How to pick a good investment trust Share with friends: There are no sure things in investing. The one variable you have absolute control over is the amount you pay for an investment. That's why we favour 'passive' investing -- which is cheap -- over 'active' investing -- which tends to be more expensive. We've discussed this in detail earlier in the series: What you need to know about funds . So is it ever worth paying for a fund manager to pick and choose stocks for you? The answer is yes -- but you need to buy the right type of fund. Here I'll explain exactly what they are -- and how you can find the right one for you. Unit trusts versus investment trusts? Actively-run funds (also known as 'collective investment schemes') come in two main types: unit trusts and investment trusts. With these schemes you - along with other people - give your money to a fund manager who then invests it in a portfolio of investments. These are usually the shares or bonds of companies quoted on the stock exchange, government bonds, property or cash. Unit trusts are known as open-ended schemes. This is because the manager of the fund can issue new units when more people want to invest. The value of a unit trust is always the value of the fund divided by the number of units. So if the value of investments is 1m and there are one million units in issue, the