As the value of the fund's investments slumped, the government last year had to promise small investors that it would buy back units in the fund for much more than their market worth.

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An open-ended fund issues new shares or units every time an investor puts money in, and retires them every time he takes money out.

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In rejecting broader liability the court majority also rejected the position of lawyers for the federal government, who argued that the three units of mutual fund manager Janus Capital were so closely intertwined that they all should be subject to suit over alleged misstatements about mutual fund trading.

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As The Economist went to press, it looked likely that a diluted version of the Volcker rule would pass, allowing banks to keep running hedge-fund and private-equity units for clients who want to invest in them, and perhaps to keep putting a small share of their own capital in them as well.

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Worse still, why should participants pay an annual operating expense of 42 basis points to buy units in the Marriott International Stock Fund?

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The Tories say they would fund a big increase in the number of special units for disruptive children, which they call "turnaround schools".

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The validity of the units, shares or certificates issued in the fund is subject to two conditions.

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By contrast, the units or shares of closed-ended funds (such as a private equity fund) are not eligible for interim liquidity.

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