Skip to main content

Mutual Fund buying - Cost Effective Versus Convenient

Besides investing in mutual funds through an independent financial advisor or distributor, the likes of Kumar can invest directly via asset management companies (AMCs), banks and online portals (such as Fund Supermart, iFast Financial). There is yet another option that was launched almost a year before —mutual fund trading platforms —offered by both the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. Popularly known as the mutual fund service system or MFSS, it allows you to invest in mutual funds through brokers. Here, an important requirement is a demat account.

On the other hand, approaching an AMC directly will imply spending a few hours in travelling and waiting at the fund house's office.

Cost

If you are transacting through the stock exchange trading platform, you need to pay a transaction charge of about 0.5 per cent and an annual maintenance charge of `500-700 for the demat account.

You do not need to pay an advisory fee, such as in case of distributors and banks. A fee of one-two per cent of investment amount or a flat one of `150200, is typically charged by distributors and banks. When you approach an AMC directly, you do not pay anything over and above the amount you invest.

Redemption

If you want to withdraw from a scheme, the settlement is done on a T+3 basis (transaction day plus three days) on all investment platforms for equity schemes. It means you receive the proceeds three days after redeeming the fund units.

If you apply for redemption before 3 pm on a particular day, you will get the same day's net asset value (NAV) at the market closing time. If applied after 3 pm, the next day's closing NAV will be applicable.

Systematic investment plan (SIP)

While investing through MFSS, you may not be able to invest in SIP. Only a few fund houses, such as Reliance Mutual Fund, offer the SIP option over the exchange platform. Also, you may not have the option of many schemes on this platform, as AMCs have listed only a few equity schemes on MFSS.

We will soon enter the second phase of MFSS and SIP will be made available, other channels of investment can get you a whole host of schemes and SIP to choose from.

Taxation

Mutual fund investments attract the Securities and Transaction Tax (STT) of 0.25 per cent. It is applicable irrespective of the channel you choose to invest through. But the manner of levying the tax varies with your choice of intermediary.

Say, you invest `1lakh in a mutual fund scheme and the investment doubles in a year. If invested via a non-exchange channel, STT (500) will be levied on redemption. But over MFSS, STT is divided into two parts of 0.125 per cent and levied both on investing and redeeming. The total STT payable, here, will be `375 (125 on the investment amount and `250 on the redemption amount).

Loan against mutual funds

A key advantage of investing in funds via exchange platform is that you hold the units in demat form.

For pledging demat units, you need to present the pledge slip, which your broker will give you, and it will go to the lender. The lender, too, assured as the depository holding the units, can act as a guarantor for the fund transaction.

However, when you invest through other channels to pledge the units, you first need to register these with the fund house. The fund house will hand over the transaction receipt that is to be given to the lender. The process can be time-consuming and cumbersome. And, it will get magnified if you hold units with different fund houses.

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 Mutual Funds Online

Transact Mutual Fund Online

Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs

Download Mutual Fund Application Forms

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 Mutual  Funds  Invest 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

Group Health Insurance

Buy Group Health Insurance Online   For Human Resources, the biggest challenge today is to decide whether medical benefits should be offered to employees or not, what type of plans should be offered, what will be the cost and how will the cost be split between employees and employer. Well, most of these are subjective and would depend on a lot of factors including company size, average employee salary, etc. However, this article will give you a fair idea on how you should go about deciding these factors: 1. Why offer group health insurance benefit to employees : Studies have proved that retention rates among employers offering GHI are much higher than the ones who are not offering. Moreover, the cost of providing this benefit as a percentage of salary is very low as compared to the perceived value. As an example, say if average salary of an employee in your organization is 4 LPA. If you decide to offer a health insurance benefit to him for a Sum insured of ...
Read more

ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan Invest Online

Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan             Invest Online This fund does remarkably well during falling markets, but fails to show the same prowess during a rising market. The fund sticks to its mandate to adapt to the dynamic nature of the market by shuttling between debt and equity. It takes aggressive asset calls in equity when the market surges by investing in quality mid-cap stocks. At the same time, it adopts a defensive strategy by investing in debt and cash when markets get overvalued, making it a good long-term choice.     For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call     Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   Leave your comment with mail ID and we will ...
Read more

Lump Sum or SIP?

Invest Mutual Fund Online     You have a lump sum in hand and you wish to invest in equity funds. However, you have heard a lot of talk about investing in equity funds through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) because they help average costs, ensure you do not ill-time the market, and help you invest in small sums, besides giving you many other advantages. So, should you invest the money you have in hand in one go, or let it remain in your bank account and then do an SIP? There is no harm in investing a lump sum amount. For all you know, compounding, over the long term, could work better with lump sum. However, make sure you fulfill all of these three criteria if you want to invest in one go. Else, SIP is the way to go. #1: You invest for the long term According to past data, ideally, if you have a time frame of 12 years or more, you can consider lump sum investing (provided you satisfy the other two conditions that follow). So, what is the sanctity behind 12 years? Is it because only...
Read more

Why credit history is critical?

Will you need a loan to buy a car or a house? Do you know why some people get their loans sanctioned quickly without any hassle, whereas others find that their approval is delayed or their application is rejected? If you want a loan, you will need to work to build a solid credit history because this can have a bearing on the ease with which you get loans. Read on to learn more about what is a credit history and how to build a good credit score. What is a credit history? Your credit history is a way of tracking your credit behaviour and habits — basically it shows how disciplined and regular you are when it comes to repaying your dues on loans that you have taken. It will show a complete record of your past borrowing and repayment record including details about any late payments or if you have defaulted on a loan. This track record is readily accessible to lenders and is used by them to when reviewing your loan application. Borrowers who have historically had a bad record of managing...
Read more

Income tax Section 80CCF - A Tax saving Scheme that has Buyback Option IDFC Infra Bonds

IDFC has come out with a public issue of long-term infrastructure bonds in the form of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures. Investments of up to . 20,000 in these infrastructure bonds are eligible for tax exemption under section 80CCF. This is in addition to the . 1 lakh limit available under Section 80C, 80CCC and section 80CCD of the Income-Tax Act. The issue is currently open and will close for subscription on December 16. The bonds on offer have two investment options. While series 1 carries a 9% coupon, payable annually, series 2 is a cumulative option where 9% will be paid compounded annually. The face value of each bond is . 5,000 and one can apply for a minimum of two bonds. The bonds have a lock-in period of five years. At the end of five years, you can sell the bonds on NSE. Also, there is a buyback facility available. Investors can subscribe to these bonds in either the physical form or in demat form. An investment of . 20,000 would fetch a tax exemption of . 2,...
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