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PROJECT WORK
FINAL SEMESTER PROJECT REPORT
TITLE:
THE MUTUAL FUND MARKET IN INDIA:
CURRENT SCENARIO.
‐‐‐ ABHISHEK DAWN
MBA(FINAL PROJECT), ROLL‐52,
REGN NO.‐ 265108052, BATCH‐ 2008‐10,
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES,
BENGAL ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE UNIVERSITY,
(BESU), SHIBPUR.
1
DECLARATION
I SHRIMAN ABHISHEK DAWN,HEREBY DECLARE THAT THE PROJECT
TITLED: MUTUAL FUNDS MARKET IN INDIA:THE CURRENT SCENARIO
HAS BEEN ENTIRELY DONE BY ME WITH NECESSARY INPUTS AND HELP
FROM MY GUIDE AND PROFESSORS AS AND WHEN REQUIRED.IF ANY
DISCREPENCIES CREPT IN, ITS ENTIRELY UNINTENTIONAL AND DUE TO
IGNORANCE.KINDLY CONSIDERING THIS, I PRESENT THIS WORK WITH
SINCERITY.
ABHISHEK DAWN.
2
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Abhishek Dawn, has put his effort in producing the project
sincerely under my guidance and supervision as and when required. The project
work has been commendable and solely performed by him with necessary
support from me as the guide.
SOMNATH BANERJEE
FINANCE PROFESSOR (SOMS, BESU).
3
CONTENTS
PARTICULARS PAGE NO.
4
ABSTRACT
The report basically deals with Mutual funds. It would enable the reader to get an insight
into the world of Mutual Funds. It gives a general overview of Mutual Funds giving the
definition, the objectives, characteristics, benefits, types and the risk involved in Mutual
Funds.The recent well performing mutual funds in India are characterised in this project.
OBJECTIVE
• TO GIVE A REAL INSIGHT OF THE MF MARKET.
• TO FIND OUT HOW THEY STARTED AND DEVELOPED IN THE RECENT
YEARS.
• AFTER A DISASTROUS PERFORMANCE IN 2008 HOW THE MARKET
SURVIVED AND BOUNCED BACK.
• THE TOP PERFORMING MUTUAL FUNDS ARE COMPARED AND POINTED
OUT.
• WITH THE HELP OF GRAPHS AND CHARTS THE PERFORMANCE OF THE
BEST MUTUAL FUNDS ARE ANALYZED.
5
METHODOLOGY
• COLLECTION OF VARIOUS DATA IN RAW FORM FROM AUTHENTIC
SOURCES.
• MATCHING AND SYNCHRONIZING THE DATA WITH SOME FINANCIAL
JOURNALS.
• PREPARING THE DATA FOR COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS.
• PROJECTING THE DATA IN GRAPHS AND CHARTS.
DETERMINING THE CONCLUSIONS FROM THEM.
LIMITATIONS
• FINANCIAL DATA FOR 2010 WERE UNAVAILABLE.
• ONLY RELEVANT AND DOABLE GRAPHS ARE PROJECTED ACCORDING TO
MY ABILITY.
• DATA WERE DERIVED FROM MOSTLY KNOWN AUTHENTIC SOURCES TO
ME.
6
INTR
RODUC
CTION TO MUTUAL FUNDS
WHATT ARE TTHEY?
ust that poolss the savings of a number of investors who share a common financial goal. TThe
A Mutual Fund is a tru
money th
hus collected pital market instruments such as shaares, debentu
d is then invvested in cap ures and oth
her
securities. The income ough these investments an
e earned thro nd the capitaal appreciations realized are shared by its
unit holders in proportion to the number of units
u owned by them. Th
hus a Mutual Fund is thee most suitable
nt for the co
investmen a opportuniity to invest in a diversifiied, professio
ommon man as it offers an onally managged
basket of securities at a relatively lo
ow cost.
The flow cchart below d
describes broadly the workking of a Muttual Fund.
A Mutual Fund is a bod with the Securrities and Exchange Board of India (SEB
dy corporate registered w BI) that pools up
the moneey from indivvidual/corporaate investorss and invests the same on
n behalf of th
he investors//unit holders,, in
7
Equity shares, Government securities, Bonds, Call Money Markets etc, and distributes the profits. In the other
words, a Mutual Fund allows investors to indirectly take a position in a basket of assets.
Mutual Fund is a mechanism for pooling the resources by issuing units to the investors and investing funds in
securities in accordance with objectives as disclosed in offer document. Investments in securities are spread
among a wide cross‐section of industries and sectors thus the risk is reduced. Diversification reduces the risk
because all stocks may not move in the same direction in the same proportion at same time. Investors of
mutual funds are known as unit holders.
Mutual Funds are essentially investment vehicles where people with similar investment objective come
together to pool their money and then invest accordingly. Each unit of any scheme represents the proportion of
pool owned by the unit holder (investor). Appreciation or reduction in value of investments is reflected in net
asset value (NAV) of the concerned scheme, which is declared by the fund from time to time. Mutual fund
schemes are managed by respective Asset Management Companies (AMC). Every AMC assigns a fund manager
the duties and responsibilities with regard to the schemes.
As we all know that mutual funds are pools of savings of investors, these investors in proportion to their
investments share the profits or losses. Buying a mutual fund is like buying a small slice of a big pizza. The owner
of a mutual fund unit gets a proportional share of the fund’s gains, losses, income and expenses. The mutual
funds normally come out with a number of schemes with different investment objectives which are launched
from time to time. A Mutual Fund is required to be registered with Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
which regulates securities markets before it can collect funds from the public.
8
THE SCENARIO—HOW IT STARTED AND HOW IS IT TODAY
MUTUAL FUNDS ‐ THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Mutual Funds as a concept developed in the early 20th century. But the idea of pooling together money for
investment purposes started in Europe in the mid‐1800s mainly in Netherlands and Scotland followed by Belgium,
England and France. Though today the largest market of Mutual Funds is USA yet the first Mutual Fund that was
launched in USA is the New York Stock Trust in 1889 followed by the widely known open‐ended Massachusetts
Investors Trust in 1924, now called the MFS. These developments led to the establishment of Fidelity Investments
which today is the world’s largest Mutual Fund Company and other companies like Pioneer, Scudder and Putnum
funds. Mutual Funds were initially termed as trusts.
MUTUAL FUNDS INDUSTRY IN INDIA
Mutual Fund industry started in India in 1963 at the initiative of the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of
India which led to the formation of UTI (Unit Trust of India).
The Mutual fund industry can be broadly put into four phases:
• First Phase (1964‐87) ‐ UTI commenced its operations from July 1964 with a view to encouraging savings
and investment and participation in the income, profits and gains accruing to the corporation from the
9
acquisition, holding management and disposal of securities. The first scheme launched by UTI was called
the UNIT Scheme 1964 more popularly US‐64.
• Second Phase (1987‐1993) ‐ Initially, the growth was slow but it accelerated from the year 1987. In 1987,
public sector Mutual Funds were setup by public sector banks, the LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India)
and the GIC (General Insurance Corporation of India). SBI (State Bank of India) launched the first non‐UTI
Mutual Fund in 1987 followed by other public sector banks.
• Third Phase (1993‐2003) ‐ In 1993 the first private sector Mutual Fund was launched by Kothari Pioneer
which now has merged with Franklin Templeton. The number of mutual fund houses went on increasing,
with many foreign mutual funds setting up funds in India and also the industry has witnessed several
mergers and acquisitions. As at the end of January 2003, there were 33 mutual funds with total assets of
Rs. 1,21,805 crores. The Unit Trust of India with Rs.44,541 crores of assets under management was way
ahead of other mutual funds.
• Fourth Phase (Since February 2003) ‐ UTI was bifurcated into two separate entities. One is the Specified
Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India with assets under management of Rs.29835 crores as at the end of
January 2003, representing broadly, the assets of US 64 scheme, assured return and certain other
schemes. The Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India, functioning under an administrator and under
the rules framed by Government of India and does not come under the purview of the Mutual Fund
Regulations. The second is the UTI Mutual Fund Ltd, sponsored by SBI, PNB, BOB and LIC. It is registered
with SEBI and functions under the Mutual Fund Regulations. With the bifurcation of the erstwhile UTI
which had in March 2000 more than Rs.76,000 crores of assets under management and with the setting
up of a UTI Mutual Fund, conforming to the SEBI Mutual Fund Regulations, and with recent mergers taking
place among different private sector funds, the mutual fund industry has entered its current phase of
consolidation and growth. As at the end of September, 2004, there were 29 funds, which manage assets of
Rs.153108 crores under 421 schemes.
The first Mutual Fund regulations were formed in 1993 which was the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations 1993. The
present day Mutual Fund industry is governed by the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations 1996.
The following figure shows the growth in AUM (Asset Under Management) of the Indian Mutual Fund Industry as
on March 2009.
