Funds have broad and narrow definitions. Fund in a broad sense is the general name of institutional investors, including trust and investment funds, unit trust funds, provident funds, insurance funds, retirement funds and funds of various foundations. Funds in the existing securities market, including closed-end funds and open-end funds, have the characteristics of income function and value-added potential. From the accounting point of view, capital is a narrow concept, which refers to funds with specific purposes and uses. Because the investors of government agencies and institutions do not require investment returns and investment recovery, but require funds to be used for designated purposes in accordance with the law or the wishes of the investors, funds are formed.

The funds we are talking about now usually refer to securities investment funds.

securities investment funds

Securities investment fund refers to a collective investment method that collects the funds of many investors through the sale of fund shares to form independent assets, which are managed by fund custodians and fund managers and share the benefits and risks of securities investment in a combined way.

Securities investment fund is an indirect way of securities investment. By issuing fund shares, fund management companies concentrate investors' funds, which are managed by fund custodians (that is, qualified banks) and managed and used by fund managers to invest in financial instruments such as stocks and bonds, and then * * * bear the investment risks and share the benefits. According to different standards, securities investment funds can be divided into different types:

According to whether fund units can be increased or redeemed, they can be divided into open-end funds and closed-end funds. Open-end funds are not listed and traded, but are generally purchased and redeemed by banks, and the fund scale is not fixed; Closed-end funds have a fixed duration, and the fund size is fixed during the duration. Generally listed on the stock exchange, investors buy and sell fund shares through the secondary market.

Securities investment funds are called "mutual funds" in the United States, "unit trust funds" in Britain and China SAR, and "securities investment trust funds" in Japan and Taiwan Province Province.

Securities investment fund is a kind of collective investment and financial management method with shared interests and risks. That is, by issuing fund units, investors' funds are concentrated, managed by fund custodians (usually reputable banks), managed and used by fund managers (namely fund management companies), and invested in financial instruments such as stocks and bonds. While enjoying the income from securities investment, fund investors should also bear the risks brought by investment losses. The funds in China are all contract funds for the time being, which is a trust investment method.

investment fund

General funds mainly invest in large-cap blue-chip stocks, and when calculating the Shanghai Composite Index, large-cap blue-chip stocks also account for a great weight, so the decline and rise of funds are generally related to the decline and rise of the Shanghai Composite Index.

However, it is different for different funds. Some funds are closely related to the Shanghai Composite Index, while others are less related to the Shanghai Composite Index. Some funds can even rise when the market falls, depending on what stocks the fund holds.

Investment funds originated in Britain, but prevailed in the United States. After the First World War, the United States replaced Britain as the new hegemon of the world economy, and jumped from a capital importing country to a capital exporting country. With the rapid growth of American economy, the increasingly complex economic activities make it more and more difficult for some investors to judge the economic trend. In order to effectively promote foreign trade and foreign investment, the United States began to introduce the investment trust fund system. 1926 The Massachusetts Financial Services Company in Boston established the Massachusetts Investment Trust Company, which became the first modern mutual fund in the United States. In the following years, the fund experienced its first glorious period in the United States. By the end of the 1920s, the total assets of all closed-end funds had reached $2.8 billion, while the total assets of open-end funds were only $6,543.8+$400 million, but the growth rate of the latter was higher than that of closed-end funds. In the 1920s, the total asset value increased by more than 20% every year, and the growth rate of 1927 exceeded 100%.

However, just as American investors were immersed in the optimism of "eternal prosperity", the global stock market crash of 1929 dealt a heavy blow to the newly emerging American fund industry. With the global economic downturn, most investment companies have closed down, and the rest are unsustainable. But in comparison, the loss of closed-end funds is greater than that of open-end funds. The financial crisis reduced the total assets of American investment funds by about 50%. Since then, the securities industry has been at a low ebb throughout the 1930s. Faced with the shortage of funds and low industrial productivity caused by the Great Depression, people lost confidence in investment, and with the outbreak of the Second World War, the investment fund industry once stopped.

After the crisis, in order to protect the interests of investors, the U.S. government enacted the securities law of 1933 and the securities trading law of 1934, followed by the investment company law of 1940 and the investment consultant law specifically for investment funds. The Investment Company Law specifies the legal elements of the composition and management of investment funds in detail, which provides investors with complete legal protection and lays a good legal foundation for the rapid development of investment funds in the future.

