Professional Management
Mutual funds offer investors the opportunity to earn an income or build their wealth through professional management of their investible funds. There are several aspects to such professional management viz. investing in line with the investment objective, investing based on adequate research, and ensuring that prudent investment processes are followed.
Portfolio Diversification
Units of a scheme give investors exposure to a range of securities held in the investment portfolio of the scheme. Thus, even a small investment of Rs 5,000 in a mutual fund scheme can give investors a diversified investment portfolio ,with diversification, an investor ensures that all the egg is not in the same basket. Consequently, the investor is less likely to lose money on all the investments at the same time. Thus, diversification helps reduce the risk in investment. In order to achieve the same diversification as a mutual fund scheme, investors will need to set apart several lakh of rupees. Instead, they can achieve the diversification through an investment of a few thousand rupees in a mutual fund scheme.
Economies of Scale
The pooling of large sums of money from so many investors makes it possible for the mutual fund to engage professional managers to manage the investment. Individual investors with small amounts to invest cannot, by themselves, afford to engage such professional management. Large investment corpus leads to various other economies of scale. For instance, costs related to investment research and office space get spread across investors. Further, the higher transaction volume makes it possible to negotiate better terms with brokers, bankers and other service providers.
Liquidity
At times, investors in financial markets are stuck with a security for which they can’t find a buyer – worse, at times they can’t find the company they invested in! Such investments become illiquid investments, which can end in a complete loss for investors. Investors in a mutual fund scheme can recover the value of the moneys invested, from the mutual fund itself. Depending on the
structure of the mutual fund scheme, this would be possible, either at any time, or during specific intervals, or only on closure of the scheme. Schemes where the money can be recovered from the mutual fund only on closure of the scheme, are listed in a stock exchange. In such schemes, the investor can sell the units in the stock exchange to recover the prevailing value of the investment.
Tax Deferral
As will we know by this time that the mutual funds are not liable to pay tax on the income they earn. If the same income were to be earned by the investor directly, then tax may have to be paid in the same financial year. Mutual funds offer options, whereby the investor can let the moneys grow in the scheme for several years. By selecting such options, it is possible for the investor to defer the tax liability. This helps investors to legally build their wealth faster than would have been the case, if they were to pay tax on the income each year.
Tax benefits
Specific schemes of mutual funds (Equity Linked Savings Schemes) give investors the benefit of deduction of the amount invested, from their income that is liable to tax. This reduces their taxable income, and therefore the tax liability. Further, the dividend that the investor receives from the scheme, is tax-free in his hands.
Convenient Options
The options offered under a scheme allow investors to structure their investments in line with their liquidity preference and tax position.
Investment Comfort
Once an investment is made with a mutual fund, they make it convenient for the investor to make further purchases with very little documentation. This simplifies subsequent investment activity.
Regulatory Comfort
The regulator, Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has mandated strict checks and balances in the structure of mutual funds and their activities. These are detailed in the subsequent units. Mutual fund investors benefit from such protection.
Systematic approach to investments
Mutual funds also offer facilities that help investor invest amounts regularly through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP); or withdraw amounts regularly through a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP);or move moneys between different kinds of schemes through a Systematic Transfer Plan (STP). Such systematic approaches promote an investment discipline, which is useful in long term wealth creation and protection
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