Professionally managed type of collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors and invests typically in investment securities (stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, other mutual funds, other securities, and/or commodities). A managed fund will have a fund manager that trades (buys and sells) the fund's investments in accordance with the fund's investment objective. Some funds' investment objectives (and or its name) define the type of investments in which the fund invests. In return for one’s investment, shareholders receive an equity position in the fund and, in effect, in each of the fund’s underlying securities. Funds offer a choice of liquidity and convenience, but charge fees and often require a minimum investment. A contractual investment advisory fee is charged for the management of the fund’s investment, along with other fees. Some of the more significant (in terms of amount) are transfer agent expenses, custodian expenses, legal/audit expenses, fund accounting expenses, registration expenses, board of directors/trustees expenses, etc. Shareholders are free to sell their shares at any time, although the price of a share of the fund will fluctuate daily, depending upon the performance of the securities held.
Mutual Funds therefore can either be closed-ended or open-ended. It is closed-ended when it is listed and traded on the Daily Official List like a quoted company. A typical example of a closed-ended Mutual Fund currently trading on The Nigerian Stock Exchange is SIM Capital Fund.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange also has a number of open-ended mutual funds with memorandum listing status. They are not tradable on the floor of The Exchange and are found on the Daily Official List of The Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Click here for information on The Nigerian Stock Exchange close end funds.