RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT

“A study of investors pattern towards mutual fund”

MASTER OF BUSINESSS ADMINISTRATION

Dr. ABDUL KALAM Technical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr. Akhil Agnihothri NEELESH SINGH
PROFESSOR 2300970700102
MBA 4th sem

Galgotias College of Engineering & Technology

knowledge park-II, Greater Noida,

Dr. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow, Uttar

Pradesh

1
 DECLARATION
I declare that the work presented for assessment in this Research
Project Report “A study of investors pattern towards mutual
fund”
is my original work, that it has not previously been presented
for any other assessment and that my debts (for words, data,
arguments and ideas) have been appropriately acknowledged.

Date:…………….
NAME: Neelesh Singh
ROLL NO.: 2300970700102

2
 GALGOTIAS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
&TECHNOLOGY GREATER NOIDA

CERTIFICATE
Certify that Neelesh Singh bearing roll no. 2300970700102 of
DR. APJABDUL KALAM TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY is a
Bonafide student of MBA 4th semester (2024-2025) at
Galgotia’s College of Engineering & Technology, Greater
Noida. He undertook final project titled “A study of investors

pattern towards mutual fund” with special reference to under

the supervision and guidance of departmental faculty DR. Akhil
Agnihotri (HOD) of Galgotias College of Engineering &
Technology in the partial fulfilment of the requirement of MBA
program.

Dr. Akhil Agnihotri

HOD

3
 GALGOTIAS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
&TECHNOLOGY GREATER NOIDA

CERTIFICATE
Certify that Neelesh Singh bearing roll no. 2300970700102 of
DR. APJABDUL KALAM TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY is a
Bonafide student of MBA 4th semester (2024-2025) at
Galgotia’s College of Engineering & Technology, Greater
Noida. He undertook final project titled “A study of investors

pattern towards mutual fund” with special reference to under

the supervision and guidance of departmental faculty guide Dr.
Kritika Gupta of Galgotias College of Engineering &
Technology in the partial fulfilment of the requirement of MBA
program.

Dr. Akhil Agnihotri

Faculty Supervisor

4
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Words put on paper are mere the ink marks, but when they have
purpose there exist a thought behind them. I too have a purpose
to express my gratitude towards the individuals without whose
guidance the project would not have been possible. In this
project research report I am trying to understand the satisfaction
level of customer towards the real estate company or any
developers. And which kind of expectations customers want
through his developers of the any kind of project.
I would also like to show my gratitude and thanks towards my
faculty member DR. Akhil Agnihotri and also thanks to my
mentor Dr. Akhil Agnihotri for being a great mentor and to
guide me in every possible way.

NAME: Neelesh Singh

5
 TABLE OF THE CONTENT

PAGE
S.NO CHAPTER
NO.

1 INTRODUCTION 5

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 10

3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 13

4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15

MUTUAL FUND : HISTORY, TYPES, USE & REGULATORY

5 FRAMEWORK
17

6 ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 58

RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
7 72

8 LIMITATIONS 75

9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 81

10 REFERENACES 80

11 83
ANNEXURES

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

7
OBJECTIVE:
The basic purpose is to know about the Mutual Fund Industry and to know the
behavior of the Indian Investors regarding different investment tools.

This project will provide me the better platform to understand the

History, Growth and various other aspects of Mutual Fund. It will also
help me to understand the behavior of Indian investor regarding
different investment tools.

SEBI is the apex regulatory of capital markets. SEBI has enacted the SEBI (mutual
fund) Regulations, 1996, which provides the scope of the regulation of the mutual
fund in India. All Mutual funds are required to be mandatory registered with SEBI.
The structure and formation of mutual funds, appointment of key functionaries,
operation of the mutual funds, accounting and disclosure norms, rights and
obligations of functionaries and investors, investment restrictions ,compliance and
penalties are all defined under the SEBI regulations. Mutual funds have to send half
yearly compliance reports to SEBI, and provide all information about their operations

The term investment plans generally refers to the services that the
funds provide to investors offering different ways to invest or invest.
The different investment plans are important considerations in the
investment decisions because they determine the level of flexibility
available to the investors. Alternate investment plans offered by the
fund allow the investor freedom with respect to investing at one time
or at regular intervals, making transfers to different schemes within the
same fund family or receiving income at specified intervals or
accumulating

8
A mutual fund is a pool of money, collected from investors, and is invested according
to certain investment options. A mutual fund is a trust that pools the savings of a
number of investors who share a common financial goal. A mutual fund is created
when investors put their money together. It is therefore a pool of the investor’s funds.
The money thus collected is then invested in capital market instruments such as
shares, debentures and other securities. The income earned through these investments
and the capital appreciations realized are shared by its unit holders in proportion to the
number of units owned by them.

The most important characteristics of a fund are that the contributors and the
beneficiaries of the fund are the same class of people, namely the investors. The term
mutual fund means the investors contribute to the pool, and also benefit from the pool.
There are no other claimants to the funds. The pool of funds held mutually by
investors is the mutual fund.

A mutual funds business is to invest the funds thus collected according to the wishes
of the investors who created the pool. Usually, the investors appoint professional
investment managers, to manage their funds. The same objective is achieved when
professional investment managers create a product and offer it for investment to the
investor. This product represents a share in the pool, and pre states investment
objectives. Thus a mutual fund is the most suitable investment for the common man
as it offers an opportunity to invest in a diversified, professionally managed basket of
securities at a relatively low cost.
Investors in the mutual fund industry today have a choice of 39 mutual funds, offering
nearly 500 products. Though the categories of product offered can be classified under
about a dozen generic heads, competition in the industry has led to innovative
alterations to standard products. The most important benefit of product choice is that
it enables investors to choose options that suit their return requirements and risk
appetite.

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Features that investors like in mutual fund
If mutual funds are emerging as the favorite investment vehicle, it is
because of the many advantages they have over other forms and
avenues of investing, particularly for the investor who has limited
resources available in terms of capital and ability to carry out detailed
research and market monitoring. The following are the major
advantages offered by mutual funds to all investors.

 Portfolio diversification : Mutual Funds normally invest in a

well-diversified portfolio or securities. Each inves tor in a fund is
a part owner of all of the fund’s assets. This enables him to hold
a diversified investment portfolio even with a small amount of
investment that would otherwise require big capital.

 Professional management ; Even if an investor has a big amount

of capital available to him, he lacks the professional attitude that
is generally present in the experienced fund manager who
ensures a much better return than what an investor can manage
on his own. Few investors have the skills and resources of the ir
own to succeed in today’ s fast moving, global and sophisticated
markets.

 Reduction/ diversification of risk : An investor in a mutual fund

acquires a diversified portfolio, no matter how small his
investment. Diversification reduces the risk of loss, as compared
to investing directly in one or two shares or debentures or other

Instruments. When an investor invests directly, all the risk of

potential loss is his own. A fund investor also reduces his risk in

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Automatic Reinvestment Plans (ARP)
In India, many funds offer two options under the same scheme the dividend option
and the growth option. The dividend option or the Automatic Reinvestment Plans
(ARP) allows the investor to reinvest in additional units the amount of dividends or
other distribution made by the fund, instead of receiving them in cash. Reinvestment
takes place at the ex-dividend NAV. The ARP ensures that the investors reap the
benefit of compounding in his investments. Some funds allow reinvestments into
other schemes in the fund family.

Automatic Investment Plans (AIP)

These require the investor to invest a fixed sum periodically, there by letting the
investor save in a disciplined and phased manner. The mode of investment could be
through debit to the investor’s salary or bank account. Such plans are also known as
the Systematic Investment Plans. But mutual funds do not offer this facility on all the
schemes. Typically they restrict it to their plain vanilla schemes like diversified equity
funds,

Income funds and balanced funds. SIP works best in equity funds. It enforces saving
discipline and helps you profit from market volatility- you buy more units when the
market is down and fewer when the market is up.

11
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

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 LITERATURE REVIEW
Fund is different from the normal balance sheet of a bank or a

company. All of the fund’ s assets belong to the investors and are held

in the fiduciary capacity for them. Mutual fund employees need to be

aware of the special requirements concerning accounting f or the fund’s

assets, liabilities and transactions with investors and the outsiders l ike

banks, securities custodians and registrars. This knowledge will help

them better understand their responsibilities and their place in the

organization, by getting an overview of the functioning of the fund.

Even the mutual fund agents need to understand the accounting for the

fund’ s transaction with investors and how the fund accounts for i ts

assets and liabilities, as the knowledge is essential for them to perform

their basic role in explaining the mutual fund performance to the

investor. For example, unless the agent knows how the NAV is

computed, he cannot use even simple measures such as NAV change to

assess the fund performance. He also should understand the impact of

dividends paid out by the fund or entry/ exit loads paid by the investor

on the calculation of the NAV and therefore the fund performance.

