1. What is an investment fund? What kinds of investment funds are there?
Investment fund is a kind of collective investment method with * * * returns and * * risks, that is, investors' funds are pooled by issuing fund shares, managed by fund custodians and managed and used by fund managers, and invested in financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, foreign exchange and currencies to obtain investment returns and capital appreciation. The names of investment funds are different in different countries or regions. In the United States, they are called "mutual funds", in Britain and Hongkong, they are called "unit trust funds", and in Japan and Taiwan Province Province, they are called "securities investment trust funds".
According to different standards, investment funds can be divided into different types.
(1) According to whether the fund units can be increased or redeemed, investment funds can be divided into open-end funds and closed-end funds. Open-end fund refers to an investment fund whose scale is not fixed, and investors can purchase or redeem fund shares at any time after the fund is established. Closed-end fund refers to an investment fund whose scale has been determined before issuance, but remains unchanged within the specified period after issuance.
(2) According to different organizational forms, investment funds can be divided into corporate investment funds and contractual investment funds. Corporate investment fund is a profit-oriented joint-stock investment company composed of investors with the same investment objectives, and invests its assets in specific objects; Contractual investment funds, also known as trust investment funds, refer to investment funds formed by fund sponsors issuing fund shares according to fund contracts concluded with fund managers and fund custodians.
(3) According to the different investment risks and returns, investment funds can be divided into growth investment funds, income investment funds and balanced investment funds. Growth-oriented investment funds refer to investment funds whose investment purpose is to pursue long-term capital growth; Income fund refers to an investment fund whose purpose is to bring high-level current income to investors; Balanced investment fund refers to an investment fund that uses H shares to pay current income and pursue long-term capital growth.
(4) According to different investors, investment funds can be divided into stock funds, bond funds, money market funds, futures funds, option funds, index funds and warrant funds. Stock fund refers to an investment fund with stocks as the investment object; Bond funds refer to investment funds that invest in bonds; Money market funds refer to investment funds that invest in short-term money market securities such as treasury bills, negotiable certificates of deposit, commercial bills and corporate bonds; Futures funds refer to investment funds that mainly invest in various futures varieties; Option fund refers to an investment fund that takes stock options that can distribute dividends as the investment object; Index fund refers to an investment fund that takes the price index of a securities market as the investment object; Warrant fund refers to an investment fund with warrants as its investment object.
(5) According to the types of investment currencies, investment funds can be divided into dollar funds, yen funds and euro funds. Dollar funds refer to investment funds that invest in the dollar market; Japanese yen fund refers to an investment fund that invests in the Japanese yen market; Euro fund refers to an investment fund that invests in the euro market.
In addition, according to the different sources of funds and regions, investment funds can be divided into international funds, overseas funds, domestic funds, national funds and regional funds. International funds refer to investment funds with domestic capital and investing in foreign markets; Overseas funds are also called offshore funds. Refers to investment funds whose capital comes from abroad and invests in foreign markets; Tongnei Fund refers to an investment fund whose capital comes from China and invests in the domestic market; State funds refer to investment funds whose capital comes from abroad and only invests in specific countries; Regional funds refer to investment funds that invest in specific fields.
2. What is a securities investment fund? What are the main characteristics of securities investment funds?
Securities investment fund is a kind of collective securities investment model with * * * returns and * * risks, that is, by issuing fund shares, fund custodians centrally manage investors' funds, and fund managers manage and use funds to invest in financial instruments such as stocks and bonds. In China, the fund custodian must be a qualified commercial bank and the fund manager must be a professional fund management company. Fund investors enjoy the income of securities investment funds and bear the risk of losses. The characteristics of securities investment funds are:
(1) The securities investment fund is a fund operated and managed by experts and specially invested in the securities market. China's "Interim Measures for the Management of Securities Investment Funds" stipulates that the proportion of securities investment funds investing in stocks and bonds shall not be less than 80% of the total assets of the fund. Fund assets are managed by professional fund management companies. Fund management companies are equipped with a large number of investment experts, who have not only mastered extensive knowledge of investment analysis and portfolio theory, but also accumulated quite rich experience in the investment field.
(2) Securities investment fund is an indirect way of securities investment. Investors indirectly invest in the securities market by purchasing funds. Compared with buying stocks directly, investors have no direct relationship with listed companies, do not participate in the company's decision-making and management, and only enjoy the right to distribute the company's profits. Investors directly invest in stocks and bonds, they become the owners of stocks and bonds, and they directly bear the investment risks. Where investors purchase the factory securities investment fund, the fund manager shall specifically manage and operate the fund assets and conduct securities trading activities. Therefore, for investors, securities investment fund is an indirect way of securities investment.
