Introduction

• ING Direct, the popular online bank that offers high yield savings accounts, CDs and mortgages now offers mutual funds. These mutual funds are being called the Orange Investment Account and offer customers the opportunity to invest in mutual funds alongside the other products offered by the company.
  
  

Features

• There are nine different options to choose, and all of the mutual funds are no-load. Unfortunately, the mutual funds don't cover all of the asset classes available. Some they don't cover are Large, Small and Mid Cap, Bonds and International. You also have to purchase all of the mutual funds through ING Direct. You can't use a broker.
  Advantages include the option to purchase a mixture of the types of funds they offer. There's three different ways to do it. You can choose a Conservative, Moderate or Aggressive portfolio depending on the type of investor you are. However, in order to purchase an Orange Investment Account, you must already have a savings account with them.
  
  

Requirements

• There is an initial investment requirement of $1,000 for the mutual funds, individually, and a $250 initial investment for the IRAs. Once you have met the initial investment requirement, you can start an Automatic Investment Plan that requires a minimum deposit of $25 a month.
  If you want to purchase one of the "bundled" portfolios, there is a $7,000 initial investment requirement or a $1,700 initial investment requirement for the IRAs. One other fee associated with IRAs is the yearly $10 maintenance fee. However, once the balance on your IRA goes over $30,000, the fee is then waived.
  
  

Pros and Cons

• The advantage of these funds is that they are no-load funds, therefore you don't have any upfront fees when you purchase these funds. The downfall to the mutual funds is the expense rates. The Orange Investment Account has an expense ratio ranging from 0.93 to 1.75 percent. This would be the average expense rate for an actively managed fund, however, ING Direct calls their Orange Investment Account an "Index Plus Mid Cap Fund," making it an index fund. Therefore, the expense rate is considered a bit higher than the norm for an index fund.
  
  

Conclusion

• ING Mutual Funds are pretty competitive with a lot of the mutual funds being offered by other companies. Therefore, it is recommended you do the proper research before deciding which investment is right for you.
  If you have any questions on the funds or are interested in the Orange Investment Account, you can visit www.ingdirect.com or call them directly at 1-866-BUY-FUND.