The mutual funds in India are required to follow the accounting

policies as laid down by the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations 1996 and

the amendments in 1998. Company form. In which investors hold shares of the

mutual fund. In this structure management of the fund in the hands of an elected

board, this in turn appoints investment managers to manage the fund. Trust from, in

which the investors are held by the trust, on behalf of the investors. The appoints

investment managers monitors their functioning in the interest of the investors.

13
The company form of organization is very popular in the United States. In India

mutual funds are organized as trusts. The trust is created by the sponsors who is

actually the entity interested in creating the mutual fund business. The trust is either

managed by a Board of trustees or by a trustee company, formed for this purpose. The

investors’ funds are held by the trust.

Though the trust is the mutual fund, the AMC is its operational face. The AMC is the

first functionary to be appointed, and is involved in the appointment of all the other

functionaries. The AMC structures the mutual fund products, markets them and

mobilizes the funds and services the investors. It seeks the services of the

functionaries in carrying

Out these functions. All the functionaries are red

14
 CHAPTER 3
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

15
 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
My main and important objective of that study is I am more interested in mutual
funds investments. I give more safety to its investors. Here are many more objectives
of my study given as under-

1. To know the investors behavior.

2. To know about the literacy on mutual fund in India.

3. To Interest of the investors.

4. To Different occupation investor’s knowledge.

5. To Purpose of the investors for investing in the mutual funds.

6. To knen the investment duration of investment in Mutual Funds etc

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 CHAPTER 4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

17
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE

Sampling Method

Universe: banks and brokers in North Delhi

Sampling unit

General public and the financial analyst in Banks and Brokerage Firms.

Sample Size-

40

Basis of sampling

Convenient sampling and judgmental sampling

Methodology:

 Primary Data: - Personal interaction with the respondents.

 Secondary Data: - Information through websites, books, fact

sheets of various fund houses etc.

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 CHAPTER 5

HISTORY, TYPES, USE AND

REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK

19
 FREQUENTLY USED TERMS

Net Asset Value (NAV)

Net Asset Value is the market value of the assets of the scheme minus its liabilities.
The per unit NAV is the net asset value of the scheme divided by the number of units
outstanding on the Valuation Date.

Sale Price
It is the price you pay when you invest in a scheme. It is also called Offer Price. It
may include a sales load.

Repurchase Price
It is the price at which a close- ended scheme repurchases its units and it may include
a back – end load. This is also known as Bid price.

Redemption Price
It is the price at which open- ended schemes repurchase their units and close – ended
schemes redeem their units on maturity. Their prices are NAV related.

Sales Load
It is a charge collected by a scheme when it sells the units. It is also known as Front
End Load. Schemes that do not charge a load are called No Load schemes.

Repurchase or Back – End Load

It is a charge collected by a scheme when it buys back the units from the unit –
holders.

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 USES OF MUTUAL FUNDS
1. We Add Value Through Active Management.
2. Mutual funds give us access to a variety of the world’s best managers.
3. Mutual funds allow us to achieve better diversification for our clients.
4. Mutual funds allow us access to great managers at reasonable minimums.
5. Mutual funds are highly liquid and can be traded quickly and efficiently
6. Mutual funds make excellent managers available at a reasonable cost.
7. Mutual funds provide the opportunity for solid investment performance.
8. The quantity and quality of analytical material on mutual funds is excellent.

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 INTERNATIONAL HISTORY OF MUTUAL
FUNDS

When three Boston securities executives pooled their money together in 1924 to create
the first mutual fund, they had no idea how popular mutual funds would become. The
idea of pooling money together for investing purposes started in Europe in the mid
188s. The first pooled fund in the U.S. was created in 1893 for the faculty and staff of
Harvard University. On March 21st, 1924 the first official mutual fund was born. It
was called Massachusetts Investors Trust.

After one year, the Massachusetts Investors Trust grew $50000 in assets in 1924 to
$392,000 in assets (with around 200 shareholders). In contrast, there are over 10,000
mutual funds in the U.S. today totaling around $7 trillion (with approximately 83
million individual investors) according to the Investment Company Institute.

The stock market crash of 1929 slowed the growth of mutual funds. In response to the
stock market crash, Congress passed the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These laws require that a fund be registered with the SEC and
provide prospective investors with a prospectus. The SEC (U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission) helped create the Investment Company Act of 1940 which
provides the guidelines that all funds must comply with today.

With renewed confidence in the stock market, mutual funds began to blossom. By the end
of the 1960s there were around 270 funds with $48 billion in assets.

In 1976, John C. Boggle opened the first the first retail index fund called the “First Index
Investment Trust”. It is now called the Vanguard 500 Index Fund and in November
2000 it became the largest mutual fund growth was Individual Retirement Account
(IRA) provisions made in 1981, allowing individuals (including those already in
corporate pension plans ) to contribute $2,000 a year. Mutual funds are now popular
known for ease of use, liquidity and unique diversification capabilities.

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History of the Indian Mutual Fund Industry

The mutual fund industry in India started in1963 with the formation of Unit Trust of
India, at the initiative of the government of India and Reserve Bank. The history of
mutual funds in India can be broadly divided into four distinct phases:

First Phase: - 1964 – 1987

Unit Trust of India (UTI) was established on 1963 by an Act of Parliament. It was set
up by the Reserve Bank of India and functioned under the regulatory and
administrative control of the Reserve Bank of India. In 1978 UTI was de-linked from
the RBI and the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) took over the
regulatory and administrative control in place of RBI. The first scheme launched by
UTI was Unit Scheme 1964. At the end of 1988 UTI had Rs.6700 cores of assets
under management.

Second Phase: - 1987 – 1993 (Entry of Public Sector Funds)

1987marked the entry of non-UTI, public sector mutual funds set by public sector
banks and life Insurance corporation of India (LIC) and General Insurance
Corporation of India (GIC). SBI Mutual funds was the first non-UTI Mutual fund
established in June 1987 followed by Can bank Mutual Fund ( Dec 87 ) , Punjab
National Bank Mutual Fund ( Aug 89 ), Indian Bank Mutual Fund ( Nov 89 , Bank
Of India ( Jun90),Bank Of Baroda
Mutual Fund (Oct92), LIC established it’s Mutual Fund in June 1989 while GIC had
set up its mutual fund in December 1990. At the end of 1993, the mutual fund
industry had assets under management of Rs. 47,004crores.

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Third Phase – 1993-2003 (Entry of Private Sector Funds)

With the entry of private sector funds in 1993, a new era started in the Indian mutual
fund industry, giving the Indian investors a wider choice of fund families. Also ,1993
was the year in which the first Mutual Fund Regulations came into being , under
which all mutual funds , except UTI were to be registered and governed. The
erstwhile Kothari Pioneer (now merged with Franklin Templeton) was the private
sector mutual fund registered in July 1993.

The 1993 SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations were substituted by a more

comprehensive and revised Mutual Fund Regulations in 1996. The Industry now
functions under the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulation 1996.

The number of mutual fund houses went on increasing, with many foreign mutual
Funds setting up funds in India and also the industry have witnessed several mergers
and acquisitions. As at the end of January 2003, there were 33 mutual funds with total
assets of Rs.1, 21,805 cores. The Unit Trust of India with Rs .44, 541 cores of assets
under management were way ahead of other mutual funds.

Fourth Phase – since February 2003

In February 2003, following the repeal of the Unit Trust of India Act 1963 UTI was
bifurcated into two separate entities. One is the specified Undertaking of the Unit
Trust of India with assets under management of Rs 29,835 cores as at the end of
January 2003, representing broadly , the assets of US 64 scheme, assured return and
certain other
Schemes. The specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India, functioning under
administrators and under the rules framed by Government of India and does not come
under the purview of the Mutual Fund Regulations.

The second is the UTI Mutual Fund Ltd, sponsored by SBI, BOB, and LIC. It is
registered with SEBI and functions under the Mutual Fund Regulations. With the
bifurcation of the erstwhile UTI which had in March 2000 more than Rs.76, 000 cores

24
Of assets under management and with the setting up of a UTI Mutual Fund,
conforming to the SEBI Mutual Fund Regulations, and with recent mergers taking
place among different private sector funds, the mutual fund industry has entered its
current phase of consolidation and growth. As per the numbers released by the
Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), AUM as at the end of March stood at Rs 2,
95,286 cores as against AUM of Rs 3, 52,686 cores as at the end of February.

