So unless you are convinced of getting your market timing absolutely bang on everytime, opting for SIPs is more realistic from a logistical and psychological standpoint, says Larissa Fernand
The country's six largest smallcap schemes would require more than 20 days to liquidate half of their holdings, despite most of them maintaining high cash levels and having considerable exposure to more liquid largecap stocks, stress tests conducted by fund houses reveal. For midcap funds, the time required to sell half of the assets of the top six schemes varies between seven and 34 days, according to disclosures made by asset management companies. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had called for such tests in the face of strong inflows into smallcap and midcap funds, despite concerns over high valuations, to keep investors better informed.
The challenge isn't in selling -- it's easy to sell when the market peaks. The real challenge is in buying back.
Mutual funds recorded Rs 7,600 crore net inflows into active equity schemes in July even as redemptions surged to a 30-month high of Rs 30,400 crore owing to profit booking, reveals data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). Equity net inflows were 13 per cent lower compared to the preceding month's tally. The inflows were supported by a strong flow from retail investors through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route.
Mutual funds (MFs) added systematic investment plan (SIP) accounts at a record pace in 2023 with the net additions in the calendar year surpassing 15 million - 24 per cent higher than the 2022 tally of 12.2 million, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
Understand the magic that SIP brings to the table for you as an investor, says Satyen Kothari. You can start by investing as little as Rs 500 per month.
ICICI Prudential AMC has launched the ICICI Prudential Micro Systematic Investment Plan (MSIP) with a minimum investment of just Rs 50 per month.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked fund houses operating smallcap funds with a large corpus to share data on their holdings in the total free float of smallcap stocks, according to sources. This is part of the stress tests that the regulator wants fund houses to undertake amid a surge in inflows into smallcap schemes and growing concerns about valuations. Free float refers to the quantum of freely available shares for trading on the stock market.
Avoid discontinuing your SIPs. Persist for at least 7-10 years.
'Those satisfied with returns and not expecting further rally could be booking profits and also stopping SIPs.'
An improved showing of mutual funds (MFs) is helping the industry attract distribution talent at a brisk pace. The industry has onboarded a net of 11,600 individual distributors in the first seven months of 2023-24 (FY24) compared to just 5,555 distributors in the whole of 2022-23 (FY23), according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. Like most financial products, MFs also have significant reliance on individual distributors to sell their products, even as digital platforms are gaining popularity.
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.
Such schemes need 3-5 yrs to take advantage of dollar and market risk.
Despite the current bout of volatility, debt-oriented hybrid funds remain well suited for risk-averse investors.
Seeking to tap a larger number of small investors, the mutual fund industry is going all out with investment plans of as low as Rs 100 per month and Reliance Mutual Fund has become the first fund house to launch such a scheme.
These commodities must be purchased in units, where a single unit may be equal to a gram (gold), 100 grams (silver) or a kilogram for the other three commodities. For trading, you must open a separate demat account with a broker registered with NSE.
Mutual funds (MFs) are lining up distinguished new fund offerings (NFOs) for the next financial year to win over investors after a lukewarm response to product launches in the 2022-23 financial year (FY23). NFOs drew a lukewarm response in FY23 as launches were mostly in the passive debt space, which has a comparatively lower popularity among retail investors. The limited launches in equity space also failed to rake in huge sums due to subdued investor sentiments in a volatile market.
Mutual fund (MF) houses have started realigning their overseas product offerings after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) advised them to stop subscriptions. PPFAS Asset Management has decided to suspend transactions in Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund with effect from February 2, 2022. Though new lump-sum and systematic investment plans (SIPs) will not be accepted, existing SIPs and systematic transfer plans (STPs) will continue.
Those who cannot bear significant downturns (as much as 40 per cent) or have a short horizon should exit entirely.
A look at five consistently performing equity mutual funds which look promising to perform well in the New Year.
The mutual fund industry's assets under management (AUM) have likely breached the Rs 50 trillion mark following a rally in domestic equities this month. The industry's average AUM stood at almost Rs 48 trillion at the end of October. In November, the Nifty50 index has gained about 4 per cent so far, while smallcap and midcap indices have rallied close to 8 per cent.
One of the biggest advantages of index funds and ETFs is their low cost, points out Sarbajeet K Sen.
After pulling out $17 billion in calendar year 2022, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pumped $7.3 billion back into equity markets so far this year. The turnaround in foreign flows has helped domestic markets exceed the all-time highs chalked up in December 2022 and bounced back more than 10 per cent from this year's lows. However, a big nugget of FPI inflows seen this year could be off the back of two factors: exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and block deals.
A close look at six mutual funds which investors can consider for fulfilling their long term goals.
Whether it is your financial misstep or a financial disaster, there are ways to get back on track.
A look at five equity mutual funds spread across different fund categories which an investor can rely upon as part of her/his equity mutual fund portfolio and are expected to give pretty decent returns over the long run.
Investing in mutual funds through systematic investment plans can help you create wealth for your family believes financial expert Vetapalem Sridhar.
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).
For the first time in a decade, inflows into equity mutual funds (MFs) decoupled from the past performance of the equity market, as investors continued to pour money into the market unperturbed by lacklustre returns.
Mutual funds (MFs) invested a record Rs 1.73 trillion in equities in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), providing strong support to the Indian markets at a time when foreign investors were redeeming their holdings. They exceeded the previous high of nearly Rs 1.72 trillion investment in equities in FY22. The data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) shows MFs were net buyers in the equity market in eleven of the twelve months last financial year.
'For experienced and risk-taking investors, now may be the time to go all in.' 'By 'experienced and risk-taking', I refer to those who remained net buyers in equities during the early stages of the 2020 pandemic.' 'On the other hand, those who exited the markets during the pandemic may go the SIP way.'
While few would dispute the utility that an SIP can offer, there is a flipside to the same as well. In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of SIP investing.
rediffGURU Hemant Bokil answers your personal finance queries
Equity benchmark Sensex declined nearly 390 points on Friday, pressured by heavy selling in IT, tech and energy stocks despite a positive trend in the global markets. Besides, rising crude oil prices and relentless foreign capital outflows further weighed on sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened strong but came under severe selling pressure to close 389.01 points or 0.62 per cent lower at 62,181.67.
After a short-term blip, mutual funds (MFs) are back to adding new systematic investment plan (SIP) investors at a record high pace, which was seen during the financial year 2021-22 (FY22). During the first six months (H1) of this financial year (FY24), MFs have added a net 77 million SIP accounts compared to 56 million during the same period of FY23. The net additions this year are a tad higher than the 76.5 million additions in H1 of FY22.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
Gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) witnessed a net outflow of Rs 199 crore in January, making it the third monthly withdrawal in a row, with investors preferring equities over other segments on buoyant record SIP flow. This was in comparison to a net outflow of Rs 273 crore registered in the segment in December and Rs 195 crore in November. Prior to that, Gold ETFs attracted Rs 147 crore in October, data with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.
SEBI has published data showing that more than 90 per cent of investors lose money in futures and options, explains Harsh Roongta.
The SIP is simply an investment mode i.e. a means to invest in mutual funds and not an investment avenue.