INTRODUCTION

As you probably know, mutual funds have become extremely popular over the last 20 years. What was once just another obscure financial instrument is now a part of our daily lives. More than 80 million people, or one half of the households in America, invest in mutual funds. That means that, in the United States alone, trillions of dollars are invested in mutual funds.

There are a lot of investment avenues available today in the financial market for an investor with an investable surplus. He can invest in Bank Deposits, Corporate Debentures, and Bonds where there is low risk but low return. He may invest in Stock of companies where the risk is high and the returns are also proportionately high. People began opting for portfolio managers with expertise in stock markets who would invest on their behalf. Thus we had wealth management services provided by many institutions. However they proved too costly for a small investor. These investors have found a good shelter with the mutual funds . Mutual fund industry has seen a lot of changes in past few years with multinational companies coming into the country, bringing in their professional expertise in managing funds worldwide. In the past few months there has been a consolidation phase going on in the mutual fund industry in India. Now investors have a wide range of Schemes to choose from depending on their individual profiles.
In fact, too many people, investing means buying mutual funds. After all, it is common knowledge that investing in mutual funds is (or at least should be) better than simply letting your cash waste away in a savings account, but, for most people, that's where the understanding of funds ends. As you might have guessed, it's not that easy. Mutual funds are an excellent idea in theory, but, in reality, they haven't always delivered

DEFINATION
A mutual fund is nothing more than a collection of stocks and/or bonds. You can think of a mutual fund as a company that brings together a group of people and invests their money in stocks, bonds, and other securities. Each investor owns shares, which represent portion of the holdings of the fund.

Advantages of Mutual Funds

Professional Management The primary advantage of funds is the professional management of your money. Investors purchase funds because they do not have the time or the expertise to manage their own portfolios. A mutual fund is a relatively inexpensive way for a small investor to get a full-time manager to make and monitor investments. Diversification By owning shares in a mutual fund instead of owning individual stocks or bonds, your risk is spread out. The idea behind diversification is to invest in a large number of assets so that a loss in any particular investment is minimized by gains in others. Large mutual funds typically own hundreds of different stocks in many different industries. It wouldn't be possible for an investor to build this kind of a portfolio with a small amount of money. Economies of Scale Because a mutual fund buys and sells large amounts of securities at a time, its transaction costs are lower than what an individual would pay for securities transactions.

Liquidity Just like an individual stock, a mutual fund allows you to request that your shares be converted into cash at any time.

 Simplicity Buying a mutual fund is easy! Pretty well any bank has its own line of mutual funds, and the minimum investment is small. Most companies also have automatic purchase plans whereby as little as $100 can be invested on a monthly basis.

. Affordability
A mutual fund invests in a portfolio of assets, i.e. bonds, shares, etc. depending upon the investment objective of the scheme. An investor can buy in to a portfolio of equities, which would otherwise be extremely expensive. Each unit holder thus gets an exposure to such portfolios with an investment as modest as Rs.500/-. This amount today would get you less than quarter of an Infosys share! Thus it would be affordable for an investor to build a portfolio of investments through a mutual fund rather than investing directly in the stock market.

Disadvantages of Mutual Funds

Professional Management Many investors debate whether or not the professionals are any better than you or I at picking stocks. Management is by no means infallible, and, even if the fund loses money, the manager still gets paid.

Costs Creating, distributing, and running a mutual fund is an expensive proposition. Everything from the managers salary to the investors statements cost money. Those expenses are passed on to the investors. Since fees vary widely from fund to fund, failing to pay attention to the fees can have negative long-term

consequences. Remember, every dollar spend on fees is a dollar that has no opportunity to grow over time. Taxes When a fund manager sells a security, a capital-gains tax is triggered. Investors who are concerned about the impact of taxes need to keep those concerns in mind when investing in mutual funds. Taxes can be mitigated by investing in tax-sensitive funds or by holding non-tax sensitive mutual fund in a tax-deferred account.

Different Types of Funds

No matter what type of investor you are, there is bound to be a mutual fund that fits your style.It's important to understand that each mutual fund has different risks and rewards. In general, the higher the potential return, the higher the risk of loss. Although some funds are less risky than others, all funds have some level of risk - it's never possible to diversify away all risk. This is a fact for all investments. All mutual funds are variations of these three asset classes. For example, while equity funds that invest in fast-growing companies are known as growth funds, equity funds that invest only in companies of the same sector or region are known as specialty funds. Money Market Funds The money market consists of short-term debt instruments, mostly Treasury bills. This is a safe place to park your money. You won't get great returns, but you won't have to worry about losing your principal. A typical return is twice the amount you would earn in a regular checking/savings account and a little less than the average certificate of deposit (CD).