After World War II, the American economy resumed its strong growth momentum and investor confidence quickly recovered. Under the strict legal protection of investment funds, especially open-end funds are active again, and the fund scale is increasing year by year. Since 1970s, American investment funds have exploded. From 1974 to 13 of 1987, the scale of investment funds increased from $64 billion to $700 billion. At the same time, the American fund industry has also broken through the restriction of investing only in common stock and corporate bonds for more than half a century, and launched money market funds and Federal Reserve funds at 197 1; Municipal bond funds and long-term bond funds began to appear in1977; The tax-free money fund first appeared in1979; International bond fund launched 1986. By the end of 1987, there were more than 2,000 different funds in the United States, which were held by nearly 25 million people. Due to the variety of investment funds, the investment focus of various funds is scattered. During the 1987 stock market crash, the total assets of American investment funds not only did not decrease, but increased in number.

In the early 1990s, about 80% of the new capital injected into American stock market came from funds, and the ratio of 1992 reached 96%. From 1988 to 1992, the proportion of investment funds in the entire US stock market rose sharply from 5% to 35%. By 1993, in NYSE, individual investment only accounts for 20% of the stock market value, while funds account for 55%. By the end of 1997, there were about $7.5 trillion in fund assets in the world, including about $4 trillion in American funds, which exceeded the total savings deposits of American commercial banks. From 1990 to 1996, the growth rate of investment funds is 2 18%. During this period, more and more institutional investors with huge capital, including bank trust departments, trust companies, insurance companies, pension funds and various consortia or foundations, began to invest heavily in investment funds. At present, America has become the most developed country in the fund industry in the world.

trait

Like stocks, bonds, time deposits, foreign exchange and other investment tools, securities investment funds also provide investors with an investment channel. Then, what are the characteristics of securities investment funds compared with other investment tools?

(1) Integrated financial management and professional financial management.

The fund collects the funds of many investors and entrusts the fund managers to invest together, showing a feature of collective financial management. By pooling the funds of many investors, many a mickle makes a mickle, which is conducive to giving full play to the scale advantage of the fund and reducing the investment cost. The fund is managed and operated by the fund manager. Fund managers generally have a large number of professional investment and research personnel and a strong information network, which can better track and analyze the securities market comprehensively. Give funds to fund managers for management, so that small and medium investors can also enjoy professional investment management services.

(2) Portfolio investment spreads risks.

In order to reduce investment risks, China's Securities Investment Fund Law stipulates that funds must be invested and operated in the form of portfolio investment, thus making "portfolio investment and risk diversification" a major feature of funds. The scientific nature of "portfolio investment and risk diversification" has been proved by modern investment science. Because of the small amount of funds, small and medium-sized investors generally cannot diversify their investment risks by buying different stocks. Funds generally buy dozens or even hundreds of stocks. Investors buying funds are equivalent to buying a basket of stocks with very little money. The losses caused by the decline of some stocks can be made up by the rising profits of other stocks. Therefore, you can fully enjoy the benefits of portfolio investment and risk diversification.

(3) Enjoy the benefits and take risks.

Fund investors are the owners of funds. Fund investors * * * take risks * * and enjoy the benefits. The surplus after deducting the expenses borne by the fund from the investment income of the fund belongs to all fund investors and is distributed according to the proportion of fund shares held by each investor. Fund custodians and fund managers who provide services for the fund can only collect certain custody fees and management fees according to regulations, and do not participate in the distribution of fund income.

(4) Strict supervision and transparent information.

In order to effectively protect the interests of investors and enhance their confidence in fund investment, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has implemented strict supervision over the fund industry, severely cracked down on all kinds of behaviors that harm the interests of investors, and forced funds to make full information disclosure. In this case, strict supervision and information transparency have become the remarkable characteristics of the fund.

(5) Independent storage to ensure safety.

