
VARIOUS SEGMENTS OF MUTUAL FUNDS IN INDIA
INTRODUCTION-
Mutual fund in India is a kind of collective investment that is managed professionally. In Mutual fund in India, the money is collected from a large number of investors and then it is invested in bonds, stocks, and various other securities
The fund manager of Mutual fund in India collects the interest income which is then distributed among the individual investors on the basis of the number of units that they hold. Mutual fund’s value of a share is calculated on a daily basis and is known as per share Net Asset Value (NAV).
Classification of Mutual Funds in India has been done on the basis of their investment objective and structure. Classification of Mutual Funds in India has be done into main types such as Income Funds, Sector- Specific Funds, Large Cap Funds, Fixed- Income Funds, Interval Funds, Closed- End Funds, and Tax Saving Funds. Income Funds in India are a kind of mutual fund whose aim is to provide to the investors with steady and regular income. They usually invest their principal in securities such as corporate debentures, bonds, and government securities.
Sector- Specific Funds in India are funds that make investments in specified sectors only. They give importance to one sector only such as pharmaceuticals, software, infrastructure, and health care. Large Cap Funds in India are a kind of mutual fund that makes investment in the shares of large blue chip companies. Fixed- Income Funds in India makes investment in debt securities that have been issued either by the banks, government, or companies. They are also known as income funds and debt funds.
Interval Funds in India are a combination of both the open and close ended funds. They offer the investors flexibility for they can be sold and repurchased at the period of time that has been predetermined. Closed- End Funds in India are a kind of mutual fund that has a maturity period that has been specified and which usually varies from three to fifteen years. Tax Saving Funds in India offer tax rebates to the investor under the Section 88, Income Tax Act. They are also known as equity- linked savings scheme.
INTERVAL FUNDS-
Interval Funds in India combine the characteristics of both the close ended funds and open ended funds. This means that Interval Funds in India can be repurchased and sold at the time that has been predetermined. Interval Funds in India are usually repurchased every six or twelve months or as has been unveiled in the annual report and prospectus of the fund. Interval Funds in India are sold and repurchased at the prices that are related to the Net Asset Value (NAV)
Mutual Fund companies that have launched Interval Funds in India are:
Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund ABN-AMRO Mutual Fund
TAX SAVINGS FUND-
Tax Saving Funds in India offer to the investors rebates in taxes under the Income Tax Act, Section 88 and they are also known as equity-linked savings schemes. Tax Saving Funds in India usually have a period of lock- which is generally of three years. As a result of this, the manager of the fund is not concerned about factors such as the pressures of redemption, performance of the fund during a short time, and thus does his job by keeping in view the long term goal. The fund manager of the Tax Saving Funds in India invests the money in instruments that are related to equity.
Tax Saving Funds in India are suitable for those investors who want to increase their investments and also want to benefit from the rebates in taxes. The advantage of Tax Saving Funds in India is that they grant the investors an opportunity to make investments in an avenue that is market- linked and at the same time claim benefits in taxes. The dividends that are earned in Tax Saving Funds in India are tax free.
Major Tax Saving Funds in India are:
Franklin India Tax Shield HDFC Tax Saver Sundaram Tax Saver HDFC Long Term Advantage Prudential ICICI Tax Plan Birla Equity Plan UTI Equity Tax Savings Tata Tax Saving Fund Magnum Tax Gain
FIXED INCOME FUND-
Fixed- Income Funds in India are also known as debt funds or income funds. Fixed- Income Funds in India make investments in debt securities that have been issued either by the banks, government or companies. The debt securities in which Fixed- Income Funds in India makes investments are also known as commercial papers of deposit or treasury bills if the duration is less than one year and in case the duration is more than one year then the debt securities are known as bonds or debentures. The issuer of the debt securities has the obligation to pay the interest and principal on the time schedule that has been fixed.
