NISM SERIES-VA

MUTUAL FUND
DISTRIBUTORS EXAM
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INVESTMENT LANDSCAPE
One often hears questions like “Please suggest some good investments.” “Which mutual fund schemes
should one buy this year?” and many similar questions, very regularly. There is an issue with these
questions. These are about the investments and not the investor. The investor’s needs are not even
discussed, and probably not even considered important.

Why Investments?

There are often common situations we see regularly in our own life, or the lives of people around us. Though, there is no explicit
mention of money in these situations, we intuitively know that money would be involved in each of these situations, whether it is for
higher education, or to buy a house, or for a fund that helps for managing expenses post retirement. In the investment world, the
requirements of these four are known as financial objectives. When we assign amounts and timelines to these objectives, we convert
these into financial goals.

There are numerous examples of such financial goals. Goal setting is a very important exercise, while planning for investments. As
seen above, all the financial goals are about the need of money that cannot be fulfilled through the inflow at that time. While the
expenses for the goal may be high or low, the income may be less than the amount required to fund the goal. This is where money
needs to be withdrawn from the investments – in other words, this is why one needs to invest the money.

Short term needs versus Long Term Goals

Various goals have various timelines. And thus they are needed to be planned accordingly. Let’s look at the retirement goal for this.
This goal can be broken into two parts: accumulating a sum for retirement, and then taking income out of the corpus thus
accumulated. Wisdom suggests that if one plans well for those important and not urgent tasks (and goals), life changes for the better.
In order to achieve this, it is important to first classify the financial goals – those events in life in terms of timeline and importance in
one’s life.

Savings or Investments?

The word “saving” originates from the same root as “safe”. The safety of money is of critical importance here. Whereas, when one
invests money, the primary objective typically is to earn profits. The important point to note here is that there is a trade-off between
risk and return. The other difference is evident from the dictionary definition of “saving”– reduction in the amount of money used.
This definition refers to reducing consumption so that some money is saved. It is this saved money that can be invested. In other
words, saving and investing are not to be considered as two completely different things, but two steps of the same process – in order
to invest money, one need to save first. Thus, saving precedes investing.

Factors to evaluate investments:

Safety: This begins with the safety of capital invested. In order to understand the safety of an investment, it is important to
understand the risks involved.

Liquidity: The degree of ease of converting an asset into cash is different across different categories, and even within the categories,
the same could be different across products. This another major factor to be considered.

Returns: As seen earlier in the definition of investments, the major purpose is to get some returns from investment. Such returns may
be in the form of regular (or periodic) income, also known as current income; and capital appreciation, or capital gains.

Convenience: Any investment must be evaluated in terms of convenience with respect to investing, taking the money out–fully or
partially, as well as the investor’s ability to conveniently check the value of the investment, as well as to receive the income.

Ticket size: Ticket size refers to the minimum investment required to invest in that product. This becomes an important factor while
taking a decision about selection of investment options. At the same time, this must not be the only factor.

Taxability of income: What one retains after taxes is what matters, and hence, taxation of the earnings is another important factor
that one must consider.

Tax deduction: A related matter is the tax deduction that may be available in case of certain products. Such a deduction effectively
increases the return on investment, since the same is calculated after factoring the net amount invested.

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INVESTMENT LANDSCAPE
Different Asset Classes

Real estate: It is considered as the most important and popular among all the asset classes. However, the popularity of this asset
category is largely because of a reason not related to investment. Real estate could be further classified into various categories, viz.,
residential real estate, land, commercial real estate, etc.
Commodities: One can invest in commodities in two ways- there are commodities derivatives available on many commodities, it may
not be wise to call these “investments” for two reasons, (1) these are leveraged contracts, i.e. one can take large exposure with a small
of money making it highly risky and (2) these are normally short term contracts, whereas the investors’ needs may be for longer
periods. Another way is investing in precious metals like gold and silver. It is easy to understand the prices of gold and silver across
countries by simply looking at the foreign exchange rate between the two countries’ currencies, and making adjustments for various
costs and restrictions imposed by any of the countries.
Fixed Income: Bonds are generally considered to be safer than equity. However, these are not totally free from risks. Bonds can be
classified into subcategories on the basis of issuer type i.e. issued by the government or corporates or on the basis of the maturity
date: short term bonds (ideal for liquidity needs), medium and long term bonds (income generation needs).
Equity: This is the owner’s capital in a business. Someone who buys shares in a company becomes a part-owner in the business. In
that sense, this is risk capital, since the owner’s earnings from the business are linked to the fortunes, and hence the risks, of the
business. When one buys the shares of a company through secondary market, the share price could be high or low in comparison to
the fair price.

Equity
 Bluechip Companies  Unlisted Companies  Exchange Trade Funds
 Mid-sized Companies  Foreign Stocks  Index Funds
 Small-sized Companies  Equity Mutual Funds

Fixed Income
 Fixed Income  Public Provident Fund  Company Fixed Deposit
 Fixed Deposit with a Bank  Sukanya Samruddhi Fund  Debentures / Bonds
 Recurring Deposit with a Bank  Senior Citizens‘ Saving Scheme (SCSS)  Debt Mutual Funds
 Endowment Policies  Post Office Monthly Income Scheme
 Money Back Policies  Recurring Deposit with a Post Office

Real Estate / Infrastructure

 Physical  Financial Asset  Real Estate Investment Trust (ReIT)
 Residential / Commercial  Real Estate Mutual Funds (REMF)  Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT)

Commodities
 Gold  Gold Funds
 Silver  Commodity ETFs

Hybrid Asset Class

 Hybrid Mutual Funds or Multi Asset Fund

Others
 Rare Coins  Art  Rare Stamps

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INVESTMENT LANDSCAPE
Investment Risks
Inflation Risk: Inflation or price inflation is the general rise in the prices of various commodities, products, and services that we
consume. Inflation erodes the purchasing power of the money.

Liquidity Risk: This risk is also very closely associated with real estate, where liquidity is very low, and often it takes weeks or months
to sell the investment.

Credit Risk: Any delay or a default in the repayment of principal or payment of interest may arise due to a problem with one or both
of the two reasons: (1) the ability of the borrower, or (2) the intention of the borrower.

Market Risk and Price Risk: Market risk is the risk of losses in positions arising from movements in market prices. There is no unique
classification as each classification may refer to different aspects of market risk. The risk that occurs when the prices of the asset and
its futures contract do not move in tandem with each other. Location basis risk: The risk that arises when the underlying asset is in a
different location from the where the futures contract is traded. So in a way, both risks are quite similar.

Interest Rate Risk: Interest rate risk is the risk that an investment's value will change as a result of a change in interest rates. This risk
affects the value of bonds/debt instruments more directly than stocks. Any reduction in interest rates will increase the value of the
instrument and vice versa.

Behavioral Biases in Investment Decision Making

Availability Heuristic: Most people rely on examples or experiences that come to mind immediately while analyzing any data,
information, or options to choose from. In the investing world, this means that enough research is not undertaken for evaluating
investment options. This leads to missing out on critical information, especially pertaining to various investment risks.

Confirmation Bias: Investors also suffer from confirmation bias. This is the tendency to look for additional information that confirms
to their already held beliefs or views. It also means interpreting new information to confirm the views.

Familiarity Bias: An individual tends to prefer the familiar over the novel, as the popular proverb goes, “A known devil is better than
an unknown angel.” This leads an investor to concentrate the investments in what is familiar, which at times prevents one from
exploring better opportunities, as well as from a meaningful diversification.

Herd Mentality: “Man is a social animal” – Human beings love to be part of a group. While this behavior has helped our ancestors
survive in hostile situations and against powerful animals, this often works against investors interests in the financial markets.

Loss Aversion: Loss aversion explains people's tendency to prefer avoiding losses to acquiring equivalent gains: it is better not to lose
Rs. 5,000 than to gain Rs. 5,000. Such a behavior often leads people to stay away from profitable opportunities, due to perception of
high risks, even when the risk could be very low.

Overconfidence: This bias refers to a person’s overconfidence in one’s abilities or judgment. This leads one to believe that one is far
better than others at something, whereas the reality may be quite different. Under the spell of such a bias, one tends to lower the
guards and take on risks without proper assessment.

Recency bias: The impact of recent events on decision making can be very strong. This applies equally to positive and negative
experiences. Investors tend to extrapolate the event into the future and expect a repeat.

Understanding Asset Allocation

Strategic Asset Allocation is allocation aligned to the financial goals of the individual. It considers the returns required from the
portfolio to achieve the goals, given the time horizon available for the corpus to be created and the risk profile of the individual.

Tactical Asset Allocation is when one may choose to dynamically change the allocation between the asset categories. The purpose
of such an approach may be to take advantage of the opportunities presented by various markets at different points of time, but the
primary reason for doing so is to improve the risk-adjusted return of the portfolio.

Rebalancing: An investor may select any of the asset allocation approach; however there may be a need to make modifications in the
asset allocations. This rebalancing of portfolio as per the initially agreed ratios is called rebalancing.

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CONCEPT AND ROLE OF A MUTUAL FUND
Mutual fund is a vehicle to mobilize money from investors, to invest in different markets and securities, in
line with the common investment objectives agreed upon, between the mutual fund and the investors.
Through mutual funds, an investor can get access to equities, bonds, money market instruments and/or
other securities and they also avail of the professional fund management services offered by an asset
management company.

Role of Mutual Funds

 Assist investors in earning income or building wealth

 Mobilization of savings
 Facilitating the infusion of capital in the economy
 Market stabilizer
Different schemes according to investment objectives

Various investors have different investment preferences and needs. In order to accommodate these preferences, mutual funds
mobilize different pools of money. Each such pool of money is called a mutual fund scheme. Every scheme has a pre-announced
investment objective. Investors invest in a mutual fund scheme whose investment objective reflects their own needs and preference.

Investment Policy of Mutual Fund

Mutual fund schemes announce their investment objective and seek investments from the investor. Thus, an investor in a scheme is
issued units of the scheme. The scheme earns interest income or dividend income on the investments it holds. Further, when it
purchases and sells investments, it earns capital gains or incurs capital losses. A mutual fund scheme with an objective of providing
liquidity would invest in money market instruments or in debt papers of very short-term maturity. At the same time, a mutual fund
scheme that aims to generate capital appreciation over long periods, would invest in equity shares. This would reflect in the scheme’s
asset allocation, which would be disclosed in the Scheme Information Document (SID).

