Means of control

The latest item to be back in vogue is the listed investment company - a form of managed investment with a style of its own.

In recent months there has been a plethora of new offerings of listed investment companies in Australia. Some of those funds, such as Peters Macgregor Investments, are also being promoted in New Zealand. And we have our own offering in the form of the Kingfish fund.

Once these funds get off the catwalk and on to the streets, they will join other listed investment companies already on the stock exchange.

But what is a listed investment company (LIC) and why is an outfit like Fisher Funds Management - known for its unit trusts - involved in this area?

First, LICs are nothing new. They've been around for decades, with more than 100 now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. Many Britain-based LICs can also be bought and sold on the New Zealand Exchange and are widely used by investors.

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