d this. The open-ended trust gave investors the option to sell back their shares in the trust at any time for the current market value of the underlying securities. The minimum investment required was only $250 plus a 5% sales fee. This enabled the average American to have a real stake in the country's economy. Even the smallest investors could now share in a piece of the American pie.5
             Scudder, Stevens & Clark of Boston, established the first no-load fund in 1928. With a no-load fund, shareowners pay no entry fees for their investment in the fund. By 1929, there were 21 mutual funds established with approximately $134 million in assets, but the stock market crash in October spelled trouble for every sector of the economy, including investing. The stock market crash and the Great Depression that followed prompted Congress to enact many laws to protect investors and regulate the financial markets. The first of which was the Securities Act of 1933, which for the first time required that investors be given a prospectus report. The prospectus had to clearly disclose the risks that may be involved in the purchase of mutual fund shares. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 followed and made mutual fund distributors subject to Securities and Exchange Commission regulations. It placed mutual fund distributors under the jurisdiction of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., which established advertising and distribution rules for the funds.
             The most important laws relating to mutual funds were enacted in 1940. The Investment Company Act of 1940 required that every fund price its assets based on market value every day. It prohibited transactions be
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