REGULATORY STRUCTURE OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA

The structure of mutual fund in India is governed by the SEBI Regulations, 1996.
These regulations make it mandatory for mutual funds to have a three-tier structure
SPONSER –TRUSTEE-ASSET MANAGEMENT COMPANY (AMC). The sponsor
is the promoters of the mutual fund and appoints the AMC for managing the
investment portfolio. The AMC is the business face of the mutual fund. As its
manages all the affairs of the mutual fund. The mutual fund and the AMC have to be
registered with SEBI.

Mutual Funds can be structured in the following ways:

Company form. In which investors hold shares of the mutual fund. In this structure
management of the fund in the hands of an elected board, this in turn appoints
investment managers to manage the fund. Trust from, in which the investors are held
by the trust, on behalf of the investors. The appoints investment managers monitors
their functioning in the interest of the investors.

The company form of organization is very popular in the United States. In India
mutual funds are organized as trusts. The trust is created by the sponsors who is
actually the entity interested in creating the mutual fund business. The trust is either
managed by a Board of trustees or by a trustee company, formed for this purpose. The
investors’ funds are held by the trust.

25
Though the trust is the mutual fund, the AMC is its operational face. The AMC is the
first functionary to be appointed, and is involved in the appointment of all the other
functionaries. The AMC structures the mutual fund products, markets them and
mobilizes the funds and services the investors. It seeks the services of the
functionaries in carrying
Out these functions. All the functionaries are required to the trustees, who lay down
the ground rules and monitor them, working.

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 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

Regulatory jurisdiction of SEBI:

SEBI is the apex regulatory of capital markets. SEBI has enacted the SEBI (mutual
fund) Regulations, 1996, which provides the scope of the regulation of the mutual
fund in India. All Mutual funds are required to be mandatory registered with SEBI.
The structure and formation of mutual funds, appointment of key functionaries,
operation of the mutual funds, accounting and disclosure norms, rights and
obligations of functionaries and investors, investment restrictions ,compliance and
penalties are all defined under the SEBI regulations. Mutual funds have to send half
yearly compliance reports to SEBI, and provide all information about their operations.

Regulatory jurisdiction of RBI:

RBI is the monetary authority of the country and is also the regulatory of the banking
system. Earlier bank sponsored mutual funds were under the dual regulatory control
of RBI and SEBI. These provisions are no longer in vogue. SEBI is the regulator of
all mutual funds. The present position is that the RBI is involved with the mutual fund
industry, only to the limited extent of being the regulator of the sponsors of bank
sponsored mutual funds.

Role of Ministry of Finance in Mutual Fund:

The Finance Ministry is the supervisor of both the RBI and SEBI. The Ministry Of
Finance is also the appellate authority under SEBI Regulations. Aggrieved parties can
make appeals to the Ministry of Finance on the SEBI rulings relating to the mutual
fund.

Role of Companies Act in Mutual Fund:

The AMC and the Trustee Company may be structured as limited companies, which
may come under the regulatory purview of the Company Law Board (CLB).The
provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 is applicable to these company forms of
organizations. The Company Law Board is the apex regulatory authority for

27
companies. Any grievance against the AMC or the trustee company can be addressed
to the Company Law Board for redresses.

Role of Stock Exchanges:

If a mutual fund is listed its schemes on stock exchanges, such listings are subject to
the listing regulation of stock exchanges. Mutual funds have to sign the listing
agreement and abide by its provisions, which primarily deal with periodic
notifications and disclosure of information that may impact the trading of listed units.

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LEGAL STRUCTURE
Mutual funds have a unique structure not shared with other entities such as companies
or the firms. It is important for employees and agents to be aware of the special nature
of this structure ,because it determines the rights and the responsibilities of the fund’s
constitutes viz. sponsor, trustees, custodian, transfer agents and of course the fund and
the AMC.The legal structure also drives the inter relationship between these
constituents.
Like other countries, India has a legal framework within which mutual funds must be
constituted along one unique structure as unit trust. A mutual fund in India is allowed
to issue open ended and a close ended under a common legal structure. Therefore, a
mutual fund may have a several different scheme under it at any point of time.

The Fund Sponsor

“Sponsor” is defined by the SEBI regulations as any person who acting alone or in
combination with another body corporate establishes a mutual fund. The sponsor of a
fund is akin to the promoter of the company as he gets the fund registered with the
SEBI.

The sponsor will form a trust and appoint the Board of Trustees. The sponsor will also
generally appoint the AMC as the fund managers. The sponsor, either directly or
acting through the trustees will also appoint a Custodian to hold the fund assets. All
these appointments are made in accordance with the guidelines of the SEBI.

As per the existing SEBI regulations, for a person to qualify as the sponsor, he must
contribute at least 40% of the net worth of the AMC and posses a sound financial
track record over a period of five years prior to the registration.

29
 Mutual Funds as Trusts
A mutual fund is constituted in the form of a Public Trust created under the Indian
Trusts Act, 1882. The fund sponsor acts as the settlers of the trust, contributing to its
initial capital and appoints a Trustee to hold the assets of the Trust for the benefit of
the unit holders, who are the beneficiaries of the trust .The fund then invites investors
to contribute their money in the common pool, by subscribing to “units” issued by
various schemes established by the trust, units being the evidence of their beneficial
interest in the fund.

Trustees
The trust – the mutual fund may be managed by a board of Trustees- a body of the
individuals, or a trust company- a corporate body. Most of the funds in India are
managed by the Board of Trustees. While the Board is governed by the provisions of
the Indian Trust act, where the Trustee is a corporate body, it would also be required
to comply the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, the Board as an independent
body, act as the protector of the interest of the unit holders. The Trustees do not
directly manage the portfolio of the securities. For this specialist function, they
appoint AMC. They ensure that the fund is managed by the AMC as per the defined
objective and in accordance with the trust deed and the regulations of the SEBI.

The trust is created through a document called the Trust Deed that is executed by the
fund sponsor in the favor of the trustees. The Trust Deed is required to be stamped as
registered under the provisions of the Indian Registration Act and registered with
SEBI. Clauses in the Trust Deed, inter alias, deal with the establishment of the Trust,
the appointment of the trustees, their powers and duties and the obligations of the
trustees
Towards the unit holders and the AMC. These clauses also specify activities that the
fund / AMC cannot undertake. The third schedule of the SEBI (MF) Regulations,
1996 specifies the contents of the Trust Deed.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF MUTUAL FUND SCHEMES
Any mutual fund has an objective of earning objective income for the investors and /
or getting increased value of their investments. To achieve these objectives mutual
funds adopt different strategies and accordingly offer different schemes of
investments. On these bases the simplest way to categorize schemes would be to
group these into two broad classifications:
 Operational Classification
 Portfolio Classification.

Operational Classification highlights the two main types of schemes, i.e. open ended
and close ended which are offered by the mutual funds.
Portfolio classification projects the combination of investment instruments and
investment avenues available to mutual funds to manage their funds. Any portfolio
scheme can be either open ended or close ended.

Operational Classification
(A) Open ended schemes: As the name implies the size of the scheme (fund) is open
i.e. Not specified or pre determined. Entry to the fund is always open to the investor
who can subscribe at any time. Such fund stands ready to buy or sell its securities at any
time. It implies that the capitalization of the fund is constantly changing as investors sell
or buy their shares. Further the shares or units are normally not traded on the stock
exchange but are repurchased by the fund at announced rates. Open ended schemes have
comparatively better liquidity despite the fact that these are not listed. The reason is that
investor can at any time approach mutual funds for sale of such units. No intermediaries
are required.Morever; the realizable amount is certain since repurchase is at a price based
on declared net asset value (NAV). No minute to minute fluctuations in rate haunts the
investors. The portfolio mix of such schemes has to be investments, which are actively
traded in the market. Otherwise, it will not be possible to calculate NAV. This is the
reason that generally open – ended schemes are equity based. Moreover , desiring
frequently traded securities, open –ended schemes are hardly have in their portfolio
shares of comparatively new and smaller companies since these are not generally not
traded. In such funds, option to reinvest its dividend is also available. Since there is
always a possibility of withdrawals, the management of such funds becomes more tedious

31
as managers have to work from crisis to crisis. Crisis may be on two fronts; one is that
unexpected withdrawals require funds to maintain a high level of cash available every
time implying thereby idle cash. Fund managers have to face question like “what to sell”.
He could very well have to sell his most liquid assets. Second, by virtue of this situation
such funds may fail to grab favorable opportunities. Further to match quick cash
payments, funds cannot have matching realization from their portfolio due to intricacies
of the stock market. Thus, success of the open ended schemes to a great extent depends
on the efficiency of the capital market.
(B) Close ended schemes:
Such schemes have a definite period after which their shares/ units are redeemed. Unlike
open ended, these funds have fixed capitalization, i.e. corpus normally does not change
throughout its life period. Close ended funds units’ trade among the investors in the
secondary market since these are to be quoted on the stock exchanges. Their price is
determined on the basis of demand and supply in the market. Their liquidity depends on
the efficiency and understanding of the engaged brokers. Their price is free to deviate
NAV, i.e., there is very possibility that the market price may be above or below its NAV.
If one takes into account the issue expenses, conceptually close ended funds units cannot
be trade at a premium or over NAV because of a package of investments, i.e., cannot
exceed the sum of the prices of the investments constituting the package. Whatever
premium exists that may exist only on account of speculative activities. In India as per
SEBI (MF) Regulations every mutual fund is free to launch any or both types of schemes.

