Life is full of choices these days;
from your favorite toothpaste to your TV channel. But, sometimes choices =
confusion. Things get little more complicated when it comes to finances and
money management as choice of action today determines the future financial
well-being and standard of living. That is why people generally rely on expert
advice of their financial advisor. In the world of investing, where choice=
chaos= confusion, expert opinion and information play a critical hand.
These days, equity mutual funds
have garnered importance as equity markets have jumped 35% YTD and assets under
management of the mutual funds has increased by 34% (September, 2014) as
investors re-gain confidence in capital markets.
Different types of Equity Mutual Funds for different investing needs:
Mutual funds are professionally managed
pool of money collected from large number of investors. They are utilized for
wealth creation, tax savings, regular income and savings for future. There are
various options in mutual funds.
a. Generally for long-term wealth creation: Advisors
recommend investors to invest in growth option as geometric returns helps
investors make money on returns as well. In growth option the number of units
allocated remains the same and the NAV keeps on growing as per the performance
of the mutual fund.
b. For regular Income: Usually dividend option is recommended for
income from mutual funds. Even though AMCs usually don’t declare dividends on
regular and consistent manner, it also works as a strategy for timely profit
booking. Within dividend option, there are sub-options including payout,
reinvestment and sweep. In payout option, dividends are transferred to
investor’s account directly; whereas in reinvestment option, declared dividend
is transferred as units in existing investment and finally, in sweep option
dividend amount is transferred as units in any other mutual funds, specified by
investor beforehand
c. Bonus Option:
Allocates bonus units to the investor, on any sustainable appreciation. This
scheme comes in handy for HNI investors to reduce their taxation on capital
gains.
Identify your needs before investing in any Equity Mutual Fund:
It is important to understand that
choice of options in any mutual fund category can significantly impact the potential
risk and return. The selection of option should be aligned to financial goal
and to maximize the utility of investing.
Growth Option:
1. Parking Any
Surplus Funds like bonus for a long term (10-15 years).
2. Small and
regular savings per month for retirement, child education or marriage (SIP).
3. Accumulating
funds for pre-closure of loans in 5-10 years (SIP).
4. Long term
wealth creation.
Dividend Option and Bonus Option:
1. Tax
reduction in the short term.
2. Income
requirement from your portfolio.
3. Automatic profit
booking.
4. Re-investment
in different avenues for portfolio diversification and rebalancing
Investing in equity Mutual Fund is
not an option but a necessity for average investor. It is the only investment
avenue which has historically matched the returns of Real Estate but has very
low threshold for investment (as low as 1000/- per month). Since the risk is spread over so many
stocks, the liquidity is in 3 days and the entry price is so low, mutual fund
becomes a must have investment avenue in every long term investor’s portfolio.