(3) Securities investment funds have the advantages of small investment and low cost. In China, the face value of each fund share is RMB 1 yuan. The minimum investment of securities investment funds is generally low, and investors can buy more or less fund shares according to their own financial resources, which solves the problem that small and medium-sized investors have less funds and the market is difficult.
The cost of funds is usually very low. According to the general practice in the international market, the management fee charged by fund management companies for providing fund management services is generally 1% ~ 2.5% of the net asset value of the fund, while the fee that investors need to pay for purchasing this fund is usually 0.25% of the total subscription amount. Below the cost of buying stocks. In addition, due to the large amount of funds for securities trading in the capital concentration factory, it is usually possible to obtain preferential fees from brokers. Moreover, in order to support the development of the fund industry, many countries and regions also give preferential tax to the fund. So that the tax borne by investors investing in securities through funds is not higher than that borne by direct investment in securities.
(4) Securities investment funds have the advantages of portfolio investment and risk diversification. According to the experience of investment experts, it is usually necessary to hold stocks around 10 in order to at least spread risks in investment. There is a saying in investment science: "Don't put your eggs in the same basket". However, small and medium investors usually can't do this. If investors invest all their money in a company's stock, once the company goes bankrupt, investors may lose everything. Securities investment funds collect small amounts of money from many small and medium investors. Form a strong financial strength, investors' funds can be invested in various stocks at the same time, so that the losses caused by the decline of some stocks can be made up by the profits of other stocks, which disperses investment risks. For example, China's recently promulgated Interim Measures for the Management of Securities Investment Funds stipulates that 1 fund holdings 1 shares of listed companies shall not exceed 10% of the fund's net asset value. In other words, if a fund invests 80% of its net asset value in stocks, it should buy stocks of at least 8 companies.
(5) Securities investment funds have high liquidity. The procedure for buying and selling funds is simple. For open-end funds. Investors can buy or redeem funds directly from fund management companies, or through sales agencies such as securities companies, or entrust investment consulting agencies to buy on their behalf. Most foreign funds are open-end funds, which are quoted publicly every day, and investors can buy or redeem them at any time. All closed-end funds in China are listed and traded on the stock exchange, and the trading procedures are similar to those of stocks.
3. What is a stock fund? What are the characteristics of stock funds?
Stock fund is an investment fund with stocks as the investment object, and it is the main type of investment fund. The main function of stock funds is to concentrate the small investments of mass investors into large funds. Investing in different stock portfolios is the main institutional investment in the stock market.
As an investment tool, stock fund plays an important role in the stock market. Take the United States as an example 193 The bad stock funds in the United States amounted to $749 billion, accounting for 36% of the total value of American * * * funds and 13% of the total stock market value. From 1996 to 1750 1 billion dollars, accounting for 40% of the total value of American * * * funds.
Stock funds can be divided into preferred stock funds and common stock funds according to their investment objects, and preferred stock funds can obtain stable returns with less risk. Income distribution is mainly dividends: common stock fund is the largest fund at present, aiming at pursuing capital gains and long-term capital appreciation, and the risk is greater than that of preferred stock fund. According to the degree of diversification of fund investment, equity funds can be divided into general common stock funds and specialized funds. The former refers to the diversification of fund assets into various common stocks, while the latter refers to the investment of fund assets in some special industry stocks, which is risky but may have better potential returns. According to the purpose of fund investment, equity funds can also be divided into capital appreciation funds, growth funds funds and income-earning funds. The main purpose of capital appreciation fund investment is to pursue rapid capital growth, thus bringing capital appreciation. This kind of fund is risky and has high returns. It is risky for growth funds to invest in common stock with growth potential and income. Stock income funds invest in stocks issued by companies with stable development prospects, and pursue stable dividends and capital gains. This kind of fund has low risk and low income.