32
 Portfolio Classification of Funds:
Following are the portfolio classification of funds, which may be offered. This
classification may be on the basis of (a) Return (b) Investment Pattern (c) Specialized
sector of investment (d) Leverage (e) Others

Return Based Classification

To meet the diversified needs of the investors, the mutual fund schemes are made to
enjoy a good return. Returns expected are in form of regular dividends or capital
appreciation or a combination of these two.
Income Funds: For investors who are more curious for returns, income funds are
floated. Their objective is to maximize current income. Such funds distribute
periodically the income earned by them. These funds can further be spitted up into
categories: those that stress constant income at relatively low risk and those that
attempt to achieve maximum income possible, even with the use of leverage.
Obviously, the higher the expected returns, the higher the potential risk of the
investment.
Growth Funds: Such funds aim to achieve increase in the value of the underlying
investments through capital appreciation. Such funds invest in growth oriented
securities which can appreciate through the expansion production facilities in long
run. An investor who selects such funds should be able to assume a higher than
normal degree of risk.
Conservative Funds: The fund with a philosophy of “all things to all” issue offer
document announcing objectives as (I) To provide a reasonable rate of return, (ii) To
protect the value of investment (iii) To achieve capital appreciation consistent with
the fulfillment of the first two objectives. Such funds which offer a blend of
immediate average return and reasonable capital appreciation are known as “middle
of the road “funds. Such funds divide their portfolio in common stocks and bonds in a
way to achieve the desired objectives. Such funds have been most popular and appeal
to the investors who want both growth and income.

B) Investment Based Classification:

Mutual funds may also be classified on the basis of securities in which they invest.
Basically, it is renaming the subcategories of return based classification.

33
Equity Fund: Such funds, as the name implies, invest most of their investible shares
in equity shares of companies and undertake the risk associated with the investment in
equity shares. Such funds are clearly expected to outdo other funds in rising market,
because these have almost all their capital in equity. Equity funds again can be of
different categories varying from those that invest exclusively in high quality ‘blue
chip’ companies to those that invest solely in the new, un established companies. The
strength of these funds is the expected capital appreciation. Naturally they have a
higher degree of risk.
Bond Funds: Such funds have their portfolio consisted of bonds, debentures, etc. this
type of fund is expected to be very secure with a steady income and little or no chance
of capital appreciation. Obviously risk is low in such funds. In this category we may
come across the funds called ‘Liquid Funds’ which specialize in investing short term
money market instruments. The emphasis is on liquidity and is associated with lower
risks and low returns

34
TYPES OF MUTUAL FUNDS

All mutual fund would be either close ended or open ended or either load or no load.
These classifications are general. For example all open – end funds operate the same
way; or in case of a load a deduction is made from investor’s subscription or
redemption and only the net amount used to determine his number of shares
purchased or sold.

Funds are generally distinguished from each other by their investment objectives and
types of securities they invest in. The major types of funds available:-

 Money Market Funds

Often considered to be at the lowest ring in the order of risk level. Money Market
Funds invest insecurities of short term nature which generally means securities of less
than one year maturity. The typical short term interest bearing instruments these funds
invest in Treasury Bills issued by governments, Certificate of Deposits issued by
banks and Commercial Paper issued by companies. The major strengths of money
market funds are the liquidity and safety of principal that the investors can normally
expect from short term investments.

 Gilt Funds
Gilts are the governments’ securities with medium to long term maturities typically of
over one year (under one year instruments being money market securities). In India,
we have now seen the emergence of government securities or gilt funds that invest in
government paper called dated securities. Since the issuer is the government, these
funds have little risk of default and hence offer better protection of principal.
However, investors have to recognize the potential changes in values of debt
securities held by the funds that are caused by changes
In the market price of debt securities held by the funds that are caused by changes in
the market price of debt securities quoted on the stock exchanges.

35
  Debt Funds (Income Funds)
These funds invest in debt instruments issued not only by the governments, but also
by private companies, banks and financial institutions and other entities such as
infrastructure companies. By investing in debt these funds target low risk and stable
income for the investor as their key objectives.

Debt funds are largely considered as income funds as they do not target capital
appreciation, look for high current income and therefore distribute a substantial part
of their surplus to investors. The income funds fall largely in the category of debt
funds as they invest primarily in fixed income generating debt instruments

 Equity Fund
As investors move from debt funds category to equity funds, they face increased risk
level. However there are a large variety of equity funds and all of them is not equally
risk prone. Investor and their advisors need to sort out and select the right equity fund
that risk appetite.

Equity funds invest a major portion of their corpus in equity shares issued by the
companies, acquired directly in initial public offerings or through the secondary
Market. Equity funds would be exposed to the equity price fluctuations risk at the
market level, at the industry or the sector level and the company specific level .Equity
Funds NAV fluctuates with all these price movement. These price movements are
caused by all kinds of external factors, political and social as well economic. The
issuers of equity shares offer no guaranteed repayments in case of debt instruments.
Hence, equity funds are generally considered at the higher end of the risk spectrum
among all funds available in the market. On the other hand, unlike debt instruments
that offer fixed amounts of repayments, equities can appreciate in value in line with
the issuers’ earning potential and so offer the greatest potential for growth in capital.

Equity funds adopt different investment strategies resulting in different levels of risk.
Hence they are generally separated into different types in terms of their investment
styles. Some of these equity funds are as under:

36
  Equity Income Funds
Usually income funds are in the debt funds category, as they target fixed income
investments. However there are equity funds that can be designed to give the investors
a high level of current income along with some steady capital appreciation, investing
mainly in shares of companies with high dividend yields.

As an example an equity income fund would invest largely in power/ utility

companies’ shares of established companies that pay higher dividend and whose
Price does not fluctuate as much as the other shares. These equity funds should
therefore be less volatile and less risky than nearly all other equity funds.

 Hybrid Funds
We have seen that in terms of the nature of financial securities held, there are three
major mutual fund types: money market, debt and equity. Many mutual funds mix
these different types of securities in their portfolios. Thus, most funds equity or debt
always have some money market securities in their portfolios as these securities offer
the much needed liquidity. However money market holdings will constitute a lower
proportion in the overall portfolios. These are the funds that seek to hold a relatively
balanced holding of debt or equity in their portfolios. Such funds are termed as
“hybrid funds” as they have a dual equity/ bond focus.

 Balanced Funds
A balanced fund is the one that has a portfolio comprising debt instruments,
convertible securities, and preference and equity shares. Their assets are generally
held in more or less equal proportion between debt / money market securities and
equities. By investing in a mix of this nature, balanced funds seek to attain the
objectives of the income, moderate capital appreciation and preservation of capital
and are ideal for investors with a conservative and long term orientation.

37
  Growth and Income Funds
Unlike income or growth focused funds, these funds seek to strike a balance between
capital appreciation and income for the investor. Their portfolios are a mix between
companies with good dividends paying records and those with
Potential for capital appreciation. These funds would be less risky than the pure
growth funds though more risky than the income funds.

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INVESTMENT PLANS
The term investment plans generally refers to the services that the funds
provide to investors offering different ways to invest or invest. The
different investment plans are important considerations in the investment
decisions because they determine the level of flexibility available to the
investors. Alternate investment plans offered by the fund allow the
investor freedom with respect to investing at one time or at regular
intervals, making transfers to different schemes within the same fund
family or receiving income at specified intervals or accumulating
distributions. Some of the investment plans offered are as follows:-

Automatic Reinvestment Plans (ARP)

In India, many funds offer two options under the same scheme the dividend option
and the growth option. The dividend option or the Automatic Reinvestment Plans
(ARP) allows the investor to reinvest in additional units the amount of dividends or
other distribution made by the fund, instead of receiving them in cash. Reinvestment
takes place at the ex-dividend NAV. The ARP ensures that the investors reap the
benefit of compounding in his investments. Some funds allow reinvestments into
other schemes in the fund family.

