A company that is set up to make investments on behalf of its shareholders (also called a closed-end fund and, in specific circumstances, an investment trust).
Legally, an investment company is any company whose business consists wholly or partly in the making of investments. All investment trusts are investment companies but not all investment companies are investment trusts – they would have to satisfy the additional criteria listed above.
As companies, shares in investment trusts are issued as publicly traded shares that are listed on stock exchanges. A closed-end fund raises a prescribed amount of capital through an IPO by issuing a fixed number of shares.