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Mutual funds may not look sexy, but for most people, they're the best way to achieve financial goals. That's because mutual funds are professionally managed and offer diversification, which you don't get when you buy individual stocks.

First, let's consider why professional management matters. When you buy a fund, the fund takes your money and pools it with others' money into one big pile. The fund manager's job is to decide which stocks to buy, sell, and hold--while you're busy at work and raising children. Each manager uses a methodology or discipline to select stocks or bonds. Every day, fund managers and their team of analysts examine the companies they own to see if they still fit their criteria for securities selection.

[See Make the Most Out of Mid-Life Financial Planning.]

Fund managers spend a lot of time visiting the companies in which they invest. Sure, they can read a research report about a company. By meeting company executives face-to-face, fund managers can get a much better sense of how the company operates and what advantages it has over competitors. Fund managers also visit with a company's competitors. Plus, managers do what's known as "channel checks," which means they visit the company's stores or customers. For example, if a fund manager owns shares of Best Buy (BBY), he'll visit a store to see how many customers are there and what people are buying.

The other advantage of owning a mutual fund over an individual stock is diversification, which you don't get if you invest small amounts of money in a few securities. For example, if you have $10,000 to invest, you can buy maybe 100 shares of five stocks. When you buy a mutual fund, it might own 50 to 100 stocks, so if one stock blows up, the entire fund won't go down in flames. The manager makes sure that the fund is not too heavily exposed to any one stock or sector.

That means fund managers have to do their own housekeeping. They analyze the weightings of companies the fund owns and watch as the stocks become more or less valuable. They will sell some shares of one holding if something else looks more attractive.

Most individual investors don't have the skills and time to monitor and examine each holding the way a professional fund manager does every day. Fund managers are trained to stick to their discipline and be decisive, and are not emotionally attached to your money. Professionals, whether they're in sports or management or investing, usually know the ropes much better than amateurs.

There's another advantage of mutual funds: Investors tend not to trade funds as often as stocks, which helps their returns over time.

Certainly, mutual funds don't have the pizzazz of the hot stocks of the moment. If you're looking for entertainment, go gambling in Las Vegas. But if you want to accumulate real money for your retirement and other goals, mutual funds are the safer bet.

[For tips on how to find the best mutual funds, see 5 Ways to Find the Best Mutual Funds.]

Adam Bold is the founder of The Mutual Fund Store, which provides fee-only investment advice with locations coast-to-coast. He's also host of The Mutual Fund Show, a call-in radio program broadcast across the country. Bold is author of the book The Bold Truth about Investing (April, 2009). Bold is Chief Investment Officer of The Mutual Fund Research Center, an SEC registered investment adviser which provides mutual fund and asset allocation recommendations and research to stores in The Mutual Fund Store system.

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Johnny Cameron, who was head of RBS's investment bank, has let it be known he does not object to the confidential report being released.

Sir Fred Goodwin, the vilified ex-chief executive of RBS, has already given his consent.

The FSA is suppressing the report, which did not uncover any management failures, on the grounds that the Financial Services and Markets Act of 2000 prohibits publication unless accompanied by enforcement action.

Chancellor George Osborne is reviewing the rules to see if changes can be made to ensure future reports are not withheld. Following Government intervention in 2008 RBS was bailed out with ￡45bn of taxpayer money and is now 83pc owned by the state.

The FSA has not released its document to RBS, politicians or the bank's shareholders, including UK Financial Investments – the body handling the taxpayer's stake.

Under the Act, disclosures can be made, subject to "obtaining consents" from related parties. The FSA would also need legal confirmation that the "consents" were official before publishing any part of the report.

Sources close to Mr Cameron, who was mildly censured earlier this year in a separate FSA investigation, said he had no objection to publication given that the FSA has already closed the book on his conduct.

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Betton is Director of the Agency only broker SP Bell with Simon Eagle, which itself has been banned and m ?2 8 fined by the FSA in May this year photo: Peter Payne

Betton is Director of the single agency broker SP Bell with Simon Eagle, which has been banned and fined ￡ 2. 8 m by the FSA in May of this year.

In 2003, Eagle purchased 85pc EIF and acquired Ms Bell to sell the stock of the EIF to its customers, generate demand for the stock and its price.

Betton then asked Ms Bell staff to sell shares of the EIF to customers, of which many were not aware that the shares have been bought and sold on their behalf.

Superior Court (Chancery room and tax), the independent judicial body, said Monday that he was considering the fine it deems appropriate for the actions of Betton and will announce at a later date.

He concluded that it would "be false, harmful at trust markets and, indeed, unthinkable if Betton was allowed to continue operating in the financial services sector".

Margaret Cole, General Manager of the application of the Act and the FSA financial crime said: "This marks the final chapter of a regime that has seen the price of shares of FEII deliberately manipulated at the expense of ordinary investors." Betton was an experienced Director authorized business ASP. ?

Betton could not be reached for comment.

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The American Investment Bank is close to pay back the emissions $ Mr. Buffett has invested in Goldman at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

Berkshire Hathaway, Mr. Buffett, investment company has already received a billion $ in payments annual dividend Goldman and is now set to pick up an extra $ 500 million repurchase premium when the loan is remboursé.Les payments mean that the annual return on investment in two years will be 12 5pc.

The moment where redemption is not yet decided and Goldman has refused to comment on his plans.

Mr. Buffett investment was made in September 2008, just days after Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy and was considered a major confidence vote Goldman at a time when the market is concerned that it might be close to collapse.

In the new capital rules of the United States $emissions Berkshire Hathaway preferred shares is more contribute to loss of buffer Goldman and source Bank said it was now seen as "expensive" funding.

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