The History of Mutual Funds The concept of pooling money together for investing purposes started in Europe in the mid-1800s. The first appearance of a similar fund in the United States was in 1893 when a fund was established for the faculty and staff of Harvard University. These early pooled-funds (trusts) resembled closed-end mutual funds. “The first official open-end mutual funds was born in the United States on March 21, 1924. On this day, a shoe salesman (…showed first 75 words of 1830 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1830 total…on the World Wide Web at http://www.statefarm.com. “Mutual Funds: A 20th Century Phenomenon”, Lindner Winter 2000 Newsletter, available on the World Wide Web at http://www.lindnerfunds.com/education/markethistory.php “Mutual Fund Overview August 1997”, Strategic Fund Research and Consulting, LLC., available on the World Wide Web at http://www.sionline.com. “The MorningStar rating for stocks”, available on the World Wide Web (requires registration) at http://screen.morningstar.com/StkStarRatings/StkRatingsRatingDesc1.html.