There are various types of mutual funds that are tailored to meet diverse investment goals. Equity or Growth Funds refer to investments in shares of companies. Touted as the best long-term investments capable of generating higher returns, Equity Funds facilitate wealth creation. You can choose from the Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Cap funds meant for investments in large established businesses, mid-sized and small-sized companies respectively.You can also choose from Blend of Large , Mid and Small caps through Flexicap and Multicap Funds. Then there are tax saving funds (ELSS), Sectoral funds which Invests in a particular Sectors like Banking-Financial , Technology , Pharma etc and thematic funds (investments in common themes entailing infrastructure, NBFCs etc ).

The Fixed Income Funds or Bonds invest into Government securities, bonds, Money Market Instruments, Treasury bills and certificate of investments. They don't offer returns as high as the Equities do, but are safer than the same as well. They are more suitable for short term income generation, temporary parking of funds etc.

Hybrid Funds are a combination of Equity Funds & Fixed Income Funds, helping you make the most of both; wealth generation and short term income. Conservative Balanced Funds, Aggressive Balanced Funds, Child Plans and Pension Plans are just a few examples.

For Further Details for Categorization of Mutual Fund Schemes. Refer to the below mentioned Link.

https://www.amfiindia.com/investor-corner/knowledge-center/SEBI-categorization-of-mutual-fund-schemes.html

No. Mutual Funds schemes are governed by a number of uncertain factors like market movement, the ability of the fund management team, time period of the investment and the various avenues of investment.

Like any other asset class, the returns on Mutual Funds are calculated based on the rate of appreciation of the value of your investment over a period as compared to the initial investment. Your returns are actually the result of the difference between the sale date Net Asset Value (NAV) and the purchase date Net Asset Value (NAV) upon purchase date Net Asset Value (NAV) reflected in percentage by multiplying the result by 100.

There are several categories of mutual funds and risk and return of all funds are different.It depends on the market conditions, the kind of fund you have invested into, and the period for which you stay invested. The returns from Equity funds tend to be highly volatile especially in the short term, whereas if you're investing in debt funds, you are expected to witness lesser volatility and comparatively steadier returns.

The inception of Mutual Funds can be traced back to 1924 when the Massachusetts Investors Trust was created. In India it came into existence along with the Unit Trust of India (UTI) in 1963. The Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India had jointly set up the UTI and it was in 1964 that the first Mutual Fund Scheme was launched. Stringent regulation, impressive AUM (Asset Under Management) and constant innovation have been the key drivers of growth for Mutual Funds. In 1987 the public sector banks besides the UTI started dealing with Mutual Funds. The liberalization of the private sector in 1993 meant that Mutual Funds could now be launched exclusively by the private sector too. Currently, as of 31st March 2021, the size of the Mutual fund Industry in India has grown to 31.43 Lakhs Crores.

Usually a period of 5 years plus is considered as long term, period between 3 years to 5 years is considered to be medium term, and the period less than 3 years is considered as short term when it comes to mutual fund investing.

There, of course, are myriad benefits of long-term investments. The effects of short-term fluctuations are duly offset. You can end up accumulating better risk adjusted returns than what you do in the short term. The better risk adjusted returns outweigh the short-term losses.

A mutual fund provides diversification through exposure to multiple equity shares. The reason that investing in a mutual fund is recommended over directly investing in equity shares is that an individual share carries more risk than a mutual fund (commonly known as concentration risk). This type of risk is also known as unsystematic risk. Therefore, if you'd like to invest directly in shares, you should research how you can compile your own basket of shares so that you don't own just one share. Make sure that you are sufficiently diversified between large and small companies, value and growth companies, domestic and international companies - all according to your risk profile. It might be helpful to seek out professional help when constructing these types of portfolios. This type of research and portfolio construction and monitoring can take a lot of time. The alternative is to invest in a mutual fund for instant diversification which allows you to simplify the whole process and save time. When you're investing through Mutual Funds, you're always actually investing in stocks, bonds or other forms of investments indirectly with the help of a professional fund manager.

Both savings and investments are necessary. While it's important to save, it's equally important to invest, since it yields higher returns and is crucial to fulfilling bigger goals in life.

No, it doesn't. Please understand that when you're buying a Mutual Fund, you're investing in it and not locking your money (except in case of Closed Ended Funds and ELSS). Supervised by a professional fund manager, the money always remains yours! You can access your money easily. Not only can you specify redemption dates you can also switch from one scheme to the other. What's more? The funds are backed by easy terms and conditions to help you make an informed decision.