10
Today there are over 30 AMC’s offering a huge number of schemes giving the investor a huge horizon to choose
from. The market has become very competitive with the companies fighting tooth and nail to attract and keep the
investor from investing in their competitor’s schemes. Today, Reliance Mutual Funds is the leading company in
this sector with total assets under management being Rs.46,307 crores while Prudential ICICI being in the second
position with Rs.37,870 crores. The following graph shows the composition of five of the top AMC’s in India‐
TOP 5 AMC's
13% Reliance
Prud ICICI
17% 27%
UTI MF
22% HDFC MF
21% Franklin
Templeton
11
Baasic Organisaation o
of a M
Mutual Fund
There aree many entitties involvedd and the diagram below
w illustrates the organizzational set up
u of a Mutuual
Fund. Thhese entities will be explained later in the reportt.
Mutual Fu
unds diversifyy their risk byy holding a portfolio of instead of onlyy one asset. TThis is becausse by holding all
your mon
ney in just one asset, thee entire forttunes of your portfolio depend on th
his one assett. By creatingg a
of assets, thiss risk is substantially reduced.
portfolio of a variety o
12
IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF A MUTUAL FUND
• A Mutual Fund actually belongs to the investors who have pooled their
Funds. The ownership of the mutual fund is in the hands of the Investors.
• A Mutual Fund is managed by investment professional and other
Service providers, who earns a fee for their services, from the funds.
• The pool of Funds is invested in a portfolio of marketable investments.
• The value of the portfolio is updated every day.
• The investor’s share in the fund is denominated by “units”. The value
of the units changes with change in the portfolio value, every day. The value of
one unit of investment is called net asset value (NAV).
• The investment portfolio of the mutual fund is created according to The stated
Investment objectives of the Fund.
13
OBJECTIVES OF A MUTUAL FUND
• To Provide an opportunity for lower income groups to acquire without
much difficulty, property in the form of shares.
• To cater mainly to the need of individual investors who have limited means.
• To Manage investors portfolio that provides regular income, growth,
safety, liquidity, tax advantage, professional management and diversification.
MUTUAL FUND—BUT WHY??
Advantages offered by Mutual Funds‐:
Here are some of the
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Number of available options
Mutual funds invest according to the underlying investment objective as specified at the time of launching a
scheme. So, we have equity funds, debt funds, gilt funds and many others that cater to the different needs of the
investor. The availability of these options makes them a good option. While equity funds can be as risky as the
stock markets themselves, debt funds offer the kind of security that is aimed for at the time of making
investments. Money market funds offer the liquidity that is desired by big investors who wish to park surplus
funds for very short‐term periods. Balance Funds cater to the investors having an appetite for risk greater than the
debt funds but less than the equity funds.
Diversification
Investments are spread across a wide cross‐section of industries and sectors and so the risk is reduced.
Diversification reduces the risk because all stocks don’t move in the same direction at the same time. One can
achieve this diversification through a Mutual Fund with far less money than one can on his own.
Professional Management
Mutual Funds employ the services of skilled professionals who have years of experience to back them up. They use
intensive research techniques to analyze each investment option for the potential of returns along with their risk
levels to come up with the figures for performance that determine the suitability of any potential investment.
Liquidity
Mutual Funds offer the benefit of liquidity which provides the investor with the option of easy conversion to
money. As in the case of fixed deposits, where the investor can get his money back only on the completion of a
fixed period, an investor can get his money back as and when he wants. Investors can redeem their money at the
prevailing NAV’s (Net Asset Values). Mutual funds directly re‐purchase at the current NAV.
15
Well Regulated
Unlike the company fixed deposits, where there is little control with the investment being considered as
unsecured debt from the legal point of view, the Mutual Fund industry is very well regulated. All investments have
to be accounted for, decisions judiciously taken. SEBI acts as a true watchdog in this case and can impose penalties
on the AMCs at fault. The regulations, designed to protect the investors’ interests are also implemented
effectively.
Transparency
Being under a regulatory framework, mutual funds have to disclose their holdings, investment pattern and all the
information that can be considered as material, before all investors. This means that the investment strategy,
outlooks of the market and scheme related details are disclosed with reasonable frequency to ensure that
transparency exists in the system. On the other hand, the investor is totally clueless in case of the other
investment alternatives as nothing is disclosed.
Savings
Tax saving schemes of Mutual Funds offer investor a tax rebate under section 88 of the Income Tax Act. Under this
section, an investor can invest up to Rs.10,000 per Financial year in a tax saving scheme. The rate of rebate under
this section depends on the investor’s total income
Flexible and Affordable
Mutual Funds offer a relatively less expensive way to invest when compared to other avenues such as capital
market operations. The fee in terms of brokerages, custodial fees and other management fees are substantially
lower than other options and are directly linked to the performance of the scheme. Investment in mutual funds
also offers a lot of flexibility with features such as regular investment plans, regular withdrawal plans and dividend
reinvestment plans enabling systematic investment or withdrawal of funds. Even the investors, who could
otherwise not enter stock markets with low investible funds, can benefit from a portfolio comprising of high‐
priced stocks because they are purchased from pooled funds.
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No assured returns and no protection of capital
If you are planning to go with a mutual fund, this must be your mantra: mutual funds do not offer assured returns
and carry risk. For instance, unlike bank deposits, your investment in a mutual fund can fall in value. In addition,
mutual funds are not insured or guaranteed by any government body (unlike a bank deposit, where up to Rs 1 lakh
per bank is insured by the Deposit and Credit Insurance Corporation, a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India).
There are strict norms for any fund that assures returns and it is now compulsory for funds to establish that they
have resources to back such assurances. This is because most closed‐end funds that assured returns in the early‐
nineties failed to stick to their assurances made at the time of launch, resulting in losses to investors. A scheme
cannot make any guarantee of return, without stating the name of the guarantor, and disclosing the net worth of
the guarantor. The past performance of the assured return schemes should also be given.
Restrictive gains
Diversification helps, if risk minimization is your objective. However, the lack of investment focus also means you
gain less than if you had invested directly in a single security.
Assume, Reliance appreciated 50 per cent. A direct investment in the stock would appreciate by 50 per cent. But
your investment in the mutual fund, which had invested 10 per cent of its corpus in Reliance, will see only a 5
per cent appreciation.
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.
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MUTUAL FUND—STRUCTURE
Sponsor
ASSET
MANAGEMENT
COMPANY
Custodian Registrar
A mutual fund is structured as mentioned above. Firstly, the investor invests his money in the fund. Every mutual
fund organization has a sponsor who is required to contribute a minimum of 40% of the net worth of the AMC. It is
the duty of the sponsor to establish a fund and apply to SEBI for its registration. A person or a group of persons
known as trustee is given an overall authority over the fund managers. They basically safeguard the assets of the
fund. The fund is created which is managed by the AMC which is given the powers to take all decisions relating to
the investment. There is another entity known as the custodian, who basically stocks a fund’s securities and other
assets. The registrar is an institution which maintains a register of all the unit holders of a fund along with their
ownership. Finally, the SEBI is the ultimate authority.
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MUTUAL FUND—who invests?
Investor Profile:
An investor normally prioritizes his investment needs before undertaking an investment. Different goals will be
allocated to different proportions of the total disposable amount. Investments for specific goals normally find
their way into the debt market as risk reduction is of prime importance, this is the area for the risk‐averse
investors and here, Mutual Funds are generally the best option. One can avail of the benefits of better returns
with added benefits of anytime liquidity by investing in open‐ended debt funds at lower risk, this risk of default
by any company that one has chosen to invest in, can be minimized by investing in Mutual Funds as the fund
managers analyze the companies financials more minutely than an individual can do as they have the expertise
to do so.
Moving up the risk spectrum, there are people who would like to take some risk and invest in equity
funds/capital market. However, since their appetite for risk is also limited, they would rather have some
exposure to debt as well. For these investors, balanced funds provide an easy route of investment, armed with
expertise of investment techniques, they can invest in equity as well as good quality debt thereby reducing risks
and providing the investor with better returns than he could otherwise manage. Since they can reshuffle their
portfolio as per market conditions, they are likely to generate moderate returns even in pessimistic market
conditions.
Next comes the risk takers, risk takers by their nature, would not be averse to investing in
high‐risk avenues. Capital markets find their fancy more often than not, because they have
historically generated better returns than any other avenue, provided, the money was
judiciously invested. Though the risk associated is generally on the higher side of the
spectrum, the return‐potential compensates for the risk attached.
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ORGANISATION AND MANAGEMENT OF MUTUAL FUNDS:‐
In India Mutual Fund usually formed as trusts, three parties are generally involved viz.
• Settler of the trust or the sponsoring organization.
• The trust formed under the Indian trust act, 1982 or the trust company registered under the Indian
companies act, 1956
• Fund mangers or The merchant‐banking unit
• Custodians.
MUTUAL FUNDS TRUST:‐
Mutual fund trust is created by the sponsors under the Indian trust act, 1982, which is the main body in the
creation of Mutual Fund trust. The main functions of Mutual Fund trust are as follows:
♦ Planning and formulating Mutual Funds schemes.
♦ Seeking SEBI’s approval and authorization to these schemes.
♦ Marketing the schemes for public subscription.
