In the US legally they are called closed-end companies and form one of three SEC recogonised types of investment company along with mutual funds and unit investment trusts. (Click here for US SEC description of investment company types).

Other examples of close-ended funds are Investment trusts in the UK and Listed investment companies in Australia.

New shares are rarely issued after the fund is launched; shares are not normally redeemable for cash or securities until the fund liquidates. Typically an investor can acquire shares in a closed-end fund is to buy shares on a secondary market from a broker, market maker, or other investor -- as opposed to an open-end fund where all transactions eventually involve the fund company creating new shares on the fly (in exchange for either cash or securities) or redeeming shares (for cash or securities).

The price of a share in a closed-end fund is determined partially by the value of the investments in the fund, and partially by the premium (or discount) placed on it by the market. The total value of all the securities in the fund divided by the number of shares in the fund is called the net asset value, often abbreviated NAV. The market price of a fund share is often higher or lower than the NAV: when the fund's share price is higher than NAV it is said to be selling at a premium; when it is lower, at a discount to the NAV.