Top 5 myths of Mutual Fund investing

Investors often have many misconceptions about investing in mutual fund schemes. They think Mutual Fund NFOs and Company IPOs are alike,  consider mutual fund dividends as extra returns, or even feel investing that investing in Stocks and Mutual Funds are similar. This article will demystify all these misconceptions.

#1 Mutual Fund New Fund Offers (NFOs) can generate amazing returns

A new fund offer is not likely to generate amazing returns as can be the case with an initial public offering from a company. This is because the NAV reflects the market value of the stocks held by the fund on any day. Because a fund holds several stocks in its portfolio, the NAV can only reflect the combined returns on the portfolio between the NFO date and the date of first NAV.

The first NAV declared by a fund can, at times, be lower than the par value of investment. A lower NAV does not mean a cheaper fund: Just because a New Fund is issued at Rs 10, it does not mean it has a chance of giving better returns than an existing fund that has a higher NAV.

Whether the scheme in which you are planning to invest has an NAV of Rs.15 or Rs.150 does not matter at all.

There is a difference between the price of a listed security and the NAV of a mutual fund scheme. Listed security has a price, determined by the demand and supply of the security. Whereas the unit’s NAV of the scheme has a value determined mathematically, by the prices of the securities in the portfolio. If the portfolio appreciates by 10% Rs.15 NAV will become RS.16.5 and Rs.150 AV will become Rs.165. So in whatever the NAV you invest your investment will fetch you 10% return.

So instead of concentrating on LOW NAV and more number of units, it is worthwhile to consider other factors (performance track record, fund management, volatility) that determine the portfolio return.

A fund with higher NAV may give higher returns than a lower NAV fund, if its stocks did better in the markets.

#2 Equity Mutual Funds and Stocks are one and same

Though both an equity fund and a stock extend market-related returns, there are some key differences between the two.

Point of distinction	Equity Fund	Stocks
Level of Risk	High	Highest
Entry/Exit cost	No Entry Load; But there will be Exit load. Advisory fee may be applicable.	Demat a\c and Brokerage charges
Options	Options available like dividend payout, dividend reinvestment, growth.	No such options
Minimum Investment	Min investment is usually Rs.5000.	Even one share can be bought.
Measuring Performance	Returns Vs Benchmark	Net Profit margins/EPS
Sub-division	Classified based on stocks in which it invests. (Diversified, Midcap, sectoral, thematic)	Classified as per the industry in which it operates.(FMCG, IT, PSU, METAL)
Systematic Purchase	Investor can give SIP instructions to the fund.	No such facility
Pricing	Based on the price of the underlying securities	Based on the demand and supply of the particular stock

#3 Dividends of Mutual Fund Scheme are extra returns

Immediately, after the dividend payment of dividend the NAV of the fund will fall to the extent of the dividend payment. Let us illustrate.

Fund’s cum dividend NAV is Rs.25. Proposed dividend is 50%. You are investing Rs.1 Lac and you will not get Rs.50000 as dividend. It is only Rs.20000 (50% on the face value Rs.10 is Rs.5 per unit) as the unit price is Rs.25 you will get 4000 units. Rs.5 dividend * 4000 units=Rs.20000.

And this dividend is not an additional gain or income. After payment of dividend the NAV of the scheme will fall to the extent of the payment and distribution taxes (if applicable). Now your NAV will become Rs.20 and your investment value will be Rs.80000 (4000 units * Rs.20 NAV).

In a nutshell,

• Investment amount : Rs. 1,00,000
• Dividend amount : Rs. 20,000
• Present Value : Rs. 80,000

It is no different than investing Rs.80000 after dividend distribution at NAV Rs.20. So investing in a scheme because it is declaring dividend in the near future is meaningless. Usually a company with a liberal dividend policy may enjoy greater investor interest in the stock market. The same is not applicable to an equity-oriented mutual fund.

#4 Investing more number of Mutual Fund Schemes will diversify your portfolio

Not exactly, it may actually reduce your return. Owning several mutual funds doesn’t necessarily broaden your holdings. It will be a mistake to buy the same securities over and over again in different funds with different names. You tend to believe they’re diversified. But it is not real diversification.

There are only very few funds which are performing consistently. Instead of investing in few funds, if someone chooses to invest in more number of funds (because he intends to diversify) he may be forced to choose some average performing schemes also. As a result his returns will be diluted. The step taken by the investor to diversify his investment is not leading to diversification but to dilution of return.

Thus ideally your portfolio should not have more than four-five top performing funds.

#5 Portfolio Churning will reduce scheme returns due to tax liability

When we buy shares and sell them within a year we are accountable for short term capital gain tax at the rate of 15%.

But mutual funds provide the benefit of churning of stocks with no tax implications. A fund which churns its portfolio within a year is exempt from tax because it only redistributes these profits to investors.

The author,Ramalingam K. MBA, CFP, is the Founder and Director of Holistic Investment Planners a firm that offers Financial Planning and Wealth Management.