundamental Investor, Dodge & Cox Stock, Fidelity Large Cap Value, Hotchkiss and Wiley Large Cap Value, Merrill Lynch Large Cap Value, and Riversource Diversified Equity.

Best No Load Mutual Funds - Large Cap Growth

Allianz CCM Capital Appreciation, American Funds Growth Fund, Brandywine Blue, Calvert Large Cap Growth, Chase Growth, Columbia Marisco 21st Century, and Janus Growth and Income.

Best No Load Mutual Funds - Mid Cap Value

Artisan Mid Cap Value, Columbia Mid Cap Value, Goldman Sachs Mid Cap Value, Hotchkiss and Wiley Mid Cap Value, Schneider Value, T-Rowe Price Mid Cap Value, and TIAA-CREFF Mid Cap Value.

Best No Load Mutual Funds - Mid Cap Growth

Bridgeway Aggressive Investors, Columbia Acorn Select, First American Mid Cap Growth, Hartford Midcap, Janus Orion, North Track Geneva Growth, Rainier Small/Mid Cap Equity, TransAmerican Premiere Growth, and Vanguard Capital Opportunity.

Best No Load Mutual Funds - Small Cap Value

Allianz NFJ Small Cap Value, DWS Dreman Small Cap Value, MainStay Small Cap Opportunity, N/I Numeric Investors Small Cap, Schneider Small Cap Value, STI Classic Small Cap Value, and Tamarack Micro Cap Value.

Best No Load Mutual Funds - Small Cap Growth

Bridgeway Ultra-Small Company, FBR Small Cap, Jennison Small Company, N/I Numeric Investors Emerging, Royce Value Plus Service, Turner Micro Cap Growth, UMB Scout Small Cap, Value Line Emerging Opportunities, Wasatch Micro Cap, and William Blair Small Cap Growth.

Some Final Thoughts on No Load Mutual Funds

Even though these funds have no "loads," it doesn't mean that there are no fees involved. After all, no load mutual funds are not nonprofit companies, and even if they were, something would have to pay the office electricity bill!

There are two fees for which you have to be on the lookout. The first is the expense ratio. This is a fee that is charged an on annual basis, based on the total assets of the funds. An expense ratio might be 1 percent, which would mean that if you invested $50,000 into a mutual fund, $500 would come out of that fund every year to pay for expenses. Hopefully, the fund would be making money, in which case your $50,000 might grow to $60,000 - but then the fee would be $600.

The other fees to watch are 12-b1 fees, which are marketing fees. You see those commercials on TV for no load mutual funds? Well if you're a fund owner, you're paying for them!

Just because a fund has fees does not mean that it's a rip-off. But it's important to be an educated investor and to always be aware of where your money is going, even with no load mutual funds.