Often termed as investment vehicles, mutual funds can be used to invest in asset classes such as equities or fixed income. For beginning investments in a fund plan, you will have to be compliant with the KYC regulations. You will also have to possess your bank account and PAN card. There are several mutual fund schemes to choose from, and likewise, one can find a number of ways to invest in them. There are offline or online avenues for investments along with other types of plans. Like everything else, each of these options is accompanied by their own advantages as well as limitations, which vary largely, depending on investor to investor. If you are keen to know more about investing in mutual funds in India, the ways include – direct plan, through intermediaries, through IFAs, directly with the AMC, through online portals, through your bank, through Demat and online trading account, electronic money transfer, electronic clearing service (ECS), National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), Interbank Mobile Payments (IMPS) facility, etc.
Ever since India has interacted with the world, a number of complex factors have begun to impact the Indian stock market, including an increase in short-term US interest rates, the collapse of the Brazilian currency, or default on its debt by the Russian government, and so on. it might not be impossible for an individual investor to understand Indian companies and investing amidst such an environment, the process can turn out to be quite time-consuming. In such a scenario, mutual funds offer an option of investing without being puzzled by the complexities. Mutual funds also ensure risk diversification, which is amongst the primary tenets of portfolio structuring. It also alleviates the level of risk assumed by the portfolio holder.