♦ Seeking RBI approval in case NRI’s subscription to Mutual Fund is Invited
♦ Attending to trusteeship function. This function as per guidelines can be assigned to separately
established trust companies too. Trustees are required to submit a consolidated report six monthly to
SEBI to ensure that the guidelines are fully being complied with trusted are also required to submit an
annual report to the investors in the fund.
FUND MANAGERS (OR) THE ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY (AMC)
AMC has to discharge mainly three functions as under:
I. Taking investment decisions and making investments of the funds through market dealer/brokers in the
secondary market securities or directly in the primary capital market or money market instruments.
II. Realize fund position by taking account of all receivables and realizations, moving corporate actions
involving declaration of dividends,etc to compensate investors for their investments in units; and
20
III. Maintaining proper accounting and information for pricing the units and arriving at net asset value
(NAV), the information about the listed schemes and the transactions of units in the secondary market.
AMC has to feed back the trustees about its fund management operations and has to maintain a perfect
information system.
CUSTODIANS OF MUTUAL FUNDS:‐
Mutual funds run by the subsidiaries of the nationalized banks had their respective sponsor banks as
custodians like canara bank, SBI, PNB, etc. Foreign banks with higher degree of automation in handling the
securities have assumed the role of custodians for mutual funds. With the establishment of stock Holding
Corporation of India the work of custodian for mutual funds is now being handled by it for various mutual
funds. Besides, industrial investment trust company acts as sub‐custodian for stock Holding Corporation
of India for domestic schemes of UTI, BOI MF, LIC MF, etc
RESPONSIBILITY OF CUSTODIANS:‐
♦ Receipt and delivery of securities
♦ Holding of securities.
♦ Collecting income
♦ Holding and processing cost
♦ Corporate actions etc
FUNCTIONS OF CUSTOMERS:‐
♦ Safe custody
♦ Trade settlement
♦ Corporate action
♦ Transfer agents
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FORMATION AND REGULATIONS:‐
1. Mutual funds are to be established in the form of trusts under the Indian trusts act and are to be
operated by separate asset management companies (AMC s)
2. AMC’s shall have a minimum Net worth of Rs. 5 crores;
3. AMC’s and Trustees of Mutual Funds are to be two separate legal entities and that an AMC or its
affiliate cannot act as a manager in any other fund;
4. Mutual funds dealing exclusively with money market instruments are to be regulated by the Reserve
Bank Of India
5. Mutual fund dealing primarily in the capital market and also partly money market instruments are to be
regulated by the Securities Exchange Board Of India (SEBI)
6. All schemes floated by Mutual funds are to be registered with SEBI
Schemes:‐
1. Mutual funds are allowed to start and operate both closed‐end and open‐end schemes;
2. Each closed‐end schemes must have a Minimum corpus (pooling up) of Rs 20 crore;
3. Each open‐end scheme must have a Minimum corpus of Rs 50 crore
4. In the case of a Closed –End scheme if the Minimum amount of Rs 20 crore or 60% of the target
amount, which ever is higher is not raised then the entire subscription has to be refunded to the
investors;
5. In the case of an Open‐Ended schemes, if the Minimum amount of Rs 50 crore or 60 percent of the
targeted amount, which ever is higher, is no raised then the entire subscription has to be refunded to
the investors.
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Investment norms:‐
1. No mutual fund, under all its schemes can own more than five percent of any company’s paid up capital
carrying voting rights;
2. No mutual fund, under all its schemes taken together can invest more than 10 percent of its funds in
shares or debentures or other instruments of any single company;
3. No mutual fund, under all its schemes taken together can invest more than 15 percent of its fund in the
shares and debentures of any specific industry, except those schemes which are specifically floated for
investment in one or more specified industries in respect to which a declaration has been made in the
offer letter.
4. No individual scheme of mutual funds can invest more than five percent of its corpus in any one
company’s share;
5. Mutual funds can invest only in transferable securities either in the money or in the capital market.
Privately placed debentures, securitized debt, and other unquoted debt, and other unquoted debt
instruments holding cannot exceed 10 percent in the case of growth funds and 40 percent in the case of
income funds.
Distribution:
Mutual funds are required to distribute at least 90 percent of their profits annually in any given year. Besides
these, there are guidelines governing the operations of mutual funds in dealing with shares and also seeking to
ensure greater investor protection through detailed disclosure and reporting by the mutual funds. SEBI has also
been granted with powers to over see the constitution as well as the operations of mutual funds, including a
common advertising code. Besides, SEBI can impose penalties on Mutual funds after due investigation for their
failure to comply with the guidelines.
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MUTUAL FUND—TYPES
1. OPEN‐ENDED MUTUAL FUNDS:‐
The holders of the shares in the Fund can resell them to the issuing Mutual Fund company at the time. They
receive in turn the net assets value (NAV) of the shares at the time of re‐sale. Such Mutual Fund Companies
place their funds in the secondary securities market. They do not participate in new issue market as do pension
funds or life insurance companies. Thus they influence market price of corporate securities. Open‐end
investment companies can sell an unlimited number of Shares and thus keep going larger. The open‐end Mutual
Fund Company Buys or sells their shares. These companies sell new shares NAV plus a Loading or management
fees and redeem shares at NAV. In other words, the target amount and the period both are indefinite in such
funds.
2. CLOSED‐ENDED MUTUAL FUNDS:‐
A closed–end Fund is open for sale to investors for a specific period, after which further sales are closed. Any
further transaction for buying the units or repurchasing them, Happen in the secondary markets, where closed
end Funds are listed. Therefore new investors buy from the existing investors, and existing investors can
liquidate their units by selling them to other willing buyers. In a closed end Funds, thus the pool of Funds can
technically be kept constant. The asset management company (AMC) however, can buy out the units from the
investors, in the secondary markets, thus reducing the amount of funds held by outside investors. The price at
which units can be sold or redeemed Depends on the market prices, which are fundamentally linked to the NAV.
Investors in closed end Funds receive either certificates or Depository receipts, for their holdings in a closed end
mutual Fund.
24
MUTUAL FUND SCHEME TYPES:
Equity Diversified Schemes:‐
These schemes mainly invest in equity. They seek to achieve long-term capital appreciation by
responding to the dynamically changing Indian economy by moving across sectors such as Lifestyle,
♦ Sector Schemes:‐
These schemes focus on particular sector as IT, Banking, etc. They seek to generate long‐term capital
appreciation by investing in equity and related securities of companies in that particular sector.
♦ Index Schemes:‐
These schemes aim to provide returns that closely correspond to the return of a particular stock market index
such as BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty, etc. Such schemes invest in all the stocks comprising the index in approximately
the same weightage as they are given in that index.
♦ Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs):‐
ETFs invest in stocks underlying a particular stock index like NSE Nifty or BSE Sensex. They are similar to an
index fund with one crucial difference. ETFs are listed and traded on a stock exchange. In contrast, an index
fund is bought and sold by the fund and its distributors.
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Equity Tax Saving Schemes:‐
These work on similar lines as diversified equity funds and seek to achieve long‐term capital appreciation by
investing in the entire universe of stocks. The only difference between these funds and equity‐diversified funds
is that they demand a lock‐in of 3 years to gain tax benefits.
♦ Dynamic Funds:‐
These schemes alter their exposure to different asset classes based on the market scenario. Such funds typically
try to book profits when the markets are overvalued and remain fully invested in equities when the markets are
undervalued. This is suitable for investors who find it difficult to decide when to quit from equity.
♦ Balanced Schemes:‐
These schemes seek to achieve long‐term capital appreciation with stability of investment and current income
from a balanced portfolio of high quality equity and fixed‐income securities.
♦ Debt Schemes:‐
These schemes basically invest in debt.
♦ Medium‐Term Debt Schemes
These schemes have a portfolio of debt and money market instruments where the average maturity of the
underlying portfolio is in the range of five to seven years.
♦ Short‐Term Debt Schemes
These schemes have a portfolio of debt and money market instruments where the average maturity of the
underlying portfolio is in the range of one to two years.
26
27
DIFFERENT MODES OF RECEIVING THE INCOME EARNED FROM
MUTUAL FUND INVESTMENTS
Mutual Funds offer three methods of receiving income:
♦ Growth Plan:‐
In this plan, dividend is neither declared nor paid out to the investor but is built into the value of the NAV. In
other words, the NAV increases over time due to such incomes and the investor realizes only the capital
appreciation on redemption of his investment.
♦ Income Plan:‐
In this plan, dividends are paid‐out to the investor. In other words, the NAV only reflects the capital
appreciation or depreciation in market price of the underlying portfolio.
♦ Dividend Re‐investment Plan
In this case, dividend is declared but not paid out to the investor, instead, it is reinvested back into the scheme
at the then prevailing NAV. In other words, the investor is given additional units and not cash as dividend.
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MUTUAL FUND INVESTING STRATEGIES:
1. Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs)
These are best suited for young people who have started their careers and need to build their wealth. SIPs
entail an investor to invest a fixed sum of money at regular intervals in the Mutual fund scheme the investor has
chosen, an investor opting for SIP in xyz Mutual Fund scheme will need to invest a certain sum on money every
month/quarter/half‐year in the scheme.
