A mutual fund is a pool of money managed by a professional Fund Manager. Mutual funds are ideal for investors who either lack large sums for investment, or for those who neither have the inclination nor the time to research the market, yet want to grow their wealth. The money collected in mutual funds is invested by professional fund managers in line with the scheme’s stated objective. In return, the fund house charges a small fee which is deducted from the investment. The fees charged by mutual funds are regulated and are subject to certain limits specified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Mutual funds offer an excellent avenue for retail investors to participate and benefit from the uptrend’s in capital markets. While investing in mutual funds can be beneficial, selecting the right fund can be challenging. Hence, investors should do proper due diligence of the fund and take into consideration the risk-return trade-off and time horizon or consult a professional investment adviser. Further, in order to reap maximum benefit from mutual fund investments, it is important for investors to diversify across different categories of funds such as equity, debt and gold. While investors of all categories can invest in securities market on their own, a mutual fund is a better choice for the only reason that all benefits come in a package.