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Mutual Funds Anatomy: Part I

What is a Mutual Fund?

A mutual fund is a pool of money put together by a group of investors, who stand to benefit or loose from that pool to the extent they have invested.

This pool is created since small individual investments have limited power and ability to influence the outcome of the investment. On the other hand, when the investment is large, the investor can have greater control on the outcome of the investment.

Thus, many small investors gather their individual small investments into a larger investment to take advantage of the opportunities offered by large investments. This is called a mutual fund.

What does the Mutual fund invest in?

Mutual funds can be created for investing in anything. The investments that the mutual fund is going to make are discussed in the mutual fund's offer document.

Typically, mutual funds invest in investment opportunities that have a trading market around it, such as stocks and shares, bonds and debentures, etc.

How does the investors benefit?

The most important factors in choosing who to have a deposit with, is the safety of the deposit, and the rate of interest that is paid on the deposit.

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