"Aim for growth without targeting specific stocks." Overwhelmed by the thousands of stock listings? Can't decipher the alphabet soup on the financial pages of your newspaper? Here's a great way to participate in the stock market without making your own calls.

Stock mutual funds are collections of stocks put together by fund managers, usually with the goal of achieving growth or aggressive growth for investors. They primarily feature common stocks of corporations. Like any other mutual fund, stock funds are tended by professionals to help achieve diversification and to balance risk and reward.

Types of stock funds: Stock funds can be classified by market capitalization (in essence, the size of the company based on the total value of its outstanding shares), or by style (for example, collections of "value" stocks, those selling at a bargain price, or "growth" stocks, those rapidly escalating in worth).

Other stock funds may specialize in an industry (they're called sector funds) or focus on stocks from a particular geographic region (like an emerging markets fund).

"Can you roll with the waves?" People who choose stock funds generally invest for the long term. They're prepared to ride out short-term ups and downs to have the potential for long-term growth.