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 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 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. Equity funds invest in stocks with excellent liquidity, with high asset quality and easy realization.

(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 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.

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 our country. 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 company's profit distribution rights. If investors directly invest in stocks and bonds, they will become the owners of stocks and bonds and bear the investment risks directly. Where investors purchase securities investment funds, 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 are difficult to enter the market.

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 fund's net asset value, while the fee that investors need to pay for purchasing funds is usually 0.25% of the total subscription, which is lower than the cost of buying stocks. In addition, because the fund concentrates a lot of money on securities trading, it can usually get preferential treatment from brokers. Moreover, in order to support the development of the fund industry, many countries and regions also give preferential treatment to the tax of funds, 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, at least spread the risk 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.

According to different standards, securities 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 with a fixed scale. After the fund is established, investors can purchase or redeem the fund shares at any time. Closed-end fund refers to an investment fund whose fund scale has been determined before issuance and fixed within a 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 the investment fund whose purpose is to pay the current income and pursue the long-term growth of capital.

(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 of large banks, commercial bills and corporate bonds; Futures funds refer to investment funds with various futures varieties as the main investment targets; Option fund refers to an investment fund that invests in stock options that can distribute dividends; 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; Domestic funds refer to investment funds whose capital comes from China and invests in the domestic market; State funds refer to investment funds whose capital comes from abroad and invests in specific countries; Regional funds refer to investment funds that invest in specific fields.

