American Century offers a large portfolio of no-load mutual funds. They have teleaccess to established accounts as well as on-line account access. If making a choice investing in a no-load mutual fund, I would recommend T.Rowe Price above and beyond all the rest.
However, American Century has one unusual fund that may be of value to people in certain situations. It is their Gift Trust fund, a basically irrevocable trust fund. To establish an account with this fund, a minimum of ten years must be designated, although it may be established for a longer duration. It does not have to be for a minor it can be for anyone, however one cannot establish it for themself.
It is not just for the rich, anyone who would like to put aside money for the future for someone they care about should look into it.
The minimum original investment now is $1,000, but only $50 is required to add to it. The account is opened by designating someone as the recipient of a gift and notified of the establishment of the account. For the duration of the trust, additions can only be made by the person giving the gift. Instead of a social security number, a special account number is used. At the end of the number of years designated, the beneficiary has the choice of leaving it to accrue dividends, withdraw some or all of it. No new addition of money can be made after the trust has expired.
There is an advantage to this long-term trust. In the case of parents and children, sometimes there are unfortunate family differences arising, so that a child will be squeezed out of the remaining parent's will or other
family money matters. By putting something in for a child, no matter what family conflicts arise, that child will not be forgotten. It also is a way of keeping money from being used up ahead of time, since no withdrawals can be made before the trust expires. It should generally be safe from legal entanglements, although a lawyer would have to be consulted about that.
Gift Trust invests in mid-cap companies. It had a very propitious beginning in the early 90's and more than doubled, but with the last two years of blue chip companies soaring, its stock tumbled and it did not pay any dividends for 1998 and 1999. Thus the money lay dormant. But the last quarter of 1999 it suddenly revived and soared to a total quarterly return of 87.26%, and the account value nearly doubled.
That is the chance you take of locking in a long-term investment. You have to trust the account managers, because your money is completely in their hands and you have given them complete control. American Century is a very established secure company, so if willing to take a chance, it is probably one of the safest companies.



Recommended: Yes