capital gain distributions
The payments made to a fund's shareholders that result from the sale of securities in the fund's portfolio.
closed-end fund
A mutual fund whose shares are issued by an investment company only when the fund is organized.
contingent deferred sales load
A 1 to 5 percent charge that shareholders pay when they withdraw their investment from a mutual fund.
exchange-traded fund (ETF)
A fund that invests in the stocks or other securities contained in a specific stock or securities index, and whose shares are traded on a securities exchange or over the counter.
expense ratio
The amount that investors pay for all of a mutual fund's management fees and operating costs.
family of funds
A group of mutual funds managed by one investment company.
income dividends
The earnings a fund pays to shareholders from its dividend and interest income.
load fund
A mutual fund in which investors pay a commission (as high as 8.5 percent) every time they purchase shares.
mutual fund
An investment company that pools the money of many investors�its shareholders� to invest in a variety of securities.
net asset value (NAV)
The current market value of the securities contained in the mutual fund's portfolio minus the mutual fund's liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding.
no-load fund
A mutual fund in which the individual investor pays no sales charge.
open-end fund
A mutual fund whose shares are issued and redeemed by the investment company at the request of investors.
reinvestment plan
A service provided by an investment company in which shareholder income dividends and capital gain distributions are automatically reinvested to purchase additional shares of the fund.
turnover ratio
A ratio that measures the percentage of a fund's holdings that have changed or "been replaced" during a 12-month period of time.
12b-1 fee
A fee that an investment company levies to defray the costs of advertising and marketing a mutual fund.