Stock index

Introduction to stock price index A stock price index is a stock index. It is a reference index compiled by stock exchanges or financial services institutions to indicate changes in the stock market. Due to the volatility of stock prices, investors are bound to face market price risks. It is easy for investors to know the price changes of a specific stock, but it is neither easy nor annoying to know the price changes of various stocks one by one. In order to adapt to this situation and need, some financial service institutions make use of their professional knowledge and the advantages of being familiar with the market to compile stock price indexes and publish them publicly as indicators of market price changes. Based on this, investors can test the effect of their investment and predict the trend of the stock market. At the same time, the press, company bosses and even political leaders also use this as a reference index to observe and predict the social, political and economic development situation. This stock index, that is, the average price indicating the changes in the stock market. A stock index is usually compiled based on a certain month of a year, and the stock price in this base period is 100. The stock prices in subsequent periods are compared with the base period price, and the percentage of rise and fall is calculated, which is the stock index of this period. Investors can judge the trend of stock price according to the rise and fall of the index. And in order to reflect the trend of the stock market to investors in real time, almost all stock markets will announce the stock price index at the same time as the stock price changes. There are three factors to be considered in calculating the stock index: first, sampling, that is, extracting a few representative constituent stocks from many stocks; The second is weighted, weighted average by unit price or total value, or unweighted average; The third is a calculation program, which calculates arithmetic average, geometric average, or considers price and total value. Because there are many kinds of listed stocks, it is an arduous and complicated task to calculate the average price or index of all listed stocks, so people often choose a few representative sample stocks from listed stocks and calculate the average price or index of these sample stocks. Used to indicate the general trend and fluctuation range of stock prices in the whole market. When calculating the average or index of stock price, the following four points are often considered: (1) sample stocks must be typical and common. Therefore, the factors such as industry distribution, market influence, stock grade and appropriate quantity should be considered comprehensively when selecting sample correspondence. (2) The calculation method should have high adaptability, and can make corresponding adjustments or corrections to the rapidly changing stock market, so that the stock index or average value has good sensitivity. (3) There should be scientific calculation basis and means. The calculation basis must be unified, generally based on the closing price, but with the increase of calculation frequency, some are calculated at the hourly price or even shorter time. (4) The base period should be well balanced and representative. Calculation method of index When calculating the stock index, the stock index and the average price of the stock are often calculated separately. By definition, the stock index is the average share price. However, as far as their actual impact on the stock market is concerned, the average share price is an overall level reflecting the changes of various stock prices, which is usually expressed as an arithmetic average. By comparing the average stock prices in different periods, people can know the changes of various stock prices. Stock index is a relative index that reflects the changes of stock prices in different periods, that is, the percentage of the average stock price in the first period as the benchmark of the average stock price in another period. Through the stock index, people can know the percentage of stock price rising or falling relative to the base stock price during the calculation period. Because the stock index is a relative index, it can measure the change of stock price more accurately than the average stock price in a long period of time. The calculation of stock price average reflects the absolute level of listed stock price at a certain moment, which can be divided into three categories: simple arithmetic stock price average, revised stock price average and weighted stock price average. People can see the changes and trends of stock prices by comparing the average stock prices at different times. (1) simple arithmetic stock price average The simple arithmetic stock price average is obtained by dividing the sum of the daily closing prices of sample stocks by the number of samples, namely: simple arithmetic stock price average = (P 1+P2+P3+…+PN)/n The world's first average stock price-Dow Jones stock price average is19281. Now suppose that four stocks, A, B, C and D, are sampled from a stock market, and the closing prices on a certain trading day are 10 yuan, 16 yuan, 24 yuan and 30 yuan, respectively, to calculate the average stock price of this market. Substitute the above figures into the formula, that is, the average stock price = (p1+p2+P3+P4)/n = (10+16+24+30)/4 = 20 (yuan). Although the calculation is simple, it has two shortcomings: first, when the sample shares are paid dividends and increased in stock split, the average share price will break and lose continuity, making it difficult to compare the time series before and after. For example, if the above-mentioned D shares are split into three shares with 1 share, the share price will inevitably be lowered from 30 yuan to 10 yuan. The average value at this time is (10+16+24+10)/4 =15. That is to say, due to the technical changes in the division of D shares, the average share price has dropped from 20 yuan to 15 yuan (this has not taken into account other factors that affect the stock price changes), which obviously does not meet the requirements of taking the average value as an indicator to reflect the stock price changes. (2) There are two ways to correct the average number of shares: one is the divisor correction method, also called Tao correction method. This is a method for calculating the average stock price created by Dow Jones in the United States at 1928. The core of this method is to find a constant divisor, so as to correct the changes of the average share price caused by stock split, capital increase, bonus and other factors, and maintain the continuity and comparability of the average share price. The specific method is to divide the new total share price by the old average share price to find a new divisor, and then divide the total share price in the calculation period by the new divisor to get the revised average share price. Namely: new divisor = new stock price after change/average value of old stock price = total stock price during the reporting period/new divisor. In the above example, the divisor is 4, and the adjusted new divisor should be: new divisor = (10+16+24+10)/20 = 3. Then: the average value of the revised stock price = (10+16+24+10)/3 = 20 (yuan) is the same as that calculated when it is not divided, and the stock price level will not change due to stock split. The second is the stock price correction method. The stock price correction method is to restore the stock price after stock breakdown and other changes to the stock price before the change, so that the average stock price remains unchanged. The average value of 500 stock prices compiled by The New York Times, USA, is calculated by the stock price correction method. (3) Weighted stock price average Weighted