A A mutual fund is defined as a trust that pools the savings of a variety of investors who share a common financial goal. The money thus collected is then invested in capital market instruments such debentures and, As shares other securities. The income earned through these investments and the capital appreciation realised are shared by its unit holders in proportion to the quantity of units owned by them. Thus a mutual fund is regarded as the leading suitable investment for the common man as it offers a moment to invest in professionally managed, A diversified basket of securities in a somewhat low cost. Advantages of mutual fundsthe advantages of putting money into a mutual fund are professional management diversification convenient administration return potential low costs liquidity transparency flexibility choice of schemes tax benefits well regulated frequently used terms net asset value nav net asset value is the market importance of the assets of the scheme minus its liabilities. The per unit nav is the net asset value of the scheme divided based on numerical values of units outstanding on the valuation date. Sale priceis the price you pay when you invest in a scheme. Also called offer price. It might consist of a sales load. Repurchase price is the price at which units under open, Ended schemes are repurchased by the mutual fund. Such prices are nav related. Redemption priceis the price at which close, Ended schemes redeem their units on maturity. Such prices are nav related. Sales load is a charge collected by a scheme when it sells the units. Also called, Front, End load. Schemes that fail to charge a load are called no load schemes. Repurchase or back, End loadis a charge collected by a scheme when it buys back the units from the unitholders.