Mutual funds are now perhaps the most widely known investment schemes around the world. It is of enormous interest not only to researchers but also to investors who are seeking to have a portfolio of securities but face the lack of time or the expertise to manage that. It is relatively an inexpensive way for them to get a full-time manager to make and monitor their investments. But, despite the tremendous interest in Mutual funds worldwide, from the very beginning, it failed to catch the fancy of Bangladeshi investors. In Bangladesh, for a long time a government backed organization: Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) was the only player in this game. But, the growth in Mutual funds and their assets has been one of the important stories in recent years. And it has been able to attract a good number of investors with a substantial amount of investment. There have been many new Mutual funds whose formalities with the regulators have already been finished, and many others whose proposals are on the board positively. This is essentially a strong signal for the development of an organic capital market, offering a safe alternative investment avenue for the investors that really can reduce the excessive and aggressive dependence on equity stocks.
