Share class

One of several versions of the same fund portfolio, differing in fee, minimum investment, currency or whether income is paid out or retained.

Example

A retail class and an institutional class holding an identical portfolio can charge materially different expense ratios under one fund name.

Important

Two statement lines with the same fund name can be different classes on different terms. Check the class before comparing the fund with anything, and check whether a cheaper class is open to you.

Related terms

• Expense ratio — The annual fee a fund charges, expressed as a percentage of the money you have in it.
• Accumulating share class — A share class that retains income inside the fund and reflects it in a higher unit price, instead of paying it out to holders as cash.
• Distribution — Cash returned to investors by a fund, typically after an underlying holding is sold or produces income.
• Fund prospectus — The fund's own governing document, stating its objective, its permitted holdings, every share class and its fees, and the risks the manager is obliged to disclose.

Lessons that explain it

• A fund is a wrapper, not an asset class of its own — Buying a fund buys a proportional claim on whatever it holds. Until you have opened the holdings list, the name on the ticket tells you almost nothing about what you own. (9 min)

All 578 terms in the Investing glossary