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Mutual Fund Basics
WHAT IS A MUTUAL FUND?
A mutual fund is essentially a mechanism of pooling together the savings of a large number of small investors for collective investment. The avowed objective of a mutual fund is to increase the wealth of the investors while reducing risk of loss and maintaining a fund of money for quick buyouts.
WHAT ADVANTAGES DO MUTUAL FUNDS HOLD FOR THE ECONOMY?
Channeling the savings of the public
Helps strengthen and develop a strong capital market
Thereby contributes to capital formation and the growth of the economy
WHAT ADVANTAGES DO MUTUAL FUNDS HOLD FOR INVESTING
PUBLIC?
Professional Management
Easy Liquidity
Reduction / Diversification of Risk
Reduction in Transaction Costs
Return Potential
Convenience and Flexibility
Portfolio Diversification
Well Regulated
Investor Protection
Switchover Facility
Low Operating Costs
Tax Benefit
WHAT IS A REPURCHASE/REDEMPTION ?
Repurchase is a facility to redeem the unit certificates or statements of account at Net Asset Value for hard cash before the tenure of the scheme is up.
Redemption is the closure of the scheme at the expiry of the tenure of the scheme.
WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS TYPES OF SCHEMES AVAILABLE IN A MUTUAL FUND?
| OPEN ENDED SCHEMES | CLOSE ENDED SCHEMES | INTERVAL SCHEMES |
|---|---|---|
| Accepts funds from investors on a continuous basis. | Schemes are opened for specified time period. | Basically a close ended scheme with a peculiar feature that every year for a specified period (interval) it is made open. |
| Repurchase facility available. | Principal normally does not change throughout the year. | Prior to and at such interval the scheme operates as close ended. |
| No listing in the stock exchange | Such schemes are normally listed in the stock exchange. Otherwise repurchase facility provided. | During the said period, mutual fund is ready to buy or sell the units directly from or to the investors. |
| Better liquidity due to continuous repurchase. | Liquidity normally at the time of redemption. | |
| Sale and Repurchase based on NAV | Long term investment strategies depending on the life of the scheme. | |
| Market price may be below or above par. |
Classification by Investment Objectives:
| INCOME SCHEMES | Income Schemes maximize the current income through periodical income distribution. Money is invested in low risk securities and the yield distributed. |
| GROWTH SCHEMES | Growth Schemes achieve the highest capital appreciation through investment in growth oriented securities. |
| BALANCED SCHEMES | Balanced Schemes provide current income as well as capital appreciation. The investment is in Equity and Fixed income securities as per the offer document. |
| TAX SAVING SCHEMES | Tax Saving Schemes provide tax incentives; e.g. Equity Linked Saving Schemes under sec. 88 of Income Tax Act. |
| SECTOR FUNDS | Sector Funds invest in securities of certain sector of the economy so that the risk is confined to that particular sector. Example: Information Technology Funds invest only in companies dealing in hardware, software and other related activities. |
| INDEX FUNDS | Index Funds match the performance of the stock market by tracking an Index that represents the overall market. The investment is in a diversified market index. |
| MONEY MARKET FUNDS | These Funds invest in securities of short-term nature, which generally means securities of less than one- year maturity. The major advantages are the Liquidity and safety of principal that the investors can normally expect from short-term investments. |
| GILT FUNDS | Gilt Funds invest is in government securities. Since the issuer is the Government of India / State, these funds have little to no risk of default as there is no credit risk involved. |
Classification by Geography:
| DOMESTIC MUTUAL FUND SCHEMES: | Schemes launched with a view to mobilize savings of the citizens of the country. |
| OFF SHORE SCHEMES: | Mutual fund schemes launched with a view to mobilize the savings of the foreign countries for the investments in local markets. |
Funds are normally collected through the countries enjoying zero status. The aim is normally long-term capital growth by investing in local equities.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FIXED DEPOSITS AND MUTUAL FUND SCHEMES
| Fixed Deposits | Mutual Fund Schemes |
|---|---|
| Investment for a fixed period | No fixed tenure in Open ended schemes |
| Assured return on fixed deposits | No assurance for either returns or capital growth |
| Interest income is taxable | Income earned by way of distribution from the open ended schemes is exempt from income tax till MARCH 2002. |
| High safety in Banks, otherwise depends upon rating | |
| Low returns | Safety depends upon the investment objective |
| Objective is to earn income | High returns |
| Objective is to earn income and capital growth |
WHAT IS A LOAD?
