Mutual Fund Services:
What is Mutual Fund?
A mutual fund is a financial intermediary that allows a group of investors to pool their money together with a predetermined investment objective. The mutual fund will have a fund manager who is responsible for investing the gathered money into specific securities (stocks or bonds). When you invest in a mutual fund, you are buying units or portions of the mutual fund and thus on investing becomes a shareholder or unit holder of the fund.
Mutual funds are considered as one of the best available investments as compare to others they are very cost efficient and also easy to invest in, thus by pooling money together in a mutual fund, investors can purchase stocks or bonds with much lower trading costs than if they tried to do it on their own. But the biggest advantage to mutual funds is diversification, by minimizing risk & maximizing returns.
Benefits of Mutual Fund:
You get expert guidance
A mutual fund, has professionals such as PTIC whose constant job is to study the financial market for you. We do our research and analysis market trends and prospects of various sectors and companies. Something that is difficult for you to do alone. So, when it comes to making the right investment decision, you can be sure that your money is being invested by our experts.
Reduced Risk, Optimum Returns
By nature, a mutual fund is multiple investment opportunities bundled into one. Normally returns on investment from a single security depend on how well or how poorly the company fares. But with mutual funds your money is invested across different companies or sectors. By doing this your investment returns get averaged. This means, even if two investments go bad other investments may average your returns.
You can have money when you want it
If you invest in an open-ended mutual fund, you can claim your money at net asset value (NAV) related prices from the mutual fund itself on any business day. On the other hand, if you invest in a close-ended scheme, you can sell your units at the prevailing market rate on the stock exchange if it is listed. But if the scheme not listed, in order to provide an exit route to the investors, some close-ended fund give an option of selling back the units to the mutual fund through periodic repurchase at NAV related prices.
It is an affordable investment option
Since you invest with several other investors, you bear lesser investing cost than you would have jt if you did it alone. So, as compared to investing directly in the capital market, mutual fund cost less and the investment size is also as minimum as Rs.500/- .
The complete process is transparent
Unlike some investments like property, you get to know the value of your investment on a daily basis. In addition to it, you can also know the investments that have been made by your scheme, the proportion allocated to different assets and the Fund Manager’s investment strategy on a periodic basis.
Returns from mutual funds are tax-free
Currently, earnings from equity mutual fund in the form of dividends are tax-free. Also income generated from investments in an equity scheme for more than a year is tax-free. (if there is no long-term capital gain.)
It is regulated by SEBI
All mutual funds are registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and function within the provisions and regulations that protect the interest of investors. SEBI not only regulates the working of stock exchanges and their intermediaries but also prohibits fraudulent and unfair trade practices relating to securities markets and insider trading in securities, with the imposition of monetary penalties o erring market intermediaries.
Mutual Fund Myth:
Investing in mutual fund is expensive
On the contrary mutual funds are the most affordable way of investing in the stock market. The total expenses for the scheme are stipulated by SEBI , so there is no possibility of over charging investors.
You need lots of money to afford mutual funds.
With the SIP option anyone can start investing with very small but regular contributions every month.
Investment in mutual funds is not transparent.
SEBI strictly regulates the operations of all mutual funds ensuring that the process is completely transparent. It is mandatory for all fund houses to disclose information regarding their mutual funds.
Only those in bigger cities have access to mutual funds.
It is possible for investors from any part of the country to invest in mutual funds through online or internet trading. Also there is a nationwide network of Investor Services Centres and Investor Service Desks.
Risk sound daunting, but it is simply used to express the possible fluctuations in the value of a fund. Like every investment mutual fund too are subject to price variations, or risks. Some funds are more stable while other are volatile. But where mutual funds differ from others is that through experience of expert mutual fund managers it can be minimized. The expertise of mutual fund managers in selecting fundamentally sound securities, timing their purchase and sale helps them to build a diversified portfolio that minimizes risk and optimizes returns.
Diversification helps to manage risks and optimize returns
In simple terms, it’s about putting your eggs in different baskets. When you invest in one mutual fund, you instantly spread your risk over a number of different companies. Diversification is a basic risk management tool. By diversification you can rebalance your portfolio to meet your changing needs and goals. Investors who maintain a mix of equity shares, bonds and money market securities have a greater chance of earning optimized returns over time, than those who invest only in conservative investments. Additionally, a diversified approach to investing combining the growth potential of equities with the income of bonds and the stability of money market, helps moderate your risk and enhance your potential return.
So does Asset Allocation
Asset allocation is based on a simple theory – that the type or class of security you own is much more important than the security itself. Asset allocation is generally the most important factor in determining the return on your investments. Not only does it lower risk, but also optimizes returns over a period of time. Your returns are safeguard because the six or seven asset classes in well – balanced portfolio react differently to changes in market conditions like inflation, rising or falling interest rates, market sectors coming into or falling out of favour of recession.