Yes. Non Resident Indians (NRI) and Persons Of Indian Origin (PIO) can definitely invest in Indian Mutual Funds on repatriation as well as non-repatriation basis, provided they're adhering to all the KYC norms. A few countries such as the US and Canada have restricted investments by NRIs in Mutual Funds without relevant disclosures / documentation. So, it is advisable that NRIs from these countries should seek financial advice regarding the feasibility of investing in Indian funds before investing.

Yes, they should consider including Mutual Funds in their portfolio although the selection of the scheme depends upon the risk profile of the investor. A part of their retirement corpus can be invested into mutual funds, to generate a monthly income through Systematic Withdrawal Plan (more tax friendly returns than FDs). Since most of the retired people stay away from Mutual Funds, owing to the volatility of the stock market, debt funds could be a better option for them to start with.

Yes, even someone with modest earnings and savings can invest in Mutual Funds and make the most of the benefits like the ease of transaction, transparency, liquidity and dividends. Mutual Funds encourage the healthy habit of disciplined investing.

Your Asset Management Company outsources responsibilities to a Registrar & Transfer Agent (RTA), which maintains the records of investor details like address, signatures, bank details etc along with the transaction level investment details. RTA is in charge of safeguarding all your records against misuse.

Providing proper nomination facilitates the transfer of assets in case of demise of the investor. So, while opening a folio with any mutual fund, make sure you are nominating a person who can claim fund units or redemption proceeds, should anything unfortunate happen to you. Otherwise your legal heir will have to undergo a cumbersome & lengthy legal procedure to prove his/her heirship. You can choose to nominate one or more persons as your nominee and can also define their respective proportion(s). You can add or update nominees online as well. Alternatively, you can visit your nearest investor's service center, fill up a nomination form, submit all the nominee documents and you're sorted. You may also take the help of a Mutual Fund Distributor.

Alternately known as the Bond Funds or Fixed Income Funds, Debt Funds refer to the Mutual Fund schemes that encompass investments in Government Securities, Corporate Bonds and Corporate Debt Securities etc. These funds are particularly suited for the investors who are fine with comparatively lower but stable returns and have low risk tolerance. Since these funds are less susceptible to market volatility they ensure higher safety and liquidity. When compared to Equity, they are less volatile, offer lower returns but are definitely safer as well.

As against Equity Funds, the debt funds are tailored for those investors looking forward to generating regular income instead of aiming for long term wealth creation. There, of course, are different types of debt funds that you can invest in: Liquid Funds: Liquid funds are a type of debt funds that invest in very short-term money market instruments that are expected to generate fixed returns over a very short period. These funds invest in Treasury bills, commercial papers etc. of a very short residual maturity. An investor You keep earning something every day on any amount of money you choose to invest for any period of time. You can add or take your money out any time you like as well.

Corporate Bond Funds: These are investments in bonds issued by Corporates or companies. They have high rated portfolios with low to medium Duration.

Fixed Income Funds: Fairly long-term investments in company debentures, the fixed income funds have a potential to offer higher returns than the liquid funds.

Fixed Maturity Plans: It is a fixed tenure Fund where you earn interest on the money invested in Corporate Papers , G sec etc. The Fund is Close ended, the Redemption can be done through exchange if its listed or at the end of the tenure.

Credit Risk Fund : They are open ended Debt Scheme Predominantly invest in AA and below rated Corporate Papers. It aims to generate returns mainly in the form of accrual Income and partly through capital appreciation , as it holds paper with moderate duration.

Dynamic Bond Fund : They are open ended Debt Scheme investing across duration taking the view from the interest rate cycle. The duration of the fund can be actively managed by the fund manager.

G-Sec (Government Securities) Funds: These are also known as G-Sec or Gilt Funds that offer the highest degree of safety as these funds invest in Government securities issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on behalf of the government. The RBI issues securities with varying tenures to raise money for the government from various entities such as banks, insurance companies, and other institutions. They are vulnerable to changing interest rates, though.

They invest our money in fixed income securities, government bonds, money market instruments, repos, bank CDs etc.

Yes. These funds can act as a source of regular income for you because these funds are expected to generate steadier returns and therefore these funds can be used to generate tax efficient regular income vis-a-vis fixed deposits.

Debt funds are not the same as fixed deposits although both are backed by similar features. In both the cases you earn regular interests. In the case of FD, it's your bank which pays you and when it comes to Debt Funds, it's your Mutual fund House which pays you the amount received from the issuer of underlying securities of debt funds! FDs promise assured interests, while debt funds can not assure any returns, although the returns from the debt funds are more predictable than equity funds.

