mutual fund, in finance, investment company or trust that has a very fluid capital stock. It is unique in that at any time it can sell or redeem any of its outstanding shares at net asset value (i.e., the price of a share equals total assets minus liabilities divided by the total number of shares). A mutual fund, also called an open-end investment company, owns the securities of several corporations and receives dividends on the shares that it holds. A closed-end investment company differs from an open-end company in that the number of shares is limited and the price of the shares may fluctuate above and below the net asset value. The earnings of a mutual fund are distributed to the holders of its shares. It is hoped that a loss on one holding will be made up by a gain on another. The holders of mutual-fund shares thus gain the advantage of diversification, which might ordinarily be beyond their means. Common mutual funds, which often provide skilled management for security holdings, include stock, bond, balanced, index, and money-market funds. Stock funds mainly invest in common shares, and bond funds in bonds; such funds may specialize in a particular category of stocks or bonds (such as Internet stocks or municipal bonds). A balanced fund might invest in preferred stocks and bonds in addition to common stocks. Index funds invest in a portfolio that mimics a given index, such as the stocks that make up the S&P 500. The forerunner of the modern mutual fund was established in Belgium in 1822, and the use of these closed-end investment companies soon spread to Great Britain and France. They became popular in the United States in the 1920s, but from the 1930s the open-end mutual fund became more popular. Mutual funds experienced a period of tremendous growth after World War II, especially in the 1980s and 90s.

mutual assured destruction: see nuclear strategy.

Eastern European Mutual Assistance Treaty: see Warsaw Treaty Organization.

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON or MEA), international organization active between 1956 and 1991 for the coordination of economic policy among certain nations then under Communist domination, including Albania (which did not participate after 1961), Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia participated in matters of mutual interest. Although it was formed in 1949, a formal charter was not ratified until 1959. The charter gave COMECON the same international status as the European Economic Community (Common Market), but the structure was controlled by heads of state. COMECON undertook large-scale measures for organization of industrial production and coordination of economic development through a series of five-year plans (1956-85), but, despite attempts at integration, most trade was strictly bilateral; planned economies had limited mechanisms for transferring trade surpluses or deficits to third world countries. After increasing 400% for its first 15 years, trade among COMECON countries declined. Briefly a coordinating body only (Jan.-June, 1991), it was disbanded in June, when democratization, the collapse of trade and conversion to hard currencies rendered it redundant.

or unit trust or open-end trust

Company that invests the funds of its subscribers in diversified securities and issues units representing shares in those holdings. It differs from an investment trust, which issues shares in the company itself. While investment trusts have a fixed capitalization and a limited number of shares for sale, mutual funds make a continuous offering of new shares at net asset value (plus a sales charge) and redeem their shares on demand at net asset value, determined daily by the market value of the securities they hold.

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or Comecon

Organization founded in 1949 to facilitate and coordinate the economic development of Soviet-bloc countries. Its original members were the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania; other members joined later, including Albania (1949) and the German Democratic Republic (1950). Its accomplishments included the organization of Eastern Europe's railroad grid, the creation of the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, and the construction of the “Friendship” oil pipeline. After the political upheavals in Eastern Europe in the late 1980s, it largely lost its purpose and power. In 1991 it was renamed the Organization for International Economic Cooperation.

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