Mutual Funds (MF) look appealing as something that can give us high returns and have caught the attention of many investors in recent times. At the same time, they are subject to market risks. This is what makes many potential investors feel intimidated about mutual funds as well as suspicious about investments in them. They wonder whether they are a safe investment instrument or not or if it is more profitable or rather riskier.
When unsure of which investment tool would work the best, investors usually opt to park their money in banks. They keep their savings in the form of fixed deposits or recurring deposits to earn some interest on them. This is because it guarantees that their money is safe even if it has low-interest gains on them. On the other hand, MF schemes can help in wealth creation and offer high returns than bank deposits.
If at all some risk-bearing investors decide to invest in funds, they feel confused about which scheme out of innumerable ones to go for. They also find it complicated to understand what mutual funds are and how they are different from stocks. This article attempts to give a wholesome picture in a simplified fashion for beginners and first-time investors.
What are Mutual Funds?
By definition, a mutual fund is a collective investment in which funds or money are pooled from various investors. The fund house looks after this pooled fund corpus and decides where and how to invest. It is invested in various money market instruments; for example, stocks of various companies to generate returns. To understand the concept of mutual funds, it is important to have clarity about equity and debt. Below are some key points:
- Debt is money offered to a company for a certain time with an aim to receive it back with an interest on it. It is like a loan that investors lend. There are various debt instruments like debentures, bonds (government or corporate), commercial papers, medium-term notes, etc. Equity/share/stock investments imply that you have a percentage holding in the profit of the company as an owner of those shares
- You may also suffer a loss, being the shareholder of the company when the market price of the share fluctuates and the company is at a loss. You may sell or buy shares, unlike the debt securities, to increase or decrease your shareholding respectively. Debt investment comes with relatively lower risk than equities. As a shareholder, you are a participant in both profit and loss. As a debt investor, you deserve guaranteed returns on your money
- Mutual funds consist of a mix of debt securities and equities where different schemes have different ratios of both. Also, the fund managers/fund houses invest in stocks, debt, and other securities of various companies of different sizes based on their capital structure
- The gains or income that are generated from the investments are distributed proportionately to the investors after the deduction of some managerial charges and other applicable expenses
How do Mutual Funds differ from Stocks?
The common point of confusion among investors is how mutual funds differ from stocks? When an investor purchases stocks of a company buying them at their trading price, s/he becomes the shareholder of the profits of that particular company. In MF schemes, the fund manager purchases stocks of several companies. It is a mix of large-sized, medium, and small companies according to their capitalization. The fund managers invest the money not only in equities but also in debt, bonds, and several money market instruments. Let’s understand in detail:
- Like you buy shares of a company at a share price, you buy units of the mutual fund at its Net Asset Value (NAV). NAV is the market value of all units of a mutual fund on a given day. One unit’s value is the total NAV divided by the total number of units. The fund performance can also fluctuate based on the market conditions
- Suppose a situation where the majority of companies in which the fund is invested are not performing well. This will automatically affect the mutual fund returns where it may go negative. Similarly, if the stock prices of the majority of companies rise, then the mutual fund’s gains will be more
- The fund houses that launch and manage various mutual funds are called Asset Management Companies (AMCs). They have a dedicated fund manager(s) and team(s) to manage every fund scheme, its corpus collection, as well as its return generation and distribution. They plan and make changes to the entire investment portfolio of the fund plan, unlike stocks where the individual investor decides for himself/herself
Benefits of MF Schemes over Stocks
Mutual Funds have certain advantages over stocks as listed below:
- If you invest in a stock, your returns are completely dependent on that particular company’s stock market price and performance. Whereas, mutual funds invest in several company stocks and other instruments. Even if some stocks are performing negatively, the others that are performing well can counterbalance it. It is highly unlikely that all equities go experience market headwinds in the same proportion
- Stocks are a single type of investment. On the other hand, mutual funds invest in various money market securities including stocks. Fund managers spread it over various asset classes, sectors, and industries. It diversifies the investment and does not put all its eggs in one basket. Moreover, there are various types of funds suiting the investment goals, time horizons, and risk appetites of the investors
- When you invest in stocks, you have to keep an eye on their market performance. It is because you can sell them at the right time if you see a downward trend. But in mutual funds, you need not keep a tap on all stocks. Occasionally, you may check the overall performance of the funds but mutual funds are always suggested for long-term investments. Moreover, you have a fund manager who has professional knowledge of how, when, and in what securities to invest in
Apart from the above, mutual funds come with multiple advantages that give ample reasons to investors to invest in these schemes.
Wrapping it up:
In a nutshell, mutual funds are an investment that collects a huge corpus by inviting many investors and making them unitholders of the fund. Mutual fund managers are professional investors and experts who allocate the fund resources in more than one asset class like equities, debt, gold, etc. They know how to pick up the right stocks and invest accordingly to generate returns. The fund managers distribute these returns proportion-wise to each unitholder of the mutual fund, that is the investors.
So, amateur investors who do not have much understanding of the stocks should invest in mutual funds. This is because mutual funds are a mix of several asset classes, invest in a variety of company stocks, and are professionally managed. Here, you need not track the daily performance of the stocks. Also, there are various types of mutual funds to suit both risk-bearing and risk-averse investors.
