Ways to Pick Good Mutual Fund

Ways to Pick Good Mutual Fund

When finally you have decided to invest in Mutual Fund the next question arises which mutual fund to choose from and will the chosen fund provide you the required return satisfying your goals.

Here are some ways to pick good mutual fund which will help to make correct decision.

  1. Buying No-Load Mutual Funds.

Mutual funds make their money by charging fees to the investor. It is important to gain an understanding of the different types of fees that you may face when purchasing an investment. Some funds charge a sales fee known as a load fee, which will either be charged upon the initial investment or upon the sale of the investment. There are some fund houses which do not have load charges and it increases the profit as one would not have to pay load charges.

  1. Being Careful to Expense Ratio.

Expense ratio is very important parameter to be looked at while selecting any mutual fund scheme. All fund management and distribution related expenses are borne by the scheme. This means high expense ratio will affect the fund’s returns.

  1. Evaluating Past Performance and Experience of Fund Managers.

Fund manager plays a very important role in the fund’s performance. Fund manager is the ultimate decision maker and his experience and view point matters a lot. Before investing one should evaluate fund manager’s past performance and track record. If you find that due to change in the fund manager there is considerable effect on the fund’s performance which does not suit your risk appetite then you may make a decision to exit.

  1. Size of Fund.

This parameter is different for debt and equity schemes. In equity the comfortable asset size is hundreds of crores, in debt it should be in thousands of crores as the investment value per investor is higher in debt funds. 90 % of total Assets Under Management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry are invested in debt funds, so your selected scheme assets should also have a considerable AUM. Less AUM in any scheme is very risky as you don’t know who the investors are and what quantum of investments they have in this particular scheme.

  1. Identifying Goals and Risk Tolerance.

Before investing an investor must first identify his or her goals and desires for the money being invested. Depending on his/her goals investor must the mutual fund which meets his particular goals be it short term or long term. In addition, investors must also consider the issue of risk tolerance- Is the investor risk adverse or risk tolerant. Depending on this he /she should opt for particular Mutual fund.

 

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