I. Overview of the Fund

Generally speaking, an investment fund is an investment tool that collects the funds of many scattered investors, entrusts investment experts (such as fund managers) to invest, and the investment management experts conduct unified investment management according to their investment strategies, so as to benefit many investors. Investment funds pool public funds, share investment income and share investment risks, which is a collective investment method with * * * income and * * risk.

Securities investment funds raise funds from publicly offered fund shares and use the funds for securities investment. Fund share holders enjoy the rights of asset ownership, income distribution, surplus property disposal and other related rights, and assume corresponding obligations.

Investment fund operation process:

1. Investors' funds are pooled into a fund;

2. The fund entrusts an investment expert-the fund manager to carry out investment operation;

Among them, (1) investors, fund managers and fund custodians establish trust agreements in the form of fund contracts, and establish a trust relationship between the fund managers who are entrusted with financial management and the fund custodians who are responsible for keeping funds.

(2) Fund managers and fund custodians (mainly banks) establish their respective responsibilities and rights through custody agreements.

3. Fund managers distribute investment income to investors through professional financial management.

In China, the fund custodian must be a qualified commercial bank and the fund manager must be a professional fund manager. Fund investors enjoy the income of securities investment funds and bear the risk of losses.

Second, the fund knowledge

Fund contract

Simply put, the fund contract is a "entrusted financial management agreement (contract)". Refers to the written legal documents that are made by fund managers, custodians and investors to clarify the rights and obligations of all parties to the fund for the establishment of investment funds.

The fund contract stipulates the status and responsibilities of all parties to the fund. The manager has the right to manage the fund property; The custodian has the right to keep the fund property; Investors, on the other hand, enjoy the income right of fund operation and bear investment risks.

The Fund Contract also provides a basis for the formulation of other relevant documents of investment funds, including prospectus, fund raising plan and issuance plan. If these documents conflict with the Fund Contract, the Fund Contract shall prevail. Therefore, the fund contract is the basic legal document for the normal operation of investment funds.

The main contents of the fund contract include: the rights and obligations of the investment fund holders, managers and custodians; Issuance, purchase, redemption and transfer of funds; Investment objectives, scope, policies and restrictions of the fund; Fund asset valuation; Information disclosure of funds; Fund expenditure, income distribution and tax; Fund termination and liquidation, etc.

Different from the general "entrusted financial management agreement", fund contracts do not require investors to sign contracts with fund managers and fund custodians. On the basis that investors fully understand the contents of the fund contract, you subscribe to this fund, which means that you acquiesce in the contract and are willing to entrust the fund manager to "manage your finances on your behalf".

Trusteeship agreement

Custody agreement is an agreement between a fund company or fund manager and a fund custodian on the custody of fund assets, which legally defines the responsibilities, rights and obligations of both the principal and the trustee, with the custodian as the core.

The responsibilities and obligations of the custodian mainly include:

1. Be responsible for keeping the fund assets according to the instructions of the fund manager;

2. According to the instructions of the fund manager, be responsible for the delivery, liquidation and transfer of the securities bought and sold by the fund, and distribute the investment dividend income to the fund investors;

3. Effectively supervise the operation of the trust fund according to the fund contract.

Third, the characteristics of securities investment funds

1. The securities investment fund is a fund that is operated and managed by experts and specializes in investing in the securities market. Fund assets are managed by professional fund managers. Fund managers 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 right to distribute the company's profits.

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.

4. Securities investment funds have the advantages of portfolio investment and risk diversification.

According to the experience of investment experts, it is usually necessary to hold stocks around 10 in order to at least spread risks 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 can form a strong financial strength by pooling the small funds of many small and medium-sized investors, and can also spread the investors' funds to various stocks at the same time, so that the losses caused by the decline of some stock prices can be made up by the profits of other stocks, which disperses the investment risks.

5. Strong liquidity.

The procedure for buying and selling funds is simple. For closed-end funds, investors can cash out directly in the secondary market, and the trading procedure is similar to that of stocks; For open-end funds, investors can purchase or redeem funds directly from fund managers, or through sales agencies such as securities companies, or entrust investment consulting agencies to buy and sell on their behalf.

Four. Fund question and answer

What is an income fund?

Its investment strategy is a unique value investment. Fund managers mainly pay attention to dividend income, and mainly invest in company stocks with rich dividend income, such as public utilities, financial industry, natural resources industry and so on. Theoretically, this kind of fund should be more stable than the market as a whole, and the stock investment method adopted is less risky. Generally also invest in bonds.

What is a balanced fund?

