Mutual Funds
by- Tanuj Gupta
What are mutual fund?
The flow chart above describes broadly the working of a mutual fund:
A Mutual Fund is a trust that pools the savings of a number of investors who share a common financial goal. The money thus collected is then invested in capital market instruments such as shares, debentures and other securities. The income earned through these investments and the capital appreciation realised are shared by its unit holders in proportion to the number of units owned by them. Thus a Mutual Fund is the most suitable investment for the common man as it offers an opportunity to invest in a diversified, professionally managed basket of securities at a relatively low cost.
Mutual funds come to India
The origin of mutual fund industry in India is with the introduction of the concept of mutual fund by UTI in the year 1963. Though the growth was slow, but it accelerated from the year 1987 when non-UTI players entered the industry.
In the past decade, Indian mutual fund industry had seen a dramatic improvements, both quality wise as well as quantity wise. Before, the monopoly of the market had seen an ending phase, the Assets Under Management (AUM) was Rs. 67bn. The private sector entry to the fund family rose the AUM to Rs. 470 bn in March 1993 and till April 2004, it reached the height of 1,540 bn.
Four phase of mutual funds
First Phase - 1964-87
Second Phase - 1987-1993 (Entry of Public Sector Funds)
Third Phase - 1993-2003 (Entry of Private Sector Funds)
Fourth Phase - since February 2003
Performance of Mutual Funds in India
The performance of mutual funds in India in the initial phase was not even closer to satisfactory level. People rarely understood, and of course investing was out of question. But yes, some 24 million shareholders were accustomed with guaranteed high returns by the beginning of liberalization of the industry in 1992. This good record of UTI became marketing tool for new entrants. The expectations of investors touched the sky in profitability factor. However, people were miles away from the preparedness of risks factor after the liberalization.
Future of mutual funds in India
By December 2004, Indian mutual fund industry reached Rs 1,50,537 crore. It is estimated that by 2010 March-end, the total assets of all scheduled commercial banks should be Rs 40,90,000 crore.
The annual composite rate of growth is expected 13.4% during the rest of the decade. In the last 5 years we have seen annual growth rate of 9%. According to the current growth rate, by year 2010, mutual fund assets will be double.
Some facts for the growth of mutual funds in India
100% growth in the last 6 years.
Number of foreign AMC's are in the que to enter the Indian markets like Fidelity Investments, US based, with over US$1trillion assets under management worldwide.
Our saving rate is over 23%, highest in the world. Only channelizing these savings in mutual funds sector is required.
We have approximately 29 AMC’s, which is much less than US having more than 800. There is a big scope for expansion.
'B' and 'C' class cities are growing rapidly. Today most of the mutual funds are concentrating on the 'A' class cities. Soon they will find scope in the growing cities.
Mutual fund can penetrate rural like the Indian insurance industry with simple and limited products.
SEBI allowing the MF's to launch commodity mutual funds.
Emphasis on better corporate governance.
Trying to curb the late trading practices.
Introduction of Financial Planners who can provide need based advice.
Types of mutual fund schemes
By Structure
Open - Ended Schemes
Close - Ended Schemes
Interval Schemes
By Investment Objective
Growth Schemes
Income Schemes
Balanced Schemes
Money Market Schemes
Other Schemes
Tax Saving Schemes
Special Schemes
Index Schemes
Sector Specific Schemes
Advantages of mutual funds
Diversification: The best mutual funds design their portfolios so individual investments will react differently to the same economic conditions. For example, economic conditions like a rise in interest rates may cause certain securities in a diversified portfolio to decrease in value. Other securities in the portfolio will respond to the same economic conditions by increasing in value. When a portfolio is balanced in this way, the value of the overall portfolio should gradually increase over time, even if some securities lose value.
Professional Management:Most mutual funds pay topflight professionals to manage their investments. These managers decide what securities the fund will buy and sell.
Regulatory oversight: Mutual funds are subject to many government regulations that protect investors from fraud.
Liquidity: It's easy to get your money out of a mutual fund. Write a check, make a call, and you've got the cash.
Convenience: You can usually buy mutual fund shares by mail, phone, or over the Internet.
Low cost: Mutual fund expenses are often no more than 1.5 percent of your investment. Expenses for Index Funds are less than that, because index funds are not actively managed. Instead, they automatically buy stock in companies that are listed on a specific index
Transparency
Flexibility
Choice of schemes
Tax benefits
Well regulated
Drawbacks of mutual funds
Mutual funds have their drawbacks and may not be for everyone:
No Guarantees: No investment is risk free. If the entire stock market declines in value, the value of mutual fund shares will go down as well, no matter how balanced the portfolio. Investors encounter fewer risks when they invest in mutual funds than when they buy and sell stocks on their own. However, anyone who invests through a mutual fund runs the risk of losing money.
Fees and commissions: All funds charge administrative fees to cover their day-to-day expenses. Some funds also charge sales commissions or "loads" to compensate brokers, financial consultants, or financial planners. Even if you don't use a broker or other financial adviser, you will pay a sales commission if you buy shares in a Load Fund.
Taxes: During a typical year, most actively managed mutual funds sell anywhere from 20 to 70 percent of the securities in their portfolios. If your fund makes a profit on its sales, you will pay taxes on the income you receive, even if you reinvest the money you made.
Management risk: When you invest in a mutual fund, you depend on the fund's manager to make the right decisions regarding the fund's portfolio. If the manager does not perform as well as you had hoped, you might not make as much money on your investment as you expected. Of course, if you invest in Index Funds, you forego management risk, because these funds do not employ managers
Mutual Funds - FAQs
Net Asset Value (NAV) Net Asset Value is the market value of the assets of the scheme minus its liabilities. The per unit NAV is the net asset value of the scheme divided by the number of units outstanding on the Valuation Date. Sale Price Is the price you pay when you invest in a scheme. Also called Offer Price. It may include a sales load. Repurchase Price Is the price at which a close-ended scheme repurchases its units and it may include a back-end load. This is also called Bid Price. Redemption Price Is the price at which open-ended schemes repurchase their units and close-ended schemes redeem their units on maturity. Such prices are NAV related. Sales Load Is a charge collected by a scheme when it sells the units. Also called, ‘Front-end’ load. Schemes that do not charge a load are called ‘No Load’ schemes. Repurchase or ‘Back-end’ Load Is a charge collected by a scheme when it buys back the units from the unit holders.