Important Concepts in Mutual Funds

 Units: The investment that an investor makes in a scheme is translated into a certain number of ‘Units’ in the scheme. Thus, an
investor in a scheme is issued units of the scheme.
 Face Value: Typically, every unit has a face value of Rs.10. The face value is relevant from an accounting perspective.
 Unit Capital: The number of units issued by a scheme multiplied by its face value (Rs.10) is the capital of the scheme–its Unit
Capital.
 Recurring Expenses: The fees or commissions paid to various mutual fund constituents come out of the expenses charged to the
mutual fund scheme. These are known as recurring expenses. These expenses are charged as a percentage to the scheme’s assets
under management (AUM). The scheme expenses are deducted while calculating the NAV.
 Net Asset Value: The true worth of a unit of the mutual fund scheme is otherwise called Net Asset Value (NAV) of the scheme.
When the investment activity is profitable, the true worth of a unit increases. When there are losses, the true worth of a unit
decreases.
 Assets under Management: The sum of all investments made by investors’ in the mutual fund scheme is the entire mutual fund
scheme’s size, which is also known as the scheme’s Assets under Management (AUM).
 Mark to Market: The process of valuing each security in the investment portfolio of the scheme at its current market value is called
Mark to Market (MTM).
Advantages of Mutual Funds for Investors
 Professional Management
 Mutual funds offer investors the opportunity to earn an income or build their wealth through professional management of their
investible funds. Investing in the securities markets will require the investor to get into a lot of formalities. Mutual fund
investment simplifies the process of investing and holding securities.

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CONCEPT AND ROLE OF A MUTUAL FUND
 Affordable Portfolio Diversification
 Investing in the units of a scheme provide investors the exposure to a range of securities held in the investment portfolio of
the scheme in proportion to their holding in the scheme. Thus, even a small investment of Rs.500 in a mutual fund scheme
can give benefits of a diversified investment portfolio.
 Economies of scale
 Pooling of large sum of money from many investors makes it possible for the mutual fund to engage professional managers
for managing investments. Large investment corpus leads to various other economies of scale. Costs related to investment
research, office space, brokerages and other bank services. Thus, investing through a mutual fund offers a distinct economic
advantage to an investor as compared to direct investing in terms of cost saving.
 Liquidity
 Investors in a mutual fund scheme can recover the market value of their investments, from the mutual fund itself at any point
of time (Except fund with a lock-in period). Schemes, where the money can be recovered from the mutual fund only on
closure of the scheme, are compulsorily listed on a stock exchange. In such schemes, the investor can sell the units through
the stock exchange platform to recover the prevailing value of the investment.
 Tax Deferral
 Mutual funds are not liable to pay tax on the income they earn. If the same income were to be earned by the investor directly,
then tax may have to be paid in the same financial year. Mutual funds offer options, whereby the investor can let the money
grow in the scheme for several years. By selecting such options, it is possible for the investor to defer the tax liability. This helps
investors to legally build their wealth faster than would have been the case, if they were to pay tax on the income each year.
 Tax benefits
 Specific schemes of mutual funds (Equity Linked Savings Schemes) give investors the benefit of deduction of the amount
subscribed (Up to ₹150,000 in a financial year), from their income that is liable to tax. This reduces their taxable income, and
therefore the tax liability.
 Convenient Options
 The options offered under a scheme allow investors to structure their investments in line with their liquidity preference and
tax position. There is also great transaction conveniences like the ability to withdraw only part of the money from the
investment account, ability to invest additional amount to the account, setting up systematic transactions, etc.
 Investment Comfort
 Once an investment is made with a mutual fund, they make it convenient for the investor to make further purchases with very
little documentation.
 Regulatory Comfort
 The regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has mandated strict checks and balances in the structure of
mutual funds and their activities. Mutual fund investors benefit from such protection.
 Systematic Approach to Investments
 Mutual funds also offer facilities that help investor invest amounts regularly through a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP); or
withdraw amounts regularly through a Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP); or move money between different kinds of
schemes through a Systematic Transfer Plan (STP). Such systematic approaches promote investment discipline, which is
beneficial to investors.
Limitations of a Mutual Fund
 Lack of portfolio customization
 A unit-holder in a mutual fund is just one of several thousand investors in a scheme. Once a unit-holder has bought into the

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CONCEPT AND ROLE OF A MUTUAL FUND
scheme, investment management is left to the fund manager. Thus, the unit-holder cannot influence what securities or
investments the scheme would invest into.
 Choice overload
 There are multiple mutual fund schemes offered by 42 mutual funds – and multiple options within those schemes which make
it difficult for investors to choose between them.
 No control over costs
 All the investor's money is pooled together in a scheme. Costs incurred for managing the scheme are shared by all the
Unit-holders in proportion to their holding of Units in the scheme. Therefore, an individual investor has no control over the
costs in a scheme.

Types of Funds

 On basis of structure:

 Open Ended Funds: These funds are open for investors to enter or exit at any time, even after the NFO. Although some
unit-holders may exit from the scheme, wholly or partly, the scheme continues operations with the remaining investors. The
scheme does not have any kind of time frame in which it is to be closed.

 Close ended funds: These funds have a fixed maturity. Investors can buy units of a close-ended scheme, from the fund, only
during its NFO. The fund makes arrangements for the units to be traded, post-NFO in a stock exchange.

 Interval Funds: The funds combine features of both open-ended and close-ended schemes. They are largely close-ended, but
become open-ended at pre-specified intervals. The periods when an interval scheme becomes open-ended, are called
‘transaction periods’

 On basis of management style :

 Actively managed funds: These funds where the fund manager has the flexibility to choose the investment portfolio, within
the broad parameters of the investment objective of the scheme. Since this increases the role of the fund manager, the
expenses for running the fund turn out to be higher. Investors expect actively managed funds to perform better than the
market.

 Passive funds: These funds invest on the basis of a specified index, whose performance it seeks to track. Thus, performance of
a passive fund tends to mirror the concerned index. They are not designed to perform better than the market

 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs): They are also passive funds whose portfolio replicates an index or benchmark such as an
equity market index or a commodity index. The units are issued to the investors in a new fund offer (NFO). The units of the ETF
are traded at real time prices that are linked to the changes in the underlying index.

Equity Schemes

 Multi Cap Fund: An open ended equity scheme investing across large cap, mid cap, small cap stocks. The minimum investment in
equity shall be 65 percent of total assets.

 Large Cap Fund: An open ended equity scheme predominantly investing in large cap stocks. The minimum investment in equity
and of large cap companies shall be 80 percent of total assets.

 Large and Mid-Cap Fund: An open ended equity scheme investing in both large cap and mid cap stocks. The minimum
investment in equity mid cap stocks shall be 35 percent of total assets.

 Mid Cap Fund: An open ended equity scheme predominantly investing in mid cap stocks. The minimum investment in equity of
mid cap companies shall be 65 percent of total assets.

 Small cap Fund: An open ended equity scheme predominantly investing in small cap stocks. Minimum investment in equity of
small cap companies shall be 65 percent of total assets.

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CONCEPT AND ROLE OF A MUTUAL FUND
 Dividend Yield Fund: An open ended equity scheme predominantly investing in dividend yielding stocks. Scheme should
predominantly invest in dividend yielding stocks.

 Value Fund or Contra Fund: A value fund is an open ended equity scheme following a value investment strategy.

 Focused Fund: An open ended equity scheme investing in maximum 30 stocks (the scheme needs to mention where it intends
to focus, viz., multi cap, large cap, mid cap, small cap).

 Sectoral / Thematic: An open ended equity scheme investing in a specific sector such as bank, power is a sectorial fund. While an
open ended equity scheme investing in line with an investment theme. For example, an infrastructure thematic fund might invest
in shares of companies that are into infrastructure, construction, cement, steel, telecom, power etc.

 Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS): An open ended equity linked saving scheme with a statutory lock in of 3 years and tax
benefit.

Debt Schemes

 Overnight Fund: An open ended debt scheme investing in overnight securities. The investment is in overnight securities having
maturity of 1 day

 Liquid Fund: An open ended liquid scheme whose investment is into debt and money market securities with maturity of upto 91
days only.3

 Ultra Short Duration Fund: An open ended ultra-short term debt scheme investing in debt and money market instruments with
Macaulay duration between 3 months and 6 months.

 Low Duration Fund: An open ended low duration debt scheme investing in debt and money market instruments with Macaulay
duration between 6 months and 12 months.

 Money Market Fund: An open ended debt scheme investing in money market instruments having maturity upto 1 year.

 Short Duration Fund: An open ended short term debt scheme investing in debt and money market instruments with Macaulay
duration between 1 year and 3 years.

 Medium Duration Fund: An open ended medium term debt scheme investing in debt and money market instruments with
Macaulay duration of the portfolio being between 3 years and 4 years.

 Medium to Long Duration Fund: An open ended medium term debt scheme investing in debt and money market instruments
with Macaulay duration between 4 years and 7 years.

 Long Duration Fund: An open ended debt scheme investing in debt and money market instruments with Macaulay duration
greater than 7 years.

 Dynamic Bond: An open ended dynamic debt scheme investing across duration.

 Corporate Bond Fund: An open ended debt scheme predominantly investing in AA+ and above rated corporate bonds. The
minimum investment in corporate bonds shall be 80 percent of total assets (only in AA+ and above rated corporate bonds)

 Credit Risk Fund: An open ended debt scheme investing in below highest rated corporate bonds. The minimum investment in
corporate bonds shall be 65 percent of total assets (only in AA (excludes AA+ rated corporate bonds) and below rated corporate
bonds).

 Banking and PSU Fund: An open ended debt scheme predominantly investing in debt instruments of banks, Public Sector
Undertakings, Public Financial Institutions and Municipal Bonds.

 Gilt Fund: An open ended debt scheme investing in government securities across maturity.

 Floater Fund: An open ended debt scheme predominantly investing in floating rate instruments (including fixed rate instruments
converted to floating rate exposures using swaps/derivatives). Minimum investment in floating rate instruments (including fixed
rate instrument).

