Friday 1 November 2019

CFA Institute Investment Foundations Program: Chapter 14 – Investment Vehicles (Part I)



In a previous article, we introduced the CFA Institute Investment Foundation Program (Read more here).  It is a free program designed for anyone who wants to enter or advance within the investment management industry, including IT, operations, accounting, administration, and marketing.  Candidates who successfully pass the online exam earn the CFA Institute Investment Foundations Certificate.

There are total of 20 Chapters in 7 modules, covering all the essential topics in finance, economics, ethics and regulations.  This series of articles will highlight the core knowledge of each chapter.

Chapter 14 provides an overview of Investment Vehicles. The learning outcome of chapter 14 is as follows:

·       Compare direct and indirect investing in securities and assets;
·       Distinguish between pooled investments, including open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds;
·       Describe security market indices including their construction and valuation, and identify types of indices;
·       Describe index funds, including their purposes and construction;
·       Describe hedge funds;
·       Describe funds of funds;
·       Describe managed accounts;
·       Describe tax-advantaged accounts and describe the use of taxable accounts to manage tax liabilities.

Investment vehicles are assets offered by the investment industry to help investors move money from the present to the future, with the hope of increasing the value of their money. These assets include securities, such as shares, bonds, and warrants; real assets, such as gold; and real estate. Many investment vehicles are entities that own other investment vehicles. For example, an equity mutual fund is an investment vehicle that owns shares.

Investors make direct investments when they buy securities issued by companies and governments and when they buy real assets, such as precious metals, art, or timber.

But a common way to invest is through indirect investment vehicles. That is, investors give their money to investment firms, which then invest the money in a variety of securities and assets on their behalf. Thus, investors make indirect investments when they buy the securities of companies, trusts, and partnerships that make direct investments.


Most indirect investment vehicles are pooled investments (also known as collective investment schemes) in which investors pool their money together to gain the advantages of being part of a large group. The resulting economies of scale can significantly improve investment returns.

The three main types of pooled investments are open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Investors like them because they allow them to cheaply invest in highly diversified portfolios in a single low-cost transaction.  Exhibit 1 offers a summary table of characteristics of open-end mutual funds, closed-end funds, and ETFs.
  





Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) most likely:
 
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