1. What is a fund

As an investment tool, securities investment funds pool the funds of many investors, which are managed by fund custodians (such as banks), managed and used by professional fund management companies, and realize the purpose of income by investing in securities such as stocks and bonds.

for individual investors, if you have 1, yuan to invest, but the amount is not enough to buy a series of different types of stocks and bonds, or you simply have no time and energy to choose stocks and bonds, buying funds is a good choice. For example, if you subscribe for an open-end fund, you will become the holder of the fund, and the above 1, yuan will be converted into a certain share of fund units after deducting the subscription fee. All the holders' investments together constitute the assets of the fund, and the professional team of the fund management company uses the fund assets to buy stocks and bonds to form the investment portfolio of the fund. The fund share you hold is the epitome of the above portfolio.

expert financial management is an important feature of fund investment. Investment experts equipped by fund management companies generally have profound theoretical foundation of investment analysis and rich practical experience, and study financial products such as stocks and bonds in a scientific way to make portfolio investments and avoid risks.

accordingly, every year, the fund management company will withdraw management fees from the fund assets to pay the company's operating costs. On the other hand, the fund custodian will also withdraw the custody fee from the fund assets. In addition, open-end fund holders need to pay subscription fees, redemption fees and conversion fees directly. Closed-end fund holders should pay trading commissions when buying and selling fund units.

There are several types of funds

◇ According to the organizational form, there are two types of funds: corporate funds and contractual funds. At present, domestic funds are all contractual.

◇ According to whether the fund scale is fixed or not, it can be divided into closed-end funds and open-end funds.

by mid-September 23, there were 86 domestic securities investment funds, with a total scale of 161.6 billion fund units, including 54 closed-end funds and 32 open-end funds.

American mutual fund industry has developed rapidly since 197s. As of July 23, there are about 8,3 mutual funds (open-end funds) in the United States, with a net asset value of $687 billion, of which more than 7% of the assets are held by individual investors. American households' investment in mutual funds has increased steadily since 199. According to the statistics of the Association of Investment Companies in May 22, there are 54.2 million households (94.9 million individual investors) holding * * * mutual funds, accounting for about half of American households. In 199, 23.4 million households participated in the same fund investment, accounting for 25%.

according to different investment objects, it can be divided into stock funds, bond funds, mixed funds, money market funds, futures funds and option funds.

according to the characteristics of investment operation, it can be divided into growth funds, income funds and balanced funds.

when Morningstar)1985 introduced the fund star rating system in 1985, the funds in the American market were divided into four categories according to their asset distribution: American equity funds, international equity funds, taxable bond funds and municipal bond funds. In 22, based on the above classification, Morningstar further subdivided the fund types into 5 types according to the investment style, investment industry and region.

Clarify several misunderstandings

◇ Funds are not stocks

Some investors confuse funds with stocks, but they are not. On the one hand, investors only entrust fund management companies to invest in stocks and bonds, while buying stocks becomes shareholders of listed companies. On the other hand, the fund invests in many stocks, which can effectively spread risks and have relatively stable returns; However, a single stock investment can not fully disperse risks, so the returns fluctuate greatly and the risks are great.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇967 In fact, there are essential differences between the two: savings deposits represent the credit of commercial banks, the principal is guaranteed, the interest rate is fixed, and there is basically no risk; The fund investment in the securities market, to bear the investment risk. The interest income of savings deposits is fixed, while investment funds have the opportunity to share the benefits brought about by the rise of the basic stock market and bond market.

◇ Funds are different from bonds

Bonds are creditor-debtor relationship documents that stipulate that the principal and interest will be repaid on schedule. Domestic bonds include national debt, corporate debt and financial debt, and individual investors cannot buy financial bonds. National debt has no credit risk and interest is tax-free; Corporate bonds have a high interest rate, but they have to pay 2% interest tax, and there are certain credit risks. In contrast, the income of funds mainly investing in stocks is relatively unstable and the risk is relatively high; Bond funds that only invest in bonds can improve the stability of returns and spread risks with the help of portfolio investment.

funds are risky

investment funds are risky. In other words, the 1, yuan you used to buy the fund at first is likely to lose money. Since the fund invests in securities, it must bear the investment risks in the basic stock market and bond market. Of course, except for capital preservation funds that have a clear guarantee clause in the prospectus. In addition, when there is a huge redemption or suspension of redemption of open-end funds, the holders will face the risk of realizing difficulties.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇967 Because the subscription fee and redemption fee are not low together, and the fluctuation of the net value of the fund is far less than that of the stock. The fund is suitable for long-term investment with stable income and low risk.

2. What is the national debt

The so-called national debt is the debt borrowed by the state, that is, the national bond, which is a written loan certificate issued by the state to investors to raise funds, and promises to pay interest on schedule and return the principal on time according to the agreed conditions within a certain period of time.

China's national debt refers to the national debt issued by the Ministry of Finance on behalf of the central government. It is guaranteed by the state's financial reputation and has a very high reputation. It has always been called "Phnom Penh bond", and prudent investors like to invest in national debt. There are three types: voucher type, physical voucher type and bookkeeping type.

types of treasury bonds

there are many types of treasury bonds, which can be divided into three categories according to the form of bonds, namely: bearer (physical) treasury bonds, voucher-type treasury bonds and book-entry treasury bonds. Among them, bearer bonds are rare, while the latter two are the main forms at present.

