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Google definition defines fund as

A sum of money saved or made available for a particular purpose.

However, while I was looking up the definition of a trust fund, Google definition states it is,

A fund consisting of assets belonging to a trust, held by the trustees for the beneficiaries.

So is a fund merely a sum of money, or can also be assets/properties?

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I think this is General Reference. OED 4 sing. A stock or sum of money, esp. one set apart for a particular purpose. Just because funds are usually "money-based", and that's the only definition given by Google, doesn't make this a useful question. At dictionary.com there's supply; stock: a fund of knowledge; a fund of jewels. – FumbleFingers Dec 20 '12 at 18:19
@FumbleFingers Whoa there, Scrooge! Per Marthaª’s featured meta request, we non-♦-mods are trying to withhold our close votes and down votes during these Twelve Days of Christmas. The mods are doing a good job at closing true dupes and truly unsalvageable genrefs by themselves. Still use flags as needed of course, and certainly delete-vote You Know Whose Postings, but otherwise try to work to salvage a post if you can, or keep mum otherwise. Hippocrates says first do no harm. Remember: Marthaª knows if you’ve been bad or good.... – tchrist Dec 20 '12 at 18:29
@tchrist: I was good as gold throughout 2011, but Martha never gave me a present last xmas. And Kitfox cruelly misled me about my chance of getting shagged by good-looking and/or famous people in the elections. Women? I don't trust 'em! :) – FumbleFingers Dec 20 '12 at 18:40
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@Fumble Now see here. I only suggested that it might help. I did not make any promises. – KitFox♦ Dec 20 '12 at 18:43
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Don't the 12 days start on the 25th? @tchrist? – Matt Эллен Dec 20 '12 at 20:20
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closed as general reference by FumbleFingers, Mahnax, MετάEd, Shyam, b.roth Dec 20 '12 at 18:43

This question is too basic; it can be definitively and permanently answered by a single link to a standard internet reference source designed specifically to find that type of information. See the Help Center for guidance on how to improve it.

1 Answer

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Typically, a fund consists of assets that can be directly expressed in some currency—money, I would say—, although its meaning is usually not defined very strictly. So a bank account or a deposit would count. However, the word is very often used more loosely, so don't be surprised to find a fund containing stocks and bonds as well. And a trust fund can be even broader, including any kind of investment that can be sold within a reasonable or expected time, I would say.

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