The term collective investment institution (CII) generally refers to incorporated investment companies and investment trusts, as well as unincorporated undertakings (such as mutual funds or unit trusts), that invest in financial assets (mainly marketable securities and bank deposits) and/or non-financial assets using the funds collected from investors by means of issuing shares/units (other than equity). Other terms referring to CIIs may also be used, e.g. collective investment scheme, collective investment vehicle, collective investment undertaking, and in certain cases, investment fund. The CII can be open-ended or closed-ended. If open-ended, there is no limit to the number of shares/units on issue and the shares/units can be, at the request of the holders, repurchased or redeemed directly or indirectly out of the undertaking’s assets. If closed-ended, the number of shares/units on issue is fixed and investors entering or leaving the fund must buy or sell existing shares. The shares/units can be quoted or unquoted. The CII may pay periodic dividends, capitalise the income or a combination of those approaches, depending on the terms set out in its prospectus.