The fund manager is responsible for the investment operation of the fund and does not handle the custody of the fund property. The custody of the fund property is the responsibility of the fund custodian independent of the fund manager. This kind of checks and balances mechanism of mutual restriction and mutual supervision provides an important guarantee for the interests of investors.

open-ended fund

Open-end funds (LOF) are called "Listened Open-end Fund" or "open-end funds" in English, "listed open-end funds" in Chinese and * * * mutual funds abroad. In other words, after the issuance of listed open-end funds, investors can purchase and redeem fund shares at designated outlets, or buy and sell funds on exchanges. However, if investors want to sell the fund shares purchased at designated outlets, they must go through certain transfer custody procedures; Similarly, if you want to redeem the fund shares you bought online on the exchange and redeem them at designated outlets, you must also go through certain transfer custody procedures.

It is a fund with variable issuance, and the total number of fund shares (units) can be increased or decreased at any time. Investors can purchase or redeem it at the business place designated by the fund manager according to the quotation of the fund. Compared with closed-end funds, open-end funds have the characteristics of unlimited issuance, transaction price based on net asset value, over-the-counter transaction and relatively low risk, which is especially suitable for small and medium-sized investors to invest.

The development history of world funds is the history from closed-end funds to open-end funds. Take the United States, the most mature fund market, as an example. 1 in September 1990, there were 3,000 open-end funds in the United States, with total assets of1trillion dollars; There are only 250 closed-end funds with total assets of $60 billion. By 1996, the assets of American open-end funds were $3,539.2 billion, while the assets of closed-end funds were only128.5 billion, accounting for 27.54 ∶ 1. In 1940, the ratio of the two is only 0.73: 1. In Japan, before 1990, closed-end funds accounted for the vast majority, and open-end funds were in a subordinate position; However, after the 1990s, the situation has changed fundamentally, and the asset size of open-end funds has reached about twice that of closed-end funds.

In Hongkong, Thailand, Taiwan Province, Singapore, the Philippines and other countries and regions where Asian investment funds were developed earlier, closed-end funds were mainly developed at the initial stage, and gradually the two types of funds coexisted. From a global perspective, the net assets balance of open-end investment funds in the world in 1990 was US$ 2,355.4 billion, and by 1995 it had jumped to US$ 5,340.7 billion.

Open-end funds have gradually become the mainstream of investment funds in the world.

Most investment funds in the world are closed at the beginning. This is because in the early stage of the development of investment funds, the handling fee for buying and selling closed-end funds is far lower than that for redeeming open-end fund shares. From the perspective of fund management, because there is no pressure to redeem beneficiary certificates, investors' funds can be fully utilized to implement their investment strategies, so as to maximize returns.

Open-end funds and closed-end funds are isomorphic, forming two basic modes of fund operation. Open-end fund assets are not fixed in scale and can be purchased and redeemed; Without duration, it can theoretically exist forever; Not listed on the exchange, but traded through consignment agencies and direct selling centers; The price is determined by the net asset value. Fund units can be sold to investors at any time, and can also be repurchased according to the requirements of investors. The assets of closed-end funds are fixed; The duration is fixed; Listing on the exchange; The price is determined by the relationship between supply and demand, and the net value of the fund will affect the fund price, but the two are not unified. Usually, closed-end funds trade at a discount. Open-end fund is one of the basic forms of fund operation in the world. Fund management companies can sell new fund shares to investors at any time, and also need to buy back their fund shares at any time at the request of investors. At present, the open-end fund has become the mainstream of the international fund market. More than 90% of the fund markets in the United States, Britain, Hongkong and Taiwan Province Province are open-end funds.

close-ended fund

Belonging to the trust fund, it refers to the investment fund whose scale has been determined before issuance, fixed within a specified period after issuance and traded in the securities market.

Because closed-end funds are traded by bidding in securities trading, the transaction price is affected by the relationship between market supply and demand, which does not necessarily reflect the fund's net asset value, that is, the transaction price of closed-end funds has a premium and discount phenomenon relative to its net asset value. The practice of foreign closed-end funds shows that the transaction price often has the price fluctuation law of first premium and then discount. Judging from the operation of closed-end funds in China, no matter how the fundamental situation changes, the transaction price trend of closed-end funds in China has never deviated from the price fluctuation law of first premium and then discount.

According to different organizational forms, it can be divided into corporate funds and contractual funds. A fund is established by issuing fund shares to establish an investment fund company, which is usually called a corporate fund; The establishment of fund managers, fund custodians and investors through fund contracts is usually called contractual funds. At present, China's securities investment funds are all contractual funds.

