MUTUAL FUNDS

Concept: -
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 realized 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.
The flow chart below describes broadly the working of a mutual fund:

Mutual Fund Operation Flow Chart

Organisation of Mutual Funds:-

Organization of a Mutual Fund

TYPES OF MUTUAL FUNDS

By By Other
Schemes
Structure Investment

Open Close Objectiv Tax

Sche

Growth Income Balanced Money

Sector
Index Specie

Scheme Scheme
More abruptly, Mutual fund schemes may be explained as under:-
By Structure:
Open-ended Funds
An open-end fund is one that is available for subscription all through the year.
These do not have a fixed maturity. Investors can conveniently buy and sell units at Net
Asset Value (‘‘NAV’’) related prices. The key feature of open-end schemes is liquidity.
Closed-ended Funds
A Closed-end fund has a stipulated maturity period which generally ranging from
3 to 15 years. The fund is open for subscription only during a specified period. Investors
can invest in the scheme at the time of the initial public issue and thereafter they can buy
or sell the units of the scheme on the stock exchanges where they are listed. In order to
provide an exit route to the investors, some close-ended funds give an option of selling
back the units to the Mutual Fund through periodic repurchase at NAV related prices.
SEBI Regulations stipulate that at least one of the two exit routes is provided tot he
investor.

Interval Funds
Interval funds combine the features of open-ended and close-ended schemes. They are
open for sale or redemption during pre-determined intervals at NAV related prices.
By Investment Objective :
Growth Funds
The aim of growth funds is to provide capital appreciation over the medium to long-term.
Such schemes normally invest a majority of their corpus in equities. It has been proven
that returns from stocks, have outperformed most other kind of investments helf over the
long term. Growth schemes are ideal for investors having a long-term outlook seeking
growth over a period of time.
Income Funds
The aim of income funds is to provide regular and steady income to investors.
Such schemes generally invest in fixed income securities such as bonds, corporate
debentures and government securities. Income Funds are ideal for capital stability and
regular income.
Balanced Funds
The aim of balanced funds is to provide both growth and regular income. Such
schemes periodically distribute a part of their earning and invest both in equites and fixed
income securities in the proportion indicated in their offer documents. In a rising stock
market, the NAV of these schemes may not normally keep pace, or fall equally when the
market falls. These are ideal for investors looking for a combination of income and
moderate growth.
Money Market Funds
The aim of money market funds is to provide easy liquidity, preservation of
capital and moderate income. These schemes generally invest in safer short-term
instruments such as treasury bills, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and inter-
bank call money. Returns on these schemes may fluctuate depending upon the interest
rates prevailing in the market. These are ideal for Corporate and individual investors as a
means to part their surplus funds for short periods.