Bond/Income Funds Income funds are named appropriately: their purpose is to provide current income on a steady basis.The fund holdings may appreciate in value, the primary objective of these funds is to provide a steady cash flow to investors. As such, the audience for these funds consists of conservative investors and retirees. Bond funds are likely to pay higher returns than certificates of deposit and money market investments, but bond funds aren't without risk. Because there are many different types of bonds, bond funds can vary dramatically depending on where they invest. For example, a fund specializing in high-yield junk bonds is much more risky than a fund that invests in government securities. Furthermore, nearly all bond funds are subject to interest rate risk, which means that if rates go up the value of the fund goes down.

Balanced Funds
The objective of these funds is to provide a balanced mixture of safety, income and capital appreciation. The strategy of balanced funds is to invest in a combination of fixed income and equities. A typical balanced fund might have a weighting of 60% equity and 40% fixed income. The weighting might also be restricted to a specified maximum or minimum for each asset class. Equity Funds Funds that invest in stocks represent the largest category of mutual funds. Generally, the investment objective of this class of funds is long-term capital growth with some income. There are, however, many different types of equity funds because there are many different types of equities. A great way to understand the universe of equity funds is to use a style box, an example of which is below.

The idea is to classify funds based on both the size of the companies invested in and the investment style of the manager. The term value refers to a style of investing that looks for high quality companies that are out of favor with the market. The opposite of value is growth, which refers to companies that have had (and are expected to continue to have) strong growth in earnings, sales and cash flow.For example, a mutual fund that invests in large-cap companies that are in strong financial shape but have recently seen their share prices fall would be placed in the upper left quadrant of the style box (large and value). The opposite of this would be a fund that invests in startup technology companies with excellent growth prospects. Global/International Funds An international fund (or foreign fund) invests only outside your home country. Global funds invest anywhere around the world, including your home country.

It's tough to classify these funds as either riskier or safer than domestic investments. They do tend to be more volatile and have unique country and/or political risks. But, on the flip side, they can, as part of a well-balanced portfolio, actually reduce risk by increasing diversification. Although the world's economies are becoming more inter-related, it is likely that another economy somewhere is outperforming the economy of your home country. Index Funds The last but certainly not the least important are index funds. This type of mutual fund replicates the performance of a broad

market index such as the S&P 500 or Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). An investor in an index fund figures that most managers can't beat the market. An index fund merely replicates the market return and benefits investors in the form of low fees.

Reasons to Buy a Mutual Fund

1. Mutual Funds offer diversification,the beauty of a mutual fund is that you can buy a mutual fund and obtain instant access to a hundreds of individual stocks or bonds. Otherwise, in order to diversify your portfolio, you might have to buy individual securities, which exposes you to more potential volatility. 2. Mutual Funds are professionally managed many investors dont have the resources or the time to buy individual stocks. Investing in individual securities, such as stocks, not only takes resources, but a considerable amount of time. By contrast, mutual fund managers and analysts wake up each morning dedicating their professional lives to researching and analyzing current and potential holdings for their mutual fund. 3. Mutual Funds come in many varieties a mutual fund comes in many types and styles. There are stock funds, bond funds, sector funds,target-date mutual funds, money market mutual funds and balanced funds. Mutual funds allow you to invest in the market whether you believe in active portfolio management (actively managed funds) or you prefer to buy a segment of the market with no interference from a manager (passive funds andindex mutual funds). The availability of different types of mutual funds allows you to build a diversified portfolio at low cost and without much difficulty. 4. Mutual Funds have low minimums many mutual fund companies allow investors to get started in a mutual fund with as little as $1,000. . 5. Systematic Investing and Withdrawals with Mutual Funds It is simple to invest regularly in a mutual fund. Many mutual fund companies allow investors to invest as little as $50 per

month directly into a mutual fund. Money can be pulled directly from a bank account and invested directly in the mutual fund. On the other hand, money can be regularly withdrawn from a mutual fund and be deposited into a bank account. There are generally no fees for this service. 6. Mutual Funds offer automatic reinvestment an investor can easily and automatically have capital gains and dividends reinvested into their mutual fund without a sales load or extra fees. 7. Mutual Funds offer transparency mutual fund holdings are publicly available (with some delays in reporting), which ensures that investors are getting what they pay for. 8. Mutual Funds Have Audited Track Records A mutual fund company must maintain performance track records for each mutual fund and have them audited for accuracy, which ensures that investors can trust the mutual funds stated returns. 9. Safety of Investing in Mutual Funds If a mutual fund company goes out of business, mutual fund shareholders receive an amount of cash that equals their portion of ownership in the mutual fund. Alternatively, the mutual funds Board of Directors might elect a new investment advisor to manage the mutual fund.