Company fund

Also known as * * * mutual fund, it means that the fund itself is a joint stock limited company, and the company raises funds by issuing shares or beneficiary certificates. When an investor buys a company's shares, he becomes a shareholder of the company, receives dividends or bonuses with the shares, and shares the income from the investment.

trait

1.*** are both joint-stock companies, but different from ordinary joint-stock companies, and their business is mainly securities investment trust.

2.*** The capital of the same fund is the capital of the company as a legal person, that is, shares.

3.*** The structure of the same fund is the same as that of a general joint-stock company, with a board of directors and a general meeting of shareholders. Fund assets are owned by the company, and investors are the shareholders of the company and the ultimate holders of its assets. Shareholders exercise their rights at the shareholders' meeting according to the size of their shares.

4. According to the articles of association, the board of directors is responsible for the safe proliferation of fund assets. For the convenience of management, mutual funds often have fund managers and custodians. The fund manager is responsible for the investment management of fund assets, and the custodian is responsible for supervising the investment activities of the fund manager. The custodian may (not necessarily) open an account in the bank and register the fund assets in his own name. In order to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties, * * * has a contractual relationship with the fund company and the custodian, and the responsibilities of the custodian are clearly stipulated in the Custody Agreement signed by him and * * * with the fund company. If the fund of * * * has problems, investors have the right to directly ask the fund company of * * *.

Unit trust fund

Also known as unit trust fund, it refers to a fund management company established by specialized investment institutions (banks and enterprises). As a client, the fund management company issues a beneficiary certificate-"certificate of fund unit holding" by signing a "trust deed" with the trustee to raise idle funds in society.

trait

Unit Trust is a management company established by a document named trust deed. In terms of organizational structure, it has no board of directors. The fund manager company establishes the fund as the entrusting company, and employs the manager to manage the operation and operation of the fund by himself or again. Usually, securities companies or underwriting companies are responsible for the issuance, trading, transfer, trading, profit distribution, repayment and payment of benefits and principal and interest.

The trustee accepts the entrustment of the fund manager company to register and open an account for the fund in the name of the trustee or trust company. The fund account is completely independent of the account of the fund custody company. Even if the fund custody company goes bankrupt due to poor management, its creditors cannot use the assets of the fund. Its duties are to manage, keep and dispose of the trust property, supervise the investment work of the fund manager, and ensure that the fund manager abides by the investment regulations listed in the prospectus, so as to make its investment portfolio meet the requirements of trust deed. When the unit trust fund has problems, the trustee has the responsibility to claim compensation from investors.

According to the difference of investment risk and income, it can be divided into growth fund, income fund and balanced fund.

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

Stock fund

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 investor in the stock market.

classify

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 income. The risk is smaller. Income distribution is mainly dividends; Common stock fund is the largest fund at present, which aims 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.

trait

1. Compared with other funds, equity funds have diversified investment targets and purposes.

2. Compared with investors' direct investment 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 stock 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 in funds, reduce investment costs, improve investment returns, and obtain benefits of scale.

3. From the perspective of asset liquidity, equity funds have the characteristics of strong liquidity and high liquidity. Equity funds invest in stocks with excellent liquidity, with high asset quality and easy realization.

4. For investors, equity funds operate stably and earn considerable profits. 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 closed-end stock fund goes public, investors can also get the bid-ask difference 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, the stocks of all countries are basically traded in their own markets, and stock investors can only invest in stocks listed in their own countries or stocks listed in a few foreign companies. 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.

money market fund

Money market funds refer to funds that invest in short-term securities in the money market. The assets of the Fund are mainly invested in short-term monetary instruments, such as treasury bills, commercial paper, bank time deposit certificates, government short-term bonds, corporate bonds and other short-term securities.

