Page 46 - Mutual Funds

Tipping Point: Why are scheme mergers gathering pace?

Several schemes of mutual funds have been merged in recent times

Mutual Funds: Enjoy higher gains in direct plans

Direct plan vs regular plan: Difference in returns can be higher than that of their expense ratios

MFs step up buying as markets falter

India's equity fund managers stepped up buying in August even as benchmark indices came off more than three per cent. So far this month, equity schemes have bought shares worth nearly Rs 14,000 crore, highest monthly buying tally for the year. The benchmark Sensex and the Nifty are down close to 3.5 per cent each this month as foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have pulled out close to Rs 15,000 crore from stocks. The FPI sell-off was amid global risk aversion created by the escalating tensions between US and North Korea.Market players say the correction could have been much steeper if not for MF buying.The surge in MF investments is in line with the strategy of "buying on dips", said market players. Fund houses are sitting on cash pile of over Rs 40,000 crore, which is used as ammunition to buy stocks during correction period. "Corrections in market offer opportunities to buy. There are several stocks which also make a good case of value buying at this stage," says Mahesh Patil, ...

Drop in bank deposit rates to make mutual funds attractive

The reduction in interest rates on savings deposits is an opportunity for mutual funds (MFs) to popularise their low-risk debt offerings, says rating agency Icra.A month ago, State Bank of India (SBI) announced a 50 basis points (bps) reduction in the interest rate on savings deposits, of less than Rs 1 crore million to 3.5 per cent. Following SBI's lead, many other public and private sector banks have reduced the interest rates on saving deposits."This is expected to create an opportunity for liquid mutual funds to tap into retail savings, by providing an avenue for parking surplus liquidity while earning a premium over savings rate," said Icra in a release.At present, mostly corporates and institutional investors park their surplus cash in low-risk MF products such as liquid schemes. With the savings rate going down, liquid funds "could gain prominence as an alternative tool" for retail investors, says Icra. "Liquid schemes have reported annualised returns in the range of 6.5 per ...

Small-caps that have caught fund managers' fancy

Several equity MF schemes have gained in size over the past three years

It's tough to buy closed-end funds at exchanges

It's almost impossible to find a seller. In many cases, taxation isn't favourable either

Mutual funds embrace digital expansion for next leg of growth

Buoyed by encouraging growth, the Rs 20-lakh crore mutual fund (MF) industry has brought in a slew of web and smartphone-based innovations to help easy onboarding of customers.All major fund houses have their mobile applications that provide information about schemes and allow easy transactions without going to any branches. Some of the mobile applications include Ipru Touch by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, FinGo from Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, UTI Buddy From UTI MF, Reliance Mutual Fund App and EasyApp from Axis Mutual Fund. Besides registrar and transfer agent Computer Age Management Services (Cams) has also stepped up its digital presence by launching new features.Digital initiatives have seen a reasonable traction with lot of new investment applications getting routed through it, say industry players.It is worth to note that these applications help investors purchase or redeem their investments. Further, new customer can easily do their know your client (KYC) formalities without ...

Balanced advantage funds rise on MFs' popularity charts

Equity-oriented funds with an in-built dynamic asset allocation is the new emerging fund category in the growing mutual fund sector. With India's stock markets hovering at historical highs, a robust trend is being seen among investors opting for schemes which offer asset allocations - largely known as balanced funds.However, within the balanced category of funds, a subset category balanced advantage funds, which are largely open-ended equity oriented schemes, are putting a robust show. Since, these schemes allocate funds to equity, debt instruments and arbitrage on a daily basis, given the market levels they provide comfort to investors from volatility. Plain balanced funds, on the other hand, stick to a fixed limit of allocation to different asset classes and do not change it.Currently, there are four schemes in this particular category and sector experts believe more may come going forward as traction among investors have been quite high for such a category. ICICI Prudential ...

MFs pump over Rs 41,000-cr into stock markets during April-July

In comparison, FPIs bought equities worth Rs 21,000 crore during the period under review

Mutual Fund assets shy of Rs 20 lakh crore

Unperturbed by record market levels, domestic investors poured in a whopping Rs 12,727 crore into equity mutual funds (MF) in July. This is the second-highest ever monthly inflow recorded by the industry. The average monthly inflows seen by equity schemes in the first half of 2017 are Rs 8,000 crore. For first time, the benchmark Sensex and Nifty had topped the 32,000 and 10,000 levels respectively last month. Market experts said strong inflows into MFs will help support the rally, even as valuations remain above long-term averages.If inflows into balanced funds, which typically invest 65 per cent in equity and rest in debt, are to be considered, the July inflow tally soars to Rs 17,000 crore. The highest monthly inflow of Rs 13,678 crore was in January 2008, the peak of the previous bull market. "These days, high inflows are not the function of levels of indices, but the increasing understanding about financial investments among Indians. The quality of money pouring in has improved ..

Processes are complementing role of managers in Mutual Funds

Fund houses seen moving towards a more process-driven investment approach but managers remain key

MFs build second line of fund managers amid top-level exits

Move to ensure smoother transition in future during such eventualities

Closed-end funds meant only for seasoned investors

Buy a closed-end fund only if its offers a theme that is not available within the open-end category

MFs on record buying spree as valuations look stretched

Funds net buyers for 26 straight sessions, one of the longest spells in history

Mutual funds buoy market

Gains made by the index are on the back of strong flows from both FIIs and MFs

Financial planning: MFs seem to be a better option, says Kartik Jhaveri

Mutual funds is a better route to move forward with, asserts Jhaveri

Stick primarily to mutual funds

While PMS and AIF are exotic, mutual funds score on simplicity and steady returns

Equity funds attract Rs 8,200-crore inflows

However, debt schemes see heavy outflow in June

Readers' Corner: Mutual Fund

Balanced funds offer dual advantage of investing in debt and equity, at one go, says Nimesh Shah

Despite boom, a third of funds manage less than Rs 100 cr each

25% schemes hold less than Rs 50 crore, making a case for their mergers since costlier for investors