[DGthe3]

Like any other investment, you lose your money the instant you hand it over, and you hope to eventually get more money back than you forked over in the first place. The timing doesn't always work out, but in the long run it will almost always make money.

Mutual funds are a collection of high value stocks and other investments. All told it would be hundreds or thousands of dollars to buy each individual investment in the mutual fund. So you and a bunch of others all buy into it and share the cost and profit. They return on investment, including annuities and such, is dependant on the type of fund in general, as well as the items in each individual mutual fund.