How Do Mutual Funds Interact With the US Economy?

Answer: A good mutual fund reflects how an industry or other sector is doing. For example, a mutual fund that focused on high tech stocks would have done extremely well up until March of 2000, when the tech bubble burst. As investors realized that the high tech companies were not returning profits, they started selling the stocks, and so the mutual funds declined. As the mutual fund/stock prices declined, the high tech companies could not remain capitalized, and many went out of business. In this way, mutual funds and the US economy are inter-related.

Due to the nature of the stock market, upon which mutual funds are based, mutual fund values will change on a daily basis...sometimes radically. The economy is much slower moving, so that wide variations in a fund do not necessarily mean that sector is gyrating as much. However, if a mutual fund price declines over time, then it is a good bet that the sector it tracks is also growing more slowly.

RISK FACTORS OF MUTUAL FUNDS

The most important relationship to understand is the risk-return trade-off. Higher the risk greater the returns/loss and lower the risk lesser the returns/loss. Hence it is up to you, the investor to decide how much risk you are willing to take. In order to do this you must first be aware of the different types of risks involved with your investment decision. Market Risk: Sometimes prices and yields of all securities rise and fall. Broad outside influences affecting the market in general lead to this. This is true, may it be big corporations or smaller mid-sized companies. This is known as Market Risk. A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) that works on the concept of Rupee Cost Averaging (RCA) might help mitigate this risk. Credit Risk: The debt servicing ability (may it be interest payments or repayment of principal) of a company through its cashflows determines the Credit Risk faced by you. This credit risk is measured by independent rating agencies like CRISIL who rate companies and their paper. A AAA rating is considered the safest whereas a D rating is considered poor credit quality. Inflation Risk: Inflation is the loss of purchasing power over time. A lot of times people make conservative investment decisions to protect their capital but end up with a sum of money that can buy less than what the principal could at the time of the investment. This happens when inflation grows faster than the return on your investment. A well-diversified portfolio with some investment in

equities

might

help

mitigate

this

risk.

Interest Rate Risk: In a free market economy interest rates are difficult if not impossible to predict. Changes in interest rates affect the prices of bonds as well as equities. If interest rates rise the prices of bonds fall and vice versa. Equity might be negatively affected as well in a rising interest rate environment. Political/Government Policy Risk: Changes in government policy and political decision can change the investment environment. They can create a favorable environment for investment or vice versa. Liquidity Risk: Liquidity risk arises when it becomes difficult to sell the securities that one has purchased. Liquidity Risk can be partly mitigated by diversification, staggering of maturities as well as internal risk controls that lean towards purchase of liquid securities.

Options in Mutual Funds

Various investment options in Mutual Funds offer to cater to different investment needs, Mutual Funds offer various investment options. Some of the important investment options include: Growth Option: Dividend is not paid-out under a Growth Option and the investor realises only the capital appreciation on the investment (by an increase in NAV). Dividend Payout Option: Dividends are paid-out to investors under the Dividend Payout Option. However, the NAV of the mutual fund scheme falls to the extent of the dividend payout. Dividend Re-investment Option: Here the dividend accrued on mutual funds is automatically re-

invested in purchasing additional units in open-ended funds. In most cases mutual funds offer the investor an option of collecting dividends or re-investing the same. Retirement Pension Option: Some schemes are linked with retirement pension. Individuals participate in these options for themselves, and corporates participate for their employees. Insurance Option: Certain Mutual Funds offer schemes that provide insurance cover to investors as an added benefit. Systematic Investment Plan (SIP): Here the investor is given the option of preparing a predetermined number of post-dated cheques in favour of the fund. The investor is allotted units on a predetermined date specified in the offer document at the applicable NAV. Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP): As opposed to the Systematic Investment Plan, the Systematic Withdrawal Plan allows the investor the facility to withdraw a pre-determined amount / units from his fund at a predetermined interval. The investor's units will be redeemed at the applicable NAV as on that day. Future of Mutual Funds in India By December 2004, Indian mutual fund industry reached Rs 1,50,537 crore. It is estimated that by 2010 March-end, the total assets of all scheduled commercial banks should be Rs 40,90,000 crore. The annual composite rate of growth is expected 13.4% during the rest of the decade. In the last 5 years we have seen annual growth rate of 9%. According to the current growth rate, by year 2010, mutual fund assets will be double.

MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA

There are a lot of investment avenues available today in the financial market for an investor with an investable surplus. He can invest in Bank Deposits, Corporate Debentures, and Bonds

where there is low risk but low return. He may invest in Stock of companies where the risk is high and the returns are also proportionately high. The recent trends in the Stock Market have shown that an average retail investor always lost with periodic bearish tends. People began opting for portfolio managers with expertise in stock markets who would invest on their behalf. Thus we had wealth management services provided by many institutions. However they proved too costly for a small investor. These investors have found a good shelter with the mutual funds. Mutual fund industry has seen a lot of changes in past few years with multinational companies coming into the country, bringing in their professional expertise in managing funds worldwide. In the past few months there has been a consolidation phase going on in the mutual fund industry in India. Now investors have a wide range of Schemes to choose from depending on their individual profiles.

GROWTH OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA

The securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) came out with comprehensive regulation in 1993 which defined the structure of Mutual Fund and Asset Management Companies for the first time. Several private sectors Mutual Funds were launched in 1993 and 1994. The share of the private players has risen rapidly since then. Currently there are 34 Mutual Fund organizations in India managing 1,02,000 crores.

Other Types of Investment Companies

Legally known as an "open-end company," a mutual fund is one of three basic types of investment companies. While this brochure discusses only mutual funds, you should be aware that other pooled investment vehicles exist and may offer features that you desire. The two other basic types of investment companies are: Closed-end funds which, unlike mutual funds, sell a fixed

number of shares at one time (in an initial public offering) that later trade on a secondary market; and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) which make a one-time public offering of only a specific, fixed number of redeemable securities called "units" and which will terminate and dissolve on a date specified at the creation of the UIT. "Exchange-traded funds" (ETFs) are a type of investment company that aims to achieve the same return as a particular market index. They can be either open-end companies or UITs. But ETFs are not considered to be, and are not permitted to call themselves, mutual funds. Some of the traditional, distinguishing characteristics of mutual funds include the following: Investors purchase mutual fund shares from the fund itself (or through a broker for the fund) instead of from other investors on a secondary market, such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Stock Market. The price that investors pay for mutual fund shares is the fund's per share net asset value (NAV) plus any shareholder fees that the fund imposes at the time of purchase (such as sales loads). Mutual fund shares are "redeemable," meaning investors can sell their shares back to the fund (or to a broker acting for the fund). Mutual funds generally create and sell new shares to accommodate new investors. In other words, they sell their shares on a continuous basis, although some funds stop selling when, for example, they become too large. A Word About Hedge Funds and "Funds of Hedge Funds" "Hedge fund" is a general, non-legal term used to describe private, unregistered investment pools that traditionally have been limited to sophisticated, wealthy investors. Hedge funds are not mutual funds and, as such, are not subject to the numerous

regulations that apply to mutual funds for the protection of investors including regulations requiring a certain degree of liquidity, regulations requiring that mutual fund shares be redeemable at any time, regulations protecting against conflicts of interest, regulations to assure fairness in the pricing of fund shares, disclosure regulations, regulations limiting the use of leverage, and more. "Funds of hedge funds," a relatively new type of investment product, are investment companies that invest in hedge funds. Like hedge funds, funds of hedge funds are not mutual funds. Unlike open-end mutual funds, funds of hedge funds offer very limited rights of redemption. And, unlike ETFs, their shares are not typically listed on an exchange. You'll find more information about hedge funds on our website. To learn more about funds of hedge funds, please read NASD's Investor Alert entitled Funds of Hedge Funds: Higher Costs and Risks for Higher Potential Returns.

How to Buy and Sell Shares

You can purchase shares in some mutual funds by contacting the fund directly. Other mutual fund shares are sold mainly through brokers, banks, financial planners, or insurance agents. All mutual funds will redeem (buy back) your shares on any business day and must send you the payment within seven days. The easiest way to determine the value of your shares is to call the fund's toll-free number or visit its website. The financial pages of major newspapers sometimes print the NAVs for various mutual funds. When you buy shares, you pay the current NAV per share plus any fee the fund assesses at the time of purchase, such as a purchase sales load or other type of purchase fee. When you sell your shares, the fund will pay you the NAV minus any fee the fund assesses at the time of redemption, such as a deferred (or back-end) sales load or redemption fee. A fund's NAV goes up or down daily as its holdings change in value. Exchanging Shares A "family of funds" is a group of mutual funds that share

administrative and distribution systems. Each fund in a family may have different investment objectives and follow different strategies. Some funds offer exchange privileges within a family of funds, allowing shareholders to transfer their holdings from one fund to another as their investment goals or tolerance for risk change. While some funds impose fees for exchanges, most funds typically do not. To learn more about a fund's exchange policies, call the fund's toll-free number, visit its website, or read the "shareholder information" section of the prospectus.