Debt funds usually cater to money market instruments and securities that bear interests. So, with the NAVs fluctuating, the price of these funds plummets with the rising rate of interest (Interest Rate Risk / Duration Risk) and vice versa. Then there are chances where the bond issuer may not be able to make the payment which is promised to you (Credit Risk). The credit risk also entails irregular payments from the bonds that you have invested in.

The bonds carry a fixed coupon rate at the time of issuance. If the rate of interest declines, then the bond turns out to be an attractive source of investment as it carries a higher rate of interest than what the current market has to offer you. As such, you secure higher returns from your fixed income bonds when the rate of interest goes down and vice versa. In other words we can say that the price of bonds is inversely related to the interest rate movements.

Your portfolio should reflect a healthy mix of asset categories to ensure long term financial well being. So, while equity funds entail chances of higher returns, debt funds are expected to generate lower but steadier returns. They are less susceptible to market volatility. Further, the debt funds can be used to create an emergency corpus for unforeseen financial hardships.

Debt funds are particularly susceptible to much less volatility than equities. As such it's suitable for new investors, retired people, very young investors who have just started their career and investors who are mainly looking for better risk adjusted and tax efficient returns.

Liquid mutual funds are considered when your money is lying idle in a savings bank account without being put to use. You, as an investor, might be clueless as to how to invest it. Liquid funds are a very good option to invest the surplus funds for the short term, keeping in view the value doesn't go down over the short term and the period of investment is not fixed. Keeping the money in a savings account is a good idea from a liquidity & safety perspective, though it entails low returns. The liquid funds, on the other hand, offer better returns than savings accounts, backed by complete flexibility of redemption at any time.

Alternately known as Growth Funds, Equity Funds are those Mutual funds that invest in the shares of companies. These funds can be broadly divided into multiple categories: Active and Passive Funds: In case of an Active Equity Fund, the fund manager actively researches the companies and surveys the market, has discussions with the Management of companies, to identify the companies with high growth potential and invest in the stocks of such companies. Passive Mutual Fund (commonly known as Index Funds) invests in stocks that replicate a particular stock market index like Nifty 50, Sensex, Nifty Next 50 etc. In case of a Passive Fund, the Fund Manager has no active role to play in stock selection & invests in the same securities as present in the underlying index in the same proportion and doesn't change the portfolio composition. These funds strive to offer returns comparable to the index they replicate.

Large, Mid & Small Cap Funds: Depending on the market capitalization of the companies they invest in, the Equity Funds are categorized as Large Cap, Mid Cap and Small Funds. The Large Cap funds are those funds which invest in large companies, the Mid Cap funds invest in mid-sized ones, and the Small Cap funds are those which invest in the stocks of small-sized companies.

Diversified, Sectoral & Thematic Funds: There are Diversified and Sectoral Equity funds as well. Diversified funds, of course, help you explore the entire gamut of the market across market capitalization & sectors, while Sectoral funds invest in a particular sector like Infrastructure, Banking, Pharma etc. Thematic funds are equity mutual funds that invest in stocks in line with a particular theme. These funds are a little more broad-based than sectoral funds, as they invest in companies and sectors integrated by an idea.

Just as its name suggests, a hybrid fund is basically the "hybrid" or combination of investments in two or more asset classes. As an investor, one has the option to invest in individual funds like Equity Funds, Debt Funds, Gold Funds. Besides this, one can also invest in hybrid funds to procure the benefits of more than one asset class. There are several hybrid funds that you can invest in. Some offer you the combination of gold and debt funds. Then there are the ones that include debt and equity. These are the most popular ones. You can also choose funds that invest in more than two asset categories.

Yes. There are different types of equity funds, catering to varied investor goals though the holistic purpose of Equity Funds is appreciation & creating wealth over longer periods: Large Cap Schemes: Counted among the most stable Equity Funds, the large cap schemes have an investment Universe of Top 100 listed Companies by Market Capitalization.

Mid Cap Schemes: These entail investments in the mid sized companies that have the potential to emerge as future market leaders. Thanks to the potential, these funds do carry higher returns but are riskier than the large cap funds at the same time. Mid Cap has an investment Universe of listed Companies by Market Capitalization ranked 101-250.

Small Cap Schemes: These entail the investments in the small companies with the highest potential for growth. The Small Cap Schemes are riskier than the Large and Mid Cap Equity Schemes. Listed companies which are ranked 251 and above by market capitalization form an investment universe.

