[CaptainMorgantown]

I’m one of those people who have $0 in actual direct ownership of stock shares but most of my retirement savings in mutual funds of some sort.

There is one key difference between owning stock and owning mutual fund shares that bothers me though. While I benefit about as much financially as if I owned individual stock shares, mutual funds give me zero say in the management of any company. The voting power of my stock is in the hands of a faceless mutual fund manager.

Do I own stock in companies that are shipping jobs overseas? Probably. But my mutual fund manager has a fiduciary responsibility to maximize short term profits, even if I would prefer that there be jobs here in the U.S. when my children grow to working age.

Do I indirectly own stock in one of the companies that recently bullied my birth state of Indiana? Probably. But my mutual fund manager holds the proxy votes, not me.

Do I indirectly own stock in many of the MSM companies that lie on behalf of Obama on a daily basis? Probably. But again I have no say in corporate governance.

I honestly don’t know what to do about this problem. Mutual funds are a two edged sword. They convey the financial benefits of stock ownership to people who don’t have the time, expertise, or quantity of capital to effectively invest in individual stocks. But they concentrate corporate governance in the hands of a faceless manager class.

[dragnet2]

I personally know what to do about it. I simply refuse to play their game. I do not want to be part of that corruption.

Profits regardless of consequences, is a huge factor in the decline of America. They can do that without my help.

[C210N]

I honestly don’t know what to do about this problem.

Your problem is similar to those of the conservative taxpayer, forced to pay for abortion, providing Iran with safe passage to having nuclear bombs, Øbamaphones, hospitals-schools-welfare for criminaliens, and all the programs for gibsmedats.

[cynwoody]

There is one key difference between owning stock and owning mutual fund shares that bothers me though. While I benefit about as much financially as if I owned individual stock shares, mutual funds give me zero say in the management of any company. The voting power of my stock is in the hands of a faceless mutual fund manager.

If a fund sold AAPL because Tim Cook flamed Indiana, it would most likely be in violation of its prospectus. Few mutual fund prospectuses allow for "ethical" investing, whatever that means.

The main problems with mutual funds are excessive expenses and lack of control of taxable events. Seemingly small expense ratios can really eat into your returns over time.

The best funds to invest in are index and sector ETFs with low expense ratios.