Abstract (Translated):
This paper aims to present the main features of an important segment of the Brazilian financial market, the investment funds. These funds, along with insurers and pension funds, constitute the institutional investors or so-called money managers (Minsky, 1989). The arguments are organized as follows: section II focus on the institutional framework (regulation and form of organization) of the segment in Brazil; section III presents an overview of its performance over the analyzed period; the fourth section summarizes the main conclusions of the analysis.