How to start investing in mutual funds

The sooner you start, the more time you have to benefit

By investing in a fund, you can ensure that your investments are diversified

Funds are a good way to spread out your investments across different industries and regions. A monthly investment plan also offers time diversification, which helps balance the ups and downs of the market. You can choose from a wide range of funds.

Buy and sell almost all funds with no fees

With us, the costs of investing are always low. In addition, if you're an OP cooperative bank owner-customer, you also earn 0.35 per cent in OP bonuses on most fund holdings in 2025.

Start mutual fund investing‍

Starting and stopping investing in mutual funds is easy

In investing, the most important thing is starting: the sooner you start, the more time you have to benefit. You can easily start investing on OP-mobile or on op.fi by making a one-off investment or through monthly investments. You can change your monthly investment amount, put your investments on hold, switch to another fund, or sell your fund units. If you decide to sell, the money will be transferred to your account within the timeframe specified in the fund rules. Usually it will take 1–2 banking days.

What sum should I invest?

A good rule of thumb is to invest 10 per cent of your net earnings every month. Most of our funds have no minimum subscription amount, so you can start mutual fund investing, say, with as little as ten euros a month. If monthly investing is not an option for you, you can also make one-off investments.

See how your investments can grow – try out the savings calculator

Risk and return go hand in hand

In saving and investing, risk and return always go hand in hand. The more returns you want, the more risk you’ll have to take. You can reduce risk by diversifying your investments, for example, across several mutual funds. Before you start investing, you should set aside a buffer for any unexpected expenses.

How long can you keep your money in mutual funds?

Patience pays off in mutual fund investing. Let your investments work for you: the longer you keep your money in mutual funds, the more you benefit from the compound interest effect. This means that market fluctuations affect your investments less. Withdraw money only when you really need it.

IIf your investment horizon is short, our low-risk funds are a good option for you.
If your investment horizon is long, you can choose a fund with a higher risk level.

Why does diversification pay off?

You have probably heard the saying that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. The diversification of savings and investments represents a way of sharing risk. The goal of diversification is to ensure that the failure of one investment does not have a disproportionate impact on the investment as a whole. If a single investment fails to perform, other investments may perform better, thus balancing out your portfolio.

Asset classes react differently to economic changes. A diversified investment portfolio can therefore offer steady long-term returns because it does not depend on a single industry or geographical region, for example.

The value of investments can fluctuate greatly without diversification, which can be a source of stress. Diversification does not remove all risks, but it is an efficient method for managing them. Three ways of diversifying fund investments:

Time diversification is easy to do through monthly investment.
Qualitative diversification means choosing funds from different sectors.
Geographical diversification means choosing funds that invest in different countries.

This is a marketing communication. OP Fund Management Company Ltd and OP Asset Management Ltd have prepared this material as background information. The information presented in the material is based on sources that the authors consider reliable. However, the authors cannot guarantee that the provided information or opinions are correct or complete. This material is not intended to provide, and cannot be regarded as, a comprehensive and complete description of the product and the risks involved. Although the material has been prepared with care, and the aim has been to ensure that all the presented information is accurate, the authors and their employees assume no responsibility for the content of the material, and no decisions or agreements should be made based on it.
This material does not include a binding offer or proposal to buy or subscribe for a fund unit, nor does the material or its content form a basis for any agreement or commitments.

OP Pohjola's mutual funds are managed by OP Fund Management Company Ltd, which is a fund management company and alternative investment fund manager licensed by the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority. The portfolio manager of OP Pohola's mutual funds is the portfolio management company specified in the fund prospectus for OP funds. Investments always involve risks. The value of investments can rise and fall, and the investor may lose part of or all the invested funds. Past performance does not predict future returns. The potential future performance is subject to taxation which depends on the personal situation of each investor and which may change in the future. If the mutual fund is marketed outside Finland, OP Fund Management Company Ltd may decide to end such marketing. Before making an investment decision, take all the characteristics or objectives of the fund into consideration, as described in the fund prospectus for OP Pohjola funds and other documents related to the mutual fund. Only make your investment decision after reading the mutual fund's Key Information Document, the funds prospectus, and the rules of the fund. These are available from your asset manager or at op.fi/all-funds. The main risks associated with mutual funds can be found in the Key Information Document, and a more detailed list of risks is presented in the funds prospectus. A summary of investors' rights can be found at op.fi/ops-fund-publications. These documents are available in Finnish, Swedish and English. Copying, publishing or distributing this material to a third party in full or in part is not permitted without written permission from OP. By accepting this material, you agree to follow the instructions and restrictions above.

This material is a translation. If there are any discrepancies between the translation and the original Finnish material, the Finnish material shall prevail.