Other Schemes :
Tax Saving Schemes
These schemes offer tax rebates to the investors under specific provisions of the
Indian Income Tax laws as the government offers tax incentives for investment in
specified avenues.
Investments made in Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) and Pension Schemes are
allowed as deduction u/s 88 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Act also provides
opportunities to investors to save capital gains u/s 54EA and 54EB by investing in
Mutual Funds, Provided the capital asset has been sold prior to April 1, 2000 and the
amount is invested before September 30, 2000.
Special Schemes
• Industry Specific Schemes
Industry Specific Schemes invest only in the industries specified in the offer
document. The investment of these funds is limited to specific industries like Info Tech,
FMCG, Pharmaceuticals etc.
• Index Schemes
Index funds attempts to replicate the performance of a particular index number as
the BSE Sensex or the NSE 50.
 • Sectoral Schemes
Sectoral funds are those which invest excusively in a specified industry or group
of industries or various segments such as ’A’ Group shares or initial public
offering.
SCOPE & IMPORTANCE OF MUTUAL FUND
 Return Potential
Over a medium to long-term, Mutual Funds have the potential to provide a higher
return as they invest in a diversified basket of selected securities.
 Low Costs
Mutual Funds are a relatively less expensive way to invest compared to directly
investing in the capital markets because the benefits of scale in brokerage, custodial and
other fees translate into lower costs for investors.
 Liquidity
In open-end schemes, the investor gets the money back promptly at net asset
value related prices from the Mutual Fund. In close-end schemes, the units can be sold on
a stock exchange at the prevailing market price or the investor can avail of the facility of
direct repurchase at NAV related prices by the Mutual Fund.
 Transparency
You get regular information on the value of your investment in addition to
disclosure on the specific investments made by your scheme, the proportion invested in
each class of assets and the fund manager's investment strategy and outlook.
 Flexibility
Through features such as regular investment plans, regular withdrawal plans and
dividend reinvestment plans, you can systematically invest or withdraw funds according
to your needs and convenience.
 Affordability
Investors individually may lack sufficient funds to invest in high-grade stocks. A
mutual fund because of its large corpus allows even a small investor to take the benefit of
its investment strategy.
 Choice of Schemes
Mutual Funds offer a family of schemes to suit our varying needs over a lifetime.
 Well Regulated
All Mutual Funds are registered with SEBI and they function within the
provisions of strict regulations designed to protect the interests of investors. The
operations of Mutual Funds are regularly monitored by SEBI.
 Net Asset Value (NAV)
The net asset value of the fund is the cumulative market value of the assets fund net of its
liabilities. In other words, if the fund is dissolved or liquidated, by selling off all the
assets in the fund, this is the amount that the shareholders would collectively own. This
gives rise to the concept of net asset value per unit, which is the value, represented by the
ownership of one unit in the fund. It is calculated simply by dividing the net asset value
of the fund by the number of units. However, most people refer loosely to the NAV per
unit as NAV, ignoring the ‘‘per unit’’. We also abide by the same convention.
LIMITATIONS
Like many investments, mutual fund also offer advantages and disadvantages, which are
important to understand before buying them. Here we explore some of the limitations of
mutual funds investment.
• No Guarantees: No investment is risk free. If the entire 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.
• Fluctuating Returns
Mutual funds are like many other investments without a guaranteed return: there
is always the possibility that the value of your mutual fund will depreciate. Unlike
fixed-income products, such as Treasury bills, mutual funds experience price
fluctuations along with the stocks that make up the fund. When deciding on a
particular fund to buy, you need to research the risks involved
• Diversification?
Although diversification is one of the keys to successful investing, many mutual
fund investors tend to overdiversify. The idea of diversification is to reduce the
risks associated with holding a single security; overdiversification (also known as
diworsification) occurs when investors acquire many funds that are highly related
and, as a result, don't get the risk reducing benefits of diversification.
• Cash, Cash and More Cash
As you know already, mutual funds pool money from thousands of investors, so
everyday investors are putting money into the fund as well as withdrawing
investments. To maintain liquidity and the capacity to accommodate withdrawals,
funds typically have to keep a large portion of their portfolios as cash. Having
ample cash is great for liquidity, but money sitting around as cash is not working
for you and thus is not very advantageous.
• Costs
Mutual funds provide investors with professional management, but it comes at a
cost. Funds will typically have a range of different fees that reduce the overall
 payout. In mutual funds, the fees are classified into two categories: shareholder
fees and annual operating fees.
• Misleading Advertisements
The misleading advertisements of different funds can guide investors down the
wrong path. Some funds may be incorrectly labeled as growth funds, while others
are classified as small cap or income funds. The Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) requires that funds have at least 80% of assets in the
particular type of investment implied in their names. How the remaining assets
are invested is up to the fund manager.
• Evaluating Funds
Another disadvantage of mutual funds is the difficulty they pose for investors
interested in researching and evaluating the different funds. Unlike stocks, mutual
funds do not offer investors the opportunity to compare the P/E ratio, sales
growth, earnings per share, etc. A mutual fund's net asset value gives investors the
total value of the fund's portfolio less liabilities, but how do you know if one fund
is better than another?