Investment Companies

Abstract

The closed-end fund puzzle has for a long time been an unsolved problem. A vast number of attempts have been made in order to explain why closed-end funds are traded at a discount to net asset value. Nevertheless, none of these have been solely successful. However, none, or very few researches are of a comparative character for the three countries Sweden, the UK, and the US. Although markets around the world have become more integrated over the years substantial differences remain. The investment company industry is no exception. Both the markets vary as well as the structure and function of the investment companies. The purpose of this thesis is not to solve the discount issue, but to categorise the investment companies based on certain criteria. These groups will be used for further analysis. Categories have been established, but most of the groups are coloured by one country. The results show that the investment companies are not fully comparable on a cross boarder level.