Anyone who craves choices must have a...

Anyone who craves choices must have a special appreciation for the mutual fund industry: Since 1991 the number of stock and taxable bond funds has nearly tripled, to 6,029 now, according to Lipper Analytical Services. But that growth isn’t quite what it seems, Lipper says. Especially over the past year, many “new” funds are just clones of existing funds, offered in different share classes depending on how investors want to pay (i.e., an upfront sales charge, back-end charge, etc.). Even so, an estimated one-quarter to one-third of the 672 funds added to Lipper’s universe this year are genuinely new offerings, as fund firms create more flavors to try to satisfy the still-robust public demand for securities. New funds, D3.

Source: Lipper Analytical Services