Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007

The meaning is not an observation about advantage at all.  It's advice
to a stockbroker.  It means that buyers don't call stockbrokers to buy
mutual funds so the stockbroker has to initiate the subject to the
buyer.  While this is not always true, mutual funds don't have the
glamour that stocks do to the average buyer.  Mutual funds appreciate
in value, but stocks *jump* in value.  Or so people think.

It's not a saying limited to mutual funds and stockbrokers.  It's one
of those sayings that any sales manager in any industry says to
salesmen.  For example, "Life insurance is sold, not bought" is said
to the insurance salesman.  In other words, go sell insurance and
don't wait for people to call to buy insurance.

I think it means that you have to go out and _sell_ them rather than
wait for buyers to come looking.

--Jeff

I never heard that piece of advice before, but it could mean that the
best thing to do is to already own mutual funds and to sell them off
from time to time, not to sink a lot of money into acquiring them.

A bit like the old snobbish attitude that familes inherit all their
furniture and silver and antiques, they don't buy them (like the nouveau
riche do).

Whether I'm interpreting this right could depend on "families" --
whether it means companies that sell diverse lines of mutual funds, or
actual familes that own them.