First fund's 85th birthday shows why mutual funds will survive | Seattle Times Newspaper

I did not know this. Sort of trivia, but sure it will be mentioned in some classes.

Business & Technology | First fund's 85th birthday shows why mutual funds will survive | Seattle Times Newspaper:

"On March 21, 1924, the paperwork to create the first open-end mutual fund — the Massachusetts Investors Trust — was filed; the fund began taking money in July of that year.....

Their idea was simple: professional management and diversification at a reasonable price.

Most of the oldest funds have somehow died off long ago, but the Massachusetts Investors Trust, run now by MFS Investment Management, is still adding to its legend.

The fund (MITTX) has survived everything from the Great Depression to the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission to the start of fund rankings and ratings through the evolution of exchange-traded funds, the Internet bubble, the bear market of 2000 and now to a downturn....

A $1,000 investment in 1924 into the Massachusetts Investors Trust would be worth roughly $1.2 million today; a $10,000 investment would be about $11.5 million.

That's an annualized average return in the high 8 percent range...."