Multi cap Schemes: They allow you the liberty to invest across Large, Mid & Small cap stocks to reap the exclusive benefits of each of those.

Index Funds: These funds simply mirror the composition of indices like S&P BSE Sensex or Nifty 50, without much role on the fund manager's part.

Sectoral / Thematic Funds: There are sectoral funds that invest in companies hailing from particular industries like banking, technology, pharma etc. Thematic funds are the ones that invest across industries but follow a theme like PSU, MNC etc.

ELSS or Equity Linked Savings Scheme offers a deduction from the total income up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs as per Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Backed by both growth and dividend options, an ELSS has a 3-year lock-in period from the date of investment, post which you can either redeem your funds or choose to stay invested in. One can invest in this scheme through a lump sum investment or through SIP mode.

Yes, Mutual Funds can help in creating wealth provided you have realistic investment goals, a longer time frame and selecting the right funds catering to your financial aspirations.

You should consider investing in equity mutual funds. When it comes to long term wealth creation, you have to consider inflation as well. Equity mutual funds allow you to create wealth over a long period of time. In fact, it would be better to say that the expertise of the credentialed fund managers end up mitigating the risk associated with these funds.

The best part about Mutual Funds is that no matter what your Financial goals are, you can find a suitable scheme for it. You can choose debt funds, liquid funds or Equity Funds to fulfill your short, mid and long term financial goals successfully. Debt funds with their low but safe returns have the potential to generate regular monthly income. Invest in liquid funds if you've surplus money. The Equity funds are highly volatile schemes meant to weed out short term fluctuations and pave the way for long term wealth creation.

Fixed Deposits & other Traditional investments will offer you safe and steady returns but these returns are less immune to inflation. One must always consider taxes on the investment return and generally post tax returns for fixed deposits are lower than the inflation. The gap between inflation and investments will only widen over the years. Therefore one must consider having a diversified portfolio containing fixed deposits / traditional investments and mutual funds / other contemporary investments in order to achieve the financial goals.

Yes. You can. You might as well want to take a trip to a foreign country in 8 months or so. If you have surplus money, you can definitely park them in liquid funds/Short term Debt Funds and redeem them when you need it. You can also plan through the Mutual Fund route to fulfill other short term goals like buying a Bike or renovating your house.

There are various types of risks associated with different schemes of mutual funds. Market Risk, Business Risk, Credit Risk, Duration Risk & Liquidity Risk. Now, please don't forget that not all these types of risk end up affecting all the funds out there. Different funds experience different degrees of exposure to different risks. Please read the Scheme Information Document (SID) thoroughly to understand which fund is affected by what type of risk.

Seek professional help, follow SEBI guidelines and diversify your assets to mitigate risks. And yes, please don't think that a Mutual Fund house can run away with your money. The regulations governing the Mutual Fund Industry are way too stringent.

Let us tell you that though Mutual Fund risks remain a major source of concern for the investors, these can definitely be controlled provided you're informed about the right ways to do so. And, by allaying the fears, you would be able to make the most of the rewards. Here's a quick look at the same: The very first thing that you should know in this regard is that Mutual Funds are managed by experienced professionals that bring years of knowledge and expertise to the table to mitigate, if not completely, eliminate the risks.

It is very important for you to study & examine the different types of Mutual Funds thoroughly to understand how risky they are and how successfully they cater to your investment goals and risk tolerance. For instance, long term investments like Equity Funds might as well be impacted by short-term fluctuations in the market but in the long-term, they do have a potential to generate higher returns.

You will always endeavour to diversify your portfolio so that the underperformance of a particular asset is offset by the steady performance of the other one.

There is no direct answer to this. However, since Mutual Funds allow you to invest as low as Rs 500, it's advisable that you start investing as early as possible - ideally right from when you start earning. The amount should depend on your savings, earning, expenditures, financial goals and risk tolerance.

Choosing any one depends on your familiarity with Mutual Funds and your Goal. If you're looking to invest regularly in order to accumulate capital for a goal over a long period of time then opt for SIP in Equity funds. Those who have surplus cash flow in the form of regular incentives, bonuses or proceeds from a property sale, but not sure how to use it, can opt for lumpsum investments in Debt or Liquid funds.

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is an investment route offered by Mutual Funds wherein investors can invest a fixed amount in a Designated Scheme at regular intervals- it can by once a month or Quarterly .The installment amount could be as low as INR 100 a month and is similar to a recurring deposit.It's convenient as you can give your bank standing instructions/NACH mandate to debit the amount every month. SIP has become a popular Investment Route among Retail investors, as it helps in a getting discipline approach towards investing without worrying about market volatility and timing the market. Systematic Investment Plans offered by AMCs are easily the better way to enter the world of investments for the long term.

