A company that pools the funds of hundreds or thousands of individuals to purchase corporate stocks, bonds, or other financial assets. The objectives of pooling funds is to reduce transactions costs and provide professional management not otherwise available. The most common types of mutual funds are "open-ended," so called because there are no limits on the number of shares issued. Others are "close-ended" because they issue a fixed number of shares that are then traded around. Mutual funds give consumers the chance to get higher interest rates or returns on the financial investment than available through banks. They also provide the opportunity to participant in financial markets that are typically closed to smaller investors.