Skip to main content

Mutual Fund Colour Code for Risk Level

Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

Sebi's move to introduce a system of colour coding and product labeling will help mutual fund investors better understand the products and their suitability



The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has added yet another dimension to the colours in your life.


From July 1, blue would also mean low risk; yellow would tell you that you are taking medium risk, and brown would indicate that you are putting your money in a high-risk product. Well, this comes after Sebi's decision to introduce a system of colour coding and product labelling for mutual funds. According to the market watchdog, these would help investors to better understand the product they are investing in and its suitability to them. All mutual funds would label their new as well as existing schemes from July. A colour code will give an investor a preliminary idea of the kind of product he is looking to invest in, Wealth Forum. However, this doesn't mean that you would ignore other traditional parameters used to select a scheme. Investors need to choose a scheme based on their financial goals, time horizon and risk tolerance.


How Does It Work?


All common application forms, scheme advertisements and product brochures would have a product label, which will tell you about the nature of the schemes, investment objective, the kind of instruments it will invest in and the risk it will carry. This will be followed by the level of risk in a colour box. This would mean that all debt schemes -- be it a fixed maturity plan (FMP), liquid fund, income fund or gilt fund -- will carry a blue colour code.


On the other, hybrid products like a monthly income plan (MIP), or balanced fund will carry a yellow colour code; while all equity funds --- be it an index fund, large-cap fund, small-cap fund or a sectoral fund-—will carry a brown colour code.


As per Sebi illustration, a product label of an equity scheme which carries a brown label will say: This product is suitable for investors who are seeking long-term capital growth, investment in equity and equity-related securities, including equity derivatives of top 200 companies by market capitalisation and carries high risk.


If a retired investor wants to conserve capital and does not want equity at all, the brown colour could serve as a warning bell and he could question the distributor if he has been offered a high-risk product. The colour coding will help an investor start a discussion with his advisor. For example, a 30-year-old investor investing for his child's education, which is more than 10 years away, could have more than 60% of his portfolio allocated to brown funds; while a retired person averse to equities should not have any brown fund in his portfolio.


There are many critics to the colour scheme, who feel that just three colour codes may not work for the investors. Having only three colour codes will not be a full and final solution for an investor. For example, an index fund which carries lower risk than a sectoral fund or a small-cap fund will also carry the brown colour. However, it is well known that an index fund carries the lowest risk amongst equity funds, while a sectoral fund carries highest risk. Thus it would be very difficult for investors to choose merely by seeing the colour code. Similarly, a monthly income plan (MIP) and a balanced fund both would carry a yellow colour. While a MIP could have merely 5-10% equity component, a balanced fund could even have 70% of its corpus invested into equities, thereby carrying higher risk. But then there are many others who believe that too many colours could eventually end up confusing an investor, than helping him. That means you should use the colour coding only as a starting point and do further research before signing up for a product. 

Happy Investing!!

We can help. Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India)

Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them

OR

You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com

---------------------------------------------

Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds ( ELSS Mutual Funds ) to upto Rs 1 lakh and Save tax under Section 80C.

Invest Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online

These links can be used to Purchase Mutual Funds Online that are regular also (Investment, non-tax saving)

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Applications

These Application Forms can be used for buying regular mutual funds also

Some of the best Tax Saving Mutual Funds available ( ELSS Mutual Funds )

  1. ICICI Prudential Tax PlanInvest Online
  2. HDFC TaxSaverInvest Online
  3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver FundInvest Online
  4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) FundInvest Online
  5. Birla Sun Life Tax Relief '96 Invest Online
  6. IDFC Tax Advantage (ELSS) FundInvest Online
  7. SBI Magnum Tax Gain Scheme 1993Invest Online
  8. Sundaram Tax SaverInvest Online
  9. Edelweiss ELSS Invest Online

------------------

Best Performing Mutual Funds

    1. Largecap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
      3. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
    2. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
      2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
      3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
    1. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
      2. DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund
      3. Sundaram Select Midcap
      4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
    1. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online
      1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
    1. Sector Funds Invest Online
      1. Reliance Banking Fund
      2. Reliance Banking Fund
    1. Tax Saver MutualFundsInvest Online
      1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan
      2. HDFC Taxsaver
      3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
      4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund
    2. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online
      1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
      2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
      3. HDFC Gold Fund

