Apply (gentle) pressure on your administrator to launch by year end

If you plan to launch a mutual fund over the next few months, it is probably in your best interest to get it launched prior to year-end. Why is a December 30th launch better than one just 4 days later on January 3rd?
Either start date will get you accurate trailing returns.

But launching a fund this year means you will qualify for your first calendar year return in a tad over 12 months. If you wait until January, it will take you 24 months to earn your first calendar year return because you weren't live during the first few days of the term. You'll also have to wait until next year for your first year-to-date ranking.

As a result, you are missing out on opportunities for investors to find your fund. For example, you won't have performance data in those data fields on Morningstar, Lipper, and other databases, as well as in your marketing literature and prospectus.

** This story was modified and originally ran in October 2010.