2. Systematic Withdrawal Plans (SWPs)
These plans are best suited for people nearing retirement. In these plans, an investor invests in a mutual fund
scheme and is allowed to withdraw a fixed sum of money at regular intervals to take care of his expenses.
3. Systematic Transfer Plans (STPs)
They allow the investor to transfer on a periodic basis a specified amount from one scheme to another within
the same fund family – meaning two schemes belonging to the same mutual fund. A transfer will be treated as
redemption of units from the scheme from which the transfer is made. Such redemption or investment will be
at the applicable NAV. This service allows the investor to manage his investments actively to achieve his
objectives. Many funds do not even charge any transaction fees for his service – an added advantage for the
active investor.
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MUTUAL FUNDS—RISK ASSOCIATED
Investing in Mutual Funds, as with any security, does not come without risk. One of the most basic economic
principles is that risk and reward are directly correlated. In other words, the greater the potential risk the
greater the potential return. The types of risk commonly associated with Mutual Funds are:
1) MARKET RISK:‐
Market risk relates to the market value of a security in the future. Market prices fluctuate and are susceptible to
economic and financial trends, supply and demand, and many other factors that cannot be precisely predicted
or controlled.
2) POLITICAL RISK:‐
Changes in the tax laws, trade regulations, administered prices, etc are some of the many political factors that
create market risk. Although collectively, as citizens, we have indirect control through the power of our vote
individually, as investors, we have virtually no control.
3) INFLATION RISK:‐
Interest rate risk relates to future changes in interest rates. For instance, if an investor invests in a long‐term
debt Mutual Fund scheme and interest rates increase, the NAV of the scheme will fall because the scheme will
be end up holding debt offering lower interest rates.
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4) BUSINESS RISK:‐
Business risk is the uncertainty concerning the future existence, stability, and profitability of the issuer of the
security. Business risk is inherent in all business ventures. The future financial stability of a company cannot be
predicted or guaranteed, nor can the price of its securities. Adverse changes in business circumstances will
reduce the market price of the company’s equity resulting in proportionate fall in the NAV of the Mutual Fund
scheme, which has invested in the equity of such a company.
5) ECONOMIC RISK:‐
Economic risk involves uncertainty in the economy, which, in turn, can have an adverse effect on a company’s
business. For instance, if monsoons fail in a year, equity stocks of agriculture‐based companies will fall and
NAVs of Mutual Funds, which have invested in such stocks, will fall proportionately.
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PERFORMANCE MEASURES OF MUTUAL FUNDS:
Mutual Fund industry today, with about 30 players and more than six hundred schemes, is one of the most
preferred investment avenues in India. However, with a plethora of schemes to choose from, the retail investor
faces problems in selecting funds. Factors such as investment strategy and management style are qualitative,
but the funds record is an important indicator too.
Though past performance alone cannot be indicative of future performance, it is, frankly, the only quantitative
way to judge how good a fund is at present. Therefore, there is a need to correctly assess the past performance
of different Mutual Funds. Worldwide, good Mutual Fund companies over are known by their AMC’s and this
fame is directly linked to their superior stock selection skills.
For Mutual Funds to grow, AMC’s must be held accountable for their selection of stocks. In other words, there
must be some performance indicator that will reveal the quality of stock selection of various AMC’s.
Return alone should not be considered as the basis of measurement of the performance of a Mutual Fund
scheme, it should also include the risk taken by the fund manager because different funds will have different
levels of risk attached to them. Risk associated with a fund, in a general, can be defined as Variability or
fluctuations in the returns generated by it. The higher the fluctuations in the returns of a fund during a given
period, higher will be the risk associated with it. These fluctuations in the returns generated by a fund are
resultant of two guiding forces. First, general market fluctuations, which affect all the securities, present in the
market, called Market risk or Systematic risk and second, fluctuations due to specific securities present in the
portfolio of the fund, called Unsystematic risk. The Total Risk of a given fund is sum of these two and is
measured in terms of standard deviation of returns of the fund.
Systematic risk, on the other hand, is measured in terms of Beta, which represents fluctuations in the NAV of
the fund vis‐à‐vis market. The more responsive the NAV of a Mutual Fund is to the changes in the market;
higher will be its beta. Beta is calculated by relating the returns on a Mutual Fund with the returns in the
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market. While Unsystematic risk can be diversified through investments in a number of instruments, systematic
risk cannot. By using the risk return relationship, we try to assess the competitive strength of the Mutual Funds
one another in a better way. In order to determine the risk‐adjusted returns of investment portfolios, several
eminent authors have worked since 1960s to develop composite performance indices to evaluate a portfolio by
comparing alternative portfolios within a particular risk class.
The most important and widely used measures of performance are:
• The Treynor’Measure
• The Sharpe Measure
• Jenson Model
• Fama Model
1) The Treynor Measure:‐
Developed by Jack Treynor, this performance measure evaluates funds on the basis of Treynor's Index. This
Index is a ratio of return generated by the fund over and above risk free rate of return (generally taken to be the
return on securities backed by the government, as there is no credit risk associated), during a given period and
systematic risk associated with it (beta). Symbolically, it can be represented as:
Treynor's Index (Ti) = (Ri ‐ Rf)/Bi.
Where, Ri represents return on fund,
Rf is risk free rate of return, and
Bi is beta of the fund.
All risk‐averse investors would like to maximize this value. While a high and positive Treynor's Index
shows a superior risk‐adjusted performance of a fund, a low and negative Treynor's Index is an indication of
unfavorable performance.
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2) The Sharpe Measure :‐
In this model, performance of a fund is evaluated on the basis of Sharpe Ratio, which is a ratio of returns
generated by the fund over and above risk free rate of return and the total risk associated with it.
According to Sharpe, it is the total risk of the fund that the investors are concerned about. So, the model
evaluates funds on the basis of reward per unit of total risk. Symbolically, it can be written as:
Sharpe Index (Si) = (Ri ‐ Rf)/Si
Where,
Si is standard deviation of the fund,
Ri represents return on fund, and
Rf is risk free rate of return.
While a high and positive Sharpe Ratio shows a superior risk‐adjusted performance of a fund, a low and
negative Sharpe Ratio is an indication of unfavorable performance.
Comparison of Sharpe and Treynor
Sharpe and Treynor measures are similar in a way, since they both divide the risk premium by a numerical risk
measure. The total risk is appropriate when we are evaluating the risk return relationship for well‐diversified
portfolios. On the other hand, the systematic risk is the relevant measure of risk when we are evaluating less
than fully diversified portfolios or individual stocks. For a well‐diversified portfolio the total risk is equal to
systematic risk. Rankings based on total risk (Sharpe measure) and systematic risk (Treynor measure) should be
identical for a well‐diversified portfolio, as the total risk is reduced to systematic risk. Therefore, a poorly
diversified fund that ranks higher on Treynor measure, compared with another fund that is highly diversified,
will rank lower on Sharpe Measure.
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3) Jenson Model:‐
Jenson's model proposes another risk adjusted performance measure. This measure was developed by Michael
Jenson and is sometimes referred to as the differential Return Method. This measure involves evaluation of the
returns that the fund has generated vs. the returns actually expected out of the fund1 given the level of its
systematic risk. The surplus between the two returns is called Alpha, which measures the performance of a fund
compared with the actual returns over the period. Required return of a fund at a given level of risk (Bi) can be
calculated as:
Ri = Rf + Bi (Rm ‐ Rf)
Where,
Ri represents return on fund, and
Rm is average market return during the given period,
Rf is risk free rate of return, and
Bi is Beta deviation of the fund.
After calculating it, Alpha can be obtained by subtracting required return from the actual return of the
fund. Higher alpha represents superior performance of the fund and vice versa. Limitation of this model is that
it considers only systematic risk not the entire risk associated with the fund and an ordinary investor cannot
mitigate unsystematic risk, as his knowledge of market is primitive.
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4) Fama Model:‐
The Eugene Fama model is an extension of Jenson model. This model compares the performance, measured in
terms of returns, of a fund with the required return commensurate with the total risk associated with it. The
difference between these two is taken as a measure of the performance of the fund and is called Net Selectivity.
The Net Selectivity represents the stock selection skill of the fund manager, as it is the excess returns over and
above the return required to compensate for the total risk taken by the fund manager. Higher value of which
indicates that fund manager has earned returns well above the return commensurate with the level of risk
taken by him.
Required return can be calculated as: Ri = Rf + Si/Sm*(Rm ‐ Rf)
Where,
Ri represents return on fund,
Sm is standard deviation of market returns,
Rm is average market return during the given period, and
Rf is risk free rate of return.
The Net Selectivity is then calculated by subtracting this required return from the actual return of the
fund.
