Investment management company

An  is a company (corporation, business trust, partnership, or limited liability company) that issues securities and is primarily engaged in the business of investing in securities.

An investment company invests the money it receives from investors on a collective basis, and each investor shares in the profits and losses in proportion to the investor's interest in the investment company. The performance of the investment company will be based on (but it won't be identical to) the performance of the securities and other assets that the investment company owns.

The U.S. federal securities laws categorize investment companies into three basic types:


 * 1) Mutual funds (legally known as open-end companies);
 * 2) Closed-end funds (legally known as closed-end companies);
 * 3) UITs (legally known as unit investment trusts).