Understanding the most common mistakes during market downturns can help you protect your investments and stay focused on your long-term financial goals, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has just released a proposal to alter the regulations pertaining to the sponsor system for mutual funds. One of the reasons for the proposed changes is that there are two conflicting regulations that need to be clarified. The other reason is that the sponsor system may itself be outdated as it stands, and the proposed changes would allow new entities such as private equity funds and portfolio management services to enter this space.
Coming down heavily on MF players who in recent past chose to use shareholder fund to buy out debt of bleeding invested companies, Sebi said MFs can't have standstill agreements with companies and will take action against fund houses for such deals.
Contributions to mutual fund schemes through systematic investment plans or SIPs remain unfazed from the market volatility in 2022 with inflow growing to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in 2022, a surge of 31 per cent from a year earlier, due to higher retail participation. In comparison, an inflow of Rs 1.14 lakh crore through the route was registered in 2021 and Rs 97,000 crore in 2020, data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed. Going ahead, SIP numbers are expected to continue to remain strong in 2023 as investors are increasingly appreciating the importance of regular investing through the route, Kaustubh Belapurkar, director - manager research at Morningstar Investment Adviser India, said.
Net investments into equity mutual fund schemes in India remained elevated at approximately 38,440 crore in April, despite a slight dip from March's high and a 3% month-on-month decline in Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) inflows.
'AIS helps taxpayers check whether all income streams and reportable transactions -- such as interest from old bank accounts, small dividend receipts or transactions across multiple brokers -- have been properly disclosed.' 'Mismatches between these transactions and declared income may trigger automated notices or scrutiny.'
These equity mutual funds may have fewer assets under management than their more known peers but are our analysts' favourites.
Over reliance on debt and distribution bottlenecks are some of the main problems that the industry needs to resolve.
Investors can begin investing in mutual funds with as little as Rs 100.
Investors pumped in more than Rs 37,000 crore (Rs 370 billion) in various mutual fund schemes in May taking the total funds mobilisation during the first two months of the current fiscal to Rs 1.44 lakh crore.
UTI Mutual Fund has launched UTI-FAMILY (that allows investors to buy mutual fund units in their name, but the returns go straight to a parent's bank account.
Mutual funds' equity buying remained elevated for the fifth consecutive month in December, taking the net equity purchase past Rs 1.7 trillion in 2023. The aggressive buying in December indicates that flows into equity funds are likely to have remained unaffected by the sharp run-up in the market last month. Mutual funds (MFs) bought equities worth Rs 23,000 crore last month (until December 28) compared to Rs 18,000 crore in November, shows data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
List all unavoidable expenses such as rent, groceries, transportation, education and medical bills.
Investments under the framework would remain voluntary for employees.
Domestic mutual funds (MFs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been net buyers of stocks in August. Domestic fund houses have continued to invest in stocks, propelled by the success of various new fund offers (NFOs) and strong flows into equity funds. MFs had purchased stocks worth more than Rs 8,300 crore until August 23, according to the data provided on the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) website. Jimmy Patel, MD and CEO at Quantum AMC, says: "The surge in equity investments by MFs is because of two key reasons. One, equity NFOs are getting a strong response from investors, and fund houses need to deploy that money in the markets.
Reliance Capital Asset Management, controlled by Anil Ambani, has sold a 5 per cent stake to Eton Park Capital Management in a deal that for the first time puts a value on India's largest mutual fund.
Investors who are led to believe that falling net assets is a sure sign that the fund is in trouble and must therefore exit the fund at the earliest, must consider some points first.
Inflow in equity mutual funds halved to Rs 3,240 crore in May, declining for the second consecutive month, primarily due to profit booking by investors amid rising market. However, this was also the 27th consecutive month of inflow in the equity class, which was primarily driven by fund infusion in small-cap and mid-cap categories, data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed on Friday. Overall, the 42-player mutual fund industry continues to see inflow and attracted Rs 57,420 crore, on contributions from debt-oriented schemes.
While stock market indices are rising, UTI Asset Management Company chairman and managing director U K Sinha says that risk appetite at the retail level is low.
Their assets under management (AUM) rose from Rs 1.04 trillion (January 31, 2025) to Rs 1.75 trillion (January 31, 2026), an increase of 68.3 per cent.
Fidelity International, the global mutual fund major managing assets of over $141.5 billion worldwide, on Tuesday said it plans to enter India this year and has appointed three senior executives for the Indian arm.
Top officials said asking employees other than the fund management team to mandatorily invest a fifth of their salary goes against the principle of natural justice.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Foreign investors have largely been exiting one part of the market while domestic investors have been enthusiastically accumulating another, points out Debashis Basu.
AMCs can invest $7 billion abroad, and $300 million per AMC, but investments are way below these levels. Most equity schemes can invest 35 per cent of their assets abroad and there are schemes that invest only in overseas equity. What's holding them back is that they are not very sure if they can buy these bonds.
According to sources, in a January 6 letter to the department of financial services under the finance ministry, LIC said it wanted to stop sponsoring LIC Nomura Mutual Fund, and might offer some of its stake in LIC Housing Finance to other shareholders.
These are the top 8 out of 88 funds that the diversified equity fund category has to offer.
Mutual funds are a convenient way to invest in the stock markets
A savings or current account with no customer-induced transaction for more than 24 months is classified as inoperative.
In the rat race to garner more assets and reach number one position, mutual fund houses look for distributors who can sell more. But does it serve your interests?
Morningstar conducted a study to find out the number of funds you should own in your portfolio. Here are some interesting findings.
The KYC parameters now include declaration of the gross annual income or net worth.
Mid- and small-cap funds dominate the list, opening up opportunity for investors to make contra bets in large-cap funds
'Periods of heightened volatility, driven by global events such as tariffs and geopolitical tensions over the past year-and-a-half, can make some investors pause or discontinue their investments.'
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is set to expand its artificial intelligence (AI)-based surveillance beyond trading data to include corporate filings, aiming to proactively flag financial misstatements and manipulation in quarterly results without relying solely on investor complaints.
Mutual funds are better than Portfolio Management Schemes where costs crystallise only at the end of the investment period, says Shashank Khade.
'Investors shouldn't let fear dictate their decisions. The most important step is simply to begin investing.'