stock price average is the average stock price calculated by weighted average according to the relative importance of various sample stocks, and its weight (q) can be the number of trading stocks, the total market value of stocks, the stock circulation, etc. Calculation of stock index Stock index is a relative index reflecting the changes of stock price at different time points. Usually, the stock price in the reporting period is compared with the fixed base period price, and the ratio of the two is multiplied by the index value of the base period, which is the stock index in the reporting period. There are three methods to calculate stock index: one is relative method, the other is comprehensive method, and the third is weighting method. The (1) relative method, also known as the average method, first calculates the stock index of each sample. Add up and get the arithmetic average of the total. Its calculation formula is: stock index = sum of n sample stock indexes /n The Economist common stock index in Britain adopts this calculation method. (2) Comprehensive method The comprehensive method is to add the prices of sample stocks in the base period and the reporting period respectively, and then compare them to get the stock index. That is, stock index = sum of stock prices in the reporting period/sum of stock prices in the base period. If numbers are substituted, the stock index = (8+12+14+18)/(5+8+10+15) = 52/38. Judging from the calculation of stock index by average method and comprehensive method, the factors such as the different circulation and trading volume of various sample stocks and the different influence on the stock price of the whole stock market are not taken into account, so the calculated index is not accurate enough. In order to accurately calculate the stock index, it is necessary to add weight, which can be either volume or circulation. (3) The weighted stock index is weighted according to the relative importance of sample stocks in each period, and its weight can be the number of shares traded, stock circulation, etc. According to the time division, the weight can be the number of basic options or the number of reported options. The index weighted by the number of shares traded in the base period (or circulation disk) is called Rasbel index; An index weighted by the number of stocks traded (or circulated) during the reporting period is called the quotation index. Rasbell index focuses on the number of shares traded in the base period (or circulation), while Paixu index focuses on the number of shares traded in the reporting period (or circulation). At present, most stock indexes in the world are Pais indexes. Several famous stock indexes in the world Dow Jones stock index Dow Jones stock index is the oldest stock index in the world, whose full name is the average stock price. Prepared by charles dow, founder of Dow Jones Company, on 1884. Its original Dow Jones stock price average index is based on 1 1 representative railway companies, which is calculated and compiled by arithmetic average method and published in the Daily Communication edited and published by charles dow himself. Its calculation formula is: average share price = sum of selected stock prices/number of selected stocks. Starting from 1897, the Dow Jones average stock price index is divided into two categories: industry and transportation, in which the industrial average stock price index includes 12 stocks and the transportation average index includes 20 stocks, which are published in the Wall Street Journal published by Dow Jones Company. 1929, the Dow Jones stock price average index added utility stocks, making it include 65 stocks, which have continued to this day. At present, the average Dow Jones stock price index is based on 1928 65438+ 10/month. Because the average price of Dow Jones stock at the close of this day is about 100, it is set as the benchmark date. In the future, the percentage calculated by comparing the stock price with the benchmark date becomes the voting price index of each period, so the current stock index is generally based on points, and the rise and fall of each point of the stock index is the percentage of the rise and fall relative to the benchmark date. The initial calculation method of Dow Jones stock price average index is simple arithmetic average method. When the stock is ex-dividend, the stock index will be discontinuous. After 1928, the Dow Jones stock average price index was changed to a new calculation method, that is, the connection technology was adopted when the stock was ex-dividend or ex-dividend, so as to ensure the continuity of the stock index, make the stock index more perfect and gradually spread to the whole world. At present, the Dow Jones stock price average index is divided into four groups. The first group is the average index of industrial stock prices. It is composed of 30 representative stocks of large industrial and commercial companies, which become larger with the development of economy, and can roughly reflect the price level of the entire industrial and commercial stocks in the United States, which is also the average price of Dow Jones Industrial Stock that people usually quote. The second group is the average stock price index of the transportation industry. Including the shares of 20 representative transportation companies, namely, 8 railway transportation companies, 8 airlines and 4 road freight companies. The third group is the average share price index of public utilities, which consists of 1 5 stocks of gas companies and power companies representing American public utilities. The fourth group is the average price composite index. It is a comprehensive index composed of 65 stocks in the first three groups of stock price average indexes. Although this group of comprehensive indexes provides direct stock market conditions for dominant stocks, the first group-industry stock price average index is usually cited now. Dow Jones average stock price index is the most influential and authoritative stock price index in the world at present. One of the reasons is that the stocks selected by the Dow Jones average share price index are representative, and the issuing companies of these stocks are all famous companies with important influence in the industry. Their share prices have attracted the attention of the world stock market, and investors from all countries attach great importance to them. In order to maintain this feature, Dow Jones often adjusts the stocks selected by its stock price average index, and replaces those stocks that lose their representativeness with dynamic and more representative company stocks. Since 1928, 30 kinds of industrial and commercial company stocks used only to calculate the average price index of Dow Jones Industrial Average have been replaced 30 times. Almost every two years, the stock of a new company will replace the stock of the old company. The second reason is that The Wall Street Journal, the news media that publishes the Dow Jones stock price average index, is the most influential newspaper in the financial sector. The newspaper reported in detail the average index, percentage change rate of each sample stock and the turnover of each sample stock calculated every hour every day, and paid attention to the stock price average index after share split's correction. During the business hours of the new york Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones average stock price index is published every half hour. The third reason is that this average stock price index has never stopped since its compilation, and it can be used to compare the stock market and economic development in different periods. It has become one of the most sensitive average stock price indexes reflecting the changes in the American stock market, and it is the