Equity funds have the following characteristics: ① Compared with other funds, equity funds have diversified investment targets and investment purposes. ② Compared with investors who directly invest in the stock market, the risks of equity funds are scattered. Low cost and the like. For ordinary investors, individual capital is limited after all, and it is difficult to reduce investment risks by diversifying investment types. However, if you invest in D-share funds, investors can not only share the benefits of all kinds of stocks, but also spread the risks among all kinds of stocks by investing in stock funds, which greatly reduces the investment risks. In addition, investors who invest in stock funds can also enjoy the relative advantages of large-scale investment of funds, reduce investment costs, improve investment efficiency and obtain the benefits of economies of scale. ③ From the perspective of asset liquidity, equity funds have the characteristics of strong liquidity and high liquidity. First of all, equity funds invest in stocks with excellent liquidity, and the fund assets are of high quality and easy to realize. Secondly, for investors. The liquidity of the stock fund itself is also good. At present, the stock markets in many countries have price limits, and the stocks held by investors are easy to be "stuck", which makes it difficult for funds to flow. Investing in equity funds can effectively avoid this problem. (4) For investors, equity funds operate stably and have considerable returns. Generally speaking, the risk of stock funds is lower than that of stock investment. So the income is relatively stable. Not only that, after the introduction of closed-end equity funds, investors can also obtain the bid-ask spread by trading on the exchange. After the fund expires, investors have the right to distribute the remaining assets. ⑤ Equity funds also have the function and characteristics of financing in the international market. As far as the stock market is concerned, the degree of internationalization of its capital is lower than that of foreign exchange market and bond market. Generally speaking, stocks of various countries are basically traded in the same market, and stock investors can only invest in stocks listed in ten countries or a few foreign companies listed locally. In foreign countries, stock funds have broken through this restriction, and investors can invest in the stock markets of other countries or regions by purchasing stock funds, which has played a positive role in promoting the internationalization of the securities market. Judging from the current situation of overseas stock markets, a large part of the investment objects of equity funds are foreign company stocks.
4. What is a bond fund? What are the characteristics of bond funds?
Bond fund is a kind of securities investment fund with bonds as its investment object. It concentrates the funds of many investors, makes portfolio investment in bonds and seeks stable returns.
With the development of the bond market, bond funds have become an important type of securities investment funds, and their scale is second only to that of stock funds. For example, in the United States, the total assets of bond funds at the beginning of 1997 were $88.6 billion, accounting for 25% of the total assets of American funds, while the proportion of equity funds in the same period was 49%; In Hong Kong, the total assets of bond funds at the beginning of 1997 were US$ 7.05 billion, accounting for 17% of the total assets of Hong Kong funds, while the proportion of equity funds in the same period was 60%.
Bond funds are closely related to the trend of interest rates. The fluctuation of market interest rate will lead to the change of bond price and yield. Bond funds that invest in bonds will of course be affected by changes in interest rates. This is particularly evident in the United States, where interest rates are highly market-oriented. 1985 due to the interest rate cut in the United States that year, the attractiveness of bond investment increased, and the new capital flowing into the US Treasury bond fund surged from $7.4 billion to $42.8 billion that year, a six-fold increase over the previous year. 1996, due to the interest rate increase, the attractiveness of bond investment declined, and the capital flowing into the national debt fund in that year decreased by 135 billion US dollars compared with the previous year. The income of bond funds is also closely related to the credit rating of the bonds invested. Some bond funds invest heavily in bonds with higher credit ratings, with lower risks but low returns. Some bond funds mainly invest in junk bonds (such as bonds with standards lower than S&P 3B and Moody's Baa), which are risky but have relatively high returns.
According to the different types of bonds invested, bond funds are divided into the following four types: ① government bond funds, which mainly invest in bonds issued by the government, such as treasury bonds; (2) Municipal bond funds, which mainly invest in bonds issued by local governments; (3) Corporate bond funds mainly invest in bonds issued by various companies; ④ International bond funds. Mainly invest in various bonds issued in the international market.
Bond funds have the following characteristics: ① Low risk and low return. Due to the stable income and low risk of bonds, compared with stock funds, bond funds have low risk but low income. ② Low cost. Because the management of bond investment is not as complicated as that of stock investment, the management fee of bond fund is relatively low. ③ Stable income. Investment bonds have regular interest returns and promise to repay the principal and interest at maturity, so the income of bond funds is relatively stable. ④ Pay attention to current income. Bond funds mainly pursue relatively fixed returns in the current period. Compared with equity funds, they lack appreciation potential and are more suitable for investors who are unwilling to take too many risks and seek stable returns in the current period.
Compared with direct investment bonds, investors' investment in bond funds has the following advantages: ① Low risk. Bond funds can effectively reduce the risks that a single investor may face by pooling investors' funds to invest in different bonds. ② Expert management. With the increasing diversification of bond types, ordinary investors should not only carefully study bond issuance, but also judge macroeconomic indicators such as interest rate trend, which is often beyond their ability, while investing in bond funds can share the results of expert management. ③ Strong liquidity. If investors invest in illiquid bonds. Only when it is due can it be cashed, and indirectly investing in bonds through bond funds can obtain higher liquidity and can transfer or redeem the bond funds held at any time.