Popular posts from this blog

Rs 14,000 Crore worth of tax free bonds coming soon from NHAI , PFC

  NHAI, PFC file prospectuses, coupon rate not yet decided MORE debt investment options have opened up for investors with AAA rated tax-free bonds worth over Rs 14,000 crore lined up. The National Highway Authority of India ( NHAI ) and Power Finance Corporation ( PFC ) are offering Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 4,033.13 crore worth of tax-free bonds, respectively, as per prospectuses filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Of a Rs 5,000 crore issue by PFC, Rs 966.87 crore has already been raised through private placement on September 28 and November 1. Tax-free bonds give investors tax-free return on any amount invested. In another kind of bonds, the long-term infrastructure bonds, investments up to Rs 20,000 are tax exempt, that is this cap amount can be deducted from the taxable income. Accordingly, the NHAI prospectus has clarified that only the amount of interest from -and not the actual investment on -its new bonds will be tax-free. "NHAI's publ...
Read more

Change in Fund Manager for some of HSBC Mutual Fund Schemes

Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Call 0 94 8300 8300 (India) However, this facility is only available to Unit holders who have been assigned a folio number by the AMC.   HSBC Mutual Fund has announced that the below mentioned schemes shall be managed by the new fund managers as stated in the table. The effective date will be July 02, 2012.   Amaresh Mishra 's will be Vice President and Assistant Fund Manager. Having done a Post graduate diploma in Business Management and Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, he has over seven years of experience in Equities and Sales.   Mr. Piyush Harlalka's designation shall be Vice President- Fixed Income. Qualified as a C.A., C.S. and holding M.B.A.( Finance degree), he has over six years of experience in Fund management and ...
Read more

How EEE and EET Tax affect Retirement Investments

  An important factor while choosing a financial product is its taxation , and for retirement savings, this is even more important as the sums involved are usually life-long savings. Here's a look at the current tax treatment of three major long-term retirement planning products, which are - Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Pension System (NPS). EPF The tax treatment is EEE, which means your money is exempt from taxes at the time of investment, accumulation and withdrawal. At the time of investment, the tax deduction is under the limit of section 80C of the Income-tax Act , which is currently Rs 1.5 lakh. Partial withdrawals are also tax-free if made after 5 years of continuous service. If withdrawals are made before 5 years of service, 10% tax will be deducted at source. Exceptions have also been provided for transfer of amount and conditions wherein the subscriber is unemployed for more than 2 months or the loss of job was beyond th...
Read more

Personal Finance: You can insure your wedding

But luck may not always be on your side. With the frequency of such attacks, as also other risks and unforeseen accidents growing, a wedding insurance is something you may want to look at if a marriage is being planned in the family. Event insurance plans like this is still in its nascent stages due to low awareness. And given the sacred nature of the ritual, nobody wants to discuss or think negative. But as wedding spends and risks grow, it makes sense to cover the potential monetary loss. The policy in those countries even covers the loss of the wedding ring, the wedding gown not reaching on time and even the expenses/loss due to late or non-appearance of the photographer which may mean staging the event once again for the photograph. In India, most insurance companies — including ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Oriental Insurance, Bajaj Allianz and National Insurance — offer wedding insurance. The policy is tailor made to individual requirements and needs. The sum insur...
Read more

DSP BlackRock MidCap Fund

Best SIP Funds Online   HOW HAS DSP BlackRock Small & Mid Cap Fund PERFORMED? With a 10-year return of 14.61%, the fund has outperformed both the category average (12.34%) and the benchmark (10%) by a good margin. Should you invest in DSP BlackRock Small & Mid Cap Fund? This fund invests predominantly in mid-cap stocks but takes a sizeable exposure in small-caps as well. The focus is on nascent companies with high growth potential. The fund manager places emphasis on quality and avoids inferior businesses even if these look tempting from a valuation perspective. Over the past year, the fund portfolio has grown, having added to some of the underperforming sectors like chemicals and healthcare. Its portfolio churn has come down significantly. The heavily diversified portfolio is run completely agnostic of its benchmark index— most bets are from outside the index—which can at times lead to bouts of underperformance as seen in the recent years....
Read more
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