One should compare the performance of schemes having the same investment objectives like comparing two Bluechip funds or two Mid cap funds over a same time period. You cannot conduct a performance comparison of funds belonging to different asset categories quite simply because different asset categories cater to different investment goals, carrying variant levels of risk.

The two most important factors governing your choice of mutual fund scheme are your investment goals and your risk profile. The myriad mutual fund schemes that are available in the market cater to different investment goals. The different investors have different aspirations from their investments. While some of the investors look for long term wealth creation, there are others who only want their funds to generate a fixed income for them. When it comes to risk tolerance, there are a few funds that yield higher returns but are highly susceptible to market fluctuations, while there are others that offer low, but consistent returns. Investors with high risk tolerance usually prefer the former, while those with low risk appetite choose the latter. You may take the help of a mutual fund distributor for selecting a suitable fund for you as per your risk profile.

You should start investing as early as possible in your career, ideally in the beginning of your career. Save a little every month and start investing in mutual funds to give your money ample time to grow. If you start early, you will get the benefit of the power of compounding which is considered as the 8th wonder of the world. Even if you haven't started early, it's never a wrong time to do the right thing.

No, you need not have to invest a fortune in mutual funds. Depending on the type of fund you choose you can start investing with as low as Rs. 100. Even with a small amount, you as an investor would be entitled to benefits such as tax exemptions, diversified portfolios and professional management.

The best way to know this would be to consult with a Mutual Fund Distributor for suitability analysis. Understand the investment horizon, examine your investment goals and risk tolerance and then select funds.

Investing in mutual funds remains a simple and hassle-free procedure. You only need to complete a one-time KYC documentation with any of the KRAs. On the completion of the KYC verification process, you are ready to invest funds in various schemes across all the mutual fund houses. You can either get in touch with a mutual fund distributor to help you through the process or complete it yourself through eKYC. The next step would be to decide on a suitable set of mutual fund schemes as per your risk profile. You may choose to take the help of a Mutual Fund Distributor in this process. However, if you're confident of investing on your own (without the help or any kind of guidance whatsoever) you can do that as well.

There are multiple avenues through which you can track your investments like online tools, Mobile Apps, periodical account statements available to check the value of your investment and Periodic updates from mutual fund distributors as well.

One of the main advantages of Mutual Funds is Liquidity; the ease with which investors' units can be converted into cash. One needs to place a request for redemption with the Fund House either through an online or offline mode. Once the request for redemption is processed, the redemption proceeds would be transferred to your Bank account within 1-3 business days from the day you lodged your redemption. In certain cases, you might have to pay an exit load if you're withdrawing money before a specific period.

No. Not all the mutual fund schemes have a lock-in period. There are few schemes like Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) which have a lock-in period of 3 years post which you can either continue to stay invested or redeem the funds. Further, there are Fixed Maturity Plans (FMPs) and Close Ended Equity Funds where you have to stay invested for a specified period, as specified in the offer document for a captioned fund.

In case of an open ended scheme there is no restriction on the amount of money that you would want to withdraw. You can withdraw your money in an open ended scheme anytime and any number of times. However, in case of Closed Ended Schemes or Fixed Maturity Plans generally the redemption is done automatically at the end of tenure for the scheme. In some cases the liquidity is available through stock exchanges for such funds.

In case of an Open-ended Mutual Fund, you can redeem your units after the stipulated period at no cost. However, you'll have to bear an Exit Load if you're redeeming your units before the stipulated period. This exit load is meant to inspire investors (the ones with short-term goals) to spend the specified time in a particular fund and not redeem the funds that require a longer holding period. Exit Load is nothing but the percentage of NAV that's charged while you're redeeming your units. Besides Exit Load you will incur capital gains tax basis the type of mutual fund schemes you have and for the period that you've been holding them. In addition to this Securities Transaction Tax (STT) is also levied on the redemption of equity funds.

Open-ended schemes impose no penalties on withdrawal. However, there is a nominal exit load on the specific schemes, in case you're redeeming the funds earlier than the predefined exit load period.

Exit load is primarily imposed to discourage investors from withdrawing their funds earlier than the predetermined tenure. Staying invested for a longer term is expected to yield higher returns. A nominal exit load doesn't hurt liquidity much but definitely discourages you to withdraw money earlier.