Four months ago, I decided to take a plunge into the world of investing. So far I’m up almost 7%. If returns continue to come in at the same rate, although I don’t anticipate them to do so, I’d be making a whooping 21% for the year! That would be amazing for this rookie investor! It’s a heck of a lot better than the 5.05% from my HSBC online savings account. 20% of my portfolio consists of individual stocks that I handpicked. It’s a smaller number right now because I’m still not entirely confident in my culling abilities, even though my best gains have been from picking stocks myself. Intel (INTC) and ConocoPhilips (COP) have returned almost 15% since I bought them.

Being a novice in the market, I decided to weigh more of my portfolio towards mutual funds. I figure I could get returns while I learn how to evaluate companies and their stock’s value. Yesterday, I posted a round up of 25 mutual funds that Kiplinger’s rated as being the best. I own 3 of those funds: Dodge & Cox International Stock (DODFX), and T. Rowe Price’s Emerging Markets Stock (PRMSX) & Growth Stock (PRGFX) Funds. Here are some questions that I ask myself before I decide to take a plunge on a fund.

1. How long has the fund’s manager been at the helm? At least five years (and preferably longer) is the answer you’re looking for here.
2. How has the fund fared on that manager’s watch? Past performance doesn’t tell you a thing about a fund’s prospects if it doesn’t reflect the work of its current stock-picker-in-chief.
3. Does the manager invest in his or her own fund? If not, why should you?
4. How has the manager fared in up markets and down? When you have a talented manager at the helm, market slumps can represent prime buying opportunities — and juicy gains for shareholders over the long haul.

I’m still trying to convince my wife to allow more disclosure on our investments, but she feels uncomfortable with the world knowing our business. In the meantime, I’ll provide glimpses into my thoughts on why I choose certain investments and why I avoid others. In a future post, I’ll discuss why I bought the stocks that I do.