Moneycontrol PRO
you are here: HomeNewsMutual funds

Mutual Funds

Mutual funds are a vehicle for investing in stocks and bonds. It is not an alternative investment option to stocks and bonds, but rather it pools the money of several investors and invests this in stocks, bonds, money market instruments and other types of securities. Buying a mutual fund is like buying a small slice of a big pizza. The owner of a mutual fund unit gets a proportional share of the fund’s gains, losses, income and expenses. Each mutual fund has a specific stated objective (what the fund will invest in) which is laid out in its prospectus – the legal document that contains information about the fund, its history, its officers and its performance. The mutual fund regulations require that the fund’s objectives are clearly spelt out in the prospectus. Some popular objectives include equity (stocks), debt (fixed income securities) and money markets. Mutual Funds in India are managed by an Asset Management Company (AMC) that may have several mutual fund schemes with similar or varied investment objectives. AMCs hire a professional money manager, who buys and sells securities in line with the fund's stated objective. All AMCs Regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and funds are governed by a Board of Directors that is supposed to represent the shareholders' interests, rather than the AMC’s. More

Jump to
  • Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund: So far, so good. But can it do an encore? May 31, 2023 07:32 AM IST

    Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund: So far, so good. But can it do an encore?

    Discipline and being true to its label have helped the fund in the past. However, going forward, its large size and SEBI restrictions on investment in overseas stocks could be challenges.

  • 'Something’s cooking': SEBI chief's bitter pill for unregistered investment advisors coming soon May 30, 2023 11:48 PM IST

    'Something’s cooking': SEBI chief's bitter pill for unregistered investment advisors coming soon

    With just around 1,000 registered investment advisors in India, SEBI’s chase for unregistered investment advisors appears to go at a slow pace, even though it has regularly nabbed offenders. But SEBI chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch says that the regulator is working on this problem and a solution is expected soon

  • MF industry safe, but Sebi will step in if self-regulation isn't strong: Madhabi Puri Buch May 31, 2023 06:46 AM IST

    MF industry safe, but Sebi will step in if self-regulation isn't strong: Madhabi Puri Buch

    AMFI should have an ethics committee in whatever manner it sees fit, and that committee "must take action against individuals doing wrong things on a self-regulatory basis", the SEBI chief said.

  • Tech funds bounce back; time to invest? May 29, 2023 05:06 PM IST

    Tech funds bounce back; time to invest?

  • How MF sectoral allocation changed in April May 29, 2023 05:02 PM IST

    How MF sectoral allocation changed in April

  • Got your first job? Now here’s where you should put your money May 29, 2023 08:02 AM IST

    Got your first job? Now here’s where you should put your money

    A modest salary at the beginning of your career should not deter you from opening your investment account. Instead, first-time job seekers should focus on the advantage they have over others; the benefit of time. And that’s why equities make sense.

  • Our job is to create wealthy investors, not run after them: Parag Parikh AMC May 30, 2023 06:31 AM IST

    Our job is to create wealthy investors, not run after them: Parag Parikh AMC

    On May 28, 10 years ago, Parag Parikh Flexi Cap, the fund house’s flagship fund and its first scheme, opened up its doors to investors. But the fund house believes it has just got started.

  • HDFC Short Term Debt Fund: An all-weather debt fund has delivered across rate cycles May 30, 2023 08:08 AM IST

    HDFC Short Term Debt Fund: An all-weather debt fund has delivered across rate cycles

    Part of MC30, HDFC Short Term Debt Fund is well positioned to benefit in the current environment of high short-term yields. It’s also a good pick to get into before the interest rates start to fall

  • It's a long process, will take time: Ananta Barua on SEBI’s mutual fund TER proposals May 26, 2023 03:01 PM IST

    It's a long process, will take time: Ananta Barua on SEBI’s mutual fund TER proposals

    SEBI has observed that the brokerage and transaction charges of some schemes was more than the TER limits prescribed, which resulted in investors paying more than double the TER limit for the scheme.

  • One year of interest rate hikes: Debt funds emerge a winner despite headwinds May 28, 2023 05:12 PM IST

    One year of interest rate hikes: Debt funds emerge a winner despite headwinds

    The Reserve Bank of India started raining interest rates (repo rate) in May 2022. Since then, it has hiked the repo rate 250 basis points. Accrual funds benefitted from the rate hike cycle while, duration funds have been a mixed bag. Here, we analyse how debt funds responded to the rate hikes

  • Enhancing fixed income returns when the yield curve is flat is not easy, but there’s a way out May 25, 2023 10:33 AM IST

    Enhancing fixed income returns when the yield curve is flat is not easy, but there’s a way out

    If you want to take a duration call at this juncture, choose your options wisely.