Fixed- Income Funds in India have a face value and it is on this that the calculation of interest takes place. Investors who are investing in Fixed- Income Funds in India are mainly concerned with the time period, maturity value, rate of interest payment, rate of interest, and face value. Fixed- Income Funds in India are usually held till maturity.
Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund Franklin Templeton India Mutual Fund Fidelity Fund Management Reliance Mutual Fund
OPEN ENDED FUND-
Open- End Funds in India is such that the investors can sell as well as buy all through out the year. The investors sell and buy units of Open- End Funds in India at the related prices of Net Asset Value (NAV) each day. An investor can buy Open- End Funds in India either from a brokerage house or through the mutual fund company. Open- End Funds in India have no fixed date of maturity. The main advantage of Open- End Funds in India is that it offers liquidity to the investors for they can sell the units whenever they need the money.
Major Open- End Funds in India are:
UTI Gold Exchange Traded Fund Standard Chartered Premier Equity Fund Sahara Mid- Cap Fund Lotus India Tax Plan Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund Canara Robeco Equity Tax Saver- 93 DSP Merrill Lynch Tax Saver Fund Tata Life Sciences and Technology Fund JM Arbitrage Advantage Fund Kotak Gold ETF
MID CAP FUNDS-
Mid-cap funds are a special type of mutual fund wherein, the corpus accumulated is invested in small or medium sized companies. In the absence of any standardized definition or definite classification of small or medium sized company, each mutual fund classifies small and medium sized companies according to its own policies. In general, companies with a market capitalization up to Rs 500 crores are regarded as small and companies with a market capitalization over Rs 500 crores but below Rs 1,000 cores are defined as medium sized by the mutual fund industry. Mid-cap funds bear high risk factors and thus offer high returns in case of positive movements of the indexes.
Further, opportunity of investment in Mid-cap funds is high due to low identification factor in the market. Another important feature of these Mid-Cap Funds is that they tend to grow in size as more investors gets involved. The net effect is that, huge amount of money are invested against few stocks. Experts are of the opinion that investments in Mid-Cap Funds should follow investment patterns of sectoral funds and one should not focus only on these funds alone. Further, investment in Mid-Cap Funds should have long term perspective.
With the rise of large caps the heavy weight investors like the mutual funds and Foreign Institutional Investors are increasingly investing in mid cap funds. However investment in Mid-cap funds should be undertaken with caution since these tend to be volatile because of the high risk involved.
BALANCED FUND-
Balanced funds also known as the hybrid funds wherein, the corpus accumulated is invested in combination of common stock, preferred stock, bonds and short-term bonds. In other words, it is a combination of many stocks and bonds, which is structured to strike a balance of income and capital appreciation. This combination is essentially done to minimize the risk involved in such investments. Thus, the balanced funds provide the investors with an opportunity to invest in a single mutual fund that offers growth and income at the same time. The stocks meet the growth requirements and the bonds meet the income requirements. Further, this combination helps to negate any fall in the value of the stocks in the financial market.
NO LOAD FUND-
he mutual funds in India are broadly classified as Load funds and No load Fund. Out of the basic two types of mutual funds – the investment in No Load Funds does not attract any commission for such investments. In other words, No Load Funds can be bought without paying any commission. Another most significant feature of the No Load Funds is that it can be held for a longer term and the proceeds are generally reinvested further.
Furthermore, the profit accrued by investing in No Load Funds shows the exact profit earned on such investments. The Chapter III of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides tax exemption on investment on No Load Funds. With the rise of the Indian mutual fund market, the popularity of no load funds has increased considerably much to the satisfaction of the fund managers.
VALUE FUND-
Amongst the wide variety of mutual funds are available in India, value funds is a type of mutual fund wherein the main focus is on the safety of the investment and not on the growth of the investment made on such funds. Value funds represent stocks of mature companies, whose growth has become stagnant. Further, these stocks of the value funds utilize their earnings to pay off dividends to the investors.
One of the typical characteristics of the value fund is that, they generate income from the dividends and they also offer long term growth from capital