Automatic Investment Plans (AIP)

These require the investor to invest a fixed sum periodically, there by letting the
investor save in a disciplined and phased manner. The mode of investment could be
through debit to the investor’s salary or bank account. Such plans are also known as
the Systematic Investment Plans. But mutual funds do not offer this facility on all the
schemes. Typically they restrict it to their plain vanilla schemes like diversified equity
funds,

Income funds and balanced funds. SIP works best in equity funds. It enforces saving
discipline and helps you profit from market volatility- you buy more units when the
market is down and fewer when the market is up.

39
Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP)
Such plan allow the investor to make systematic withdrawal from his fund investment
account on a periodic basis, thereby providing the same benefit as regular income.
The investor must withdraw a specific minimum amount with the facility to have
withdrawal amounts sent to his residence by cherub or credited directly into his bank
account. The amount withdrawn is treated as redemption of units at the applicable
NAV as specified in the offer document. For example, the withdrawal could be at
NAV on the first day of the month of payment. The investor is usually required to
maintain a minimum balance in his bank account under this plan. Agents and the
investors should understand that the SWP’s are different from the Monthly Income
Plans, as the former allow investors to get back the principal amount invested while
the latter only pay the income part on a regular basis.

Systematic Transfer Plans (STP)

These plans allows the customer tom transfer on a periodic basis a specified amount
from one scheme to the another within the same fund family- meaning two schemes
by the same AMC and belonging to the same fund. A transfer will be treated as the
redemption of the units from the scheme from which the transfer is made, and as
investments in units of the scheme into which the transfer is made. Such redemption
or investment will be at the applicable NAV for the respective schemes as specified in
the offer document. It is necessary for the investor to maintain a minimum balance in
the scheme from which the transfer is made .Both UTI and other private funds now
generally offer these services to the investor in India. The service allows the investor
to maintain his investment actively
To achieve his objectives. Many funds do not even change any transaction fees for
this service.

40
The Importance of Accounting Knowledge

The balance sheet of a mutual fund is different from the normal

balance sheet of a bank or a company. All of the fund’s assets belong
to the investors and are held in the fiduciary capacity for them. Mutual
fund employees need to be aware of the special requirements
concerning accounting for the fund’ s assets, liabilities and transactions
with investors and the outsiders like bank s, securities custodians and
registrars. This knowledge will help them better understand their
responsibilities and their place in the organization, by getting an
overview of the functioning of the fund.

Even the mutual fund agents need to understand the a ccounting for the
fund’ s transaction with investors and how the fund accounts for i ts
assets and liabilities, as the knowledge is essential for them to perform
their basic role in explaining the mutual fund performance to the
investor. For example, unless the agent knows how the NAV is
computed, he cannot use even simple measures such as NAV change to
assess the fund performance. He also should understand the impact of
dividends paid out by the fund or entry/ exit loads paid by the investor
on the calculation of the NAV and therefore the fund performance.

The mutual funds in India are required to follow the accounting

policies as laid down by the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations 1996 and
the amendments in 1998.

41
 NET ASSET VALUE (NAV)
A mutual fund is a common investment vehicle where the assets of the
fund belong directly to the investors. Investors’ subscription is
accounted for by the fund not as the liabilities or deposits but as the
Unit Capital. On the other hand, the investments made on the behalf of
the investors are reflected on the assets side and are the main
constituents of the balance sheet, there are, however, liabilities of a
strictly short- term nature that may be the part of the balance sheet.
The fund’ s Net Assets are therefore defined as th e assets minus the
liabilities. As there are many investors in the fund. It is common
practice for the mutual funds to compute the share of each of the
investor on the basis of the value of the Net Assets per Share/ Unit,
commonly known as the Net Assets Value ( NAV).

The following are the regulatory requirements and accounting

definitions as laid down by the SEBI.

NAV=Net Assets of the Scheme/ Number of the Units Outstanding, i . e.

Market value of the investments+ Receivables+ Other Accrued Income

+Other Assets – Accrued Expenses- Other Payables – Other Liabilities

No. of units outstanding as at the NAV date.

For the purpose of the NAV calculation, the day on which NAV is
calculated by a fund is known as the valuation date.

NAV of all schemes must be calculated and published at least weekly

for closed end schemes and daily for open end schemes. NAV’s for a
day must also be posted on AMFI website by 8 P.M. on that day.

A fund’s NAV is affected by four sets of factors

 Purchase and sale of investment securities

 Valuation of al investment securities held

 Other assets and liabilities.

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 TAXATION
Investors often view the tax angle as an important consideration while deciding on the
appropriate investments. This section examines the area of mutual fund taxation with
respect to the taxation of income (dividends and capital gains) in the hands of the fund
itself and the income when received in the hands when received in the hands
investors.

Taxation in the hands of the funds

When we talk about a mutual fund for taxation purpose, we mean the legally
constituted trust that holds the investors’ money. It is this trust that earns
and receives income from the investments i t makes on the behalf of the
investors. Most countries do no t impose any tax on this entity- the trust-
because this income that it earns is meant for the investors. The trust is
considered to be only a pass through entry. It would amount to double
taxation if the trust first pays the tax and then the investor is also
required to pay the tax. Generally, the trust is exempted from the tax and it
the investor who pays tax on his share of income. After the 1999/2000
budget of finance minister Mr. Yashwant Sinhala, the investors are totally
exempted from paying any tax on the dividend income they receive from
the mutual funds, while certain types of schemes pay some taxes. This
section deals with what the fund or the trust pays by the way of tax.

Tax provisions
 Generally, income earned by any mutual fund registered with
SEBI is exempt from tax.

 However, income distributed to unit -holders by a closed- end or

debt fund is liable to a dividend distribution tax of 10% plus a
surcharge of 2 %, i. e., a tax of 10. 2%. This tax is also applicable
to distributions made by open- end equity funds (i.e., funds with
more than 50% of their portfolio in equity) on or after April 1,
2002 .

43
 The impact on the Fund and the Investor

 It should be noted that although this tax is payable by the fund on its
distributions and out of its income, the investors pays indirectly since
the fund’s NAV, and therefore the value of his investment will come
down by the amount of tax paid by the fund. For example, if a closed
end fund declares a dividend distribution of Rs. 100, Rs. 10. 20 (10.20%)
will be the tax in the hands of the funds. While the investor will get
Rs.100, the fund will have Rs. 10. 20 less to invest. The fund ‘ current
cash flow will diminish by Rs. 10.20 paid as a tax, and its impact will
be reflected in the lower value of the fund’s NAV and hence investor’ s
investment on a compounded basis in future periods.

 Also , the tax bears no relationship to the investor’s tax bracket

and is payable by the fund even if the investor’s income does not
exceed the taxable limit prescribed by the Income Tax Act

In fact, since the tax is on distributions, it makes income schemes

less attractive in comparison to the growth schemes, because the
objective of the income schemes is to pay regular dividends.

 The fund cannot avoid the tax even if the investor choos es to
reinvest the distribution back into his fund. For example, the
fund will still pay Rs.10.20 tax on the announced distribution,
even if the investor chooses to reinvest his dividends in the
concerned schemes.

Taxation in the hands of the investor

Tax rebate available to individual investor on subscriptions to Mutual Funds

In accordance with the section 88 of the Income Tax Act,

Investments up to Rs.10 , 000 in an ELSS qualifies for tax rebate of

20%.

In case of “infrastructure” mutual fund units, inve stments up to Rs.80, 000

is eligible for 20 % tax rebate.

44
However, total investment eligible for tax rebate under section 88 is
not allowed

To exceed Rs. 60, 000 (Rs. 80 , 000 in case of investment qualifying

under ‘infrastructure’.

Dividends received from Mutual Funds

From the accounting year 1999/2000, income distributed by a fund is exempt in the
hands of the investors.

Capital gains on sale of Units

However, if the investors sells his units and earns “Capital Gains”, the investor is
subject to the Capital Gains Tax as under:

 If units are held for not more 12 months, they will be treated as
short term capital assets, otherwise as long term capital assets.
(This period is 36 months for assets other than shares and l iste d
securities).

 Tax law definition of capital gains = sale consideration - (Cost of

Acquisition + Cost of improvements + cost of transfer)

 If the units were held for over one year, the investors gets the
benefit of “indexation”, which means his purchase pric e is
marked up by an inflation index , so his capital gains amount is
less than otherwise. Purchase price of a long term capital assets
after indexation is computed as, Cost of acquisition or
improvement= actual cost of acquisition or improvement * cost
inflation index for year of transfer/ cost inflation index for year
of acquisition or improvement or for 1981, whichever is later.