  • Six charts that influenced SEBI’s mutual fund total expense ratio proposals May 27, 2023 06:04 PM IST

    Six charts that influenced SEBI’s mutual fund total expense ratio proposals

    After studying India’s Rs 40 lakh crore mutual funds sector, SEBI has unearthed data on performance, churn, and brokerage paid to justify some radical proposals to reimagine the total charges collected from investors. Moneycontrol takes a closer look at what the numbers revealed.

  • Passive investing gains momentum but retail investors still have only a small share May 28, 2023 11:37 AM IST

    Passive investing gains momentum but retail investors still have only a small share

    The inflows are predominantly from corporates, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, and high networth individuals.

  • MF romance with logistics deepens with Delhivery, but fizzles out for Gati May 24, 2023 10:11 AM IST

    MF romance with logistics deepens with Delhivery, but fizzles out for Gati

    The Delhivery stock kept making loud blips on the mutual fund radar with an 8 percent rise in the market. While Gati lost nearly 17 percent, the AllCargo Logistics stock gained around 18 percent year to date

  • HDFC Defence Fund advances NFO closing date from June 2 to May 30 May 24, 2023 07:19 AM IST

    HDFC Defence Fund advances NFO closing date from June 2 to May 30

    Market sources told Moneycontrol that since the number of stocks and investment options are limited, a reasonable inflow in its NFO period will suffice for the fund.

  • Mutual funds brace for impact of Sebi consultation paper on total expenses May 23, 2023 01:24 PM IST

    Mutual funds brace for impact of Sebi consultation paper on total expenses

    “Not all is that bad,” say mutual fund industry officials, who Moneycontrol spoke with, on most of the proposals. The inclusion of brokerage costs, though, is a troubling recommendation for a few officials.

  • Insurers selling mutual funds positive for both; can increase compliance burden May 23, 2023 11:36 AM IST

    Insurers selling mutual funds positive for both; can increase compliance burden

    Investors now go to multiple entities for meeting different financial requirements. They also have to check whether they (the distributors) are certified by the capital market and insurance regulators. The insurance regulator’s planned move will act as a one-stop solution to their needs.

  • US Fed on brink of policy U-turn? Time may be right to think gold May 23, 2023 08:05 AM IST

    US Fed on brink of policy U-turn? Time may be right to think gold

    We can expect from the Fed interest rate cuts and money supply expansion to save the economy from this self-created downcycle and into the next cycle of high inflation.

  • How can retirees use MC30? May 22, 2023 05:39 PM IST

    How can retirees use MC30?

  • Get paid only if you perform: SEBI’s plan throws MF industry into a tizzy May 22, 2023 12:15 PM IST

    Get paid only if you perform: SEBI’s plan throws MF industry into a tizzy

    The proposal followed investor concerns over growing underperformance of MF schemes. Some investors have turned to passive schemes given their low cost, absence of fund manager risk and possibility of achieving near benchmark returns.

  • SEBI wants mutual funds to catch front running, insider trading frauds May 20, 2023 04:49 PM IST

    SEBI wants mutual funds to catch front running, insider trading frauds

    In a consultation paper that SEBI issued on May 20, it has proposed setting up of internal surveillance systems in mutual fund houses to catch fraudulent activities. It wants fund houses to be more pro-active

  • Five Sebi proposals may make mutual funds cheaper and more transparent May 21, 2023 06:32 AM IST

    Five Sebi proposals may make mutual funds cheaper and more transparent

    If you don’t make money from your mutual fund scheme, should your fund manager be making any? That’s the idea behind the performance-linked fee, which promises to be a game changer. The challenge will be in its implementation.

  • Commissions to drop if SEBI’s proposal to cut MF expense ratio goes through, say distributors May 22, 2023 08:34 AM IST

    Commissions to drop if SEBI’s proposal to cut MF expense ratio goes through, say distributors

    If the proposal goes through, commissions are expected to fall by 25 to 50 bps. Low commissions may see new entrants change their minds, or become a sub-broker of a large national distributor.

  • Sebi's proposal on TER to curb mis-selling, bring in transparency May 19, 2023 06:34 PM IST

    Sebi's proposal on TER to curb mis-selling, bring in transparency

    TER accounts for the fees and expenses charged by asset management companies (AMCs).

  • Sebi's proposed fee caps could slash AMC profits by Rs 1,400 crore May 19, 2023 03:25 PM IST

    Sebi's proposed fee caps could slash AMC profits by Rs 1,400 crore

    AMCs are already under pressure from changes in taxation for debt mutual funds and the new proposal by the Securities and Exchange Board of India to bring a uniform total expense ratio (TER) will impact profits by 13 percent, or Rs 1,400 crore loss, according to Jefferies report released on May 19.