Skip to main content

Track performance make the best use of Mutual Fund Investment

 

A SIGNIFICANT part of the mutual fund investment process involves tracking the performance of the various funds. In many cases, apart from the funds where the investment has taken place, it is also necessary to track how some other funds are doing because they might represent future investment choice for the investor.

This will help the investor to keep a close watch on their investment portfolio and will also throw up areas where some changes need to be made. While tracking the fund performance, there is a need to keep the following factors in mind.

Time period: The time period after which the fund performance is tracked has an impact on the effectiveness of the entire process. A daily tracking of the situation might not help because over a period of time this will lead to a situation where the overall position looks confusing because there will be short-term movements in either direction. On the other hand, if a fund is taken into the portfolio and then forgotten, then this will also not be a very good sign. It can lead to a position where significant changes might not come to attention. This is the reason why there has to be a reasonable time gap after which the performance can be tracked. A period of one month or even three months is the generally adopted time when such an activity is undertaken.

Areas to track: The time decided for the purpose of tracking will lead to another question which is the area that has to be tracked.

This point will answer several questions and, hence, deciding on this issue is a very important thing for the individual. One of the things that have to be tracked is the kind of gains or losses that are running up in the investment. This depends upon the time of investment and the manner in which the fund has been performing after the investment. This will not give a complete picture so something more is required. When it comes to mutual funds then it can be the portfolio of the fund or other indicators like ratios that measure risk so that it presents a better picture for the investor.

Availability of details: Another thing that has to be kept in mind is that the tracking has to have synchronisation with the availability of new details emerging from the mutual fund. This is the only way in which the tracking can be made effective as there will be new information that can be processed and hence acted upon where necessary. For example, it makes no sense to keep

looking at the portfolio of the fund on a weekly basis when the fund is actually releasing the changes in portfolio on the monthly basis. If the weekly tracking is done then no change will be visible for a lot of weeks and then nothing needs to be reviewed.


Other details: It is not just the portfolio and the changes in the value of the fund that actually need tracking because there are a lot of the other areas that might be important for the individual.


This happens as other conditions related to the fund like the manner of charging of the exit load or even the period when there is a lock in on the fund can have changed.

When this happens then the consequent decisions of the individual will also change and looking at these areas is essential to keep things in proper balance while making various decisions. Apart from all this it is also vital that all the information gathered is then acted upon.
 

Popular posts from this blog

Equity investors should track market developments

The stock markets have been volatile over the last few days. They are in a sideways movement and trying to find the bottom after a fall of 20 percent a week ago. The market sentiments are not very positive at the moment and the recent developments are expected to dampen them further. Globally, governments and central banks are trying to cut rates and announce packages to improve business sentiments. These are some of the major developments in the markets last few month: A) Global On the global front, another large US bank went into a financial crisis. The US government took quick measures to avoid the spread negative sentiments in the markets. The US government announced a bail-out package and agreed to shoulder the losses on the bank's risky assets. China announced a large cut in interest rates and reserve ratio to boost the investor sentiments in the markets. Recently, the World Bank announced China's growth rate next year will come down to 7.5 percent. The European ...

TDS Rate and Personal Account Number(PAN)

    The TDS rate doubles to 20% from 10% if you fail to mention your Personal Account Number   IF you run a glance through your pay slip, you will come across something called TDS, which is tax deduction at source. In most cases, the employer deducts this amount at the time of payment of salary itself and pays the total tax amount to the government on behalf of all the employees. If you are a self- employed or practicing professional s, you have to pay this amount yourself.    Tax deducted at source is one of the modes of income tax collection by the government. Under the income-tax laws, income tax at specified rates is required to be deducted while making certain payments.    The rate of deduction of tax at source on interest and rent payment is 10%. For salary payments, the employers deduct income tax at source on a monthly basis after computing income tax liability on estimated annual taxable income of the employee. Tax benefits on housing loan, investments, etc are consid...

Fortis Mutual Fund

Fortis Mutual Fund, a relatively new player, it is still to prove its case and define its position in the industry. In September 2004, it came onto the scene with a bang - three debt schemes, one MIP and one diversified equity scheme. And investors flocked to it. Going by the standards at that time, it had a great start in terms of garnering money. Mopping up over Rs 2,000 crore in five schemes was not bad at all. The fund house has not been too successful in the equity arena, in terms of assets. Though it has seven equity schemes, it is debt and cash funds that corner the major portion of the assets. Most of the schemes are pretty new, and the two that have been around for a while have a 3-star rating each. The last two were Fortis Sustainable Development (April 2007), which received a rather poor response, and Fortis China India (October 2007). Fortis Flexi Debt has been one of the better performing funds, after a dismal performance in 2005. It currently has a 5-star rating. None ...

Banks tweak ATM strategies

Unrestricted usage of third-party ATMs ends on Thursday The era of free ATM usage will come to an end on Thursday, October 15. Every transaction carried out on another bank’s ATM could cost an account holder as much as Rs 20 and withdrawals will face a limit of Rs 10,000, the Indian Bank’s Association has said in its guidelines. According to the guidelines, banks can offer savings-account holders five free thirdparty withdrawals every month —they can be charged from the sixth transaction onwards. Current account holders can be charged the fees, which ranges from Rs 18 to Rs 20, from the very first transaction. Most banks are convinced that charging current account and no-frill account customers from the word go is a good idea. It suggests that the usage of ATMs by current-account holders is price-insensitive. For others, banks have decided to frame their charges depending on the profile of the customer. For instance, HDFC Bank is allowing its salary account and premium customers an unl...

Women need to plan for Retirement

Plan for Retirement Online       Higher life expectancy, lower pay and fewer work years necessitate thorough planning.   Women have raced ahead of men in various fields but, when it comes to retirement planning, they tend to lag behind. Despite saving a higher proportion of their salary, compared to men, women generally do not take retirement planning seriously. Below are some of the reasons why they should: According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in India, the life expectancy of women is 69 years and, of men, it's 66 years. Due to this, a woman will need an additional `55 lakh to manage her living expenses (see table).Besides, usually, women work fewer years compared to men to take care of children and family.Further, a recent study by Korn Ferry Hay Group shows that women in India earn 18.8% less than men. Not to mention, a higher life expectancy can also mean higher medical expenses as the likelihood of health ailments such as diabetes, high...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Applications
Transact Mutual Funds Online Invest Online
Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now