45
 Mutual Fund Performance

The Investor Perspective

The investor would actually be interested in tracking the value of his
investments, whether he invests directly in the market or indirectly
through the mutual funds. He would have to make intelligent decisions
on whether he gets an acceptable return on his investments in the funds
selected by him, or if he needs to switch to the fu nd. He therefore,
needs to understand the basis of appropriate performance measurement
for the funds, and acquire the basic knowledge of the different
measures of evaluating the performance of a fund. Only then would he
be in a position to judge correctly whether his fund is performing well
or not.

The Advisor’s Perspective

If you are an intermediary recommending a mutual fund to a potential
investor, he would expect you to give him proper advice on which
funds have a good performance track record. If yo u want to be an
effective investment advisor, then you too have to know how to
measure and evaluate the performance of the different funds available
to the investor. The need to compare the performance of the different
funds requires the advisor to have th e knowledge of the correct and
appropriate measures of evaluating the fund performance.

Different Performance Measures

Remember that there are many ways to evaluate the performance of the fund.
One must find the most suitable measure, depending upon the type of
the fund one is looking at, the stated investment objective of the fund
and even depending on the current financial market condition. Let us
discuss few common measures.

 Change in NAV- The most common measure

46
 Purpose : If an investor wants to compute the Return on Investment
between two dates, he can simply use the Per Unit Net Assets Value
at the beginning and the end periods and calculate the change in the
value of the NAV between the two dates in absolute and percentage
terms.

Formula : for NAV change in absolute terms:

( NAV at the end of the period) – ( NAV at the beginning of the

period)

For NAV change in percentage terms:

( Absolute changes in NAV / NAV at the beginning)* 100.

If period covered is less /more than one year: for annualized NAV

Change

{[( absolute change in NAV/NAV at the beginning)/months

covered]*12 }*100

Suitability : NAV change is most commonly used by the investors to evaluate

fund performance, and so is also most commonly published by the mutual
fund managers. The advantage of this measure is that it is easily
understood and applies to virtually any type of fund.

Interpretation : Whether the return in terms of NAV growth is sufficient

or not should be interpreted in light of the invest ment objective of the
fund, current market conditions and alternative investment returns. Thus,
a long term growth fund or infrastructure fund will give low returns
in its initial years. All equity funds may give lower returns when the
market is in bearish phase.

47
Limitation : However, this measures does not always give the

Correct picture, in case where the fund has distributed to the investors
a significant amount of dividend in the interim period. If, in the above
example, yearend NAV was Rs.22 after declaration and payment of
dividend of Re. 1, the NAV change of 10% gives an incomplete picture.

Therefore, it is suitable for evaluating growth funds and accumulation

plans of debt and equity fund, but should be avoided for income funds
and funds with withdrawal plans.

Purpose : This measure corrects the shortcomings of the NAV Change

measure, by taking into account of the dividends distributed by the
fund between the two NAV dates, and adding them to the NAV change
to arrive at the total return.

Formula : [( distributions+ change in NAV)/NAV at the beginning of

the period]*100

Suitability : total return is the measure suitable for all types of funds.
Performance of different types of funds can be compared on the basis
of Total Return. Thus, during a given pe riod, one can find out whether
a debt fund has given better returns than the equity fund. It is also
more accurate than simple NAV change, because it takes into account
distribution during the period. While using Total Return, performance
must be interpreted in the light of market conditions and investment
objectives of the fund.

Limitation : although more accurate than NAV change, simple Total

Return as calculated here is still inadequate as a performance measure,
because i t ignores the fact that distributed dividends also get
reinvested if received during the year. The investor’s total retur n
should take account of reinvestment of interim dividends.

48
 Return On Investment

Purpose : the short coming of the simple total return is overcome by

the total return with reinvestment of the dividends in the funds
itself at the NAV on the date of the distribution. The appropriate
measure of the growth of an investor’ s mutual fund holdings is
therefore, the return on investment.

Formula : {(units held+ dividend/ ex-dividend NAV)* end NAV}-

begin NAV/begin NAV* 100

Suitability : Total return with distributions reinvested at NAV is a

measure accepted by mutual fund tracking agencies such as
Residence in Mumbai and Value Research in New Delhi. It is
appropriate for measuring performance of accumulation plans,
monthly/ quarterly income schemes that distribute interim
dividends.

 The Income Ratio

Formula : a fund’s income ratio is defined as its net inves tment

income dividend by i ts net assets for this period.

Purpose/Suitability : this ratio is a useful measure for evaluating

income-oriented fund, particularly debt funds. It is not
recommended for funds that concentrate primarily on capital
appreciation.

Limitation : the income ratio cannot be considered in isolation; it

should be used only to supplement the analysis based on the expense
ratio and total return.

49
Tracking Mutual Fund Performance

Having identified appropriate measures and benchmarks for the mutual

funds available in the market, the challenge is to track fund
performance on a regular basis. This is indeed the key towards
maximizing wealth through mutual fund investing. Proper tracking
allows the investor to make informed and timely decisions r egarding
his fund portfolio – whether to acquire attractive funds, dispose of poor
performers or switch between funds/ plans.

To be able to track fund performance, the first step is to find the

relevant information on NAV, expenses cash flow, appropriate ind ices
and so on. The following are the sources of information in India:

 Mutual Funds’ Annual and Periodic Reports: These include

data on the fund’s financial performance, so indicators such as
income/ expense ratios and Total Return can be computed on the
basis of this data. The annual report includes a l isting of the
fund’ s portfolios holdings at market value, statement of revenue
and expenses, unrealized appreciation/depreciation at year - end,
and changes in the net assets. On the basis of the annual report,
the investors can develop a perspective on the quality of the
fund‘ s assets and portfolio concentration and risk profile,
besides computing returns. He can also assess the quality of the
fund management company by reviewing their entire scheme’ s
performance. The profit and loss account part of the annual
report will also give details of transaction costs such as
brokerage paid, custodian/ registrar fees and stamp duties.

 Mutual Funds’ Websites : With the increasing spread of the

internet as a medium, all mutual funds have their own websites.
SEBI even requires funds to disclose certain types of the
information on these sites- for example, the Portfolio
Composition. Similarly, AMFI itself has a websites, which
displays all of its member’ s funds’ NAV informa tion.

50
  Financial papers: Daily newspapers such as the Economic
Times provide daily NAV figures for the open end schemes and
share prices of the closed end listed schemes. Besides, weekly
supplements of the economic newspapers give more analytical
information on the fund performance. For example, Business
Standard- the Smart Investor gives total returns over 3month, 1
year and 3 year periods, besides the fund size and rankings with
the other funds separately for Equity, Balanced, Debt, Money
Market, Short Term Debt and Tax Planning Funds. Similarly,
Economic Times weekly supplement gives additional data on
open end

Schemes such as Loads and Dividends besides the NAV and other

Information and performance data on closed end scheme.

Fund Tracking Agencies: In India, agencies such as Credence and Value

Research are a source of information for mutual fund performance data
and evaluation. This data is available only on request and payment.

 Newsletters: Many stockbrokers, mutual fund agent and banks

and non-ranking firms catering to retail investors publish their
own newsletters, sometimes free or else for their subscribes,
giving fund performance data and recommendations.

 Prospectus: SEBI Regulations for mutual fund require the fund

sponsors to disclose performance data relating to scheme being
managed by the concerned AMC, such as the beginning and end
of the year.

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 Evaluating Fund Performance
Importance of Benchmarking in Evaluating Fund Performance

The measures mentioned above are obsolete, i. e., none of the measure should
be used to evaluate the fund performance in isolation. A fund’s
performance can only be judged in relation to the investor’s
expectations. However, it is import ant for the investor to define his
expectations in relation to the certain “guideposts” on what is possible
to achieve, or moderate his expectations with realistic investments
alternatives available to him in the financial market. These guideposts
or the indicators of performance can be thought of as benchmarks
against which a fund’s performance ought to be judged. For example,
an investor’s expectations of returns from equity fund should be judged
against how the overall stock market performed, in the other words by
how much the stock market index itself moved up or down, and
whether the fund gave a return that was better or worse than the index
movement. In this example, we can use a market index like S&P CNX
Nifty or BSE SENSEX as “benchmarks to evaluate the investor’s
mutual fund performance.

The advisor needs to select the right benchmark to evaluate a fund’s

performance, so that he can compare the measured performance figures
against the selected benchmark. Historically, in India, investors’ only
options to evaluate the performance of the units were UTI schemes or
the bank fixed deposit interest rates. UTI itself to tend to “benchmark”
its returns against what interest rates were available on bank deposits
of 3/ 5 year maturity. Thus, for a long period, U S 64 scheme dividends
were compared on bank interest rates and investors would be happy if
the Dividend Yield on US 64 units was greater than comparable
deposits interest rate. However, with increasing investment options in
the market, bank interest rates should not be used to judge a mutual
fund’ s performance in all cases. Let us therefore look at how to choose
the correct benchmarks of mutual fund performance.

