It is always nice to hear from an informed long-term investor. John Hunter writes, “I have invested with for over a decade (through the Templeton Emerging Markets Trust and Templeton Dragon Fund – they are closed end mutual funds).”

I don’t know what country John Hunter invests in. But in the United States there is no such thing as closed end mutual funds.” A closed-end fund like Mobius’s (EMF) traded on the New York Stock Exchange is, well it is closed-ended, and a mutual fund is open-ended. Which is it John; it cannot be both closed-end and open end.

Closed-end funds are to the advantage of investors, mutual funds are for the advantage of management companies. Which is why indexes are being developed to reduce the conflicts of interests brought about by mutual funds.