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CONCEPT AND ROLE OF A MUTUAL FUND
Hybrid Schemes

 Conservative Hybrid Fund: An open ended hybrid scheme investing predominantly in debt instruments. Investment in debt
instruments shall be between 75 percent and 90 percent of total assets while investment in equity shall be between 10 percent
and 25 percent of total assets.

 Balanced Hybrid Fund: An open ended balanced scheme investing in equity and debt instruments. The investment in equity shall
be between 40 percent and 60 percent of total assets while investment in debt instruments shall be between 40 percent and 60
percent. No arbitrage is permitted in this scheme.

 Aggressive Hybrid Fund: Investment in equity and equity related instruments shall be between 65 percent and 80 percent of
total assets while investment in debt instruments shall be between 20 percent and 35 percent of total assets.

 Dynamic Asset Allocation or Balanced Advantage: It is an open ended dynamic asset allocation fund with investment in
equity/debt that is managed dynamically.

 Multi Asset Allocation: An open ended scheme investing in at least three asset classes with a minimum allocation of at least 10
percent each in all three asset classes. Foreign securities are not treated as a separate asset class in this kind of scheme.

 Arbitrage Fund: An open ended scheme investing in arbitrage opportunities. The minimum investment in equity and equity
related instruments shall be 65 percent of total assets.
 Equity Savings: An open ended scheme investing in equity, arbitrage and debt. The minimum investment in equity and equity
related instruments shall be 65 percent of total assets and minimum investment in debt shall be 10 percent of total assets.

Solution Oriented Schemes

 Retirement Fund: An open-ended retirement solution-oriented scheme having a lock-in of 5 years or till retirement age
(whichever is earlier). Scheme having a lock-in for at least 5 years or till retirement age whichever is earlier.

 Children’s Fund: An open-ended fund for investment for children having a lock-in for at least years or till the child attains age of
majority (whichever is earlier). Scheme having a lock-in for at least 5 years or till the child attains age of majority whichever is
earlier.

Other Schemes

 Index Funds/ Exchange Traded Fund: An open ended scheme replicating/ tracking a specific index. This minimum investment in
securities of a particular index (which is being replicated/ tracked) shall be 95 percent of total assets.

 Fund of Funds (Overseas/ Domestic): An open ended fund of fund scheme investing in an underlying fund. The minimum
investment in the underlying fund shall be 95 percent of total assets.

 Fixed Maturity Plans are a kind of close-ended debt fund where the duration of the investment portfolio is closely aligned to the
maturity of the scheme. AMCs tend to structure the scheme around pre-identified investments.

 Capital Protection Funds are closed-end hybrids funds. In these types of funds, the exposure to equity is typically taken through
the equity derivatives market. The portfolio is structured such that a portion of the principal amount is invested in debt
instruments so that it grows to the principal amount over the term of the fund.

 Infrastructure Debt Funds are investment vehicles which can be sponsored by commercial banks and NBFCs in India in which
domestic/offshore institutional investors, specially insurance and pension funds can invest through units and bonds issued by
the IDFs. Infrastructure Debt Funds (IDFs) can be set up either as a Trust or as a Company.

Real Estate Mutual Fund Schemes / Real Estate Investment Trusts

 Real Estate Mutual Fund
 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)
 Infrastructure Investment

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LEGAL STRUCTURE OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA
Structure of Mutual Funds in India
SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations, 1996 as amended till date define “mutual fund” as “a fund established in the form of a trust to raise
monies through the sale of units to the public or a section of the public under one or more schemes for investing in securities
including money market instruments or gold or gold-related instruments or real estate assets.”
Key constituents of a Mutual Fund
 Sponsor: The application to SEBI for registration of a mutual fund is made by the sponsor/s. Thereafter, the sponsor invests in the
capital of the AMC. Since sponsors are the main people behind the mutual fund operation, they have a set of eligibility criteria as
well. Association of Mutual Funds in India’s (AMFI) website lists all the Asset Management Companies, which are members of
AMFI, in terms of the category of the sponsor, viz., Banks, Institutions, Private sector, etc. Within banks there are predominantly
Indian joint ventures, and others; and similarly within the private sector, there are Indian, foreign, and predominantly Indian joint
ventures.
 Board of Trustees: The trustees have a critical role in ensuring that the mutual fund complies with all the regulations, and protects
the interests of the unit-holders. The sponsor will have to appoint at least 4 trustees. If a trustee company has been appointed,
then that company would need to have at least 4 directors on the Board. The strict provisions go a long way in promoting the
independence of the role of trusteeship in a mutual fund.
Mutual Fund Trust
 Asset Management Company: Day to day operations of mutual fund is handled by the AMC. The sponsor or, the trustees if so
authorized by the trust deed, shall appoint the AMC with the approval of SEBI. The AMC needs to have a minimum net worth of
₹50 crore. The AMC is responsible for conducting the activities of the fund. It therefore arranges for the requisite offices and
infrastructure, engages employees, provides for the requisite software, handles advertising and sales promotion, and interacts
with regulators and various service providers.
 Custodian: The custodian has custody of the assets of the fund. As part of this role, the custodian needs to accept and give
delivery of securities for the purchase and sale transactions of the various schemes of the fund. Thus, the custodian settles all the
transactions on behalf of the mutual fund schemes. The custodian also tracks corporate actions such as dividends, bonus and
rights in companies where the fund has invested.
Organization Structure of Asset Management Company
 Compliance Function: Compliance Officer needs to ensure all the legal compliances. In the scheme documents of new issues, the
Compliance Officer signs a due-diligence certificate to the effect that all regulations have been complied with, and that all the
intermediaries mentioned in the scheme related documents have the requisite statutory registrations and approvals.
 Fund management: Fund management is the most critical function in an Asset Management Company. It is at the core of the
value proposition offered by the firm. The main function of this team is to invest the investors’ money in line with the stated
objective of the scheme, and to manage the same effectively.
 Operations and customer services team: The Registrar and Transfer Agency (RTA), which is a big part of this unit, maintains
investor records as well as allots or redeems units, processes purchase/redemption/switch requests, dividends, etc. It also
generates the account statement that an investor receives. There is a Custody Team within this group that interacts with the
custodian for the purpose of settlement of various transactions that the fund management team initiates. Fund accounting team
maintains books of accounts of each individual mutual fund scheme and calculates NAV on a daily basis.
 Sales and Marketing Team: This team reaches out to the investors through mass media, marketing campaigns and through
distribution channel. Their major responsibilities include branding, advertising, management of various events, and distribution
of mutual fund products through various distribution channels.
 Other functions
 The Accounts team handles the finances of the AMC. This unit is different from the fund accounting team.
 There is an Administration Department that takes care of various facilities, offices, and other infrastructure. In many AMCs,
the administration reports to the finance function.
 The HR department is responsible for attracting, nurturing and retaining talent within the firm. They take care of learning and
development requirements of the personnel.

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LEGAL STRUCTURE OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA
 The Information Technology department, also referred as the Technology team, takes care of the IT infrastructure required
by various functions and departments. This may also include the AMC website, as well as many facilities offered to investors
and distributors with the help of technology.
Role and Support function of Service Providers
 Fund Accountants: The fund accountant performs the role of calculating the NAV, by collecting information about the assets and
liabilities of each scheme.
 Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTA): The Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTA) maintain investor records. Their offices in various
centers serve as Investor Service Centers (ISCs), which perform a useful role in handling the documentation of investors. The
appointment of RTA is done by the AMC.
 Auditors: Auditors are responsible for the audit of accounts. Accounts of the mutual fund schemes need to be maintained
independent of the accounts of the AMC. The auditor appointed to audit the mutual fund scheme needs to be different from that
of the AMC.
 Distributors: Distributors have a key role in selling suitable types of units to their clients i.e. the investors in the schemes of mutual
funds with whom they are empanelled. Distributors can be individuals or institutions such as distribution companies, broking
companies and banks.
 Collecting Bankers: The investors’ money go into the bank account of the scheme they have invested in. These bank accounts are
maintained with collection bankers who are appointed by the AMC.
 KYC Registration Agencies: It is mandatory for all investors in the securities market, including the mutual fund investors, to be
KYC (Know Your Customer) compliant under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The KYC process (covered
in detailed later in the book) involves establishing the identity and the address of the investor.
 Valuation agencies: SEBI has issued guidelines for the purpose of arriving at fair valuation of debt securities that are non-traded
or thinly traded. According to these guidelines, there have to be atleast two valuation agencies that provide valuation matrix. The
AMCs have to make use of this matrix to arrive at fair valuation of these investments. AMFI has appointed CRISIL Ltd. and ICRA Ltd.
for the purpose.
 Credit Rating Agencies: Credit rating agencies rate debt securities issued by various issuers. Fund managers consider such ratings
as a key input while taking investment decisions. In few mutual fund products, credit rating assumes greater importance. Certain
categories of debt funds such as corporate bond funds, credit risk funds are defined on the basis of credit rating.
 Depositories and the Depository Participants: A depository is an institution, which holds the securities in dematerialised or
electronic form on behalf of the investors. Initially depositories held only equity shares on behalf of the investors, later other
securities including mutual funds were also dematerialised.
 Stock exchanges and the transaction platforms: Investors can now transact in mutual fund units through the stock exchanges.
The units of close-ended funds and ETFs are compulsorily listed on at least one stock exchange. At the same time, units of
open-ended funds are also available through special segments on the stock exchanges.