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Among the above performance measures, two models namely, Treynor measure and Jenson model use
Systematic risk is based on the premise that the Unsystematic risk is diversifiable. These models are
suitable for large investors like institutional investors with high risk taking capacities as they do not face
paucity of funds and can invest in a number of options to dilute some risks. For them, a portfolio can be
spread across a number of stocks and sectors. However, Sharpe measure and Fama model that consider the
entire risk associated with fund are suitable for small investors, as the ordinary investor lacks the
necessary skill and resources to diversify. Moreover, the selection of the fund on the basis of superior
stock selection ability of the fund manager will also help in safeguarding the money invested to a great
extent. The investment in funds that have generated big returns at higher levels of risks leaves the money
all the more prone to risks of all kinds that may exceed the individual investors' risk appetite.
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The concept of mutual funds in India dates back to the year 1963. The era between 1963 and 1987 marked the
existance of only one mutual fund company in India with Rs. 67bn assets under management (AUM), by the end of
its monopoly era, the Unit Trust of India (UTI). By the end of the 80s decade, few other mutual fund companies in
India took their position in mutual fund market.
The new entries of mutual fund companies in India were SBI Mutual Fund, Canbank Mutual Fund, Punjab National
Bank Mutual Fund, Indian Bank Mutual Fund, Bank of India Mutual Fund.
The succeeding decade showed a new horizon in indian mutual fund industry. By the end of 1993, the total AUM
of the industry was Rs. 470.04 bn. The private sector funds started penetrating the fund families. In the same year
the first Mutual Fund Regulations came into existance with re‐registering all mutual funds except UTI. The
regulations were further given a revised shape in 1996.
Kothari Pioneer was the first private sector mutual fund company in India which has now merged with Franklin
Templeton. Just after ten years with private sector players penetration, the total assets rose up to Rs. 1218.05 bn.
Today there are 33 mutual fund companies in India.
Major Mutual Fund Companies in India:‐
ABN AMRO Mutual Fund:‐
ABN AMRO Mutual Fund was setup on April 15, 2004 with ABN AMRO Trustee (India) Pvt. Ltd. as the Trustee
Company. The AMC, ABN AMRO Asset Management (India) Ltd. was incorporated on November 4, 2003. Deutsche
Bank A G is the custodian of ABN AMRO Mutual Fund.
Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund:‐
Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund is the joint venture of Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life Financial. Sun Life Financial is a
golbal organisation evolved in 1871 and is being represented in Canada, the US, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia
and Bermuda apart from India. Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund follows a conservative long‐term approach to
investment. Recently it crossed AUM of Rs. 10,000 crores.
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Bank of Baroda Mutual Fund (BOB Mutual Fund):‐
Bank of Baroda Mutual Fund or BOB Mutual Fund was setup on October 30, 1992 under the sponsorship of Bank
of Baroda. BOB Asset Management Company Limited is the AMC of BOB Mutual Fund and was incorporated on
November 5, 1992. Deutsche Bank AG is the custodian.
HDFC Mutual Fund:‐
HDFC Mutual Fund was setup on June 30, 2000 with two sponsorers nemely Housing Development Finance
Corporation Limited and Standard Life Investments Limited.
HSBC Mutual Fund:‐
HSBC Mutual Fund was setup on May 27, 2002 with HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private Limited as
the sponsor. Board of Trustees, HSBC Mutual Fund acts as the Trustee Company of HSBC Mutual Fund.
ING Vysya Mutual Fund:‐
ING Vysya Mutual Fund was setup on February 11, 1999 with the same named Trustee Company. It is a joint
venture of Vysya and ING. The AMC, ING Investment Management (India) Pvt. Ltd. was incorporated on April 6,
1998.
Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund:‐
The mutual fund of ICICI is a joint venture with Prudential Plc. of America, one of the largest life insurance
companies in the US of A. Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund was setup on 13th of October, 1993 with two sponsorers,
Prudential Plc. and ICICI Ltd. The Trustee Company formed is Prudential ICICI Trust Ltd. and the AMC is Prudential
ICICI Asset Management Company Limited incorporated on 22nd of June, 1993.
Sahara Mutual Fund:‐
Sahara Mutual Fund was set up on July 18, 1996 with Sahara India Financial Corporation Ltd. as the sponsor.
Sahara Asset Management Company Private Limited incorporated on August 31, 1995 works as the AMC of Sahara
Mutual Fund. The paid‐up capital of the AMC stands at Rs 25.8 crore.
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State Bank of India Mutual Fund:‐
State Bank of India Mutual Fund is the first Bank sponsored Mutual Fund to launch offshor fund, the India
Magnum Fund with a corpus of Rs. 225 cr. approximately. Today it is the largest Bank sponsored Mutual Fund in
India. They have already launched 35 Schemes out of which 15 have already yielded handsome returns to
investors. State Bank of India Mutual Fund has more than Rs. 5,500 Crores as AUM. Now it has an investor base of
over 8 Lakhs spread over 18 schemes.
Tata Mutual Fund:‐
Tata Mutual Fund (TMF) is a Trust under the Indian Trust Act, 1882. The sponsorers for Tata Mutual Fund are Tata
Sons Ltd., and Tata Investment Corporation Ltd. The investment manager is Tata Asset Management Limited and
its Tata Trustee Company Pvt. Limited. Tata Asset Management Limited's is one of the fastest in the country with
more than Rs. 7,703 crores (as on April 30, 2005) of AUM.
Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund:‐
Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company (KMAMC) is a subsidiary of KMBL. It is presently having more than
1,99,818 investors in its various schemes. KMAMC started its operations in December 1998. Kotak Mahindra
Mutual Fund offers schemes catering to investors with varying risk ‐ return profiles. It was the first company to
launch dedicated gilt scheme investing only in government securities.
Unit Trust of India Mutual Fund:‐
UTI Asset Management Company Private Limited, established in Jan 14, 2003, manages the UTI Mutual Fund with
the support of UTI Trustee Company Privete Limited. UTI Asset Management Company presently manages a
corpus of over Rs.20000 Crore. The sponsorers of UTI Mutual Fund are Bank of Baroda (BOB), Punjab National
Bank (PNB), State Bank of India (SBI), and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The schemes of UTI Mutual
Fund are Liquid Funds, Income Funds, Asset Management Funds, Index Funds, Equity Funds and Balance Funds.
Reliance Mutual Fund:‐
Reliance Mutual Fund (RMF) was established as trust under Indian Trusts Act, 1882. The sponsor of RMF is
Reliance Capital Limited and Reliance Capital Trustee Co. Limited is the Trustee. It was registered on June 30, 1995
as Reliance Capital Mutual Fund which was changed on March 11, 2004. Reliance Mutual Fund was formed for
launching of various schemes under which units are issued to the Public with a view to contribute to the capital
market and to provide investors the opportunities to make investments in diversified securities.
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Standard Chartered Mutual Fund:‐
Standard Chartered Mutual Fund was set up on March 13, 2000 sponsored by Standard Chartered Bank. The
Trustee is Standard Chartered Trustee Company Pvt. Ltd. Standard Chartered Asset Management Company Pvt.
Ltd. is the AMC which was incorporated with SEBI on December 20,1999.
Franklin Templeton India Mutual Fund:‐
The group, Frnaklin Templeton Investments is a California (USA) based company with a global AUM of US$ 409.2
bn. (as of April 30, 2005). It is one of the largest financial services groups in the world. Investors can buy or sell the
Mutual Fund through their financial advisor or through mail or through their website. They have Open end
Diversified Equity schemes, Open end Sector Equity schemes, Open end Hybrid schemes, Open end Tax Saving
schemes, Open end Income and Liquid schemes, Closed end Income schemes and Open end Fund of Funds
schemes to offer.
Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund India:‐
Morgan Stanley is a worldwide financial services company and its leading in the market in securities, investmenty
management and credit services. Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MISM) was established in the year
1975. It provides customized asset management services and products to governments, corporations, pension
funds and non‐profit organisations. Its services are also extended to high net worth individuals and retail
investors. In India it is known as Morgan Stanley Investment Management Private Limited (MSIM India) and its
AMC is Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund (MSMF). This is the first close end diversified equity scheme serving the
needs of Indian retail investors focussing on a long‐term capital appreciation.
Escorts Mutual Fund:‐
Escorts Mutual Fund was setup on April 15, 1996 with Excorts Finance Limited as its sponsor. The Trustee
Company is Escorts Investment Trust Limited. Its AMC was incorporated on December 1, 1995 with the name
Escorts Asset Management Limited.
Alliance Capital Mutual Fund:‐
Alliance Capital Mutual Fund was setup on December 30, 1994 with Alliance Capital Management Corp. of
Delaware (USA) as sponsorer. The Trustee is ACAM Trust Company Pvt. Ltd. and AMC, the Alliance Capital Asset
Management India (Pvt) Ltd. with the corporate office in Mumbai.
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Benchmark Mutual Fund:‐
Benchmark Mutual Fund was setup on June 12, 2001 with Niche Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. as the sponsorer and
Benchmark Trustee Company Pvt. Ltd. as the Trustee Company. Incorporated on October 16, 2000 and
headquartered in Mumbai, Benchmark Asset Management Company Pvt. Ltd. is the AMC.
