Mutual Funds

What is Mutual Funds?

What are Mutual Funds - Franklin Templeton India.mp4

What are Mutual Fund?

A mutual fund is essentially a common pool of money in which investors put in their contribution. This collective amount is then invested according to the investment objective of the fund.

The money could be invested in stocks, bonds, money market instruments, gold and other similar assets. These funds are operated by money managers or fund managers, who by investing in line with the specified investment objective attempt to create growth or appreciation of the amount for investors.

Example - A debt fund will have its specified objective to invest in fixed income instruments or products like bonds, government securities, debentures, etc. Similarly, an equity fund will invest in stocks and other equity instruments.

How is Mutual Fund set up?

A mutual fund is set up in the form of a trust, which has a sponsor, trustees, Asset Management Company (AMC) and custodian. The trust is established by a sponsor who is like the promoter of a company. The trustees of the mutual fund hold its property for the benefit of the unit holders. The custodian, who is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), holds the securities of various schemes of the fund in its custody. The trustees are vested with the general power of superintendence and direction over the AMC. They monitor the performance and compliance with SEBI Regulations.

The AMC employs professional money managers, having expertise in investing in equity, debt or both, who then invest the collected amount from investors and manage it on their behalf.

The AMC may have several mutual fund schemes with their specific investment mandates. An investor can choose which scheme he or she wants to invest in, based on the given mandate or objective.

All AMCs are governed by a Board of Directors and come under the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996. The regulator or SEBI has set clear mutual fund regulations and requires all mutual fund schemes of an AMC to clearly spell out the fund's objectives in its prospectus that an investor must read before he/she invests in a mutual fund.

What are benefits of Mutual Fund?

One of the key advantages of investing in a mutual fund is that each investor (even with a small investment) gets access to professional money management and expertise. Also, it would be very difficult for an investor to create a diversified portfolio of investments on his own with a small amount of money. With mutual funds, each investor participates proportionally in the return the scheme generates.

Each unit gets a proportional share of gain (or bears loss) from the fund. There is a portfolio report generated for each investor, which tracks all investments and the returns generated by the mutual fund.

Why invest in mutual funds?

There are many benefits of investing in mutual funds. Here are some important ones -

Professional expertise
Consider a situation where you purchase a new car. But the catch here is that you don’t know how to drive. Now, you have two options:

i) you can learn how to drive
ii) you can hire a full-time driver

In the first scenario, you would have to take driving lessons, pass the driving test and obtain a license. But if you don’t have the time for driving classes, it is better to opt for a driver. Same is the case with investments.
Investing in financial markets requires a certain amount of skill. You need to research the market and analyse the best options available. You need knowledge on matters such as macro economy, sectors, company financials, from an asset class perspective. This requires a significant amount of time and commitment from you.

But if you don’t have the skill or the time to delve deep into the market, investing in mutual funds can be an excellent alternative. Here, a professional fund manager takes care of your investments and strives hard to provide reasonable returns. And just as you would pay the driver for his chauffeuring services, you have to pay specific fees for the professional management of your mutual fund investments.
Returns
One of the biggest mutual fund benefits is that you have the opportunity to earn potentially higher returns than traditional investment options offering assured returns. This is because the returns on mutual funds are linked to the market’s performance. So, if the market is on a bull run and it does exceedingly well, the impact would be reflected in the value of your fund. However, a poor performance in the market could negatively impact your investments. Unlike traditional investments ,mutual funds do not assure capital protection. So do your research and invest in funds that can help you meet your financial goals at the right time in life.
Diversification
You may have heard the saying: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. This is a famous mantra to remember when you invest your money. When you invest only in a single asset, you could risk a loss if the market crashes. However, you can avoid this problem by investing in different asset classes and diversifying your portfolio.
If you were investing in stocks and had to diversify, you would have to select at least ten stocks carefully from different sectors. This can be a lengthy, time-consuming process. But when you invest in mutual funds, you achieve diversification instantly. For instance, if you invest in a mutual fund that tracks the BSE Sensex, you would get access to as many as 30 stocks across sectors in a single fund. This could reduce your risk to a large extent.
Tax benefits
Mutual fund investors can claim a tax deduction of up to Rs. 1.5 lakh by investing in Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS). This tax benefit is eligible under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. ELSS funds come with a lock-in period of 3 years. Hence, if you invest in ELSS funds, you can only withdraw your money after the lock-in period ends.
Another tax benefit is indexation benefit available on debt funds. In case of traditional products, all interest earned is subject to tax. However, in case of debt mutual funds, only the returns earned over and above the inflation rate (embedded in cost inflation index {CII}) are subject to tax. This could also help investors earn higher post tax returns.

What are different types of mutual funds?

