This chapter presented an overview of the mutual fund industry. Mutual funds pool funds from individuals and corporations and invest in diversified asset portfolios. Due to the tremendous increase in the value of financial assets such as equities in the 1990s and the cost-effective opportunity that mutual funds offer for small investors to participate in these markets, mutual funds have increased tremendously in size, number of funds, and number of shareholders. The chapter also discussed the two major categories of mutual funds—short-term and long-term open-end funds—highlighting the differences in their growth rates and the composition of their assets. The chapter also illustrated the calculation of the net asset values (NAV) of mutual fund shares.