investment trust

investment trust(investment company) A company that invests the funds provided by shareholders in a wide variety of securities. It makes its profits from the income and capital gains provided by these securities. The investments made are usually restricted to securities quoted on a stock exchange, but some will invest in unlisted companies. The advantages for shareholders are much the same as those with unit trusts, i.e. spreading the risk of investment and making use of professional managers. Investment trusts, which are not generally trusts in the usual sense, but private or public limited companies, differ from unit trusts in that in the latter the investors buy units in the fund but are not shareholders. Some investment trusts aim for high capital growth (capital shares), others for high income (income shares).

The profits of an investment trust are subject to corporation tax at the full rate; the lower rates of tax applied to trading companies are not available. They are also subject to special provisions in relation to dividends. See alsosplit-capital investment trust; venture capital trust.

• exempt transfers
• exempt unit trust
• exercise
• exercise date
• exercise notice
• exercise price
• ex gratia
• ex gratia pension
• ex growth
• exhibition list
• Eximbank
• existence needs
• exit charge
• exit value
• ex-new
• exotic options
• expected monetary value
• expected value
• expenditure
• expenditure tax
• expense
• experiencing focus groups
• experimental marketing research
• expert networks
• expert system