Canbank Mutual Fund:‐
Canbank Mutual Fund was setup on December 19, 1987 with Canara Bank acting as the sponsor. Canbank
Investment Management Services Ltd. incorporated on March 2, 1993 is the AMC. The Corporate Office of the
AMC is in Mumbai.
Chola Mutual Fund:‐
Chola Mutual Fund under the sponsorship of Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company Ltd. was setup on
January 3, 1997. Cholamandalam Trustee Co. Ltd. is the Trustee Company and AMC is Cholamandalam AMC
Limited.
LIC Mutual Fund:‐
Life Insurance Corporation of India set up LIC Mutual Fund on 19th June 1989. It contributed Rs. 2 Crores towards
the corpus of the Fund. LIC Mutual Fund was constituted as a Trust in accordance with the provisions of the Indian
Trust Act, 1882. . The Company started its business on 29th April 1994. The Trustees of LIC Mutual Fund have
appointed Jeevan Bima Sahayog Asset Management Company Ltd as the Investment Managers for LIC Mutual
Fund.
GIC Mutual Fund:‐
GIC Mutual Fund, sponsored by General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC), a Government of India undertaking
and the four Public Sector General Insurance Companies, viz. National Insurance Co. Ltd (NIC), The New India
Assurance Co. Ltd. (NIA), The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd (OIC) and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. (UII) and is
constituted as a Trust in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882.
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MUTUAL FUNDS‐ DO’s and DONT’s
We all have come across ads which say that “Mutual Funds are subject to market risk, please read the offer
document carefully before investing”. Likewise there are many do’s and dont’s one has to keep in mind before
getting into investing in mutual funds. The following points might help one to optimize his/her investment
decision—
Assess yourself:
Self‐assessment of one’s needs; expectations and risk profile is of prime importance failing which; one will make
more mistakes in putting money in right places than otherwise. One should identify the degree of risk bearing
capacity one has and also clearly state the expectations from the investments. Irrational expectations will only
bring pain.
Try to understand where the money is going:
It is important to identify the nature of investment and to know if one is compatible with the investment. One can
lose substantially if one picks the wrong kind of mutual fund. In order to avoid any confusion it is better to go
through the literature such as offer document and fact sheets that mutual fund companies provide on their funds.
Don't rush in picking funds, think first:
One first has to decide what he wants the money for and it is this investment goal that should be the guiding light
for all investments done. It is thus important to know the risks associated with the fund and align it with the
quantum of risk one is willing to take. One should take a look at the portfolio of the funds for the purpose.
Excessive exposure to any specific sector should be avoided, as it will only add to the risk of the entire portfolio.
Mutual funds invest with a certain ideology such as the "Value Principle" or "Growth Philosophy". Both have their
share of critics but both philosophies work for investors of different kinds. Identifying the proposed investment
philosophy of the fund will give an insight into the kind of risks that it shall be taking in future.
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Invest. Don’t speculate:
A common investor is limited in the degree of risk that he is willing to take. It is thus of key importance that there
is thought given to the process of investment and to the time horizon of the intended investment. One should
abstain from speculating which in other words would mean getting out of one fund and investing in another with
the intention of making quick money. One would do well to remember that nobody can perfectly time the market
so staying invested is the best option unless there are compelling reasons to exit.
Don’t put all the eggs in one basket:
This old age adage is of utmost importance. No matter what the risk profile of a person is, it is always advisable to
diversify the risks associated. So putting one’s money in different asset classes is generally the best option as it
averages the risks in each category. Thus, even investors of equity should be judicious and invest some portion of
the investment in debt. Diversification even in any particular asset class (such as equity, debt) is good. Not all fund
managers have the same acumen of fund management and with identification of the best man being a tough task,
it is good to place money in the hands of several fund managers. This might reduce the maximum return possible,
but will also reduce the risks.
Be regular:
Investing should be a habit and not an exercise undertaken at one’s wishes, if one has to really benefit from them.
As we said earlier, since it is extremely difficult to know when to enter or exit the market, it is important to beat
the market by being systematic. The basic philosophy of Rupee cost averaging would suggest that if one invests
regularly through the ups and downs of the market, he would stand a better chance of generating more returns
than the market for the entire duration. The SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans) offered by all funds helps in being
systematic. All that one needs to do is to give post‐dated cheques to the fund and thereafter one will not be
harried later. The Automatic investment Plans offered by some funds goes a step further, as the amount can be
directly/electronically transferred from the account of the investor.
Find the right funds:
Finding funds that do not charge much fees is of importance, as the fee charged ultimately goes from the pocket
of the investor. This is even more important for debt funds as the returns from these funds are not much. Funds
that charge more will reduce the yield to the investor. Finding the right funds is important and one should also use
these funds for tax efficiency. Investors of equity should keep in mind that all dividends are currently tax‐free in
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India and so their tax liabilities can be reduced if the dividend payout option is used. Investors of debt will be
charged a tax on dividend distribution and so can easily avoid the payout options.
Keep track of your investments:
Finding the right fund is important but even more important is to keep track of the way they are performing in the
market. If the market is beginning to enter a bearish phase, then investors of equity too will benefit by switching
to debt funds as the losses can be minimized. One can always switch back to equity if the equity market starts to
show some buoyancy.
Know when to sell your mutual funds:
Knowing when to exit a fund too is of utmost importance. One should book profits immediately when enough has
been earned i.e. the initial expectation from the fund has been met with. Other factors like non‐performance, hike
in fee charged and change in any basic attribute of the fund etc. are some of the reasons for to exit. For more on
it, read "When to say goodbye to your mutual fund."
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FUTURE OF MUTUAL FUND INDUSTRY IN INDIA
Why Invest in Gold?
Historically, gold has been a proven method of preserving value when a national currency was losing value. If your
investments are valued in a depreciating currency, allocating a portion to gold assets is similar to a financial
insurance policy. In the past year, the climb in the price of gold above $700 per ounce is due to many factors, one
being that the dollar is losing value.
Reasons favoring to invest to Gold
* The dollar is weak and getting weaker due to national economic policies which don't appear to have an end.
* Gold price appreciation makes up for lost interest, especially in a bull market.
* The last four years are the beginning of a major bull move similar to the 70's when gold moved from $38 to over
$800.
* Central banks in several countries have stated their intent to increase their gold holdings instead of selling.
* All gold funds are in a long term uptrend with bullion, most recently setting new all‐time highs.
* The trend of commodity prices to increase is relative to gold price increases.
* Worldwide gold production is not matching consumption. The price will go up with demand.
* Most gold consumption is done in India and China and their demand is increasing with their increase in national
wealth.
* Several gold funds reached all‐time highs in 2006 and are still trending upward.
* The short position held by hedged gold funds is being methodically reduced.
Gold Mutual funds
A relatively safe method of buying and owning gold stocks allows the owner to diversify among many stocks and
allows the investing decisions to be made by a professional. Investment methods vary among funds and provide
many different styles of portfolio management for an investor to choose from. Prices move faster and further in
both directions than the price of gold.
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* Provide professional management and diversification within the gold sector.
* Are more volatile than the S&P index.
* May or may not have any correlation with the general market.
* Move daily with the price of gold, but not always.
* Move proportionally more than gold, up and down.
* If you believe in 'buy low, sell high', gold is still low, but climbing.
The real estate sector and the road ahead
Real Estate Mutual Funds ('REMFs')
The SEBI Board has now approved the guidelines for the much awaited Real Estate Mutual Funds. "Real Estate
Mutual Fund Scheme" is defined to mean a scheme of a mutual fund which has investment objective to invest
directly or indirectly in real estate property.
Governing Law
It is proposed that REMFs will be governed by the provisions and guidelines issued under SEBI (Mutual Funds)
Regulations. REMFs, shall initially, be close ended. The units of REMFs shall be compulsorily listed on the Stock
Exchanges and Net Asset Value (NAV) of the scheme shall be declared daily.
Custodian
The REMFs would be required to appoint a Custodian who has been granted a Certificate of Registration to carry
on the business of Custodian of securities by the SEBI Board. The custodian would safe keep the title of real estate
properties held by the REMFs.
Investment Criterion:
It is proposed that REMFs could invest in the following: ‐
* Directly in real estate properties within India;
* Mortgage (housing lease) backed securities;
* Equity shares / Bonds / Debentures of listed / unlisted companies which deal in properties and also undertake
property development; and in
* Other securities.
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Role of ASSOCIATION OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA (AMFI)
With the increase in mutual fund players in India, a need for mutual fund association in India was generated to
function as a non‐profit organization. Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) was incorporated on 22nd
August 1995.
AMFI is an apex body of all Asset Management Companies (AMC) which has been registered with SEBI. Till date all
the AMCs are that have launched mutual fund schemes are its members. It functions under the supervision and
guidelines of its Board of Directors.
Association of Mutual Funds India has brought down the Indian Mutual Fund Industry to a professional and
healthy market with ethical lines enhancing and maintaining standards. It follows the principle of both protecting
and promoting the interests of mutual funds as well as their unit holders.
