A mutual fund is a type of financial vehicle made up of a pool of money collected from many investors to invest in securities like stocks, bonds, money market instruments, and other assets. Mutual funds are operated by professional money managers, who allocate the fund's assets and attempt to produce capital gains or income for the fund's investors. A mutual fund's portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in its prospectus.
Mutual funds give small or individual investors access to professionally managed portfolios of equities, bonds, and other securities. Each shareholder, therefore, participates proportionally in the gains or losses of the fund. Mutual funds invest in a vast number of securities, and performance is usually tracked as the change in the total market cap of the fund—derived by the aggregating performance of the underlying investments.
Here are the different types of Mutual Funds in India.
The largest category is that of equity or stock funds. As the name implies, this sort of fund invests principally in stocks. Within this group are various subcategories. Some equity funds are named for the size of the companies they invest in: small-, mid-, or large-cap. Others are named by their investment approach: aggressive growth, income-oriented, value, and others.
A fixed-income mutual fund focuses on investments that pay a set rate of return, such as government bonds, corporate bonds, or other debt instruments. The idea is that the fund portfolio generates interest income, which it then passes on to the shareholders. These funds are often actively managed and seek to buy relatively undervalued bonds in order to sell at a profit.
The Investment strategy is based on the belief that it is very hard, and often expensive, to try to beat the market consistently. This strategy requires less research from analysts and advisors, so there are fewer expenses to eat up returns before they are passed on to shareholders. These funds are often designed with cost-sensitive investors in mind to keep the expenses fewer.
Income funds are named for their purpose: to provide current income on a steady basis. These funds invest primarily in government and high-quality corporate debt, holding these bonds until maturity in order to provide interest streams. As they produce regular income, tax-conscious investors may want to avoid these funds.
Balanced funds invest in a hybrid of asset classes, whether stocks, bonds, money market instruments, or alternative investments. The objective is to reduce the risk of exposure across asset classes. It is also known as an asset allocation fund and is designed to cater the investors objectives by both its variations aiming to reduce the risk associated.
The money market consists of safe (risk-free), short-term debt instruments, mostly government Treasury bills. This is a safe place to park your money. You won't get substantial returns, but you won't have to worry about losing your principal. The return is little more than what you earn in regular checking or savings account.