How Funds Can Earn Money for You

You can earn money from your investment in three ways: Dividend Payments A fund may earn income in the form of dividends and interest on the securities in its portfolio. The fund then pays its shareholders nearly all of the income (minus disclosed expenses) it has earned in the form of dividends. Capital Gains Distributions The price of the securities a fund owns may increase. When a fund sells a security that has increased in price, the fund has a capital gain. At the end of the year, most funds distribute these capital gains (minus any capital losses) to investors. Increased NAV If the market value of a fund's portfolio increases after deduction of expenses and liabilities, then the value (NAV) of the fund and its shares increases. The higher NAV reflects the higher value of your investment. With respect to dividend payments and capital gains distributions, funds usually will give you a choice: the fund can send you a check or other form of payment, or you can have your dividends or distributions reinvested in the fund to buy more shares (often without paying an additional sales load). Factors to Consider- Thinking about your long-term investment strategies and tolerance for risk can help you decide what type of fund is best suited for you. But you should also consider the effect that fees and taxes will have on your returns over time. Degrees of Risk -All funds carry some level of risk. You may lose

some or all of the money you invest your principal because the securities held by a fund go up and down in value. Dividend or interest payments may also fluctuate as market conditions change. Before you invest, be sure to read a fund's prospectus and shareholder reports to learn about its investment strategy and the potential risks. Funds with higher rates of return may take risks that are beyond your comfort level and are inconsistent with your financial goals. A Word About Derivatives Derivatives are financial instruments whose performance is derived, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset, security, or index. Even small market movements can dramatically affect their value, sometimes in unpredictable ways. There are many types of derivatives with many different uses. A fund's prospectus will disclose whether and how it may use derivatives. You may also want to call a fund and ask how it uses these instruments. Fees and Expenses -As with any business, running a mutual fund involves costs including shareholder transaction costs, investment advisory fees, and marketing and distribution expenses. Funds pass along these costs to investors by imposing fees and expenses. It is important that you understand these charges because they lower your returns. Some funds impose "shareholder fees" directly on investors whenever they buy or sell shares. In addition, every fund has regular, recurring, fund-wide "operating expenses." Funds typically pay their operating expenses out of fund assets which means that investors indirectly pay these costs. Shareholder Fees -Sales Charge (Load) on Purchases the amount you pay when you buy shares in a mutual fund. Also known as a "front-end load," this fee typically goes to the brokers

that sell the fund's shares. Front-end loads reduce the amount of your investment Purchase Fee another type of fee that some funds charge their shareholders when they buy shares. Unlike a front-end sales load, a purchase fee is paid to the fund (not to a broker) and is typically imposed to defray some of the fund's costs associated with the purchase. Deferred Sales Charge (Load) a fee you pay when you sell your shares. Also known as a "back-end load," this fee typically goes to the brokers that sell the fund's shares. The most common type of back-end sales load is the "contingent deferred sales load" (also known as a "CDSC" or "CDSL"). The amount of this type of load will depend on how long the investor holds his or her shares and typically decreases to zero if the investor holds his or her shares long enough. Redemption Fee another type of fee that some funds charge their shareholders when they sell or redeem shares. Unlike a deferred sales load, a redemption fee is paid to the fund (not to a broker) and is typically used to defray fund costs associated with a shareholder's redemption. Exchange Fee a fee that some funds impose on shareholders if they exchange (transfer) to another fund within the same fund group or "family of funds." Account fee a fee that some funds separately impose on investors in connection with the maintenance of their accounts. For example, some funds impose an account maintenance fee on accounts whose value is less than a certain dollar amount. Management Fees fees that are paid out of fund assets to the fund's investment adviser for investment portfolio management, any other management fees payable to the fund's investment adviser or its affiliates, and administrative fees payable to the investment adviser that are not included in the "Other Expenses".

Mutual Funds: Conclusion

A mutual fund brings together a group of people and invests their money in stocks, bonds, and other securities. The advantages of mutual funds are professional management, diversification, economics of scale, simplicity and liquidity. The disadvantages of mutual funds are high costs, overdiversification, possible tax consequences, and the inability of management to guarantee a superior return. There are many, many types of mutual funds. You can classify funds based on asset class, investing strategy, region, etc. Mutual funds have lots of costs. Costs can be broken down into ongoing fees (represented by the expense ratio) and transaction fees (loads). The biggest problems with mutual funds are their costs and fees. Mutual funds are easy to buy and sell. You can either buy them directly from the fund company or through a third party. Mutual fund ads can be very deceiving.