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Glite Dictionary
unit trust

unit trust

6.0
A managed fund that puts many people's money together to buy different investments
  • noun
  • /ˈjuːnɪt trʌst/
  • UK
translation icon : fondo de inversión

Examples

  • The third asset class is paper stocks, bonds, mutual funds, unit trust, stuff like that.

  • The second project was the establishment of the Tracker Fund, which turned part of the equity acquired in August 1998 into a unit trust.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Investing in a unit trust allows you to share in the profits of a professionally managed portfolio of securities.

  • Many people prefer unit trusts because they offer a simple way to diversify their investments in various assets.

  • When you buy a unit trust, you become a co-owner in a fund that holds a range of investments managed by experts.

Synonyms

investment trust
vsunit trust
  • UK
3 5.1

A company that sells shares and invests the money in many other companies

is organised as a collective fund run by managers instead of as a company
unit investment trust
vsunit trust
  • Specialized
7.2

A company that pools money to buy a set of stocks and bonds, with shares investors can sell back

is actively managed by professionals who change holdings over time

Antonyms

self-directed
  • Specialized
1 6.6

An account the owner controls to choose and manage investments

Surface Forms

unit trust singular
unit trusts plural

Morphology

unit + trust

The parts 'unit' (a share or component) and 'trust' (a legal/pooling arrangement) give a clear partial clue that this is a pooled investment divided into units, so a learner can infer the general idea. However, 'unit trust' is a technical financial term with specific legal and operational implications (and different labels in other varieties of English), so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents may not grasp the full, precise meaning without exposure.

Etymology

Unit trust comes from the image of many small units, meaning 'shares' or 'parts', put together into one trust, a fund that a manager holds and cares for on behalf of others. So, the phrase now means a fund where people own 'units' and a manager looks after the pooled money and investments for them.