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LEGAL AND REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
Role of Regulators in India
 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that regulates the banking system, as well as money markets
 Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that regulates the securities markets
 Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) that regulates the insurance market; and
 Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA) that regulates the pension market.
Role of Securities and Exchange Board of India
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the regulatory authority for securities markets in India. It regulates, among
other entities, mutual funds, depositories, custodians and registrars and transfer agents in the country. Stock Exchanges are
regulated by SEBI. Every stock exchange has its own listing, trading and margining rules. Mutual Funds need to comply with
the rules of the exchanges with which they choose to have a business relationship.
Regulatory reforms by SEBI:
SEBI issued the mutual fund regulations in 1996 in the form of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996. Since then, there have
been many amendments through various regulations and circulars. In all the cases, the objective has always remained to
protect the interests of the mutual fund investors, and to empower investors to take informed investment decisions. The
various provisions of the regulations can be broken down into the following categories, with a brief discussion of what they
cover:
 Scheme related documents  Dividend distribution procedure
 Conversion and consolidation of existing schemes  Investment by schemes
 New products  Advertisements
 Risk management system  Investor rights and obligations
 Disclosures and reporting norms  Certification and registration of intermediaries
 Governance norms  Categorization of mutual fund schemes
 Secondary market activities  Segregated Portfolio
 Net Asset Value (NAV)and Valuation  Scheme Performance
 Loads, fees and expenses
Investment Restriction for schemes
The SEBI Regulations provide for various limits to the kind of investments that are possible in mutual fund schemes, and the
limits thereof. In a few cases, there are also aggregate limits for all schemes of a mutual fund together. The regulator’s objective
behind setting these limits is to ensure mitigation of risks in the scheme and protecting the investor’s interests.
 General Restrictions
 Restrictions pertaining to investments in Debt Securities
 Restrictions pertaining to investment in Equity
 Restrictions pertaining to investment in REITs and INvITs
Investors Rights and Obligations
 Right to beneficial ownership  Right to grievance redressal
 Right to change the distributor  Rights of investors in context of change in Fundamental
 Right to inspect documents Attributes
 Right to appoint nominees  Rights to terminate appointment of an AMCs
 Right to pledge mutual fund units  Right to unclaimed amounts
SEBI Complaint Redress System
SEBI Complaint Redress System (SCORES) is a web based centralized grievance redress system of SEBI. SCORES enables
investors to lodge, follow up on their complaints and track the status of redressal of such complaints online. This system
enables the market intermediaries and listed companies to receive the complaints from investors, redress such complaints and
report redressal. All the activities starting from lodging of a complaint till its closure by SEBI is online and works in an
automated environment. An investor, who is not familiar with SCORES or does not have access to SCORES, can lodge
complaints in physical form at any of the offices of SEBI. Such complaints are scanned and then uploaded in SCORES for
processing.

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SCHEME RELATED INFORMATION
Mandatory Documents
The legal documents that provide the information that the investor requires is available in the scheme related documents
(Scheme Information Document, Statement of Additional Information) and the Key Information Memorandum. Investors need
to note that their investments are governed by the principle of ‘caveat emptor’ i.e. let the buyer beware. An investor is
presumed to have read and understood the scheme related documents before investing in a mutual fund scheme.
Objective of the scheme related documents
SID and SAI together are the primary source of information for any investor—existing as well as prospective. These are the
operating documents that describe the product. Since the investor is required to make an informed investment decision, these
documents serve the purpose of providing the required information in an easy to understand language.
There are primarily two important documents for understanding about the mutual fund scheme:
 Scheme Information Document (SID): This has details of the particular scheme.
 Statement of Additional Information (SAI): This has statutory information about the mutual fund or AMC, which is offering
the scheme.
Scheme Information Document
The Scheme Information Document (SID) sets forth concisely the information about the scheme that a prospective investor
ought to know before investing. An SID remains effective until a 'material change' occurs and thereafter changes are filed with
SEBI.
Statement of Additional Information
Statement of Additional Information (SAI), has statutory information about the mutual fund or AMC, that is offering the
scheme. Therefore, a single SAI is relevant for all the schemes offered by a mutual fund.
Key Information Memorandum (KIM)
KIM is essentially a summary of the SID and SAI. It contains the key points of the offer document that are essential for the
investor to know to make a decision on the suitability of the investment for their needs. It is more easily and widely distributed
in the market. As per SEBI regulations, every application form is to be accompanied by the KIM.
KIM is essentially a summary of the SID and SAI. It contains the key points of the offer document that are essential for the
investor to know to make a decision on the suitability of the investment for their needs. It is more easily and widely distributed
in the market. As per SEBI regulations, every application form is to be accompanied by the KIM.
 Other Mandatory information/disclosure
 Daily disclosure of NAV
 Disclosure of Total Expense Ratio
 Portfolio Disclosure
 Annual Reports and related disclosures
 Non-Mandatory Disclosures
 Fund Factsheet

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FUND DISTRIBUTION & CHANNEL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
The role and importance of mutual fund distributors
An investor needs to invest the money in a portfolio of various investment options to achieve financial goals. This process of
building a portfolio could be achieved with the help of selection of a basket of mutual fund schemes. However, one may still
need help in constructing a portfolio with the help of an expert. The mutual fund distributor’s job is to assess the needs,
limitations, resources and financial goals of the investor. This analysis would help the mutual fund distributor arrive at a
suitable asset allocation plan for the investor.
Different kind of mutual fund distributors
 Individual: Individual distributors, also referred to as Individual Financial Advisors (IFA) continue to be a large force for
distribution numerically, though the volume of sales generated are significantly lower than other distribution channels
such as Institutional Distributors.
 Non-Individual Entities: A chain of offices manned by professional employees or affiliated sub-brokers became the face of
mutual fund distribution. Brand building, standardized processes and technology sharing became drivers of business for
these institutions – unlike the personal network, which generated volumes for the individual agents. Investors also benefit
from the investment research and other services that these institutions provide to their clients.
Modes of distribution
 Online: The internet gave an opportunity to mutual funds to establish direct contact with investors. Direct transactions
afford scope to optimize on the commission costs involved in distribution. Other electronic/internet based modes of
conducting financial and non-financial transactions include those offered by banks, financial institutions, distributors,
registrar and transfer agent, electronic platforms provided by stock exchanges such as NSE’s MFSS and BSE’s StAR platform.
 Stock Exchanges: SEBI has facilitated buying and selling of mutual fund units through the stock exchanges. Both NSE and
BSE have developed mutual fund transaction engines for the purpose. The low cost and deeper reach of the stock
exchange network has increased the participation level of retail investors in mutual funds, and thereby taking the mutual
fund industry into its next wave of growth.
 MF Utilities: MF Utilities (MFU) is a transaction aggregating platform that connects investors, RTAs, distributors, banks,
AMCs and others. MFU facilitates the distributors with online access to submit investor transactions. This platform provides
them with a single point for time stamping of transactions, document submission, paperless transaction facility, and login
facility for their clients.
 Computer-based and Mobile-based Apps offered by distributors: Apart from the above platforms and the websites of
distributors, the transaction facilities are now available on the mobile devices – the smart phones, feature phones, and
tablet computers. This makes it even more convenient than going to a website.
 Electronic platforms created by the AMCs: Apart from the above, various AMCs have also created their own facilities like
web-based and mobile-based applications that facilitate various transactions. Many AMCs also offer transaction facilities
through SMS and WhatsApp.
 Pre-requisites to become Distributor of a Mutual Fund
 Obtaining NISM certifications
 KYD Requirements
 Obtaining ARN No.
 Empanelment with AMC’s
Revenue for a mutual fund distributor
Initial or Upfront Commission is paid on the amount mobilized by the distributor.
Trail commission is calculated as a percentage of the net assets attributable to the Units sold by the distributor. The commission
payable is calculated on the daily balances and paid out periodically to the distributor as per the agreement entered into with
AMC.
Transaction charges are paid to distributors for investments of Rs.10,000 and over. This does not apply to direct investments.
For subscriptions from existing investors the distributor will be paid Rs.100 per transaction and for new investors across mutual
funds they will be paid Rs.150 to encourage widening the investor base of mutual funds.

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FUND DISTRIBUTION & CHANNEL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Additional commission for promoting mutual funds in small towns: With a view to promoting mutual funds in smaller towns,
SEBI has allowed mutual funds to charge additional expenses, which can be used for distribution related expenses, including
distributor commission. This means that the distributors mobilizing funds from investors located in B-30 locations would earn
higher commission.

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FUND DISTRIBUTION & CHANNEL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Fair Valuation Principles
The asset management companies are required to compute and carry out valuation of investments made by its scheme(s) in
accordance with the investment valuation norms specified in the Eighth Schedule of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996.
The primary objective behind introduction of these principles was to ensure fair treatment to all investors including existing
investors as well as investors seeking to purchase or redeem units of mutual funds in all schemes at all points of time.
Valuation
A mutual fund scheme invests the investors’ money in a portfolio of securities created and managed based on the
investment objective and strategy of the scheme. The investments include securities, money market instruments, privately
placed debentures, and securitized debt instruments, gold and gold related instruments, real estate assets and infrastructure
debt instruments and assets. The NAV of the scheme will depend upon the value of this portfolio, which in turn, depends
upon the value of the securities held in it. The valuation of these securities to determine the net asset value has to be done in
accordance with the valuation guidelines laid down by SEBI and AMFI.
Computation of Net Assets of Mutual Fund Scheme and NAV
 Net Asset Value
NAV refers to the value of each unit of the scheme.
NAV = (Current value of investments held + Income accrued + Current assets – Current liabilities –Accrued expenses) / No.
of outstanding units
 Mark to Market
The process of valuing each security in the investment portfolio of the scheme at its current market value is called ‘mark
to market’ i.e. marking the securities to their market value. This is because investors buy or sell units on the basis of the
information contained in the NAV.
Total Expenses in Mutual Fund Scheme
All types of expenses incurred by the Asset Management Company have to be clearly identified and appropriated for all mutual
fund schemes.
Investment and Advisory Fees: They are charged to the scheme by the AMC. The details of such fees are fully disclosed in the
Scheme Information Document.
Recurring Expenses: In addition to the investment and advisory fee, the AMC may charge the mutual fund scheme with
recurring expenses including audit fees, marketing fees, custodian fees, etc.

Total Expense Ratio Total Expense Ratio limit

Asset Under Management Slab
limits for Equity for other then equity
(₹ crore)
oriented scheme (in %) oriented scheme (in %)
On the first ₹500 crore of the
2.25 2.00
daily net assets
On the next ₹250 crore of the
2.00 1.75
daily net assets
On the next ₹1,250 crore of the
1.75 1.50
daily net assets
On the next ₹3,000 crore of the
1.60 1.35
daily net assets
On the next ₹5,000 crore of the
1.50 1.25
daily net assets
On the next ₹40,000 crore of the Total expense ratio of 0.05 % for every increase of ₹5,000
daily net assets crores of daily net assets or part thereof.