52
Basis of choosing an Appropriate Performance Benchmark

The appropriate benchmark for any fund as to be selected by reference

to:

i. The asset class it invests in. Thus, an equity fund has to be

judged by an appropriate benchmark from the equity markets, a
debt fund performance against a debt market bench mark and so
on; and

ii. The fund’s stated investment objective. For example, if a fund

invests in long term growth stocks, i ts performance ought to be

Evaluated against a benchmark that captures a growth stocks’

performance.

There are in fact three types of benchmarks that can be used to

evaluate a fund’s performance relative to the market as whole, relative
to other mutual funds, comparable financial products or investments
options open to the investor.

Benchmarking relative to the market :

Equity Funds

Index Funds- a Base Index: If an investor were to choose an Equity

Fund, now being offered in India, he can expect to get the same return
on his investments as the return on the equity index used by the fund as
its benchmark, called the Base Index. The fund would invest in the
index stocks, and expects NAV changes to mirror the changes in the
index itself. The fund and therefore the investor would not expect to
beat the benchmark, but merely earn the same return as the index.

Tracking Error: In order to obtain the same returns as the index, an index fund
invests in all of the stocks included in the index calculation, in the same proportion as
the stocks’ weight age in the index. The tracking error arises from the practical

53
difficulties faced by the fund manager in trying to always buy or sell stocks to remain
in line with the weight age that the stock enjoys in the index.

“Active” Equity Funds: An index fund is passively managed, to track

a given index. However, most of the other equity funds/ schemes are
actively managed by the fund managers. If an investo r holds such an
actively managed equity fund, the fund manager would not specify in
advance the benchmark to evaluate his expected performance as in case
of

An index fund. However, the investor still needs to know whether the
fund performance is good or bad. To evaluate the performance of the
equity scheme, therefore, we still need to select an appropriate
benchmark and compare its return to the returns on the benchmark;
usually this means using the appropriate market index. The appropriate
index to be used to evaluate a broad based equity fund should be
decided on the basis of the size and the composition of the fund’ s
portfolio. If the fund in question has a large portfolio, a broader market
index like BSE 100 or 200 or NSE 100 may have to be used as the
rather than S&P CNX NIFTY or BSE 30. An actively managed fund
expects to be able to beat the index, in other words give higher returns
than the index itself.

Somewhat like the Index Funds, the choice of benchmarks in case of

Sector Funds is easier. Clearl y, for example, an investor in InfoTech or
Parma sector funds can only expect the same return as the relative sect
oral indices. In such cases, he should expect the same or higher returns
than the InfoTech or Parma sector index if such index exists. In oth er
words, the choice of the correct equity index as a benchmark also
depends upon the investment objective of the fund. The performance of
a small cap fund has to be compared with the small cap index. A
Growth Fund investing in new growth sectors but is di versified in
many sectors can only be judged against the appropriate growth index

54
if available. If not, the returns can only be compared to either a broad
based index or a combined set of sect oral indices.

Evaluating the Fund Manager /Asset Management Co mpany

While every fund is exposed to market risks, good funds should at least
match major market indices, and be able to sustain bearish market
phases better than other funds. Good funds manager operate long term
perspective, do not sacrifice investor val ue by excessive trading which

Generates a high level of transaction costs, and will turn out more
consistent performance, which is more valuable than one -time high and
otherwise volatile performance record.

The investor must evaluate the fund manager’ s track record, how his
schemes have performed over the years. There is a difference between
institution-managed funds that have a team of managers with
successful records as against funds that are managed by the individuals
only. The team approach also helps by offsetting bad performance by
one manager with good performance from the others in the team. In
practice, however, single person managed funds are widely prevalent in
the countries like the U.S. In India, many individuals operate as
Portfolio Managers. However, currently, we have mainly institution
sponsored funds, either bank-sponsored, corporate owned or
government / financial institution – owned. The reliability and track
record of these sponsors has been an important factor in investor
perceptions.

In the final analysis, Asset Management Companies and their fund

managers ought to be judged on consistency in the returns obtained,
and performance record against competing or peer group managers
running similar funds. While transaction costs incurred are also an
important factor, this information is not generally available in India.

55
LIFE CYCLE AND WEALTH CYCLE STAGES

Life cycle guide to financial planning

Financial goals and plans depend to a large extent on the expenses and cash flow
requirement of individuals. It is well known that the age of the investors is an
important determinant of financial goals. Therefore financial planners have
segmented investors according to certain stages me their life cycle as follows:

LIFE CYCLE FINANCIAL ABILITY TO CHOICE OF

STAGE NEEDS INVEST INVESTMENT
Childhood stage Taken care of by Investment of gifts Long term
parents
Young unmarried Immediate and Limited due to Liquid plans and
short term higher spending short term
investment some
exposure to equity
and pension
products
Young married Short and Limited due to Medium to long –
stage intermediate term higher spending term investment
Housing and Cash flow Ability to take risks
insurance needs requirements are Fixed income
Consumer finance also limited insurance and
needs equity products
Young married Medium to long Limited Financial Medium to long-
with children term children’s planning needs are term investments
education Holidays highest at this stage Ability to take risks
and consumer is ideal for Portfolio of
finance Housing discipline spending products for growth
and saving and long term
regularly

56
Married with older Medium term needs Higher saving Medium term
children for children rations investment with
recommended for high liquidity needs
intermittent Portfolio of
for intermittent products including
cash equity debt ant
flows higher pension plans
Retirement stage Short to medium Lower saving Medium term
term ratios Higher investment
requirement for Preference for
regular cash flows liquid and income
generating products
Low appetite for
risky investment

57
CHARACTERISATION OF THE LIFE CYCLE OF
INVESTORS

Life cycle can be broadly classified into phases:

 Birth and education

 Earning Years
 Retirement
On an average, the first stage lasts for 22years, the second for 38years and the last for
25-30 years.
The earning year is when income and expenses are highest. The retirement stage is
when incomes are low and expenses are high.

CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTOR NEEDS

Needs are generically classified into protection needs and investment needs.
Protection needs refer to needs that have to be primarily taken care of to protect the
living standards, current requirement and survival requirement of investors. Needs for
regular income. Need for retirement income and need for insurance cover are
protection needs. Investment needs are additional financial needs that can be served
through saving and investments .These is needs for children’s professional growth.

58
 WEALTH CYCLE CLASSIFICATION OF INVESTORS

Wealth cycle based classification of investor’s financial needs. Refers to using a

generalized approach to saving and investment as the classifications, than age or life
stages. The following table illustrates:

STAGE FINANCIAL INVESTMENT

NEEDS PREFERENCES
Accumulation stage Investing for long term Growth option and long
identified financial goals term products. High risk
appetite
Transition stage Near term needs for funds Liquid and medium term
as per specified needs investment. Preference for
draw closer income and debt products.
Reaping stage Higher liquidity Liquid and medium term
requirements investment ., for income
low risk appetite
Inter generation transfer Long term investment of Low liquidity needs ,
inheritance Ability to take risks and
invest for the long term
Sudden wealth surge Medium to long term Wealth preservation.
Preference for low risk
products.

59
 Asset Allocation
Asset Allocation refers to the process of deciding the composition of a portfolio. In
order to achieve the goals of a financial plan, investors should allocate their funds to
equity, debt and other asset classes, according to the risk and return features of these
classes. This process is called asset allocation.

Asset Allocation Strategies for Investors

Benjamin Graham recommends the following allocations

Basic Managed Portfolio 50% in diversified equity value funds

25% in government securities fund
25% in high grade corporate bond fund
Basic Indexed Portfolio 50% in stock market index fund
50% in bond market index fund
Simple Managed portfolio 85% in balanced fund
15% in medium term bond fund
Complex Managed Portfolio 20% in diversified equity fund
20% in aggressive growth fund
10% in specialty fund
30% in long term bond funds
20% in short term bond funds
Readymade Portfolio Single index fund with 60% in equity and
40% in debt

60
 CHAPTER 6

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

61
 Analysis and Findings

I visit to 100 people with questionnaires out of whom only 80 responded. I have
analyzed my survey on the basis of these respondents feedback. Once the
questionnaires were filled up, the next work that comes up is the analysis of the data
arrived. We find out that more Business Men were inclined towards investing their in
the Current A/c. Ladies are more inclined towards investing their funds in gold and
other jeweler. On the other hand, service class people and retired fellows prefer more
either Savings and/or Fixed Deposits. People with high income and who are young
enough to take risks prefer shares and mutual funds.

