I am confused on the usage of 'mutual'. Is there any 'mutual benefit' or 'mutual dependence' between the participants (unit holders) in a mutual fund?
It looks more like a 'mixed fund' with diverse items (securities) placed together in a single basket.
"Mutual" as in "owned and funded by a pool of investors for a shared purpose". Some more details on the more generic concept of a "mutual organization" can be found in Wikipedia. "Mutual Funds" can have other names in many different countries around the world, as is also described in Wikipedia. While it is user-editable, Wikipedia can still be a useful and valuable source of information.