The Association of Mutual Funds of India works with 30 registered AMCs of the country. It has certain defined
objectives which juxtaposes the guidelines of its Board of Directors.
The objectives are as follows:
This mutual fund association of India maintains a high professional and ethical standard in all areas of operation of
the industry.
♦ It also recommends and promotes the top class business practices and code of conduct which is
followed by members and related people engaged in the activities of mutual fund and asset
management. The agencies who are by any means connected or involved in the field of capital
markets and financial services also involved in this code of conduct of the association.
♦ AMFI interacts with SEBI and works according to SEBIs guidelines in the mutual fund industry.
♦ Association of Mutual Fund of India does represent the Government of India, the Reserve Bank of
India and other related bodies on matters relating to the Mutual Fund Industry.
♦ It develops a team of well qualified and trained Agent distributors. It implements a programme of
training and certification for all intermediaries and other engaged in the mutual fund industry.
♦ AMFI undertakes all India awareness programme for investors in order to promote proper
understanding of the concept and working of mutual funds.
♦ At last but not the least association of mutual fund of India also disseminate information on Mutual
Fund Industry and undertakes studies and research either directly or in association with other bodies.
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SEBI guidelines for mutual fund:
Mutual funds cannot invest more than 10 per cent of the total net assets of a scheme in the short‐term
deposits of a single bank, the Securities and Exchange Board of India said on Monday.
Announcing guidelines for parking of funds in short‐term deposits of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs)
by mutual funds, the regulator said that investment cap would also take into account the deposit
schemes of the bank's subsidiaries.
The Sebi has also defined 'short term' for funds' investment purposes as a period not exceeding 91 days.
Besides, the parking of funds in short‐term deposits of all SCBs has been capped at 15 per cent of the net
asset value (NAV) of a scheme, which can be raised to 20 per cent with prior approval of the trustees.
The parking of funds in short‐term deposits of associate and sponsor SCBs together should not exceed 20
per cent of total deployment by the MF in short‐term deposits, it added.
The Sebi said that these guidelines are aimed at ensuring that funds collected in a scheme are invested
as per the investment objective stated in the offer document of an MF scheme.
The new guidelines would be applicable to all fresh investments whether in a new scheme or an existing
one. In cases of an existing scheme, where the scheme has already parked funds in short‐term deposits,
the asset management company have been given three‐months time to conform with the new
guidelines.
The Sebi has also asked the trustees of a fund to ensure that no funds are parked by a scheme in short
term deposit of a bank, which has invested in that particular scheme.
The Sebi guidelines say that asset management companies (AMCs) shall not be permitted to charge any
investment and advisory fees for parking of funds in short‐term deposits of banks in case of liquid and
debt‐oriented schemes.
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What are the new SEBI guidelines all about?
Relevant extract of the SEBI circular released on June 30, 2009 (SEBI/IMD/CIR
No. 4/168230/09) is as follows:
'In order to empower the investors in deciding the commission paid to
distributors in accordance with the level of service received, to bring about more
transparency in payment of commissions and to incentivize long term investment,
it has been decided that:
There shall be no entry load for all mutual fund schemes
The scheme application forms shall carry a suitable disclosure to the effect
that
the upfront commission to distributors will be paid by the investor directly to
the distributor, based on his assessment of various factors including the
service rendered by the distributor
Of the exit load or CDSC charged to the investor, a maximum of 1% of the
Redemption proceeds shall be maintained in a separate account which can
be used by the AMC to pay commissions to the distributor and to take care
of other marketing and selling expenses. Any balance shall be credited to the
scheme immediately
The distributors should disclose all the commissions (in the form of trail
commission or any other mode) payable to them for the different competing
schemes of various mutual funds from amongst which the scheme is being
recommended to the investor.
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This circular shall be applicable for :
Investments in mutual fund schemes (including additional purchases and
switch‐in to a scheme from other schemes) with effect from August 1, 2009
Redemptions from mutual fund schemes (including switch‐out from other
schemes) with effect from August 1, 2009
New mutual fund schemes launched on and after August 1, 2009; and
Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) registered on or after August 1, 2009'
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ULIPs vs Mutual Funds: Who's better?
Unit Linked Insurance Policies (ULIPs) as an investment avenue are closest to mutual funds in terms of
their structure and functioning. As is the case with mutual funds, investors in ULIPs are allotted units by
the insurance company and a net asset value (NAV) is declared for the same on a daily basis.
Similarly ULIP investors have the option of investing across various schemes similar to the ones found in
the mutual funds domain, i.e. diversified equity funds, balanced funds and debt funds to name a few.
Generally speaking, ULIPs can be termed as mutual fund schemes with an insurance component.
However it should not be construed that barring the insurance element there is nothing differentiating
mutual funds from ULIPs.
How ULIPs can make you RICH!
Despite the seemingly comparable structures there are various factors wherein the two differ.
1. Mode of investment/ investment amounts
Mutual fund investors have the option of either making lump sum investments or investing using the systematic
investment plan (SIP) route which entails commitments over longer time horizons. The minimum investment
amounts are laid out by the fund house.
ULIP investors also have the choice of investing in a lump sum (single premium) or using the conventional route,
i.e. making premium payments on an annual, half‐yearly, quarterly or monthly basis. In ULIPs, determining the
premium paid is often the starting point for the investment activity.
This is in stark contrast to conventional insurance plans where the sum assured is the starting point and premiums
to be paid are determined thereafter.
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ULIP investors also have the flexibility to alter the premium amounts during the policy's tenure. For example an
individual with access to surplus funds can enhance the contribution thereby ensuring that his surplus funds are
gainfully invested; conversely an individual faced with a liquidity crunch has the option of paying a lower amount
(the difference being adjusted in the accumulated value of his ULIP). The freedom to modify premium payments at
one's convenience clearly gives ULIP investors an edge over their mutual fund counterparts.
2. Expenses
In mutual fund investments, expenses charged for various activities like fund management, sales and marketing,
administration among others are subject to pre‐determined upper limits as prescribed by the Securities and
Exchange Board of India.
For example equity‐oriented funds can charge their investors a maximum of 2.5% per annum on a recurring basis
for all their expenses; any expense above the prescribed limit is borne by the fund house and not the investors.
Similarly funds also charge their investors entry and exit loads (in most cases, either is applicable). Entry loads are
charged at the timing of making an investment while the exit load is charged at the time of sale.
Insurance companies have a free hand in levying expenses on their ULIP products with no upper limits being
prescribed by the regulator, i.e. the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. This explains the complex
and at times 'unwieldy' expense structures on ULIP offerings. The only restraint placed is that insurers are required
to notify the regulator of all the expenses that will be charged on their ULIP offerings.
Expenses can have far‐reaching consequences on investors since higher expenses translate into lower amounts
being invested and a smaller corpus being accumulated. ULIP‐related expenses have been dealt with in detail in
the article "Understanding ULIP expenses".
3. Portfolio disclosure
Mutual fund houses are required to statutorily declare their portfolios on a quarterly basis, albeit most
fund houses do so on a monthly basis. Investors get the opportunity to see where their monies are being
invested and how they have been managed by studying the portfolio.
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There is lack of consensus on whether ULIPs are required to disclose their portfolios. During our
interactions with leading insurers we came across divergent views on this issue.
While one school of thought believes that disclosing portfolios on a quarterly basis is mandatory, the
other believes that there is no legal obligation to do so and that insurers are required to disclose their
portfolios only on demand.
Some insurance companies do declare their portfolios on a monthly/quarterly basis. However the lack of
transparency in ULIP investments could be a cause for concern considering that the amount invested in
insurance policies is essentially meant to provide for contingencies and for long‐term needs like
retirement; regular portfolio disclosures on the other hand can enable investors to make timely
investment decisions.
4. Flexibility in altering the asset allocation
As was stated earlier, offerings in both the mutual funds segment and ULIPs segment are largely
comparable. For example plans that invest their entire corpus in equities (diversified equity funds), a
60:40 allotment in equity and debt instruments (balanced funds) and those investing only in debt
instruments (debt funds) can be found in both ULIPs and mutual funds.
If a mutual fund investor in a diversified equity fund wishes to shift his corpus into a debt from the same
fund house, he could have to bear an exit load and/or entry load.
On the other hand most insurance companies permit their ULIP inventors to shift investments across
various plans/asset classes either at a nominal or no cost (usually, a couple of switches are allowed free
of charge every year and a cost has to be borne for additional switches).
Effectively the ULIP investor is given the option to invest across asset classes as per his convenience in a
cost‐effective manner.
This can prove to be very useful for investors, for example in a bull market when the ULIP investor's
equity component has appreciated, he can book profits by simply transferring the requisite amount to a
debt‐oriented plan.
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5. Tax benefits
ULIP investments qualify for deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. This holds good,
irrespective of the nature of the plan chosen by the investor. On the other hand in the mutual funds
domain, only investments in tax‐saving funds (also referred to as equity‐linked savings schemes) are
eligible for Section 80C benefits.