Similarly, people are interested in knowing what the returns of their investments are.
Similar large numbers of people are equally interested in the safety of their funds.
There are the people who want easy liquidity of money and these are basically the
business people who have to deal in the ready cash all the time. Surprisingly, while a
large number of people are aware of the tax benefits, a very small number of them,
only , are interested in it.

Whilst a large number of people are aware of mutual funds, comparatively a very
less number invests into it. On asking how they get knowledge of Mutual Funds, a
large number of them attributed it to Print Media. Even Banks today follow the role of
investment advisors. Very few get any information from the Electronic Media or the
Relatives/Friends. Hence AMCs must increase the awareness about their product
through Electronic Media (TV’s, Cables, Radios etc) as well as and should not just
constrained itself to the print advertisement. Those who do not read
newspaper/magazines due to any reasons may watch or listen to the advertisements.

A large part of respondents said that their knowledge about MF does not allow them
to invest into it while to another segment considered government bonds much better.

62
PRIORITY ON INVESTORS WHILE INVESTING

Interpretation- In my study the 70% peoples believe in invest in mutual funds

because of safety. This is the most recommended in investment.

63
FREQUENCY OF INVESTMENT

Interpretation- In my study I was 33% persons were regularly invited in mutual

funds. 52% peoples want to try to invest and 15% are not interested.

64
OBJECTIVE BEHIND INVESTMENT

INTERPRITATION- I was found that 67% peoples were invested in mutual

funds for the regular income generation, 29% for tax saving.

65
SOURCES OF AWARENESS

NTREPRITATION- I also found that many of the peoples get the knowledge about
the mutual fund with thaw help of media like newspapers, TV etc.

66
SPECIFIC APPREHENSIONS ABOUT INVESTING IN
MUTUAL FUNDS

INTEPRITATION- In my study 20% population are having the lack of

awareness, 50% are don’t have knowledge that is a mutual fund is an investment
sources.

67
TIME PERIOD FOR INVESTMENT

INTEPRITATION- I was found that 51% peoples will invested in mutual

funds for the less than year because of trust.

68
PRIORITY OF INVESTORS TO INVEST IN VARIOUS FINANCIAL
PRODUCTS

18
% Bank deposits
Mutual fund
20 50 Government
% % Bonds
12
%

INTEPRITATION- In India 50% peoples invest their money in banks with the
faze of trust.

69
OCCUPATION WISE DISTRIBUTION

INTEPRITATION- In above diagram I will show the investors by their

occupation like students, businessman etc.

70
AWARENESS OF MUTUAL FUNDS

INTEPRITATION- In above diagram 71% peoples have the knowledge of

mutual funds founded by the survey on 100 peoples.

71
AWARENESS OF TAX BENEFITS

INTEPRITATION- By the survey on 100 peoples I am found that 80%

peoples have the knowledge of tax benefit by investing in mutual funds.

72
REASONS FOR NOT INVESTING IN MUTUAL FUNDS

14 12
% % Confidenc
e
26 Knowledge
% 48 Beter
% bonds

INTEPRITATION- By the taking survey it is also found that 48% people

invested in mutual funds with the help of knowledge.

73
 KEY FINDINGS

 People are more aware regarding People are more aware regarding
People are more aware regarding People are more aware regarding
MUTUAL FUNDS AND INVESTORS BEHAVIOUR in Indian
financial markets.
 Today people are more aware about the various changing in investment
products and new plans.
 More opportunities in India for investment and managing proper wealth.
 Competition and growth both are increasing day by day in the market.
 More companies are coming and providing better information and
services.
 There are huge benefits for long-term investment.
 Markets are growing very rapidly in terms of products availability and
services providers.
 Advisors and
 agents are providing better services and timely information to the clients
as
They are bound to.
 Agents and advisors ready to gain knowledge and also improve
PLANNING in Indian financial markets.
 Today people are more aware about the various changing in investment
products and new plans.
 More opportunities in India for investment and managing proper wealth.
 Competition and growth both are increasing day by day in the market.
 More companies are coming and providing better information and
services.
 There are huge benefits for long-term investment.
 Markets are growing very rapidly in terms of products availability and
services providers.
 Advisors and
 agents are providing better services

74
 CHAPTER 7

RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

75
 RECOMMENDATION AND
CONCLUSIONS

Investors point of view

The question the entire customer, irrespective of the age group and financial
status, think of is- Are Mutual Funds are a safe option? What makes them safe?
The basis of mutual fund industry’s safety is the way the business is defined and
regulations of law. Since the mutual fund invests in the capital market
instruments, so proper knowledge is essential.
Hence the essential requirement is the well informed seller and equally informed
buyer. Who understands and help them to understand the product (here we can
say the capital market and the money market instruments) are the essential pre-
conditions.

Being prudent investors one should:

i. Ask one’s agent to give details of different schemes and match the
appropriate ones.

ii. Go to the company or the fund house regarding any queries if one is not
satisfied by the agents.

iii. Investors should always keep an eye on the performance of the scheme
and other good schemes as well which are available in the market for the
closed comparison.

iv. Never invest blindly in the investments before going through the fact
sheets, annual reports etc. of the company since, according to the
guidelines of the SEBI, the AMCs are bound to disclose all the relevant
data that is necessary for the investment purpose by the investor.

76
 Companies point of view

Following measures can be taken up by the company for getting higher

Investments in the mutual fund schemes.

i. Educate the agents or the salesmen properly so that they can take up the
queries of the customer effectively.

ii. Set up separate customer care divisions where the customers can any time
pose their query, regarding the scheme or the current NAV etc. These
customer care units can work out in accordance with the requirements of
the customer and facilitate him to choose the scheme that suits his
financial requirements.

iii. Conduct seminars or programs on about mutual funds where each and
every minute information about the product is outlined including the risk
factor associated with the different classes of assets.

iv. Developed, design separate schemes for rural/semi urban areas and lower
the minimum investment amount from Rs.500.

v. Recruit appropriate number of agents for rural/urban and semi-urban

areas.

vi. Make customer care services faster.

Choose appropriate media, newspaper/magazines, T.V.

Commercials, etc. for marketing the product and educate

77
CHAPTER 8
LIMITATION

78
 LIMITATION

LIMITATIONS

This project is limited in scope as the survey is conducted with a

shortage of time constraint and is also based on secondary data.
 The answers given by the respondents may be biased due to several reasons or
could be attachment to a particular bank or brand.
 Due to ignorance factor some of the respondents were not able to give correct
answers.
 The respondents were not disclosing their exact portfolio because they have a
fear in their minds that they can come under tax slabs.

79
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mutual Funds Primer By “ECONOMIC TIMES”

www.amfiindia.com
www.kotakmutual.com
www.reliancemutual.com
www.sharekhan.com

80
CHAPTER 9
REFERENCES

81
Magazines

 The Analyst magazine

 Business Standard
 Smart investors
 Journals and magazines – business, market watch, investors.

 The financial express magazine

Websites

 www.mfea.com
 www.investments.com.ph
 Www.inflation.com

 Www.google.com

http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/mar/21inflation.htm

www.inflationdata.com/inflation/Inflation_Articles/
Inflation_cause_and_effect.asp

http://ezinearticles.com

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CHAPTER 10
ANNEXURES

83
 ANNEXURES

QUESTIONNAIRE

1) Name of the customer

Mr./Mrs./Ms.

2) Address /Contact

3) Bank you are dealing with

4) What occupation you are in?

5) What is the age group you fall in?

a) 20-30 b) 30-40 c) 40-50 d) 50-60 e)

above 60

6) What is the per month income of your family?

a) Less than 10,000 b) 10,000-30,000 c) 30,000-50,000 d) Above

50,000

7) Type of investment

a) Current b) Savings c) Fixed Deposits d) Shares

e) Bonds/Debentures f) Mutual Funds g) Gold/Real Estate

8) Preference

a) Liquidity b) Return c) Tax benefit d) Safety

9) Are you aware of the Mutual Funds?

Yes/No

If yes, then please attempt next question else go to question no.12

84
10) Have you ever invested in Mutual Funds?

If yes, please attempt next five questions else go to question no.11

I) which scheme did you last invest in?

ii) What returns did you get out of that scheme?

iii) Since how long you are in that scheme?

iv) Would you like to switch to current NPO?

YES/NO

v) Do you have any knowledge of the tax benefits?

Where do you get information about Mutual Funds?

a) Print Media b) Electronic Media c) Friends/Relatives d)

Broker/Investment e) Bank

11) If you’ve never invested in the Mutual funds then attempt the next question

I) what has been the reason of your not investing into the mutual funds?

a) Lack of confidence b) Imperfect knowledge c) Finds

Government securities/bonds better d) other reasons

ii) Are you aware of the SEBI/RBI guidelines?

12) Are you not interested in generating higher returns?

85