When you enter a car showroom, you see lots of different cars. There are hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs and maybe even sports cars. Each car in the showroom serves a different purpose. An adventurous person may prefer a sports car while a family man with kids (and a pet) may opt for an SUV. In the same way, there are different types of mutual funds in India.

Each fund type aims to achieve specific goals. Here are the most popular types of mutual funds you can find:

Types of funds based on asset class:

Debt funds
Debt funds (also known as fixed income funds) invest in assets like government securities and corporate bonds. These funds aim to offer reasonable returns to the investor and are considered relatively less risky. These funds are ideal if you aim for a steady income and are averse to risk.
Equity funds
In contrast to debt funds, equity funds invest your money in stocks. Capital appreciation is an important objective for these funds. But since the returns on equity funds are linked to market movements of stocks, these funds have a higher degree of risk. They are a good choice if you want to invest for long term goals such as retirement planning or buying a house as the level of risk comes down over time.
Hybrid funds
What if you want equity as well as debt in your investment? Well, hybrid funds are the answer. Hybrid funds invest in a mix of both equity and fixed income securities. Based on the allocation between equity and debt (asset allocation), hybrid funds are further classified into various sub-categories.

Types funds based on structure:

Open-ended mutual funds
Open-ended funds are mutual funds where an investor can invest on any business day. These funds are bought and sold at their Net Asset Value (NAV). Open-ended funds are highly liquid because you can redeem your units from the fund on any business day at your convenience.
Close-ended mutual funds
Close-ended funds come with a pre-defined maturity period. Investors can invest in the fund only when it is launched and can withdraw their money from the fund only at the time of maturity. These funds are listed just like shares in the stock market. However, they are not very liquid because trading volumes are very less.

Types of funds based on investment objective:

Mutual funds can also be classified basis investment objectives.

Growth funds
The main objective of growth funds is capital appreciation. These funds put a significant portion of the money in stocks. These funds can be relatively more risky due to high exposure to equity and hence it is good to invest in them for the long-term. But if you are nearing your goal, for example, you may want to avoid these funds.
Income funds
As the name suggests, income funds try to provide investors with a stable income. These are debt funds that invest mostly in bonds, government securities and certificate of deposits, etc. They are suitable for different -term goals and for investors with a lower-risk appetite.
Liquid funds
Liquid funds put money in short-term money market instruments like treasury bills, Certificate of Deposits (CDs), term deposits, commercial papers and so on. Liquid funds help to park your surplus money for a few days to a few months or create an emergency fund.
Tax saving funds
Tax saving funds offer you tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. When you invest in these funds, you can claim deductions up to Rs 1.5 lakh each year. Equity Linked Saving Scheme (ELSS) are an example of tax saving funds.

How Mutual funds and investment goals related?

Now that you know the different types of mutual funds, the question arises: ‘Which is the best mutual fund?’

Well, there is no single or right answer to this question. This is because fund houses design mutual funds to achieve specific financial goals. And as an investor, you need to know which mutual funds can help you achieve your goals in the best way possible.

All your investment goals can be categorized into three broad groups:

Short-term goals (1-3 years): For instance, going on a family vacation in 18 months, buying a car, etc
Medium-term goals (3-5 years): For instance, doing a short term course in digital marketing in 3/4 years
Long-term goals (5 years or more): For instance, buying a house in the next 5-7 years

For any goals upto 12 months, it is better to invest in liquid funds since they are less volatile. Liquid funds can be a good option to create an emergency fund. For goals between 1-3 years, you may want to invest in short term debt funds.

Hybrid funds are more suited for medium-term goals since they have the potential to provide both capital appreciation and stability. For long-term purposes, equity funds are suitable.

Concept of Systematic Investment Plans (SIP)

One of the best features about investing in mutual funds is that you don’t need a large amount of money to start investing. Most fund houses in the country allow investors to begin investing with as little as Rs. 500 (some start at Rs. 100) per month through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). Now, this might seem like a tiny amount to begin your investment journey, but when you invest consistently over a considerable period, you can achieve a substantial sum.

SIP is a method of investing in mutual funds where you invest a specific amount at fixed intervals. This way, you can avoid timing the market and increase your wealth steadily.

Here’s an example to illustrate the SIP point:

Let’s imagine you invest Rs. 5,000 per month in an equity fund for 15 years. The fund offers an annual return of 12%. At the end of the investment period, you would have amassed a corpus of over Rs. 25 lakh. Now, if you continue investing the same amount for another ten years (total 25 years), you would get a total sum of almost Rs.95 lakh! This is roughly four times the amount in an additional ten years.

This is the power of compounding. The returns you earn in turn begin to make profits for you. So, when you invest for a longer time frame, your gains also rise higher. But to gain the maximum benefit of compounding, you should start investing as early as possible and invest for as long as possible. This can give you an extended investment window to increase your returns.