前三章介绍了证券交易的机制及证券交易市场的结构。

The previous chapter introduced you to the mechanics of trading secutities and the structure of the markets in which securities trade.

但是，在成熟的市场，个人投资者通常不会直接开立账户交易证券，而是会把资金交给证券投资公司，由它们代为管理证券。其中最重要的金融中介是开放型投资公司，更通俗地说是共同基金。

Commonly, however, individual investors do not trade securities directly for their own accounts. Instead, they direct their funds to investment companies that purchase securities on their behalf. The most important of these financial intermediaries are open-end investment companies, more commonly known as mutual funds, to which we devote most of this chapter.

本章我们将着重介绍共同基金，但会简单涉及其他类型的投资公司，如单位投资信托，对冲基金和封闭式基金。

We also touch briefly on other types of investment companies such as unit investment trusts, hedge funds, and close-end funds.

本章将首先描述并比较各种已有的投资公司，然后考察共同基金的功能、投资类型和投资策略，以及这些基金的投资成本。接下来我们简单看一看这些基金的投资业绩。

We begin the chapter by describing and comparing the various types of investment companies available to investors. We then examine the functions of mutual funds, their investment styles and policies, and the costs of investing in these funds.Next we take a first look at the investment performance of these funds.

我们需要考虑它们的管理费和换手率对净业绩的影响并考察跨时段投资业绩的持续性。

We consider the impact of expenses and turnover on net performance and examine the extent to which performance is consistent from on period to the next. 

也就是说如果共同基金过去的业绩骄人，那么它未来也会是业绩佼佼者吗？

In other words, will the mutual funds that were the best past performers be the best future performers? 

最后，本章还将讨论有关共同基金的信息来源问题，并详细介绍包罗万象的信息指南----晨星公司的《共同基金资料手册》提供的信息。

Finally, we discuss sources of information on mutual funds, and we consider in detail the information provided in the most comprehensive guide, Morningstar's Mutual Fund Sourcebook.

SUMMARY

1. 单位投资信托、封闭式基金管理公司以及开放式基金管理公司都可以归类为投资公司。从某种意义上说，单位投资信托是不用管理的。因为投资组合一旦确定将保持不变。

1. Unit investment trusts, closed-end management companies, and open-end management companies are all classified and regulated as investment companies. Unit investment trusts are essentially unmanaged in the sense that the portfolio, once established, is fixed.

相反，对于管理投资公司，管理人会适时改变投资组合的组成。封闭式基金的交易方式与其他证券相同，不会为投资者赎回股份。开放式基金一经投资者要求就会以资产净值赎回的股份。

Managed investment companies, in contrast, may change the composition of the portfolio as deemed fit by the portfolio manager. Close-end funds are traded like other securities; they do not redeem shares for their investors. Open-end funds will redeem shares for net asset value at the request of the investor.

2. 资产净值等于基金持有的资产的市场价值减去负债再除以发行在外的流通股的股数。

2. Net asset value equals the market value of assets held by a fund minus the liabilities of the fund divided by the shares outstanding.

3. 共同基金使个人投资者免于承担许多管理责任，并提供专业管理。他们也提供大规模投资者才会有的优势，例如节约交易成本。

3. Mutual funds free the individual from many of the administrative burdens of owning individual securities and offer professional management of the portfolio. They also offer advantages that are available only to large-scale investors, such as discounted trading costs.

另一方面，基金有管理费并且产生其他费用，这降低了投资者的收益率，而且投资基金，有些个人投资者无法控制资本利得实现的时机。

On the other hand, funds are assessed management fees and incur other expenses, which reduce the investor's rate of return. Fund also eliminate some of the individual's control over the timing of capital gains realizations.

4. 根据投资策略的不同共同基金可以分为货币市场基金、股权基金（根据对收益和增长重视程度的不同可以进一步分类）固定收益基金、平衡和收益型基金、资产分配基金、指数基金以及特定行业基金。

4. Mutual funds are often categorized by investment policy. Major policy groups include money market funds; equity funds, which are further grouped according to emphasis on income versus growth; fixed-income funds; balanced and income funds; asset allocation funds; index funds; and specialized sector funds.

5. 投资共同基金的成本包括前端手续费，这属于销售费用；撤离费用，是赎回费用；以及12b-1费用，这是二次之处费用，用来支付公开发售基金的费用。

5. Costs of investing in mutual funds include front-end loads, which are sales shares; back-end loads, which are redemption fees or, more formally, contingent-deferred sales charges; fund operating expenses; and 12b-1 charges, which are recurring fees used to pay for the expenses of marketing the fund to the public.

6. 共同基金投资组合的所得税不对基金征收。相反，只要基金符合转手手续性质的一定条件，收益就被认为是基础投资者赚取的。

6. Income earned on mutual fund portfolios is not taxed at the level of the fund. Instead, as long as the fund meets certain requirements for pass-through status, the income is treated as being earned by the investors in the fund.

7. 在过去的40年，股权共同基金的平均收益率低于消极指数基金（这些基金持有者有类似于标准普尔500指数和威尔希尔5000指数等宽基指数的投资组合），

7. The average rate of return of the average equity mutual fund in the last 40 years has been below that of a passive index fund holding a portfolio to replicate a broad-based index like the S&P 500 or Wilshire 5000.

部分原因是基金管理所产生的成本，例如为挑选股票而支付的研究费用、高投资组合换手率导致的交易成本。

Some of the reasons for this disappointing record are the costs incurred by actively managed fund, such as the expense of conducting the research to guide stock-picking activities, and trading costs due to higher portfolio turnover.

基金业绩持续性的记录是复杂的。在一些样本期，表现良好的基金次年亦然表现良好；在另一些样本期，则不是这样。

The record on the consistency of fund performance is mixed. In some sample periods, the better-performing funds continue to perform well in the following periods; in other sample periods they do not.