This year's top-performing mutual funds aren't necessarily going to be next year's best performers. It’s not uncommon for a fund to have better-than-average performance one year and mediocre or below-average performance the following year. That's why the SEC requires funds to tell investors that a fund's past performance does not necessarily predict future results. You can learn what factors to consider before investing in a mutual fund by reading Mutual Fund Investing: Look at More Than a Mutual Fund's Past Performance. You can also learn more about investment performance claims by reading Investor Bulletin: Performance Claims..

A mutual fund company generally must pay redemption proceeds to a shareholder within seven days of receiving a redemption request from the shareholder. Exceptions apply on days when the New York Stock Exchange is closed, during certain emergencies, or when the SEC issues an order delaying redemptions to protect shareholders in the fund.

Qualified higher education expenses can be paid for using money from a 529 education savings plan, which is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs. Qualified higher education expenses include, among other things, tuition and certain expenses for post-secondary education and recognized post-secondary credential programs.

A state, a state agency or educational institution that chooses a plan manager and determines the rules and limits for its plan.

A financial services firm — a mutual fund company, a brokerage firm, an investment adviser, or an insurance company — that handles all of the transactions and investments within the plan.

529 plan document that has detailed information about the 529 plan; often called a disclosure statement, disclosure document, program description, or offering document.

A person who establishes an account for a student to save money for qualified higher education expenses or tuition for elementary or secondary public, private, or religious schools; also called the account holder or the saver.

A current or future student for whom the 529 account is established.

Some mutual funds that charge front-end sales loads will charge lower sales loads for larger investments. For example, a fund might charge a 5.75% front-end sales load for investments up to $50,000, but reduce that charge to a 4.50% load for investments between $50,000 and $99,999, and further reduce or eliminate the load for larger investments. The investment levels required to obtain a reduced sales load are commonly referred to as breakpoints.

Some mutual funds offer investors different types of shares, known as "classes." Different types of shares issued by a single fund are sometimes referred to as Class A shares, Class B shares, and so on. All classes of a fund hold identical investments and have the same investment objectives and policies. But each class has different fees and expenses, and therefore, each class will have different performance results.