On the balance of assets 1.05 0.80

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FUND DISTRIBUTION & CHANNEL MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
Dividends & Distributable Reserves
It was seen that income and expense are accounted on the basis of accrual principle.
Therefore, even though they may not have been received or paid, they are accrued as income or expense, if they relate to a
period until the accounting date. Similarly, it was seen that income and expense are accounted on the basis of accrual principle.
Therefore, even though they may not have been received or paid, they are accrued as income or expense, if they relate to a
period until the accounting date.
Concept of Entry and Exit Load and its impact on NAV
A distinctive feature of open-ended schemes is the ongoing facility to acquire new units from the scheme (sale transaction) or
sell units back to the scheme (re-purchase transaction). In the past, schemes were permitted to keep the Sale Price higher than
the NAV. The difference between the Sale Price and NAV was called the “entry load”. Schemes are permitted to keep the
re-purchase Price lower than the NAV. The difference between the NAV and re-purchase Price is called the “exit load”. However
currently, SEBI has banned entry loads. So, the Sale Price needs to be the same as NAV.

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TAXATION
When anyone considers making an investment, one of the objectives is to get some investment returns.
However, such returns on investments or income from investments may be subject to tax:

Applicability of taxes in respect of mutual funds

 Income from investment in mutual fund units: Investors must consider the effect of taxes on their investment returns. It is
not how much you earn, but how much you keep after taxes that count. As mutual fund is a pass-through vehicle, we must
consider the income at two levels– income earned by the fund, and income earned by the investor.
 Income earned by mutual fund schemes: The schemes of the mutual funds invest in marketable securities like shares and
debentures. These securities generate income in the form of dividend or interest. Apart from this, when the fund buys and
sells the shares and debentures in the securities market, there could be capital gains or losses.
 Income earned by the investor from investment in mutual fund units: We have already seen that the investor can choose
from two options within the scheme, viz. dividend and growth. The one who has opted for dividend may get income in
form of dividends, whereas the investor in the growth plan would not get any dividend whatsoever, irrespective of the
profits earned by the fund. The investor in growth plan would earn capital gains (or losses) whenever one sells the units of
the scheme. On the other hand, the investor in the dividend plan may get dividend, as and when declared by the fund, as
well as capital gains (or losses) when one sells the units.
Capital Gains
When a unit holder sells units of the scheme, the selling price could be different from the price at which the units were
bought. The difference between the purchase price of the units and the selling price of the units would be treated as capital
gain (or loss). If the selling price is higher than the purchase price, there is an incidence of capital gain, whereas if the selling
price is lower than the purchase price, there is capital loss. The capital gains are subject to tax. Capital gains tax is classified
depending on the period of holding and the type of funds invested in.
Dividend Stripping
When a dividend is paid, the NAV (ex-dividend NAV) decreases. This dividend is exempt from tax in the hands of investors.
Capital loss may be available for set off against Capital gains. A potential tax avoidance approach, called dividend stripping,
works as follows: Investors buy units, based on advance information that a dividend would be paid. They then receive the
dividend as a tax-exempt income. After receiving the dividend, they would sell the units. Since the ex-dividend NAV would be
lower, they would book a capital loss (with the intention of setting it off against some other capital gain). In order to plug this
loophole, it is provided that:
if, an investor buys units within 3 months prior to the record date for a dividend and sells those units within 9 months after the
record date, any capital loss from the transaction would not be allowed to be set off against other capital gains of the investor,
up to the value of the dividend income exempted.
Securities Transaction Tax
When an investor sells units of equity fund in the stock exchange, or offers them for repurchase to the fund, he will have to
incur Securities Transaction Tax (STT) i.e. STT is applicable only on redemption/switch to other schemes/sale of units of equity
oriented mutual funds whether sold on stock exchange or otherwise. STT is not applicable on purchase of units of an equity
scheme. It is also not applicable to transactions in debt securities or debt mutual fund schemes.
Tax benefit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act
Certain mutual fund schemes, known as Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) are eligible for deduction under Section 80C of
the Income Tax Act. As the name suggests, this is an equity linked scheme, and hence the scheme invests in equity shares. The
benefit is available up to ₹1.5 lacs per year per taxpayer in case of individuals and HUFs. The scheme has a lock-in period of
three years from the date of investment.

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INVESTOR SERVICES
New Fund Offer
Units in a mutual fund scheme are offered to public investors for the first time through a NFO. The offer is made through a legal
document called the Offer Document.
 NFO Open Date – This is the date from which investors can invest in the NFO
 NFO Close Date – This is the date upto which investors can invest in the NFO
Direct and Regular Plans
The Direct plan is for investors who wish to invest directly in the mutual fund without routing the investment through a
distributor. The Plan will have a lower expense ratio since there are no distribution expenses or commissions involved.
Under Regular plan, the investor indicates a distributor through whose services the investment decision was made and
executed. The AMFI Registration Number (ARN) is made available by the investor in the application form and the mutual fund
pays the transaction charges and commissions to the distributor so identified.
Dividend Pay-out, Dividend Re-Investment and Growth Options
In a dividend pay-out option, the fund declares a dividend from time to time. Some schemes (liquid and debt funds with very
short term maturity) even declare a dividend daily, subject to availability of profits. When a dividend is paid, the NAV of the
units falls to that extent.
In a dividend re-investment option, as in the case of dividend pay-out option, NAV declines to the extent of dividend. The
resulting NAV is called ex-dividend NAV, like in case of dividend pay-out plan
In a growth option, dividend is not declared. Therefore, nothing is received in the bank account (unlike dividend payout option)
and there is nothing to re-invest (unlike dividend re-investment option).
Allotment of Units to the Investor
 NFO: Since entry load is banned, units in an NFO are sold at the face value i.e. Rs. 10. So the investment amount divided by
Rs.10 would give the number of units the investor has bought. Subject to the receipt of the specified minimum subscription
amount for the scheme, full allotment is made to all valid applications received during the New Fund Offer. The Trustee
reserves the right, at their discretion without assigning any reason thereof, to reject any application.
 On-going offer: The price at which units are sold to an investor as part of ongoing sales in an open-end scheme is the sale
price, which in turn is the applicable NAV (currently entry load is not permitted by regulation, hence the sales price is equal
to the NAV). The investment amount divided by the sale price would give the number of units the investor has bought.
 In a rights issue, the price at which the units are offered is clear at the time of investment.
 The investment amount divided by the rights price gives the number of units that the investor has bought. It may
however be noted that rights issues, which are common for shares, are less meaningful for units of mutual fund schemes.
 In a bonus issue, the investor does not pay anything. The fund allots new units for free. Thus, in a 1:3 bonus issue, the
investor is allotted 1 new unit (free) for every 3 units already held by the investor. Since the net assets of the scheme remain
the same – only the number of units’ increases - the NAV will get reduced proportionately and the value of the investor’s
holding does not change as a result of the bonus issue.
Account statements for investments
 Monthly Statement of Account: Mutual funds issue the Statement of Account every month if there is a transaction during
the month. It shows for each transaction (sale/re-purchase), the value of the transaction, the relevant NAV and the number
of units transacted. Besides, it also provides the closing balance of units held in that folio and the value of those units based
on the latest NAV.
 Annual Account Statement: The Mutual Funds shall provide the Account Statement to the Unit-holders who have not
transacted during the last six months prior to the date of generation of account statements. The Account Statement shall
reflect the latest closing

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INVESTOR SERVICES
 Consolidated Account Statement (CAS): A Consolidated Account Statement for each calendar month will be sent by
post/email on or before 10th of the succeeding month provided there is a financial transaction in the folio in the previous
month.
Eligibility to invest in Mutual Funds
 Types of Individual Investors
 NRI’s
 Resident Individuals
 Foreign Investors
 Minors
 Hindu Undivided Families
 Types of Non-Individual Investors
 Companies/ Corporate Bodies  Association of persons of body of individuals
 Registered societies  Foreign Portfolio Investors
 Universities and educational institutions  Banks and financial Institutions
 Filling the application form for Mutual Funds
 Direct Plan and Regular Plan  Investment Details
 Unit holder Information  Demat Account Details
 Status of the holder and Mode of Holding  Payment Details
 KYC Details  Unit Holding Option
 FATCA and CRS Details  Nomination
 Bank Details

 Financial Transactions with Mutual Funds

 Initial Purchase of Mutual Fund Units  Repurchase of units
 Additional Purchase  Switch
 Payment Mechanism for Mutual Fund Purchase
 Online Transactions  Aadhar Enabled Payment System
 Internet Banking  National Unified USSD platform
 Electronic Clearing Services (ECS)  Cards and E-Wallets
 M-Banking and Cash Payments  One-Time Mandate and Application supported by
 Unified Payment Interface Blocked Amounts (ASBA)

The same payment mechanisms are used while re-purchasing the units.
Time Stamping
The precision in setting cut-off timing makes sense only if there is a fool proof mechanism of capturing the time at which the
sale and re-purchase applications are received. These points of acceptance have time stamping machines with tamper-proof
seal. Opening the machine for repairs or maintenance is permitted only by vendors or nominated persons of the mutual fund.
Such opening of the machine has to be properly documented and reported to the Trustees. For online transactions, the time
as per the web server to which the instruction goes, is used in determining the NAV for sale/re-purchase transactions.
KYC Requirements for Mutual Fund Investors
 KYC Documents
 PAN Card
 Proof of Address
 KYC Registration Agencies
 Centralised KYC Registration Agencies
 KYC through e-KYC service of UIDAI
 KYC through Intermediaries

