mutual fund

American  

noun

1. an investment company that issues shares continuously and is obligated to repurchase them from shareholders on demand.

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mutual fund British  

noun

1. British equivalent: unit trust.  an investment trust that issues units for public sale, the holders of which are creditors and not shareholders with their interests represented by a trust company independent of the issuing agency

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mutual fund Cultural  

1. A company organized for the purpose of making investments. A mutual fund gets its capital stock from private individual investors, who, in effect, allow the mutual fund to decide where to invest their money.

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Etymology

Origin of mutual fund

First recorded in 1790–1800

Example Sentences

Closed-end funds offer advantages that can work well for investors over the long term since this fund type allows for more flexibility in portfolio management than a traditional open-ended mutual fund.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

Fidelity Investments, the big brokerage and mutual fund firm, long has had a rule protecting its small retail clients from plunging into initial public stock offerings while the shares were still subject to IPO-related hype.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

Yet Baron Partners is a publicly available mutual fund regulated under the Investment Act of 1940, and ordinary shareholders should be told how nearly a third of their money is being invested.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

Federal regulations generally restrict illiquid securities to 15% of a mutual fund or ETF’s assets.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

“The market found him,” says the Philadelphia mutual fund manager.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• bond fund
• closed-end fund
• investment fund
• retirement plan