Investment funds can be classified by their investment objectives and their assets:
Financial funds invest exclusively in financial assets such as government, private companies and banking firms bonds, stocks, repos and bank deposits. Financial funds can be open-ended, like the money market funds, or closed-ended, such as growth or income funds.
Real estate funds invest mainly on real estate assets, which are leased with the purpose of generating income for the fund investors. A part of the assets of these funds is kept in financial investments for the handling of the operative liquidity. All real-estate funds are closed funds.
Megafunds are a special type of funds which invest solely on shares of other investment funds, which is why these are also known as “funds of funds.” They are not a common figure, and can be either closed or open-ended funds.
These funds invest in the stock of companies, generally in a growth stage or in start-ups. Only accredited investors can take part in these kind of funds. It is common for investors to provide time and act as consultants for the companies in which they invest.