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INVESTOR SERVICES
 KYC Process
Once the KYC processes are completed and the details are uploaded on the KRA’s servers, the KYC process is complete. The
investor does not need any further KYC for dealing in any part of the securities market.
 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and Common Reporting Standards
To comply with the requirements of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standards (CRS)
provisions, financial institutions, including mutual funds, are required to undertake due diligence process to identify foreign
reportable accounts and collect such information as required under the said provisions and report the same to the US Internal
Revenue Service/any other foreign government or to the Indian Tax Authorities for onward transmission to the concerned
foreign authorities. The application form requires information to be provided if the citizenship/nationality/place of birth/tax
residency are places other than India for all categories of investors.
 Systematic Transfers
 Systematic Investment Plan (SIP): SIP is an approach where the investor invests constant amounts at regular intervals.
A benefit of such an approach, particularly in equity schemes, is that it averages the unit-holder’s cost of acquisition since more
units are bought for the same amount of investment when the price/markets are down and fewer units when the
price/markets are up.
 Systematic Withdrawal Plan (SWP): Mutual funds make it convenient for investors to manage their SWPs by
registering a amount, periodicity (generally, monthly) and period for their SWP. Some schemes even offer the facility
of transferring only the appreciation or the dividend. In this option, the withdrawal is not fixed but will vary depending
upon the availability of appreciation in the specific investment chosen by the investor. The advantage of a variable
SWP relative to a fixed amount of withdrawal is that the capital invested will not be withdrawn.
 Systematic Transfer Plan (STP): In a STP, the amount that is withdrawn from a scheme (called the source scheme) is
re-invested in some other scheme (called the target scheme) of the same mutual fund. Thus, it operates as a SWP from
the source scheme, and a SIP into the target scheme. Since the investor is effectively switching between schemes, it is
also called “switch” if it is just one transaction or tranche. If there are multiple tranches over a fixed period on
pre-defined date of an amount that is defined ahead, then it is an STP.
 Dividend Transfer Plan (DTP): Dividend Transfer Plan (DTP) is a facility that allows investors to invest the dividend
earned in a mutual fund investment into another scheme of the same mutual fund. Investors with a low risk profile can
get some benefits of diversification by transferring dividends earned from debt funds into equity funds. Similarly,
dividends earned in equity funds can be transferred into debt funds to rebalance the portfolio and manage risks.
Mutual funds decide the schemes, plans and options from which the dividends can be transferred and the target
schemes to which they can be transferred.
 Switch: A switch is redemption from one scheme and a purchase into another combined into one transaction. For
example, investors who believe that equity markets have peaked and want to book profits can switch out from an
equity scheme and switch into a short-term debt fund.
 Operational Aspects of Systematic Transfers
 SIP Top-Up Facility:Mutual funds provide an additional facility through an SIP to enhance the disciplined savings of
investors. It is called the SIP Top-Up facility. Investors have the option to increase the SIP amount at intervals chosen
by them. The increase can be of a fixed amount or a percentage of the existing SIP amount.
 Renewal and cancellation of SIP
 Registration and cancellation of SIP, STP and Switches
 Execution of systematic Transfers
 Triggers
 Non-Financial Transactions in Mutual Funds
Following are the possible transactions under this category
 Nomination
 Pledge/Lien of units
 Demat Account

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INVESTOR SERVICES
 Change in Folio Details
 Change in Personal Information
 Change in Bank Account Details
 Transmission of units
 Change in Status of Special Investor Categories
Following are the possible changes under this category
 Minor turned Major
 NRI to Resident Indian
 Change in Karta of HUF

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RISK, RETURN AND PERFORMANCE OF FUNDS
Investment in mutual fund units involves investment risks such as trading volumes, settlement risk,
liquidity risk, default risk, including the possible loss of principal. The Scheme Information Document
(SID) contains a list of all these risks. The SID also contains a discussion on risk mitigation strategies.
Investment in mutual fund units involves investment risks such as trading volumes, settlement risk,
liquidity risk, default risk, including the possible loss of principal.
 Liquidity Risk: This risk is also very closely associated with real estate, where liquidity is very low, and often it takes weeks
or months to sell the investment. The liquidity of a bond may change, depending on market conditions leading to
changes in the liquidity premium attached to the price of the bond. At the time of selling the security, the security can
become illiquid, leading to loss in value of the portfolio.
 Interest Rate Risk: Interest rate risk is the risk that an investment's value will change as a result of a change in interest rates.
This risk affects the value of bonds/debt instruments more directly than stocks. Any reduction in interest rates will increase
the value of the instrument and vice versa.
 Re-investment Risk: The investments made by the Scheme are subject to reinvestment risk. This risk refers to the interest
rate levels at which cash flows received from the securities in the Scheme are reinvested. The additional income from
reinvestment is the ‘interest on interest’ component. The risk is that the rate at which interim cash flows can be reinvested
may be lower than that originally assumed.
 Political Risk: Investments in mutual fund Units in India may be materially adversely impacted by Indian politics and
changes in the political scenario in India either at the central, state or local level. Actions of the central government or
respective state governments in the future could have a significant effect on the Indian economy, which could affect
companies, general business and market conditions, prices and yields of securities in which the Scheme invest.
 Economic Risk: A slowdown in economic growth or macro-economic imbalances such as the increase in central and state
level fiscal deficits may adversely affect investments in the country. The underlying growth in the economy is expected to
have a direct impact on the volume of new investments in the country.
 Foreign Currency Risk: The Scheme may be denominated in Indian Rupees (INR) which is different from the home
currency for Foreign Portfolio Investors in the mutual fund units. The INR value of investments when translated into home
currency by Foreign Portfolio Investors could be lower because of the currency movements.
Specific Risk Factors
 Risk related to equity and equity related securities
 Risk associated with short selling and Stock Lending: Securities Lending is lending of securities through an approved
intermediary to a borrower under an agreement for a specified period with the condition that the borrower will return
securities of the same type or class at the end of the specified period along with the corporate benefits accruing on
the securities borrowed. There are risks inherent in securities lending, including the risk of failure of the other party.
 Risks associated with mid-cap and small-cap companies: Investment in mid-cap and small-cap companies are based
on the premise that these companies have the ability to increase their earnings at a faster pace as compared to large
cap companies and grow into larger, more valuable companies. However, as with all equity investments, there is a risk
that such companies may not achieve their expected earnings results, or there could be an unexpected change in the
market, both of which may adversely affect investment results.
 Risk associated with Dividend: The schemes are vulnerable to instances where investments in securities may not earn
dividend or where lesser dividend is declared by a company in subsequent years in which investments are made by
schemes. As the profitability of companies are likely to vary and have a material bearing on their ability to declare and
pay dividend.
 Risk associated with Derivatives: The use of a derivative requires an understanding not only of the underlying
instrument but of the derivative itself. Trading in derivatives carries a high degree of risk although they are traded at a
relatively small amount of margin which provides the possibility of great profit or loss in comparison with the principal
investment amount.
 Risks related to debt funds
 Reinvestment Risk: Investments in fixed income securities carry re-investment risk as interest rates prevailing on the
coupon payment or maturity dates may differ from the original coupon of the bond.

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RISK, RETURN AND PERFORMANCE OF FUNDS
 Rating Migration Risk: Fixed income securities are exposed to rating migration risk, which could impact the price on
account of change in the credit rating. For example: One notch downgrade of a AAA rated issuer to AA+ will have an
adverse impact on the price of the security and vice-versa for an upgrade of a AA+ issuer.
 Term Structure of Interest Rates Risk: The NAV of the Scheme’ Units, to the extent that the Scheme are invested in
fixed income securities, will be affected by changes in the general level of interest rates. When interest rates decline,
the value of a portfolio of fixed income securities can be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the
value of a portfolio of fixed income securities can be expected to decline.
 Credit Risk: Fixed income securities (debt and money market securities) are subject to the risk of an issuer’s inability
to meet interest and principal payments on its debt obligations. The investment Manager will endeavor to manage
credit risk through in-house credit analysis.
 Risk associated with floating rate securities
 Spread Risk: In a floating rate security the coupon is expressed in terms of a spread or mark up over the benchmark
rate. In the life of the security this spread may move adversely leading to loss in value of the portfolio. The yield of the
underlying benchmark might not change, but the spread of the security over the underlying benchmark might
increase leading to loss in value of the security.
 Basis Risk: The underlying benchmark of a floating rate security or a swap might become less active or may cease to
exist and thus may not be able to capture the exact interest rate movements, leading to loss of value of the portfolio.
 Risk factors associated with repo transactions in Corporate Bonds
The Scheme may be exposed to counter party risk in case of repo lending transactions in the event of the counterparty failing
to honour the repurchase agreement. However, in repo transactions, the collateral may be sold and a loss is realized only if the
sale price is less than the repo amount.
 Risks associated with Creation of Segregated portfolio
Investor holding units of segregated portfolio may not able to liquidate their holding till the time recovery of money from the
issuer. Security comprises of segregated portfolio may not realize any value. Listing of units of segregated portfolio on
recognized stock exchange does not necessarily guarantee their liquidity.
 Risks associated with asset class
Underlying assets in securitized debt may assume different forms and the general types of receivables include commercial
vehicles, auto finance, credit cards, home loans or any such receipts.
 Risks associated with pool characteristics:
 Size of the Loan
 Loan to Value Ratio
 Original maturity of loans and average seasoning of the pool
 Default rate distribution
 Credit Rating and Adequacy of Credit Enhancement
The process of “Credit enhancement” is fulfilled by filtering the underlying asset classes and applying selection criteria,
which further diminishes the risks inherent for a particular asset class. The purpose of credit enhancement is to ensure
timely payment to the investors, if the actual collection from the pool of receivables for a given period is short of the
contractual pay-out on securitization.
 Limited Liquidity & Price Risk: The secondary market for securitized papers is not very liquid. Even if a secondary
market develops and sales were to take place, these secondary transactions may be at a discount to the initial issue
price due to changes in the interest rate structure.
 Limited Recourse to Originator & Delinquency: No financial recourse is available to the Certificate Holders against
the Investors Representative. Delinquencies and credit losses may cause depletion of the amount available under the
credit enhancement and thereby the investor pay-outs may get affected if the amount available in the credit
enhancement facility is not enough to cover the shortfall. On persistent default of an obligor to repay his obligation,
the servicer may repossess and sell the underlying Asset.

