Mutual funds are a kind of open-end collective investment vehicles. "Open end" refers to their shares being created and redeemed continuously, according to the demand from investors. Shares of mutual funds are bought and sold through the fund companies and fund supermarkets, unlike exchange-traded and closed-end funds, which are traded at stock exchanges. Their difference with hedge funds is that they are heavily regulated, to make them adequate for smaller investors who don't have the amount of information and financial strength necessary to get involved in the strategies used by some hedge funds.
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