An investment company is defined as a company predominantly engaged in the business of investing securities. The investment company pools money from investors to purchase securities such as stocks and bonds. If the portfolio of securities performs well, the investors receive a percentage of the profits in proportion to their relative investment. An investment company can take a variety of legal form, including being incorporated as a corporation, partnership, limited liability company, or business trust. Examples of common types of investment companies include mutual funds, exchange traded funds (ETFs), index funds, money market funds, stock funds, and bond funds.

A registered investment company (RIC) is regulated by the Investment Company Act of 1940. It is also regulated by the federal securities laws, namely the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. A registered investment company must make certain filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that are publicly accessible.

On an annual basis, registered investment companies with shares outstanding must file a Form N-CEN report. This report is due no later than 75 days after the close of the fund’s fiscal year end. If a single fund offers investors multiple investment portfolios with different investment strategies, the fund is required to file a separate Form N-CEN for each series.

On a semiannual basis, registered investment companies must file a Form N-30D and Form N-CSR with the SEC. These reports are required by Rule 30d-2 under the Investment Company Act. The filings must be printed and mailed to investors no later than 60 days after the end of each half-year. If the N-CSR is filed after the deadline, a Form NT-NCSR must be submitted to notify the SEC of the late N-CSR filing.

A Form N-PX is used by a registered management investment company to disclose its proxy voting record. It is an annual report that must be filed by August 31 of each year.

Registered investment companies must also file beneficial ownership reports on a Schedule 13D or Schedule 13G to report the acquisition of at least 5% of another company’s securities. A Schedule 13G is a shorter version of a Schedule 13D that passive investors may use.

Institutional investment managers with at least $100 million in assets under management must file a Form 13F within 45 days after the end of each fiscal quarter. The Form 13F provides information about the number of shares of the different companies in its portfolio.

Money market funds must file a Form N-MFP on a monthly basis to report their portfolio holdings. A money market fund is a fixed income mutual fund that invests in debt securities with relatively short maturities and a low risk profile.

Open-end management companies, a category which includes mutual funds, are required to file a Form 24F-2 annually. Open-end funds are highly liquidity, since they can issue and redeem securities on a continuous basis. In contrast, a closed-end fund raises capital by issuing a fixed number of shares to investors. It cannot issue additional shares after it is formed.