mutual fund

or unit trust

Company that invests the funds of its subscribers in diversified securities and issues units representing shares in those holdings. It differs from an investment trust, which issues shares in the company itself. While investment trusts have a fixed capitalization and a limited number of shares for sale, mutual funds make a continuous offering of new shares at net asset value (plus a sales charge) and redeem their shares on demand at net asset value, determined daily by the market value of the securities they hold.

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