This kind of fund not only pays attention to capital appreciation, but also pays attention to dividend income, and even pays attention to future dividend growth, but the most concern is the potential of capital appreciation. This kind of fund invests in both growth stocks and income stocks with good dividend records, with the goal of obtaining dividend income, moderate capital appreciation and capital preservation, so that all investments may obtain higher investment returns with relatively small risks. Its net value fluctuates smoothly, and its income and corresponding risk are between growth fund and indexed investment. Therefore, balanced funds are suitable for investors who want to obtain higher dividend income and more stability than growth funds, such as insurance funds and pension funds, and those relatively conservative individual investors.

For example, funds in Shanghai, such as Hanxing (5000 15) and Jintai (50000 1), all belong to this kind of fund.

What is an index fund?

Indexing investment is a kind of securities investment that attempts to completely copy a certain securities price index or build a portfolio according to the principle of compiling securities price index. Funds invested in this way are called index funds, and their goal is to obtain a return on investment roughly equivalent to the market average.

Since 1990s, the performance of most equity fund managers on Wall Street in the United States has been lower than the market index in the same period. In this way, the index fund with the core idea of copying the market index trend has developed rapidly around the world, which has formed a huge impact and challenge to the traditional thinking of securities investment.

Theoretically speaking, the operation method of index fund is simple and the fund management cost is low. As long as you choose a certain market index, you can buy a corresponding proportion of securities according to the proportion of each securities that make up the index in the index and hold it for a long time. However, the market index is an abstract index obtained by mathematical processing according to the securities price at a certain moment. Index funds can't buy the index directly, but realize it by buying the corresponding securities under the actual market conditions. Due to transaction costs, time difference and other factors, the performance of index funds can not be exactly the same as the index it tracks, and there must be some differences. Therefore, index funds also need the professional management of fund managers.

For example, Tianyuan (4698) and Pufeng (4693) listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange are index funds.

What is a special fund?

Refers to small and medium-sized funds that invest in specific types of stocks or securities. One of the reasons for setting up a special fund is that it is limited by the size of the fund, and the other is that the manager thinks that some specific types of securities have growth or special investment value. For example, technology funds prefer to invest in technology listed companies. Puhua (47 1 1), a listed fund of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is a fund that invests in leading listed companies in science and technology.

What is the relationship between securities companies and fund managers?

Most of the sponsors of funds in China are securities companies, and to some extent, fund managers are also from securities companies. The fund manager is responsible for the investment operation of the fund assets. His main duties are to formulate the investment strategy of the fund assets, organize professionals, select specific investment targets, decide the investment opportunity, price and quantity, and use the fund assets for securities investment. In addition, the fund manager must publicize and sell the fund by himself or by entrusting other institutions, and be responsible for providing investors with information about the operation of the fund (including calculating and publishing the net asset value of the fund, preparing the financial report of the fund and making timely announcements, etc.). ). The manager of the open-end fund shall also handle the subscription and redemption of the fund in a timely and accurate manner in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state and the provisions of the fund contract.

In addition, securities companies can act as underwriters and distribution coordinators of securities investment funds. In China, closed-end funds are generally issued by securities companies as issuance coordinators. After the fund is approved for listing and trading, the securities company will act as an agent for the trading, delivery and income distribution of the fund. In addition to direct sales by fund managers, open-end funds can also be sold through intermediaries such as securities companies and commercial banks. These independent sales organizations provide sales services for fund managers and charge certain sales commissions and service fees.

From this perspective, securities companies are the institutions responsible for fund issuance and trading, and fund managers are the institutions responsible for fund investment. The relationship between them is the relationship between the intermediary and the operator.

What is the difference between online issuance and offline issuance of funds?

Closed-end funds are generally issued online, and the procedures for investors to purchase funds are mainly divided into two steps:

The first step, investors open stock accounts (or fund accounts) and fund accounts in the securities business department to obtain the qualification to buy funds. On the day of fund issuance, if funds are available in the fund account opened by investors in the business department, they can fill in the fund subscription form at the fund sales outlets to subscribe for the fund.

Step 2: Within a few days after the subscription date, investors go to the bulletin board of the business department to confirm the matching number of their subscribed funds, and consult the lottery winning numbers published in relevant newspapers to see if they won the lottery. If the lottery wins, the corresponding fund unit will be transferred to the account.

Open-end funds are generally issued offline. Investors go to designated outlets (fund management companies, consignment banks, etc.). ) handle the corresponding open-end fund account card, deposit (or transfer) the subscription funds into the designated sales outlets, go through the subscription procedures within the specified time and confirm the results.