Just the way you perform an extensive research on different features before buying a laptop such as RAM, Processor, Operating System etc., you should also do the same research before you invest in any Mutual Fund scheme. Let us help you with some parameters which will help you choosing a fund.
Past Performance
It’s very important to know how the fund has performed in the past across various market cycles. Every fund has been benchmarked to an index to evaluate their performance according to the portfolio construct. The Fund Manager’s job is to outperform the benchmark consistently in the long run. The fund might have delivered 15% CAGR but failed to outperform its benchmark, which means that the fund manager is not at the best of his/her abilities. Understand the past performance, even though that is not an accurate parameter to learn the future performance.
Investment Philosophy
Although the performance of the fund determines the quality of the portfolio, the investment philosophy determines the consistency in the performance. For e.g. if a fund has an investment philosophy of “Buy & Hold” which means the Fund Manager will not churn the portfolio frequently, instead he/she will research the market extensively before he/she buys so that he/she can hold the funds for years to reap the full growth potential returns. This philosophy may suit the investors who believe in wealth creation in the long run.
Portfolio Holdings
Class of the diversification in the portfolio comprises of the holdings of various stocks. A perfect mix of different sectors and limiting it to the beneficial ones determines a good quality portfolio. This may help you understand the quality of the funds. Investing then is a wiser decision with a good holding pattern and diversification across the sectors.
Exit Load
This load is charged on the redemption amount, it varies from 1–3% depending upon the fund. Since the exit load is deducted on the redemption value, the higher the value, the higher will be the exit load. Hence you should be very careful about the exit load being charged on the fund. However, here are funds available without any exit load too.
Product Labeling
As SEBI guidelines has made it mandatory, every scheme has been labeled according to the level of risk involved through pictorial representation called Riskometer. The level of risk has been categorized as Low, Moderately low, Moderate, Moderately high and high. Hence it is essential to evaluate your risk tolerance before you choose a scheme.
