Diversification: by pooling funds, there is more opportunity of investment, since mutual funds invest in a variety of securities.
Professional Management: as a mutual fund investor, there is access to professional managers, who will perform a thorough research on the companies chosen to invest.
Liquidity: in open-ended scheme, the returns are at net asset value related prices from the mutual fund itself.
Transparency: due to regulations, mutual funds industry is very transparent. Investments can be tracked down, to see where the money has gone.
Variety: there is a type of mutual fund that matches almost any investing strategy selected by the investor. There are many types of mutual funds, including asset allocation fund, balanced fund, blend fund, bond fund, capital appreciation fund, clone fund, closed fund, crossover fund, equity fund, fund of funds, global fund, growth fund, growth and income fund, etc.
Some jurisdictions where mutual funds are available are: