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U

UCITS

A fund that can be marketed in all countries in the European Union. UCITS stands for ‘Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities’ and is a European Directive which has been adopted in the UK.  UK based UCITS funds are *OEICs*, with *unit trusts* abiding by the non-UCITS Retail Schemes (NURS) rules due to trust law being unrecognisable by other European Member States.

Unfettered funds

See "*Multi-manager funds*".

Units

*Unit trusts* are divided into “units” of equal value, therefore an investor buys units in the unit trust.  The *OEIC* equivalent is known as a *share*.

Unit linked policies

These are insurance products where you pay a premium which is then invested in a fund holding a range of *assets*, usually including *equities* and *fixed interest securities*. Part of the premium paid pays for life assurance. Unit-linked policies are similar to with-profits products but do not invest in as many assets.

Unit Trust

Private individuals pool their contributions with others, which combine to form a large fund.  The fund invests in a spread of different *assets* to minimise the *risk* of loss.  Also known as collective/pooled investments or investment funds. Unit trusts can be both *single* and *dual-priced*.