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RISK, RETURN AND PERFORMANCE OF FUNDS
 Risks due to possible prepayments: Asset securitization is a process whereby commercial or consumer credits are
packaged and sold in the form of financial instruments. Full prepayment of underlying loan contract may arise only
under certain circumstances.
 Bankruptcy of the Originator or Seller: If originator becomes subject to bankruptcy proceedings and the court in the
bankruptcy proceedings concludes that the sale from originator to trust was not a sale then an Investor could
experience losses or delays inthe payments due.
 Bankruptcy of the Investor’s Agent: If Investor’s agent becomes subject to bankruptcy proceedings and the court in
the bankruptcy proceedings, and then an Investor could experience losses or delays in the payments due under the
agreement.
 Risk Factors Associated with Investments in REITs and InvITs
ReITs and InvITs are exposed to price-risk, interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity or marketability risk, reinvestment risk.
Also, there is a risk of lower than expected distributions. The distributions by the REIT or InvIT will be based on the net
cash flows available for distribution. The amount of cash available for distribution principally depends upon the
amount of cash that the REIT/InvITs receives as dividends or the interest and principal payments from portfolio assets.
 Managing Market Liquidity Risk: The liquidity risk is managed by creating a portfolio which has adequate access to
liquidity. The Investment Manager selects fixed income securities, which have or are expected to have high secondary
market liquidity. Market Liquidity Risk will be managed actively within the portfolio liquidity limits. The first access to
liquidity is through cash and fixed income securities.
 Managing Credit Risk: Credit Risk associated with fixed income securities is managed by making investments in
securities issued by borrowers, which have a good credit profile. The credit research process includes a detailed
in-house analysis and due diligence.
 Managing Term Structure of Interest Rates Risk: The Investment Manager actively manages the duration based on
the ensuing market conditions. As the fixed income investments of the Scheme are generally short duration in nature,
the risk is expected to be small.
 Managing Rating Migration Risk: The endeavour is to invest in high grade/quality securities. The due diligence
performed by the fixed income team before assigning credit limits and the periodic credit review and monitoring
should address company-specific issues.
 Re-investment Risk: Re-investment Risk is prevalent for fixed income securities, but as the fixed income investments
of the Scheme are generally short duration in nature, the impact can be expected to be small.
 Factors that affect mutual fund performance
 Difference between market/systematic risk and company specific risk: Various investments are exposed to a
number of risk factors. For example, stock prices move up or down based on various factors that impact the business
performance of the company, or the whole economy. Out of these, the risks that impact the specific company are
called company specific or firm specific risks. The risks that impact the entire economy are known as systematic risks.
The company specific risks are also known as unsystematic risks.
 Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks: “Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please
read the scheme related documents carefully before investing.” – These lines are part of any marketing
communication by mutual fund companies. This is a regulatory requirement. It is important to understand the
meaning of this line, to be able to take the advantages of the mutual funds. Let us understand this. Unlike most other
products, mutual fund is a pass-through vehicle, in which all the investment risks are passed onto the investor since
the investor/unit-holder is the owner of the fund. However, the fund may be subject to this risk as the investments
made by the fund may default on their commitments.

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RISK, RETURN AND PERFORMANCE OF FUNDS
 Drivers of Returns and Risk in a Scheme
 Factors Affecting Performance of Equity Schemes
▪ Fundamental and Technical analysis: Fundamental analysis is a study of the business and financial statements of
a firm in order to identify securities suitable for the strategy of the schemes as well as those with high potential
for investment returns and where the risks are low. The discipline of Technical Analysishas a completely different
approach. Technical Analysts believe that price behaviour of a share over a period of time throws up trends for the
future direction of the price. Along with past prices, the volumes traded indicate the underlying strength of the
trend and are a reflection of investor sentiment, which in turn will influence future price of the share.
▪ Price to Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio): Market Price per share ÷ Earnings Per Share (EPS). When investors buy shares
of a company, they are essentially buying into its future earnings. P/E ratio indicates how much investors in the
share market are prepared to pay (to become owners of the company), in relation to the company’s earnings. The
forward PE ratio is normally calculated based on a projected EPS for a future period.
▪ The Price Earnings to Growth (PEG) ratio relates the PE ratio to the growth estimated in the company’s earnings.
A PEG ratio of one indicates that the market has fairly valued the company’s shares, given its expected growth in
earnings. A ratio less than one indicates the equity shares of the company are undervalued, and a ratio greater
than one indicates an overvalued share.
▪ Book Value per Share: Net Worth ÷ No. of equity shares outstanding. This is an indicator of how much each share
is worth, as per the company’s own books of accounts. The accounts represent a historical perspective, and are a
function of various accounting policies adopted by the company.
▪ Price to Book Value: Market Price per share ÷ Book Value per share. An indicator of how much the share market is
prepared to pay for each share of the company, as compared to its book value. The drawback with this is that the
book value is an accounting measure and may not represent the true value of the assets of the company.
▪ Dividend Yield: Dividend per share ÷ Market price per share. This is used as a measure of the payouts received
from the company, in percentage, for each rupee of investment in the share. Dividend yield is considered as a
parameter by conservative investors looking to identify steady and lower risk equity investments. A high dividend
yield is the result of higher payout and/or lower market prices, both of which are preferred by such conservative
investors.
 Investment Styles – Growth and Value
▪ Growth investment style entails investing in high growth stocks i.e. stocks of companies that are likely to grow
much faster than the market. Many market players are interested in accumulating such growth stocks.
▪ Value investment style is an approach of picking up stocks, which are priced lower than their intrinsic value,
based on fundamental analysis. The belief is that the market has not appreciated some aspect of the value in a
company’s share – and hence it is cheap.
 Portfolio building approach – Top down and Bottom up
▪ In a top down approach, the portfolio manager evaluates the impact of economic factors first and narrows down
on the industries that are suitable for investment. Thereafter, the companies are analyzed and the good stocks
within the identified sectors are selected for investment.
▪ A bottom-up approach on the other hand analyses the company-specific factors first and then evaluates the
industry factors and finally the macro-economic scenario and its impact on the companies that are being
considered for investment.
 Factors affecting performance of Debt Schemes
▪ Interest Rates: Suppose an investor has invested in a debt security that yields a return of 8 percent. Subsequently,
yields in the market for similar securities rise to 9 percent. It stands to reason that the security, which was bought
at 8 percent yield, is no longer such an attractive investment. It will therefore lose value. Conversely, if the yields
in the market go down, the debt security will gain value. Thus, there is an inverse relationship between yields and
value of such debt securities, which offer a fixed rate of interest.
▪ Credit Spreads: Suppose an investor has invested in the debt security of a company. Subsequently, its credit
rating improves. The market will now be prepared to accept a lower credit spread. Correspondingly, the value of
the debt security will increase in the market.

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RISK, RETURN AND PERFORMANCE OF FUNDS
 Factors Affecting Performance of Gold Funds
▪ Global price of gold: Gold is seen as a safe haven asset class. Therefore, whenever there is political or economic
turmoil, gold prices shoot up. Most countries hold a part of their foreign currency reserves in gold. Similarly,
institutions like the International Monetary Fund have large reserves of gold. When they come to the market to
sell, gold prices weaken. Purchases of gold by large countries tend to push up the price of gold.
▪ Strength of the Rupee: Economic research into inflation and foreign currency flows helps analysts anticipate the
likely trend of foreign currency rates. When the rupee becomes stronger, the same foreign currency can be
bought for fewer rupees. Therefore, the same gold price translates into a lower rupee value for the gold portfolio.
 Factors affecting performance of Real Estate funds
▪ Economic scenario: At times of uncertainty about the economy (like recessionary situation), people prefer to
postpone real estate purchases and as a consequence, real estate prices weaken. As the economy improves, real
estate prices also tend to keep pace.
▪ Infrastructure development: Whenever infrastructure in an area improves, real estate values increases.
▪ Interest Rates: When money is cheap and easily available, more people buy real estate. This pushes up real estate
prices. Rise in interest rates therefore softens the real estate market.
 Measures of Returns
▪ Simple Return = (Sale Value- cost value)/ Cost Value
▪ Annualized Return = (Simple Return * 12)/ Period of simple return (in months)
▪ Compounded Return
▪ Compounded Annual Growth Rate
 Factors Affecting Performance of Gold Funds
▪ The primary factor that investors use for selecting a mutual fund for investment is the return that ithas generated.
To make the selection more robust, it is important to consider the consistency of there turn performance and the
performance relative to the benchmark of the scheme and its peer group funds. However, the return number
alone is not adequate to make a decision to invest in a scheme or exit from a scheme. The suitability of the scheme
to an investor’s needs must also consider the risk associated with the scheme. This includes evaluating factors like
the volatility in returns over time. The extent of volatility indicates the riskiness of the scheme. First, the asset
allocation of the scheme should be in line with the investor’s need for growth, income or liquidity. The discipline
with which the scheme sticks to the stated asset allocation, the scheme’s policy of moving to cash, the extent of
diversification across stocks and sectors and the credit rating and duration of debt securities will have an impact
on the returns but also on the risk.
 Measures of Risk
▪ Variance: Variance measures the fluctuation in periodic returns of a scheme, as compared to its own average
return. This can be easily calculated in MS Excel using the following function: = var (range of cells where the
periodic returns are calculated) Variance as a measure of risk is relevant for both debt and equity schemes.
▪ Standard Deviation: Standard Deviation too measures the fluctuation in periodic returns of a scheme in relation
to its own average return. Mathematically, standard deviation is equal to the square root of variance. Standard
deviation is a measure of total risk in an investment. As a measure of risk it is relevant for both debt and equity
schemes. A high standard deviation indicates greater volatility in the returns and greater risk.
▪ Beta: Beta is based on the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), which states that there are two kinds of risk in
investing in equities – systematic risk and non-systematic risk. Beta measures the fluctuation in periodic returns
in a scheme, as compared to fluctuation in periodic returns of a diversified stock index (representing the market)
over the same period.
▪ Modified Duration: The modified duration measures the sensitivity of value of a debt security to changes in
interest rates. Higher the modified duration, higher is the interest sensitive risk in a debt portfolio.
▪ Weighted Average Maturity: While modified duration captures interest sensitivity of a security better, it can be
reasoned that longer the maturity of a debt security, higher would be its interest rate sensitivity. Extending the
logic, weighted average maturity of debt securities in a scheme’s portfolio is indicative of the interest rate
sensitivity of a scheme.

