Closed-End Mutual Funds? Which is the Correct Term?

“Closed end mutual fund” is a misnomer. Three basic types of investment companies are recognized legally:

1. Mutual funds, also called open-end companies.
2. Closed-end companies, also called closed-end funds.
3. Unit investment trusts.

Therefore, the correct term is closed-end fund, without the mutual. Closed-ended fund is also acceptable.

Sometimes close-ended fund is used, even close-end fund. I wasn’t sure about the validity of those ones, so I googled a few authoritative investment sites, that have no user-generated content, to see how frequently  (according to Google) each variation is used:

Site	Closed-end	Closed-ended	Close-end	Close-ended
SEC	975	1	0	0
NYSE	405	2	0	0
CME	9	0	0	0
LSE	127	32	0	1

The table shows the instances for each of the indicated terms, followed by fund or funds (I added together both alternatives). The sole appearance of close-ended fund(s) is due to what an investment company filled-in in a form, so I wouldn’t take that as coming from an utmost authority.

My conclusion is that closed-end fund(s) is the preferred term, while closed-ended fund(s) is also acceptable.

By the way, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are either mutual funds or unit investment trusts.