Maturity proceeds from ULIPs are tax free. In case of equity‐oriented funds (for example diversified
equity funds, balanced funds), if the investments are held for a period over 12 months, the gains are tax
free; conversely investments sold within a 12‐month period attract short‐term capital gains tax @ 10%.
Similarly, debt‐oriented funds attract a long‐term capital gains tax @ 10%, while a short‐term capital gain
is taxed at the investor's marginal tax rate.
Despite the seemingly similar structures evidently both mutual funds and ULIPs have their unique set of
advantages to offer. As always, it is vital for investors to be aware of the nuances in both offerings and
make informed decisions.
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ULIPs vs Mutual Funds
ULIP MUTUAL FUND
Minimum investment
INVESTMENT Determined by the
amounts are
investor and can be
AMOUNTS determined by the
modified as well
fund house
No upper limits, Upper limits for
expenses determined expenses chargeable
EXPENSES
by the insurance to investors have been
company set by the regulator
PORTFOLIO Quarterly disclosures
Not mandatory
DISCLOSURE are mandatory
Generally permitted Entry/exit loads have
MODIFYING ASSESTS
for free or at a to be borne by the
ALLOCATION
nominal cost investor
Section 80C benefits
Section 80C benefits
are available only on
TAX BENEFITS are available on all
investments in tax‐
ULIP investments
saving funds
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
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QUESTIONNAIRE
Study on Mutual Funds
This questionnaire is intended to serve the following two purposes:
1. The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out the attitude of investor, towards bank
and mutual fund based on selected attitudinal parameters and individual
characteristics.
Instructions to respondents
1. Please answer all the questions, i.e. to the maximum extent possible.
2. Please be as accurate as possible in answering the questions.
3. If you do not know an answer or it does not apply to you please write, Not Applicable
(NA).
4. Any suggestions will be welcomed and would be appreciated.
1. How many times you visit your bank in a month? (Please tick app. Choice)
2-3 4-5 5+
Once times times times
2. How important is the following benefit to you being an account holder of bank?
Financial advisor
Credit card
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4. Does your bank play the role of an investment advisor for you?
Yes No
7. How important are the following benefits to you, being an investor for Mutual funds?
9. How important are the following factors in selecting for mutual funds
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Past performance
Brand name
Fund manager
Investment
objective
Recommendation
10. How satisfied are you with your investments in Mutual Funds?
11. Rank the following investment options in order of preference (Rank 1 for most preferred
and 6 for the least preferred)
Investment Rank
Options
Shares
Bonds
Fixed Deposits
Insurance Plans
Saving Account
Any
Other__________
12. How important is the role of the financial planner in providing the following services?
Appropriate portfolio
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recommendation
Personal Details:
1. Name:………………………………………………..…………
4. Education:
School Level Diploma Graduation Professional Degree
5. Occupation:
Self Employed Government/ Defense Private Any Other
6. Annual Income:
Up to 4 Lakhs 4 Lakhs-8 Lakhs 8Lakhs-12 Lakhs 12 Lakhs +
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1.
BALANCED EQUITY
42% 45%
DEBT
13%
9 THIS ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT DEBT MUTUAL FUND ARE PREFERED BY VERY SMALL
PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE
9 WHILE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE PREFERS EITHER EQUTY OR BALANCED MUTUAL
FUND SCHEME.
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2.
GROWTH &
INCOME INCOME
25% 22%
GROWTH
TAX BENEFITS 21%
BONUS
24%
8%
9 THIS ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT EXCEPT BONUS ALMOST ALL OF THE
BENEFITS ARE DESIRED BY THE MUTUAL FUND HOLDER WHICH
INCLUDES INCOME, GROWTH, AND TAX BENEFITS.
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3.
SIP
47%
ONE TIME
INVESTMENT
53%
9 THIS ANALUSIS SHOWS THAT SIP BEING THE BETTER OF THE TWO STILL IS
NOT A POPULAR MEAN OF INVESTMENT. BOTH OF PLANS ARE ALMOST
BEING EQUALLY PREFERED BY THE PEOPLE.
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4.
RECOMMENDATIO PAST
N PERFORMANCE
15% 23%
INVESTMENT
OBJECTIVE
BRAND NAME
24%
FUND MANAGER 21%
17%
9 THIS ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT RECOMMENDATION & FUND MANAGER ARE BEING
LEAST CONSIDRED BY THE PEOPLE. WHILE INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE, PAST
PERFORMANCE & BRAND NAME ARE BEING MOST INFLUENCING FACTOR IN
SELECTING MUTUAL FUND.
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5.
appropriate portfolio
high on promptness recommendation
& responsiveness 25%
29%
effective database
alliance with other
management
financial companies
11%
6%
9 THIS ANALYSIS MAJORITY OF PEOPLE DESIRES HIGH ON PROMPTNESS &
RESPONSIVE SERVICE AS WELL AS APPROPRIATE PORTFOLIO RECOMMENDATION
FROM FINANCIAL PLANNER.
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6.
0% 8%
31%
61%
9 THIS RESEARCH SHOWS THAT NEARLY 61 %(MAJORITY) OF INVESTOR ARE
SATISFIED WITH THERE INVESTMENTS & ONLY 8% INVESTOR ARE HIGHLY
SATISFIED.
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CONCLUSION
From the analysis of the responses received from the investors in Kolkata, majorities of the investors are
found to be conscious and enlightened regarding their investments, returns and growth.
We have a good market in Kolkata, which comprises potential investors, but due to lack of basic
promotions and publicity these investors are fully aware and whosoever is aware, their investments
decision are done on the basis of security, analysis of risk yield and return.
The Indian mutual fund industry needs to widen its range of products with affordable and competitive
schemes to tap the semi‐urban and rural markets in order to attract more investors.
The industry has still not been able to penetrate among retail investors and it needs to share best
practices from mature markets like US and Britain where mutual funds are the most preferred form of
investment. Mutual fund companies need to introduce products for the semi‐urban and rural markets
that are affordable and yet competitive against low‐risk assured returns of government sponsored saving
schemes such as post office saving deposits.
The industry is also overwhelmed by scarce technological infrastructure and needs to collaborate with
other sectors of the economy such as banking and telecommunications.
Mutual fund companies are also required take advantage of the growing opportunity in the commodities
market. Further, the mutual funds could also enable the small investors to participate in the real estate
boom through real estate mutual funds. With a strong regulatory framework, clear guidelines and the
talent to back it up, the Indian mutual fund industry is in a position to cater to the new breed of investors
who are keen to diversify their risks.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
• Marketing tools should be used at the point of purchase, advertisements through
mass media like newspapers, magazines, exhibitions, SMS on mobiles, and on
internets.
• Organize programmes for customer awareness in developing areas and establish
a confidence and belief among the customers residing there.
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MUTUAL FUND MARKET IN INDIA: THE CURRENT SCENARIO
After a disastrous 2008, the mutual fund industry bounced back with a vengeance in 2009. Year 2009 has
seen an amazing turnaround in the mutual fund industry’s fortunes. From a low average assets under
management (AAUM) of Rs 420995.84 crore in end December ’08, the industry bounced back and grew
its assets to 89% to Rs 793708.36 crore in December ’09.
¾ ILLUSTRATIONS OF A FEW FUNDS THAT ARE FARING WELL
MID‐CAP FUNDS: (Equity funds that focused on mid‐caps fared better)
134.32%
ICICI PRUDENTIAL DISCOVERY
120.4%
SUNDARAM BNP(S.M.I.L.E REG)
BIRLA SUN LIFE MID‐CAP PLAN A 119.8%
SUNDARAM BNP SELECT MIDCAP REG
114.6%
LARGE‐CAP FUNDS: (Large cap funds did well, though only one beat the sensex)
FRANKLIN INDIA BLUECHIP 84.49% ↑
HDFC INDEX SENSEX PLUS 80.60% ↑
DSPBR TOP 100EQUITY REG 77.13% ↑
ICICI PRU GROWTH INST I 76.84% ↑
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SAFETY FIRST
The MF industry grew almost 90% in 2009, with debt funds recording the highest growth.
600000
500000
400000
DEBT
300000
EQUITY
HYBRID
200000
100000
0
2007 2008 2009
Now, considering various aspects like the Sharpe ratio, asset size, systematic investment
plan and NAV, the top five mutual funds in large cap category is ‐
EQUITY LARGE CAP
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INDIA’S TOP 10 ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANIES IN THE CURRENT SCENARIO
ARE:‐
Though there are various measures, ranking etc widely available in the market, nothing can guarantee
the return volume as market is driven by its own forces. However, speculations and assumptions can be
made and it depends upon the knowledge, market risk anticipation, etc factors.
Thus, it can be concluded that the current scenario of the mutual fund market is in a healthy phase and
will go along in the year 2010 too.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Magazines.
• Business World.
• Offer documents of different schemes.
• Fund Fact Sheet.
• Investment and Portfolio Management by Prasanna Chandra.
WEBSITES
• www.moneycontrol.com/mutual funds
• www.amphindidia.com
• www.mutualfundsindia.com
• www.ask.com
• www.google.com
• www.njindiainvest.com
• www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/04/113004.asp
____________________________________________
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