Mutual Funds

Worldwide Mutual Fund has a long and successful history. The popularity of the Mutual Fund has increased manifold. In developed financial markets, like United States, Mutual Funds have almost overtaken bank deposits. In India, the Mutual Fund industry started with the setting up of Unit Trust of India in 1964, Public sector banks and financial institutions began to establish Mutual Funds in 1987.

The private sector and foreign institutions were allowed to set up Mutual Funds in 1993. Today,there are 42 Mutual Funds with total assets of approximately 18 Lacs Crores. This fast growing industry is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

What is Mutual Fund?

A Mutual Fund is a trust that pools together the savings of a number of investors who share a common financial goal. The fund manager invests this pool of money in securities -- ranging from shares and debentures to money market instruments or in a mixture of equity and debt, depending upon the objectives of the scheme.

Investment can be in

• Shares
• Debt Securities
• Money Market Securities
• Combination of the above mentioned securities

Benefits

• Professional Management
• Diversification
• Low Cost
• Convenience & Flexibility
• Liquidity
• Transparency

Organisation of a Mutual Fund
There are many entities involved and the diagram below illustrates the organisational set up of a mutual fund.

Types of Mutual Funds
There are many entities involved and the diagram below illustrates the organisational set up of a mutual fund.

Mutual Funds schemes can be classified
On the basis of Investment Objective

• Equity Schemes
• Diversified schemes
• Sector specific schemes
• Tax Savings schemes
• Income Schemes
• Gilt Schemes
• Debt Schemes
• Money Market Schemes - Liquid Schemes
• Balanced Schemes - Equity & Debt ratio 60:40.

On the basis of Liquidity

Open Ended Funds: Such funds enable the investor to invest and redeem their money any time. Units are continuously offered for sale and continuously bought back. Moreover, the schemes under which they're sold are perpetual and do not have a fixed duration.

Close Ended Funds: The exact opposite of open-ended funds. These schemes come with a fixed life. Unlike open-ended schemes, once the initial offer close, there is no fresh sale of units. Normally, they do not offer repurchase and sale of repurchased units (though there are a few exceptions). However, units of such funds are normally listed on one or more of the stock exchanges.

Net Asset Value:

• The price of one unit of a mutual fund scheme.
• NAV = (Assets - Liabilities) / No. of units

Loads: Two types

• Entry Load (Abolished from 1st August 2009)
• Exit Load

Returns:

• Absolute return = (NAV2 - NAV )/NAV1*100
• Simple Annualized = (NAV2 - NAV1)/ NAV1*100*365/ no. of days
• Compounded Annualised = (NAV2/NAV1)^(1/no. of years) - 1 * 100

NAV1 - Previous NAV

NAV2 - Current NAV

Rolling Return:The annualized return for a particular period say 1 year, 1 month or even 1 week.

Income

Two TYPES
1. Current yield or dividend income
Dividend Yield = Dividend received / Cost of mutual fund units

2. Capital Gain
Gain due to appreciation in NAV. Can be calculated by any of the above-mentioned methods. Total Return = Current Yield + Capital Gain

Note:
Dividend is tax free in the hand of the investor

In case of
Equity Schemes: No dividend distribution tax.
Debt Schemes: Mutual fund pays dividend distribution tax @ 13.07% for individuals & HUFs .
Mutual fund pays dividend distribution tax @ 20.91% for Corporate & others

Risk Associated With A Mutual Fund Schemes
Following types of risks are associated with a mutual fund scheme:
Credit risk - The possibility that the company holding your money will not pay the interest or dividend due, or the principal amount when it matures.

Inflation risk - The risk that the rupee you get when you sell will buy less than the rupee you originally invested.

Interest rate risk - The possibility that a fixed debt instrument, such as a bond, will decline in value due to a rise in interest rates.

Market risk - The risk that the unit price or value of your investment will decrease.

Few Facts about MF's:
Offer Document - An official document that each investment company must publish, describing the mutual fund and offering its shares for sale. It contains information that has been mandatorily required by SEBI. It clearly indicates the investment objective and philosophy of the scheme and gives all the necessary information to the investor required for investment.