History of Mutual Funds has evolved over the years and it is sure to appear as something very interesting for all the investors of the world. In present world, mutual funds have become a main form of investment because of its diversified and liquid features. Not only in the developed world, but in the developing countries also different types of mutual funds are gaining popularity very fast in a tremendous way. But, there was a time when the concept of Mutual Funds were not present in the economy.
There is an ambiguity about the fact that when and where the
Mutual Fund Concept was introduced for the first time. According to some historians, the mutual funds were first introduced in
Netherlands in 1822. But according to some other belief, the idea of Mutual Fund first came from a Dutch Merchant ling back in 1774. In 1822, that idea was further developed. In 1822, the concept of
Investment Diversification was properly incorporated in the mutual funds. In fact, the
Investment Diversification is the main attraction of mutual funds as the small investors are also able to allocate their little
Funds in a diversified way to lower
Risks.
After 1822 in Netherlands, the
Mutual Funds Concept came in Switzerland in 1849 and thereafter in Scotland in the 1880s. After being popular in Great Britain and France, Mutual fund concept traveled to U.S.A in the 1890s. In 1920s and 1930s, the Mutual Fund popularity reached a new high. There was record investment done in mutual funds. But, before 1920s,the mutual funds were not like the modern day mutual funds.
The modern day mutual funds came into existence in 1924, in Boston. Massachusetts Investors Trust introduced the
Modern Mutual Funds and the funds were available from 1928. At present this Massachusetts Investors Trust is known as
MFS Investment Management Company. After the glorious year of 1928, Mutual fund ideas expanded to different levels and different regulations came for well functioning of the funds.
Still today, the funds are evolving and improving in order to offer people much wider choices and better advantages for fulfillment of their various investment needs and financial objectives.