Best Long Duration Mutual Funds

The basic difference between debt mutual funds and equity mutual funds is the investment destination. Debt mutual funds invest a large proportion (at least 65%) of the total money collected from investors into fixed income securities like Corporate Bonds, Government Bonds, Bonds issued by banks, Treasury Bills, etc. You can read more about the types of debt funds available here.

These funds are better suited to investors who do not want to participate in the market volatility as these instruments are uncorrelated with the stock market performance. Investors in debt oriented funds also seek regular and stable returns or want to achieve some financial goal like buying a house, or paying for their child's education at a certain point of time in the future. Such investments are generally made for short to medium term. Equity mutual funds are more suited to investors who are not risk averse and are looking for medium to long term investments. It enables the investors to benefit out of the volatile nature of market. Unlike debt funds, equity funds do not have a predefined maturity date and can be redeemed upon the request of the investor.

Absence of lock-in period adds to the liquid nature of the fund. In India, mutual fund returns have outperformed returns generated by stock market indices. It also allows the investor to take advantage of the expertise and knowledge of the fund manager as most funds are actively managed. Depending upon your risk appetite, you may choose to invest in small cap, mid cap or large cap companies.

Suppose a mutual fund invests in ten stocks and total current market value of these stocks is 1.1 Crore. Out of this, the AMC deducts say, 0.1 Crore for operating the fund (this is known as the expense ratio). So the net value is 1 crore. Now the AMC will divide this 1 Crore into say, 10,000 parts. These parts are known as units. The cost of one unit is 1Cr/10,000 = Rs. 1000. This is known as the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the mutual fund. Suppose the AMC has set a minimum investment requirement of Rs. 500. Then if you pay Rs. 500, you will get 0.5 units of the fund. Remember that the cost of one unit is the cost when you made the purchase. Suppose after one year, the NAV has fallen to Rs. 700 per unit and you wish to exit the fund (also known as redemption), then you sell your 0.5 units back to the AMC and get 0.5 x Rs. 700 = Rs. 350 back. Yes, you invested Rs. 500 and got back Rs. 350 – a loss of 150 over a year. The point is, that you buy units at current NAV and sell units (fully or partially) at current NAV. This is what investing in mutual fund actually means.