Mutual funds offer a way for a group of investors to effectively pool their money so they can invest in a wider variety of investment vehicles and take advantage of professional money management through the purchase of one mutual fund share. Mutual fund companies essentially collect the money from their investors, or shareholders, and invest that pooled money into individual investment instrument according to individual risk profile, money management philosophy, or financial goal. The mutual fund then passes along the profits (and losses) of those investments to its shareholders.
Professional Managers: Mutual funds are managed by professional people who have years of experience handling different types of assets. They are a group of dedicated fund managers that handles all financial decisions based on the performance & prospects available in the market.
Offers Convenience: If saving time & convenience is what you seek then mutual funds are an ideal choice for investment. Because of low investment amount options, multiple choices based on one’s life & financial goals, offering the ability to redeem them on any business day, mutual funds are much sought after.
Diversification: Mutual funds help counter risks to a large extent by equally distributing your investments across diverse range of asset classes. Mutual funds work by the adage “Do Not Put All Your Eggs in One Basket.
Less Expensive: As compared to investing directly in capital market, mutual funds offer investors the advantage of low cost investment. Most stock options require a huge capital to begin with, on the other hand mutual funds can be started with as low as Rs.500 per month & investors can derive benefit from the long-term equity investment.
Equity Funds These are type of funds that primarily invest in stocks and main investment objective of this class of funds is long term capital growth. Further, there are many types of equity funds which are categorized based on the size of the companies like large, medium or small.
Debt Funds These funds are known as safe investments and provide fixed returns. In these, funds are invested in debt instruments like company bonds, government bonds, fixed income assets.
Balanced Funds The strategy used by these funds are to maintain a certain percentage of mix of both fixed income & equities. Normally, a typical balanced fund will maintain a distribution of 60% equity & 40% fixed income. A similar type of fund known as “Asset Allocation Fund” follows on similar objectives that of Balanced Funds but then these kinds of funds do not hold any specified percentage of any asset class.
Dividend Fund This type of mutual funds invests in stock of companies that pay dividends, which are profits that a company shares with its stakeholders. These are income generating funds & tend to be less risky than other types of funds. It is a good choice of investment for those who seek regular payments over appreciation.
Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is a very easy & convenient mode of making investments in mutual funds on a regular basis. SIP allows one to cultivate a habit of savings & creating wealth for the future by starting early. Offering ease & flexibility, through SIP one can create a planned approach towards investing right. SIP gets auto-debited from the investors account and the amount is invested into a mutual fund scheme that has been specified. The investor then gets a certain number of units which is based on the current ongoing market rate. Every-time a SIP is made, additional units keep getting added to the investor’s account. SIP has proved to be an ideal choice of investments for retail investors who lack resources to pursue active investments.
Systematic Transfer Plan is a way through which one invests a lumpsum amount in one scheme & regularly transfers a pre-defined amount into another scheme of the same mutual fund house. In the long run, STP helps in cutting down risks to a considerable level & earning good returns. Basically, STP means transferring an investment from one asset or asset type into another asset or asset type. This transfer process happens gradually over a period of time.
Helps in Re-balancing Portfolio Through STP, one can balance their portfolio effectively as this method allows the allocation of investments from equity to debt or vice versa. If your investment equity goes up then it can be switched from an equity to a debt fund.
Consistent Returns Through STP one can transfer the set amount to a target equity fund while still being invested in a debt or liquid fund. So, an investor stands to gain benefit from the returns of the equity fund to which the funds are being transferred to & at the same time remain protected as a part of the investment remains in debt
Averaging of Cost STP helps in averaging out the cost as it assists in buying units when the rates are lower & vice versa
Power of Compounding Time has the greatest influence on your investment portfolio than any other force. Investments have the potential to increase in value over time and hence longer the time frame the greater the value. That’s why, financial advisors always recommend to start saving early in order to gain benefits from the power of compounding. Let’s explore this concept further.
What is ELSS? ELSS OR Equity Linked Savings Scheme, as the name suggests, is an equity based mutual fund. Through ELSS, one can invest in tax saving mutual funds & avail tax deductions under Section 80C. There are many advantages to investing via ELSS like
Debt Mutual Funds vs Fixed Deposits Currently, there are two most popular methods of investing - Fixed Deposits & Debt Mutual Funds. These two methods of investment are normally do meet primary goals of an investor which are low risk investment avenue, seek returns in 5 years & to gain atleast 8% to 9% of rate of returns. But then there are certain aspects like benefits, features that differentiate them & the difference in the way they work can be of advantage or disadvantage depending on the type of investor one is.
SWP (Systematic Withdrawal Plan) SWP is a facility offered by mutual funds to enable the investors to redeem the units in small portions at regular intervals so that short term goals or monthly income needs are met. The intervals period can range from monthly or quarterly. SWPs are preferred choice by retired individuals as it can help in creating regular flow of income from their investment corpus in mutual funds. Other investors can opt for this to pay EMIs, pay bills, & to take care of other expenses.