Even people new to the idea of investing in securities must have heard of mutual funds at least once, if only in television commercials. They have emerged as a powerful vehicle of investment for small investors. This article shall discuss mutual funds meaning and how one can invest in them to reap maximum benefits.

Meaning of Mutual funds

Simply put, mutual funds are funds generated by pooling together the investments of several people into a common fund that is used to invest in a professionally managed portfolio.

Investing in mutual funds

To invest them, one can buy the ‘units’ of funds. The unit is the smallest denomination of investment one can make, and one can buy or sell as many units as one likes.

Tips or Investing in Mutual Funds

Though relatively safer than other security investments like equity, mutual funds still carry elements of risk and thus, one exercises necessary discretion when investing in them. The following are some of the smartest tips for investing in them:

Define the goals

The first and foremost thing someone considering investing in mutual funds should do is define their financial goals. One’s goals can depend on several factors – whether one intends to save a lump sum or one time, whether one intends to invest short-term or long-term, what is one’s risk-carrying capacity, whether one has dependents or is alone, etc. Answering these questions can help one define one’s goals, which can be growth, safe or speculative.

Types of mutual funds

It is equally important to understand the differences in mutual funds. One key criterion of division is capitalization. Mutual funds are often categorized according to the capitalization of the companies they can invest in. One should only invest in mutual funds of types best suited to one’s goals.

Fund manager and expense ratio

For an investor in mutual funds, their fund manager is like someone responsible for managing their investments for them. One should thus carefully check the background of the fund manager and learn about their experience in managing mutual funds.

The expense ratio is the ratio of the expense charged by the manager to the total fund and can carefully impact the returns on mutual funds. One should thus prefer a fund with a low expense ratio, other things being equal.

Study the past trends.

The past trends should be carefully studied before investing in mutual funds. They shall give one a fair idea of the type of return one can expect on one’s investments.

Frequency and scale of investments

One can either invest a lump sum for a single time, or one can go for Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs), which make small investments periodically.

Invest in the long term.

By their very nature, mutual funds are not suited for short-term investments. They are, on the other hand, ideal for long-term investments and often pay a handsome return over a period of time.