Another example
BHP dropped from $24.00 down to approx $8.90 at one stage.
One would of sold them when it dropped minus 12% = $21.12
Then buy them back once they went from $8.90x1.055(5.5%)= to $9.39
They havent looked back since.

I assume you are talking about recently (about 4-5 years ago). If so, that isn't a good example since since most of that wasn't a 'drop' but simply BHP issuing more shares. The real drop was from around $24 to $22 then around $11 to $9 or whatever it was.

In many cases it is better to skip the mutual fund and just invest in an index. Most if not most mutual funds don't outperform the market and you have to pay fees on top of that.

Any form of investment is work. Hell, I pay for my picks but I still spend 2 hours a day on sports.