There are certain rights enjoyed by the investors with respect to service standards that they can expect from mutual funds: Investors are entitled to receive dividends declared in a scheme, within 30 days. Redemption proceeds have to be sent to the investor within 10 business days from the date receipt of such request by the AMC. Delays in this respect will lead to the AMC paying a penal interest on the proceeds at a rate specified by SEBI from time to time. (The current rate is 15% and is to be borne by the AMC or sponsor and not the fund). If an investor fails to claim the dividend or redemption proceeds he has the right to claim it up to a period of 3 years from the due date at the then prevailing NAV. After the expiry of this period, investors will be eligible to receive the NAV prevailing Continue reading
Mutual Fund Investments
Legal and Regulatory Framework for Mutual Funds in India
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the apex regulator of Indian capital markets. Issuance and trading of capital market instruments and regulation of capital market the intermediaries is under the purview of SEBI. SEBI is the primary regulator of mutual funds in India. SEBI has enacted the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996, which provides the scope of the regulation of mutual funds in India. It is mandatory that mutual funds should be registered with SEBI. The structure and the formation of mutual funds, appointment of key functionaries and investors, investment restrictions, compliance and penalties are all defined under SEBI Regulations, Mutual funds have to send a seven-year compliance reports to SEBI. SEBI is also empowered to periodically inspect mutual fund organizations to ensure compliance with SEBI regulations. SEBI also regulates other fund constituents such as AMCs, Trustees, Custodians, etc. Reserve Bank of India capital adequacy(RBI) is the monetary Continue reading
Mutual Fund Evaluation
The data for evaluating mutual fund can be found in its prospectus, quarterly and annual reports. The following financial parameters should be used in analyzing a mutual fund and its management: 1. Total Return Total Return indicates the impact of appreciation of its value and dividends (if any). It is becoming increasingly common to find total-return numbers published in newspapers, magazines or other sources. One can calculate total return using the following formula: Total Return (TR) = [(Distributions + Change in NAV)/NAV at the beginning of the period] x 100 Distribution is the income received by the investors for having their money in the mutual fund. The components of dividends are stock dividends, bond interest etc. 2. Expense Ratio Expense Ratio is the ratio of total recurring expenses (fees, commission etc.) to average net assets. Lower numbers are desirable. Since the expense ratio fluctuates, it is better to compute Continue reading
Mutual Funds in India
The Mutual Fund industry started with the setting up of Unit Trust of India. The money market mutual fund segment has a total corpus of $1.48 trillion in the USA against a corpus of $100 million in India. The entry of private sector and foreign institutions in 1993 provided a boost to the Indian mutual fund industry in the form of different schemes launched. The Government of India took the initiative of developing mutual fund industry by offering various tax soaps in the budget and enabling it to play an important role in mobilization of savings and in the development of the financial market. Till 1960s, the Indian mutual fund industry was not in existence. In 1963, the Government of India took the initiative by passing the UTI Act, under which the Unit Trust of India was set-up as a statutory body. The designated role of UTI was to act Continue reading
Types of Debt Mutual Funds
Debt mutual funds are those that predominantly invest in debt securities. Since most debt securities pay periodic interest to investors, these funds are also known as income funds. However, it must be remembered that funds investing in debt products can also offer a growth option to their investors. What is more important is that the portfolio is predominantly made up of debt securities. The universe of debt securities comprises of long-term instruments such as bonds issued by central and state governments, public sector organizations, public financial institutions and private sector companies; and short-term instruments such as call money lending, commercial papers and certificates of deposits and treasury bills. Debt funds tend to create a variety of options for investors by choosing one or more of the segments of the debt markets in their investment portfolio. Liquid Funds And Money Market Funds: These debt funds invest only in instruments with maturities Continue reading
Factors Conducive to the Growth of Mutual Funds
On observing the past trends, it can be seen that certain factors are essential for the growth of the mutual funds industry. These factors are: Investor Base: A mutual fund makes it possible for investors to earn a higher return on their capital by pooling the capital of a large number of small investors and investing the pooled sum in a diversified manner. As the small investors cannot diversify on their own, their presence acts as a catalyst for the mutual funds to grow. As different investors have different investment requirements, their presence also acts as an incentive for the mutual funds to come up with new schemes, thus helping in further evolution of the industry. Returns On Market: Mutual funds invest in a diversified manner; the returns generated by them are generally reflective of the market returns. Higher the market returns, higher the expected returns from mutual funds. Higher Continue reading