something of a task. To simplify the process, companies offer mutual funds, which consist of a variety of

stocks or bonds from different companies. The financial investor buys mutual fund shares, and then receives a

return based on how the fund as a whole performs. In 2021, according to the Investment Company Factbook,

just over 47% of U.S. households had a financial investment in a mutual fund—including many people who

have their retirement savings or pension money invested in this way.

Mutual funds can focus in certain areas: one mutual fund might invest only in company stocks based in
Indonesia, or only in bonds issued by large manufacturing companies, or only in biotechnology companies'

stock. At the other end of the spectrum, a mutual fund might be quite broad. At the extreme, some mutual

funds own a tiny share of every firm in the stock market, and thus the mutual fund's value will fluctuate with
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