An investment company is administered by issuing one or more classes of shares that are bought from and redeemed with the company at a net asset value, issuing one or more classes of shares that are listed for trading on a securities exchange and that are bought and sold at negotiated market prices, and maintaining, in one or more computers, account data of the outstanding shares. A shareholder may acquire exchange-traded shares by requesting conversion of a designated number or dollar value of shares belonging to the one or more classes of shares that are bought from and redeemed with the company at a net asset value for a monetarily equivalent number of shares of the one or more classes of shares which are exchange-traded shares of the company. An authorized participant may purchase exchange-traded shares directly from the investment company in exchange for a basket of securities of generally equivalent monetary value. A direct purchase requires a purchase of a predetermined number of exchange-traded shares. An investor may also purchase or sell exchange-traded shares on the secondary market through a broker. The exchange-traded shares may be issued by an open-end mutual fund, a closed-end mutual fund, or a unit investment trust.