Money market funds were first established in the United States of 1972. By the end of 1986, there were more than 400 money market funds in the United States with total assets exceeding $290 billion. In the United States, money market funds can be divided into two categories according to the risk: ① Treasury money market funds, which mainly invest in treasury bonds and government-guaranteed securities. The maturity of these securities is generally less than 1 year, and the average maturity is 120 days. (2) Diversified money market funds, commonly known as money market funds, usually invest in commercial bills, treasury bills, securities issued by US government agencies, negotiable certificates of deposit, bank acceptance bills and other securities, and the maturity time is similar to the above funds. (3) Tax-free monetary funds are mainly used for short-term financing of high-quality municipal securities, including municipal medium-term bonds and municipal long-term bonds. The advantage of tax-free money funds is that they can reduce or exempt taxes, but the rate of return is usually lower than that of ordinary money market funds (about 30% ~ 40% lower). It is not cost-effective for investors to choose this fund when the tax rate is not high.

Compared with traditional funds, money market funds have the following characteristics: ① The main difference between money market funds and other funds that invest in stocks is that the net asset value of the fund unit is fixed, usually per fund unit 1 yuan. After investors invest in this fund, they can reinvest with the proceeds, and the investment income will accumulate continuously to increase the fund share owned by investors. For example, an investor who invests in a money market fund of 100 yuan can own 100 fund shares. After 1 year, if the return on investment is 8%, investors will have 8 more fund shares, totaling 108, with a value of 108 yuan. ② The standard to measure the performance of money market funds is the rate of return, which is different from other funds that make profits by increasing their net assets. ③ Good liquidity and high capital security. These characteristics are mainly due to the fact that the money market is a low-risk and high-liquidity market. At the same time, investors can transfer the fund shares at any time as needed, regardless of the maturity date. 4。 Low risk. The maturity of money market instruments is usually very short, and the average maturity of money market fund portfolio is usually 4 ~ 6 months, so the risk is low, and its price is usually only affected by market interest rate, so the investment cost is low. Money market funds usually do not charge redemption fees and have low management fees. The annual management fee of money market funds is about 0.25% ~ 1% of the fund's net asset value, which is lower than the traditional annual management fee 1% ~ 2.5%. 6。 Money market funds are all open-end funds. Money market funds are usually regarded as risk-free or low-risk investment tools, which are suitable for short-term capital investment to earn interest in case of emergency, especially in the case of high interest rate, high inflation rate, reduced liquidity of securities and reduced credibility, which can prevent the loss of principal.

bond funds

Bond funds, as the name implies, are * * * mutual funds with bonds as their main investment targets. In addition to bonds, they can also invest in financial bonds, repurchase bonds, time deposits, short-term bills and so on. Most of them are issued in the form of open-end funds, which are legally tax-saving. At present, most domestic bond funds tend to be income-oriented bond funds, mainly to obtain stable interest, so the income generally shows steady growth.

(1) Trading Guide Bond funds trade in a similar way to equity funds. But the cost is different. Generally speaking, bond funds do not charge subscription or subscription fees, and the redemption rate is also low. For example, a bond fund requires a redemption fee of 0. 1% within 30 days. If the holding period exceeds 30 days, the redemption fee will be exempted.

(B) the advantages of bond funds

1, low risk, 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, the cost is low. Because bond investment management is not as complicated as stock investment management, the management fee of bond funds 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 the current income. Bond funds mainly pursue relatively fixed income in the current period, and lack appreciation potential compared with equity funds, so they are more suitable for investors who are unwilling to take too many risks and seek stable income in the current period.

guarantee fund

WarrantFunds: These funds mainly invest in warrants. Because warrants have the characteristics of high leverage and high risk, the fluctuation range of such funds is greater than that of equity funds.

Indexed securities investment fund

Index fund is a kind of fund that constructs a portfolio for securities investment according to the principle of compiling securities price index. Theoretically speaking, the operation method of index fund is very simple, as long as you buy the corresponding proportion of securities according to the proportion of each securities in the index and hold it for a long time.

For purely passively managed index funds, the capital turnover rate and transaction cost are relatively low. Management fees are often very small. Such funds will not invest too much money in certain securities or industries. Generally, full investment will be maintained, and there is no market speculation. Of course, not all index funds strictly meet these characteristics. Different index funds will also adopt different investment strategies. At present, there are three index funds, Xinghe, Pufeng and Tianyuan, which are "optimized index funds" with the characteristics of index funds.

Net fund value

* * * The total assets owned by the same fund calculated according to the market closing price of each business day, after deducting the various costs and expenses of the fund on that day, is the net asset value of the fund on that day. Divided by the total number of units issued by the fund on the same day, it is the unit net value.