The charges made by the fund managers to the investors to cover the distribution / sales / marketing expenses are often called “load”. The load charged to the investor at the time of entry into a scheme is called Entry Load. The load that the investor pays at the time of exit is called a back-end or Exit Load.
WHAT IS THE RISK INVOLVED IN AN INCOME SCHEME ?
Credit Risk:Risk of default by the issuer of the underlying securities invested by the Fund.
Liquidity Risk:When the market is extremely volatile the investment cannot be easy redeemed.
Inflation Risk:Erosion in value due to inflation
WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS TYPES OF INCOME FUNDS?
Money Market Funds:Investment only in Government Securities and Treasury Bills.
Cash / Liquid Funds:Investment in a combination of money market instruments and short term debt like Commercial Paper of Certificate of Deposits. The above two funds are ideal to park the surplus funds for short periods.
Bond Funds:Investment in medium to long term Bonds issued by corporations and governments
INCOME FUNDS ARE IDEAL FOR INVESTORS WHO ARE AVERSE TO RISK
WHY SHOULD YOU INVEST IN A GROWTH FUND?
Chances of appreciation over time
Better hedge against inflation
Growth funds have outperformed the other asset class over long term
Better than Gold and real estate due to better liquidity and low transaction cost
WHAT IS THE REASON FOR VOLATILITY IN GROWTH FUNDS?
Volatility is due to the portfolio mix of stocks. The mix of stock itself depends upon the degree of diversification in the fund and the extent to which the fund manager tries to hedge. Look at equity as a long -term investment. Stocks may go up and down in the short term but in the long term it will always perform. For confirmation look at the BSE Sensex.
HIGH LOW
| 1992 | 4547 (Apr) | 2709 (Dec) |
| 1994 | 4643 (Sep) | 3576 (May) |
| 1996 | 4131 (Jun) | 2713 (Dec) |
| 1997 | 4605 (Aug) | 3097 (Jan) |
| 1998 | 4322 (Apr) | 2742 (Nov) |
| 1999 | 5151 (Oct) | 3042 (Jan) |
| 2000 | 6151 (Feb) | 3593 (Oct) |
| 2001 | 4462 (Feb) | 2600 (Sep) |
This is given as on 5th November, 2001.
WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS TYPES OF GROWTH FUNDS?
Diversified funds: Ideal for the investors seeking appreciation over medium to long term investments in equities across various industries / sectors either large cap or small cap
Index funds: Ideal for the investor who wishes to, and is also satisfied with, returns equal to that of index
Sector funds: Sector specific fund ideal for investors who wish to invest in a particular segment or sector
HOW IS THE PERFORMANCE OF A FUND MEASURED?
From the investors’ point of view performance can be gauged from the returns over a period of 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months, and so on.
Compare the peer group in the category and benchmark the return.
Look at the risk – return relationship.
Analyze the long – term performance to understand the consistency of performance in bull and bear markets.
The performance of a fund can be measured by quantitative tools like Sharpe and Treynor ratios.
IS IT SAFE TO INVEST IN MUTUAL FUNDS?
Risk can only be minimized by managing the fund professionally. RISK CANNOT BE ELIMINATED. In the long run the fund will always be profitable
CAN MUTUAL FUNDS ASSURE RETURNS?
No. There are no assured returns in mutual funds. The returns can be higher over a long period. In case any mutual fund wants to assure returns they can do so, by clearly expressing the safety net / safety cushion available equivalent to the amount assured and the source in place.
WHAT IS A SYSTEMATIC INVESTMENT PLAN?
Systematic Investment Plan is a method for investing money at regular intervals into the fund of the investors’ choice over a defined time frame. This helps the investor invest monthly, quarterly and so on. Since the amount is invested regularly and is constant, the investor gets more units in the falling market and fewer units when the price is high. This helps the investor to smoothen out market fluctuations and the investment will be at a low cost over a period of time. This investment strategy is called “Rupee Cost Averaging”
WHAT IS A SYSTEMATIC WITHDRAWAL PLAN?
Just like the above, it is the process of withdrawing funds at a regular interval. It results in benefiting in the rising market to reap the benefit out of average increase in the earnings.
WHY ARE THERE NO ASSURANCES PROVIDED BY MUTUAL FUNDS?
No assurances can be given as per SEBI Guidelines. Of their own accord mutual funds make no assurances because any investment has certain amount of risk like: Market volatility in case of investment in Equities, Credit risk / interest risks in case of debt funds etc. However in the medium to long run there is always growth in the mutual fund schemes due to their wide and varied portfolio
