Investing should be fun! That's why one of the money mottos we live by is, "Don't make investing harder than it has to be."

Unfortunately, the Securities and Exchange Commission didn't have this motto in mind when it created one of the deadliest documents we've ever seen - the mutual fund prospectus. For years the SEC has been testing ways to simplify the prospectus, but you don't have to wait around for them to make your investing life simpler.

We're going to show you the Dolan way to read a prospectus. No need to torture yourself by trudging through all the legal mumbo jumbo. Instead, you'll be able to immediately tune into the two most important pieces of information in a mutual fund prospectus and tune out the noise.

Don't worry that you won't be able to find the information we're about to discuss. We'll tell you exactly where to look.

1. Investment Objective. Look for the heading "Investment Objective" or "Investment Style." Here you'll find out whether or not the fund's objective matches yours (for instance, are you looking for growth, or income, or a combination of both?) You'll also find out what type of securities the fund invests in to reach that objective. This single piece of information is the easiest way to weed out funds that aren't right for you.
2. Costs. Look for a heading something along the lines of "Summary of Fees and Expenses" or "Summary of Portfolio Expenses." Fees are split into two types: shareholder transaction fees (front- and back-end loads, redemption fees, transfer fees, etc.) and annual operating expenses (management fees, 12b-1 fees, etc.) The more "nones" you see in this section the better. Fewer expenses means more money stays invested working for you.

All mutual funds are required by law to put these fee tables in the same standard format so you can easily compare fund fees. This table will also contain an example that shows how much money these fees will cost you over 1, 3, 5 and 10 years so you can compare fund costs without doing any heavy math. (Always a plus in our book!)

That's it. Those are the two most important things to read in any prospectus and exactly where to find them.

For more help on evaluating mutual funds, check out these articles:

• A Mutual Fund for Every Investor
• How to Save on Your Mutual Fund Taxes
• Decoding the All Important Annual Report