Thus, mutual funds, while going by a variety of names, are fairly comparable around the globe. 8 In this paper, we contrast mutual funds with other ways in which households might save and invest in financial assets, which we characterize broadly as “do-it-yourself (DIY)” and “opaque financial intermediaries.” Whereas a mutual fund is defined as a pooled diversified investment vehicle, “do-it- yourself” investments are direct investments by households in primary securities (bonds, stocks or cash). Whereas open-end mutual funds are defined world-wide in terms of their transparency in the form of their redemption.
