Tuesday, March 25, 2014

What needs to be considered while buying a Mutual Fund?

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Buy Gold Mutual Funds

Leave a missed Call on

94 8300 8300

 

 

The mutual fund industry is characterised by the problem of plenty. With hundreds of mutual fund schemes in India, across over 40 fund houses, how would you know which funds are worth investing in?

Let’s look at the top things to consider when you choose a mutual fund. The points below are applicable to equity mutual fund schemes in India.

Track record

 This is, by far, the most common parameter which investors look for. The track record of the mutual fund schemes is based on the past performance of such schemes. The irony in this is that every bit of communication from a mutual fund company states that the past performance of the scheme is not an indication of the future performance!

So then, should this be ignored? No. The answer to this is to look at the performance over a long term, at least for a period of 5 to 10 years, rather than considering the short term historical performance of the scheme. As equity mutual funds deliver superior returns only over the long term, it is important that you do not get swayed by a fund which has delivered excellent returns over the past 6 months or 1 year. Analyse the returns clocked by the scheme during both the periods of ups and downs in the industry.

Benchmark comparison

Every equity mutual fund scheme has its own philosophy of investing and can be compared to a benchmark index. Choose a scheme which has outperformed its benchmark or delivers returns which are at least comparable to benchmark returns.

Example: Returns of a banking sector oriented equity mutual fund scheme should be compared with returns of the Bank Nifty or the Bankex.

Management

 A mutual fund scheme which is backed by a sound Asset Management Company (AMC) is an ideal pick compared to an unknown scheme. Find out details about the fund manager who will be managing your fund. Ideally, the fund manager should have seen through a few business cycles to understand market movements. In addition to the fund house and the fund manager, it is important that the mutual fund has a stable management team, who can manage the fund’s activities even if the fund manager leaves the fund house.

Expense ratio

 The fee charged by the fund house to manage and operate the fund is known as expense ratio, which includes management charges, administrative charges and other operating costs. These expenses are paid by the unit holders even if the fund doesn’t do well in any year. Hence it is very important to focus on this parameter. Look out for well managed funds which have a low expense ratio.

Portfolio allocation

 When you have shortlisted a few funds, study their portfolio allocation. Understand the quantity of funds invested in the various categories and stocks. Studying the portfolio allocation helps you to understand the risk profile of the scheme.

The above are some of the top things to look out for when you plan to invest in an equity mutual fund scheme in India. Of course, you can outsource such aspects of your investments, by availing services of qualified Financial Planners.

 

 

 

For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call

 

 

Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300

 

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write back to us at

PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

 

---------------------------------------------

Invest Mutual Funds Online

Invest Any Mutual Fund Online

 

Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Mutual Any Fund Application Forms

---------------------------------------------

 

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds             Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Franklin India Bluechip
      4. ICICI Prudential Top 100 Fund

B. Large and Midcap Funds         Invest Online

      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
      4. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
      5. Franklin India Prima

C. Mid and SmallCap Funds          Invest Online

      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
      5. Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield Plus
      6. SBI Emerging Businesses Fund
      7. HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund
      8. ICICI Prudential Discovery Fund

D. Small and MicroCap Funds   Invest Online

      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund

2.       Franklin India Smaller Companies

E. Sector Funds          Invest Online

      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
      3. ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund

F. Tax Saver Mutual Funds      Invest Online

1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan

2. HDFC Taxsaver

      1. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
      2. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund

G. Gold Mutual Funds        Invest Online

      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund
      4. Birla Sun Life Gold

H. International funds         Invest Online

1. Birla Sun Life International Equity Plan A

2. DSP BlackRock US Flexible Equity

3. FT India Feeder Franklin US Opportunities

4. ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity

5. Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares NASDAQ-100 ETF

0 comments: