A mutual fund symbol, or reference notation assigned to the fund, is also known as a ticker symbol. The symbols are simply a system of letters used to represent a stock or mutual fund. Ticker symbols derive their name from ticker tape, which was invented in the 1870s to aid in spreading stock price quotes. Despite switching to computers, we continue to use ticker symbols to aid in identifying both stocks and funds.
Ticker symbols are a necessary way to keep track of and find information about a security. Whenever you use a quoting service, you will be asked to type in the ticker symbol. The number of letters and the letters themselves contain useful information about the security.
The reason for this is to distinguish between a mutual fund symbol and other securities that also have ticker symbols (such as stocks and bond). This way you will automatically recognize a mutual fund by the X at the end of its ticker.
Mutual fund ticker symbols are five letters and end with the letter 'X'. For example, Fidelity's Magellan fund is FMAGX and Vanguard's Index 500 fund is VFINX. Money market funds use three letters followed by XX.
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