main reference for observing market dynamics and engaging in stock investment. Of course, because dow jones stock price indexes is a constituent stock index, its representativeness has been questioned and criticized by people, because it only includes a very small part of more than 2,500 listed companies, and most of them are active stocks, excluding companies in the service industry and financial industry that have developed rapidly in recent years. Standard & Poor's Stock Index In addition to dow jones stock price indexes, the Standard & Poor's Stock Index is also very influential in the United States. It is the stock price index compiled by Standard & Poor's Company, the largest securities research institution in the United States. The company began to compile and publish the stock price index on 1923. Initially, 230 stocks were selected and two stock price indices were compiled. By 1957, the range of this stock price index has expanded to 500 stocks, divided into 95 combinations. The four most important groups are industrial group, railway group, public utility group and 500-share mixed group. From 1 July 9761,it was changed to 400 industrial stocks, 20 transportation stocks, 40 public utilities stocks and 40 financial stocks. For decades, although the stock has changed, it has always remained at 500. Standard & Poor's stock price index is based on the average market price of sample stocks from 194 1 to 1943, weighted by the number of listed stocks, and weighted by the base period, and its base is 10. Take the current stock market price multiplied by the number of shares issued in the stock market as the numerator, the base stock market price multiplied by the number of shares in the base period as the denominator, and the divided number multiplied by 10 as the stock price index. Stock price index of new york Stock Exchange. This is the stock price index compiled by new york Stock Exchange. Since June, 1966. First, the common stock price index was changed to a mixed index, including 1570 stocks of 1500 companies listed on new york Stock Exchange. The specific calculation method is to arrange these stocks according to the price level, and calculate the price indexes of industrial stocks, financial stocks, public utilities stocks and transportation stocks respectively. The largest and most extensive is the industrial stock price index, which consists of 1093 stocks; The financial stock index includes 223 stocks including investment companies, savings and loan associations, installment financing companies, commercial banks, insurance companies and real estate companies. The stock price index of transportation industry includes 65 stocks of railway, aviation, ship and automobile companies; The stock price index of public utilities includes the stocks of telephone and telegraph company, gas company, electric power company and post and telecommunications company 189. New york's stock price index is based on196565438+50 points determined on February 3 1 day, and adopts the form of comprehensive index. The new york Stock Exchange announces the changes of the index every half hour. Although new york Stock Exchange has not compiled a stock price index for a long time, it is welcomed by investors because it can comprehensively and timely reflect the comprehensive situation of its stock market activities. Nikkei average share price is the average stock price compiled and published by Japan Economic News Agency, which reflects the price changes of Japanese stock market. The index was compiled from September 1950. Initially, the revised average share price was calculated based on the shares of 225 companies listed on the first market of Tokyo Stock Exchange, which was then called "Zhengdong revised average share price". On may 1975 and may 1 day, the nihon keizai shimbun bought a trademark from Dow Jones, which was calculated by the correction method of American Dow Jones, and the stock index was renamed as "Nikkei Jones average share price". 1 985 may1day, when the contract expires 10 year, the name was changed to "Nikkei average share price" through negotiation between the two companies. According to the sample number of the calculation object, the index is divided into two types, one is the average price of 225 Nikkei stocks. The selected samples are all stocks listed in the primary market of Tokyo Stock Exchange, and will not change in principle after the samples are selected. 198 1 year, manufacturing enterprises 150, construction enterprises 10, aquaculture enterprises 3, mining enterprises 3, commerce enterprises 12, road transport and maritime transport enterprises 14, finance and finance. Because the average share price of 225 Nikkei stock indexes has been continuous from 1950, its continuity and comparability are good, and it has become the most commonly used and reliable index to investigate and analyze the long-term evolution and dynamics of Japanese stock market. Another index is the average share price of the Nikkei 500 index. This is compiled by 1982 1.4. Because its sample includes 500 kinds of stocks, its representation is relatively broader, but its sample is not fixed. In April each year, samples are changed according to the operating conditions, transaction volume, transaction amount and total market value of listed companies. Financial Times Stock Price Index The full name of the Financial Times Stock Price Index is "London Financial Times Industrial and Commercial Common Stock Price Index", which was published by the Financial Times. The stock price index includes 30 representative publicly listed common stocks selected from British industry and commerce. It takes 1 935 July1as the base period, and its base point is 100. The stock price index is famous for showing the London stock market in time. Hong Kong Hang Seng Index Hong Kong Hang Seng Index is the oldest and most influential stock price index in Hong Kong stock market. Published by Hang Seng Bank of Hong Kong on June 24th, 1969+065438+. The Hang Seng Stock Index consists of 33 representative and economically powerful stocks selected from more than 500 listed companies in Hong Kong, which are divided into four categories-4 financial stocks, 6 public utility stocks, 9 real estate stocks and 65,438+04 other industrial and commercial stocks (including aviation and hotels). These stocks account for 63.8% of the market value of Hong Kong stocks, because the stock index involves various industries in Hong Kong and is very representative. The compilation of Hang Seng Stock Index is based on July 3 1, 1, 964, because the Hong Kong stock market operated normally on this day, and the turnover value was even, which can reflect the basic situation of the whole Hong Kong stock market. The base point is determined as 100 point. The calculation method is to multiply the daily closing price of 33 kinds of stocks by their respective issued shares as the market value of the calculation day, then compare it with the market value of the base period, and then multiply it by 100 to get the stock price index of the day. Because the base period selected by Hang Seng Stock Index is appropriate, the Hang Seng Stock Index can basically reflect the activity of the whole stock market, whether the stock market is in a big ups and downs or at a normal trading level. Hang Seng Stock Price Index has been adjusted several times since it was published in 1969. Since the Hong Kong authorities passed legislation in August and 1980 merged the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Far East Stock Exchange, the Gold and Silver Stock Exchange and the Kowloon Stock Exchange into the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, at present, only the Hang Seng Stock Index coexists with the newly generated Hong Kong Index, and all other stock indexes in Hong Kong no longer exist.