(1) Bearer (physical) national debt

Bearer national debt is a kind of bond whose face does not record the name of the creditor or the name of the company, usually in the form of physical bonds, also known as physical bonds or treasury bonds.

bearer national debt is a kind of national debt with the longest issuing history in China. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the national debt issued in the 195s and the national debt issued since 1981 are mainly bearer treasury bills.

at the time of issuance, it is sold to the public through the savings outlets of banks, the treasury bond service department of the financial department and the business outlets of treasury bond institutions. Investors can also use securities accounts to entrust securities institutions to buy on the stock exchange floor.

The cash coupon payment in bearer from bond is handled by banks, postal savings outlets and financial bond intermediaries; Or implement on-site redemption in trading venues.

the general characteristics of bearer treasury bills are: bearer, no loss reporting, and can be listed and circulated. Because it is anonymous and does not report the loss, its security is not as good as that of voucher-type and bookkeeping-type treasury bills, but the purchase procedures are simple. Because it can be listed and transferred, it has strong liquidity. The transfer price of listing depends on the supply and demand situation of the secondary market. When the market factors change, its price will fluctuate greatly, so it has the opportunity to obtain greater profits, but it is also accompanied by certain risks. Generally speaking, bearer treasury bonds are more suitable for financial institutions and buyers with strong investment awareness.

(II) Voucher-type treasury bonds

Voucher-type treasury bonds refer to the treasury bonds issued by the state by filling in the "Treasury Receipt Certificate" instead of printing the physical bonds. China began to issue certificate-based government bonds in 1994. Voucher-type treasury bonds are similar to bank time deposit certificates, and the interest rate is usually higher than that of bank deposits in the same period. They are similar to and better than savings, and are often called "savings-type treasury bonds", which is an ideal investment method for individual investors with the purpose of saving.

Voucher-type treasury bonds are issued to the public through savings outlets of banks and treasury bond service departments of financial departments, mainly for ordinary people. Interest will accrue from the date of purchase by investors, and they can be registered and reported for loss, but they cannot be listed and circulated.

if investors want to realize the voucher-type treasury bonds after purchasing them, they can redeem them in advance at the original purchasing outlets. When redeeming them in advance, in addition to repaying the principal, the interest will be calculated and paid according to the actual holding days and the corresponding interest rate grade, and the handling agency will charge a handling fee of two thousandths of the redeemed principal. For the voucher-type government bonds redeemed in advance, the handling outlets can also sell them twice.

compared with savings, the main features of certificate-based national debt are safety, convenience and moderate income. Specifically, it is: 1. There are many outlets for the sale of voucher-type government bonds, which are convenient to purchase and redeem, and the procedures are simple; 2. You can report the loss by name, which is safe to hold; 3. The interest rate is 1-2 percentage points higher than the bank deposit rate for the same period (but lower than bearer and book-entry treasury bonds), and the interest is calculated at a progressive rate according to the holding time when redeemed in advance; 4. Although the voucher-type treasury bonds cannot be listed and traded, they can be redeemed in advance, which is flexible to realize, and the location is nearby. Investors can redeem cash at the original purchase point at any time in case of special needs; 5. The interest risk is small, and the interest is calculated according to the holding period and the interest rate of the corresponding grade in advance. The interest rates of all grades are higher than or equal to the deposit rate of the bank in the same period, so there is no risk that the time savings deposit can only be drawn in advance and interest can be calculated on demand; 6. There is no market risk, the certificate-based government bonds cannot be listed, and the price (principal and interest) when redeemed in advance does not change with the change of market interest rate, which can avoid market price risk.

(3) book-entry treasury bonds

book-entry treasury bonds, also known as paperless treasury bonds, refer to a kind of treasury bonds in which the treasury bonds held by investors are registered in securities accounts, and investors only obtain receipts or statements to confirm their ownership.

China introduced the book-entry treasury bonds in 1994. The characteristics of book-entry treasury bonds are paperless, and investors do not get paper coupons or vouchers when they buy them, but write them down in their bond accounts. Its general characteristics are as follows: 1. Bookkeeping treasury bonds can be registered and reported for loss, and issuing them in the form of no bonds can prevent the loss, theft and forgery of securities, with good security; 2. It can be listed and transferred, with good liquidity; 3. The term is long and short, but it is more suitable for the issuance of short-term government bonds; 4. Book-entry treasury bonds are issued through the computer network of the exchange, which can reduce the issuance cost of securities; 5. After the listing, the price will go with the market, and it is possible to obtain greater benefits, but it is also accompanied by certain risks.

it can be seen that book-entry treasury bonds have the characteristics of low cost, good income, good security and strong liquidity.

due to the issuance and trading characteristics of book-entry treasury bonds, it is mainly designed for individual investors with strong financial awareness and institutional investors with cash management needs to preserve and increase their assets. Investors trust it in the seats of designated securities firms, which is convenient for circulation and trading, has strong liquidity and is not easy to lose, and can also obtain high profits through buying low and selling high.

compared with bearer bonds, voucher bonds and bookkeeping bonds, each has its own characteristics. In terms of profitability, bearer bonds and book-entry bonds are slightly better than certificate-entry bonds. Usually, bearer bonds and book-entry bonds in coupon rate are slightly higher than certificate-entry bonds with the same maturity. In terms of security, certificate-based treasury bonds are slightly better than bearer treasury bonds and book-entry treasury bonds, and the latter two are slightly better. In terms of liquidity, book-entry treasury bonds are slightly better than bearer treasury bonds, and bearer treasury bonds are slightly better than voucher treasury bonds.