These are companies not restricted to a fixed number of shares. The market value of a mutual fund usually is based on the overall value of the fund's portfolio of securities and fluctuates as the value of the securities fluctuates. Some Mutual funds are designed primarily to provide growth of capital or income, while others are designed to preserve capital. Often the same company has a family of funds, allowing the investor to switch from one to another as his investment goal changes. In the 70's and 80's the money-market mutual funds became the most widely used and most popular form of investment vehicles.
Individual investors own mutual fund shares for several reasons.
First, their money is managed on a continuous basis by professional managers. Second, the investments are spread out among many different corporations and industries, thereby spreading the risk of loss. Third, mutual funds provide several services to their shareholders, including managing the records of securities transactions and collecting and disbursing investment income. A Manager is a person, not being an officer or an employee of a mutual fund which has delegated management functions to a person so licensed under the Belize Mutual Fund Act. A private fund is a mutual fund which has less than fifty investors and a constitutional document prohibiting the offering of its shares to the general public.