What is a Mutual Fund?
Mutual Funds are pooled investment vehicles actively managed either by professional fund managers or passively tracked by an index or industry. The funds are generally well diversified to offset potential losses. They offer an attractive way for savings to be managed in a passive manner without paying high fees or requiring constant attention from individual investors. Mutual funds present an option for investors who lack the time or knowledge to make traditional and complex investment decisions. By putting your money in a mutual fund, you permit the portfolio manager to make those essential decisions for you.
How does a mutual fund operate?
A mutual fund company collects money from several investors, and invests it in various options like stocks, bonds, etc. This fund is managed by professionals who understand the market well, and try to accomplish growth by making strategic investments. Investors get units of the mutual fund according to the amount they have invested. The Asset Management Company is responsible for managing the investments for the various schemes operated by the mutual fund. It also undertakes activities such like advisory services, financial consulting, customer services, accounting, marketing and sales functions for the schemes of the mutual fund.
The risks involved in investing in mutual funds:
Mutual funds invest in different securities like stocks or fixed income securities, depending upon the fund’s objectives. As a result, different schemes have different risks depending on the underlying portfolio. The value of an investment may decline over a period of time because of economic alterations or other events that affect the overall market. Also, the government may come up with new regulations, which may affect a particular industry or class of industries. All these factors influence the performance of Mutual Funds.
Risk and Reward: The diversification that mutual funds provide can help ease risk by offsetting losses from some securities with gains in other securities. On the other hand, this could limit the upside potential that is provided by holding a single security.
Lack of Control: Investors cannot determine the exact composition of a fund’s portfolio at any given time, nor can they directly influence which securities the fund manager buys.
Mutual Funds are pooled investment vehicles actively managed either by professional fund managers or passively tracked by an index or industry. The funds are generally well diversified to offset potential losses. They offer an attractive way for savings to be managed in a passive manner without paying high fees or requiring constant attention from individual investors. Mutual funds present an option for investors who lack the time or knowledge to make traditional and complex investment decisions. By putting your money in a mutual fund, you permit the portfolio manager to make those essential decisions for you.
How does a mutual fund operate?
A mutual fund company collects money from several investors, and invests it in various options like stocks, bonds, etc. This fund is managed by professionals who understand the market well, and try to accomplish growth by making strategic investments. Investors get units of the mutual fund according to the amount they have invested. The Asset Management Company is responsible for managing the investments for the various schemes operated by the mutual fund. It also undertakes activities such like advisory services, financial consulting, customer services, accounting, marketing and sales functions for the schemes of the mutual fund.
The risks involved in investing in mutual funds:
Mutual funds invest in different securities like stocks or fixed income securities, depending upon the fund’s objectives. As a result, different schemes have different risks depending on the underlying portfolio. The value of an investment may decline over a period of time because of economic alterations or other events that affect the overall market. Also, the government may come up with new regulations, which may affect a particular industry or class of industries. All these factors influence the performance of Mutual Funds.
Risk and Reward: The diversification that mutual funds provide can help ease risk by offsetting losses from some securities with gains in other securities. On the other hand, this could limit the upside potential that is provided by holding a single security.
Lack of Control: Investors cannot determine the exact composition of a fund’s portfolio at any given time, nor can they directly influence which securities the fund manager buys.