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RISK, RETURN AND PERFORMANCE OF FUNDS
▪ Credit Rating: The credit rating profile indicates the credit or default risk in a scheme. Government securities do
not have a credit risk. Similarly, cash and cash equivalents do not have a credit risk. Investments in corporate
issuances carry credit risk. Higher the credit rating lower is the default risk.
 Certain Provisions with respect to Credit risk
▪ TER for Segregated Portfolio: AMC will not charge investment and advisory fees on the segregated portfolio.
However, TER can be charged, on a pro-rata basis only upon recovery of the investments in segregated portfolio.
The TER so levied shall not exceed the simple average of such expenses. The legal charges related to recovery of
the investments of the segregated portfolio may be charged to the segregated portfolio in proportion to the
amount of recovery.
▪ Net Asset Value of Segregated Portfolio: The Net Asset Value (NAV) of the segregated portfolio is required to be
declared on a daily basis. Adequate disclosure of the segregated portfolio shall appear in all scheme related
documents, in monthly and half-yearly portfolio disclosures and in the annual report of the mutual fund and the
scheme.

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MUTUAL FUND SCHEME PERFORMANCE
Benchmark
Mutual fund schemes invest in the market for the benefit of Unit-holders. An approach to assess the performance is to
pre-define a comparable – a benchmark – against which the scheme can be compared. The benchmark should be calculated
by an independent agency in a transparent manner, and published regularly. Most benchmarks are constructed by stock
exchanges, credit rating agencies, securities research houses or financial publications. The investment objective is clear on the
index that the scheme would mirror. That index would then be the benchmark for the scheme.
Price Return Index or Total Return Index
Earlier, the Mutual Fund schemes were benchmarked to the Price Return variant of an Index (PRI). PRI only captures capital
gains of the index constituents. With effect from February 2018 ,1, the mutual fund schemes are benchmarked to the Total
Return variant of an Index (TRI).
The Total Return variant of an index takes into account all dividends/interest payments that are generated from the basket of
constituents that make up the index in addition to the capital gains.
Basis of choosing an appropriate performance benchmark
 Benchmarks for equity schemes
 Scheme Type: A sector fund would invest in only the concerned sector; while there are some funds that invest in all
sectors. Therefore, funds investing in different sectors need to have a diversified index as a benchmark index, like S&P
BSE Sensex or Nifty 50 or S&P BSE 200 or S&P BSE 500.
 Choice of Investment Universe: Some equity funds investing in different sectors invest in large companies; while
there are others that focus on mid-cap stocks or small cap stocks. S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 indices are calculated
based on 30 (in the case of Sensex) / 50 (in the case of Nifty) large companies.
 Choice of Portfolio Concentration: Some equity funds investing in different sectors prefer to have fewer stocks in
their portfolio. For such schemes, appropriate benchmarks are narrow indices such as S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty 50,
which have fewer stocks.
 Benchmarks for Debt Schemes
 Scheme Type: Liquid schemes invest in securities of up to 91 days’ maturity. Therefore, a short term money market
benchmark such as NSE’s MIBOR or CRISIL Liquid Fund Index is suitable.
 Choice of Investment Universe: Gilt funds invest only in Government securities. Therefore, indices based on
Government Securities are appropriate.
 Benchmarks for Other Schemes
 Hybrid Fund: Hybrid funds invest in a mix of debt and equity. Therefore, the benchmark for a hybrid fund is a blend of
an equity and debt index.
 Gold ETF: Gold price would be the benchmark for such funds.
 Real Estate Funds: A few real estate services companies have developed real estate indices. These have shorter
histories, and are yet to earn the wider acceptance that the equity indices enjoy.
 International Funds: The benchmark would depend on where the scheme proposes to invest. Thus, a scheme seeking
to invest in China might have the Hang Seng Index (Chinese index) as the benchmark. S&P 500 may be appropriate for
a scheme that would invest largely in the US market.
 Standard benchmarks: For the sake of standardization, schemes need to disclose return in INR and by way of CAGR
for the following benchmarks apart from the scheme benchmarks:

Scheme Type Benchmark

Equity Scheme Sensex or NIFTY

Long Term Debt Scheme 10-years dated GOI Security
Short-Term Debt Fund 1 year T-Bill

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MUTUAL FUND SCHEME PERFORMANCE
This was proposed in order to bring standardization to the process of benchmarking as well as comparing the scheme
performance with easily available indices.
Quantitative Measures of Fund Manager Performance
 Absolute and relative returns
 Sharpe Ratio: Sharpe Ratio is effectively the risk premium generated by assuming per unit of risk. Higher theSharpe Ratio,
better the scheme is considered to be.
 Treynor Ratio: Higher the Treynor Ratio, better the scheme is considered to be. Since the concept of Beta is more relevant
for diversified equity schemes, Treynor Ratio comparisons should ideally be restricted to such schemes.
 Alpha: The difference between a scheme’s actual return and its optimal return is its Alpha– a measure ofthe fund
manager’s performance.
 Tracking Error: The Beta of the market, by definition is 1. An index fund mirrors the index. Therefore, the index fund too
would have a Beta of 1, and it ought to earn the same return as the market. The difference between an index fund’s return
and the market return is the tracking error. Tracking error is a measure of the consistency of the out-performance of the
fund managerrelative to the benchmark.
Quantitative Measures of Fund Manager Performance
SEBI has mandated disclosure of performance data by all the asset management companies(AMCs). These disclosures can be
accessed through certain scheme documents and website of the fund house. Following are the required disclosures:
 Suitability
 Returns
 Portfolio Description
 Fund Factsheets

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MUTUAL FUND SCHEME SELECTION
Scheme Selection based on Investor needs, preferences and risk-profile
 AInvestor Need: The selection of a mutual fund scheme for an investor will depend upon the need that the investor has
from the investment. The investor may need long term appreciation in the value of his investment, or the investor may
need periodic income from the investment, or the investor may need periodic income from the investment, or the
investor may be looking for an avenue to park funds and need an investment with high liquidity. Therefore, understanding
mutual fund schemes should eventually help one to build a robust investment portfolio.
 Risk Profile of the investor: The investor’s risk appetite is a function of three things—the need to take risks, the ability to
take risks, and the willingness to take risks. Thus, an understanding of the risk profile and the investment risks associated
with various mutual fund schemes would be essential for deciding the asset allocation in an investor’s portfolio.
 Asset Allocation: The investor’s need from the investment will determine the asset class that is most suitable for the
investor. Along with the need from the investment, the investor’s ability to take risk and the investor’s investment horizon
is equally important to select the appropriate asset class. The investor’s asset allocation is a decision regarding how much
money should be allocated to which scheme category (asset class). This decision can be taken only after assessing the
investor’s risk profile and analyzing investor’s goals and situation.
 Age of the investor: One of the common factors that many people use to evaluate the investor’s risk profile is the investor’s
age. It is popularly believed that younger investors have the potential for taking higher risks compared to old people.
 Investment time horizon: As against the investor’s age, one may consider the time horizon to the respective financial goal
for which one is investing. Longer the horizon to the goal, the ability to take risk is higher, whereas one may avoid risks
when the goal is in the near future.
 Core and satellite portfolio: At this stage it is also good to consider the role that the scheme will play in the investor’s
portfolio. Ideally the portfolio should be divided into core and satellite portfolios. The core portfolio will be invested
according to the long term needs and goals of the investor. The satellite portfolio will be invested to take advantage of
expected short-term market movements.
Risk levels in mutual fund schemes
As one moves from liquid funds to debt funds to hybrid funds to equity funds, the potential returns as well as the investment
risks increases. The risk-return profiles of debt funds may be seen in light of two separate risks—credit risk and interest rate risk.
The higher the market capitalization in equity mutual fund schemes, higher is the potential returns as well as the investment
risks. Smaller companies are riskier than their larger counterparts, and hence small cap funds carry higher risk than mid cap
funds, which in turn are riskier than the large cap funds. A focused fund is riskier than a diversified fund. The risk levels in
different categories of mutual fund schemes can be understood with the help of product labeling of Mutual Funds.
Scheme Selection based on investment strategy of mutual funds
 Active or Passive funds: Passive funds are suitable for investors looking for exposure to an asset class without the risks
associated with fund manager selection and strategies. Index funds are passive funds. They are expected to offer a return
in line with the market because they invest in a portfolio that mimics a market index in the securities it invests in and in
the weightages allotted to each security in the portfolio. An investor in an active fund is bearing a higher cost for the fund
management, and a higher risk to earn returns better than the benchmark.
 Open or close ended: The significant benefit that open-ended funds offer is liquidity viz. the option of getting back the
current value of the unit-holding from the scheme. A close-ended scheme offers liquidity through its listing on a stock
exchange. Unfortunately, mutual fund units are not that actively traded in the market. A holder of units in a close-ended
scheme will need counterparty in the stock exchange in order to be able to sell his units and recover its value.
 Diversified, Sector or Thematic: The critical difference between diversified and sector fund is that the multi-sector
exposure in a diversified fund makes it less risky. Sector funds are risky because of the concentration in one sector. If the
sector under-performs then the scheme’s returns is likely to be poor.
 Large-cap v/s Mid-cap / Small Cap Funds
 Growth or Value funds: Funds that follow the growth strategy seek to identify companies that are expected to grow at
rates higher than the average economic growth rate. Value strategy seeks to identify stocks that are available at a price
that is seen as cheap relative to the value that could be unlocked in the future
 International Equity funds: Investors might consider investing abroad, for any of the following reasons. When an Indian
investor invests in equities abroad, he is essentially taking two exposures:
 An exposure on the international equity market.
 An exposure to the exchange rate of the rupee. If the investor invests in the US, and the US Dollar becomes stronger
during the period of his investment, he benefits; if the US Dollar weakens (i.e. Rupee becomes stronger), he loses or
the portfolio returns will be lower.

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MUTUAL FUND SCHEME SELECTION
 Others
 Monthly Income Plans (MIP)  Liquid/ Short Term Debt/ Floating Rate schemes
 Fixed maturity Plans (FMP)  Hybrid Schemes
 Diversified Debt funds  Gold Fund

 How to select a fund with a category?

 Matching Portfolio with its investment objective  Fund Age
 Fund Manager  Fund Size
 Fund Performance  Portfolio Turnover
 Fund Portfolio  Scheme running schemes

Do’s and Don’ts while selecting mutual fund schemes

 Ensuring Suitability
 Sticking to Investor’s Asset allocation
 Chasing Past performance
 Understanding Investment objective and investment strategy of the scheme
 Keeping an eye on taxes and loads
 Developing a consistent method for scheme selection

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