Mutual funds have many benefits. They offer an easy and inexpensive way for an individual to get returns from stocks and bonds without: incurring the risks involved in buying them directly; needing the capital to buy quality stocks; or having the expert knowledge to make the right buy/sell decisions.

Diversification: Every mutual fund holds a number of securities. When you purchase shares of a mutual fund, you are essentially spreading your dollars, and therefore your risk, over many investments, rather than just one. In this way, you avoid "putting all your eggs in one basket." Professional Management: Portfolio managers make investments in accordance with the guidelines and restrictions outlined in the fund’s prospectus.

If the overall stock or bond markets fall on account of macro economic factors, the value of stock or bond holdings in the fund's portfolio can drop thereby impacting the NAV. Bad news about an individual company can pull down its stock price, which can affect, negatively, funds holding a large quantity of that stock. This risk can be reduced by having a diversified portfolio that consists of a wide variety of stocks drawn from different industries.

There are several important distribution related dates to be aware of when buying and selling mutual fund shares: Record date -- Shareholders who own shares on this date will receive the distribution on the .... Payment date -- This is the date on which the dividend is actually paid out.

Mutual Funds do not provide assured returns. Their returns are linked to their performance. They invest in shares, debentures and deposits. All these investments involve an element of risk. The unit value may vary depending upon the performance of the company and companies may default in payment of interest / principal on their debentures / bonds / deposits. Besides this, the government may come up with new regulations, which may affect a particular industry or class of industries.

Investors need to be clear that mutual funds are essentially medium to long term investments. Hence, short-term abnormal profits will not be sustainable in the long run. But in the medium to long run the mutual funds tend to outperform most other avenues of investments at the same time avoiding the risk of direct investment accompanied with professional fund management.

Professional management of the portfolio by directors with extensive stockbroking, investment and commercial experience. opportunity to generate compound growth through the company's dividend reinvestment plan which allows shareholders to buy shares. Payment of dividends which are anticipated to be franked, enabling many shareholders to take advantage of franking credits.

Taxes don't leave you wherever you make money. But there are smart ways to deal with it. Best be informed. The tax benefits for investing in mutual funds are as follows: Sec 88 of the I.T. Act Twenty percent of the amount invested in specified mutual funds (called equity linked savings schemes or ELSS) is deductible from the tax payable by the investor in a particular year subject to a maximum of Rs2000 per investor. Section 54EA and 54EB of the I.T. Act. Under Section 54EA of the I.T.

Your investment horizon can be broadened because there are different types of funds that can provide a convenient and cost effective way to capitalize on both local and overseas investment opportunities. Diversification may take different forms, e.g. along geographic or industry lines, or amongst different securities or issuers.

For schemes marketed by Karvy we can definitely arrange an application form for you. All you need to do is to visit www.karvy.com and click on the Mutual Fund Monitor. Go to the respective scheme analysis and click on the request form icon. Our marketing department will arrange to send the form to your specified address.

Dividends from funds investing in foreign stocks may qualify for the 15%/5% rate on dividends. If your fund invests in foreign stocks or bonds, part of the income it distributes may have been subject to foreign tax withholding. If so, you may be entitled to a tax deduction or credit for your pro-rata share of taxes paid. Your fund will provide you with the necessary information.

Dividend income from mutual fund units will be exempt from income tax with effect from July 1, 1999. Further, investors can get rebate from tax under section 88 of Income Tax Act, 1961 by investing in Equity Linked Saving Schemes of mutual funds. Further benefits are also available under section 54EA and 54EB with regard to relief from long term capital gains tax in certain specified schemes. The above statement is partially true.

Sure, but you will have to manually enter a complete EOD quote (OHLCV). Some people think this is sort of a redundant effort, since many fund managers use technical analysis on the underlying stocks, anyway. Lots of others do it, though. Each could involve a number of different data formats, depending upon just what is available, or usable: complete/partial exchanges, portfolios, intra-day and/or EOD quotes, indices, histories, etc., are all possible.

A mutual fund refers to a collective investment scheme under which professional fund managers pool money from individual investors and manage it according to pre-set investment objectives. The investment objectives can range from maximizing capital gains to maintaining a stable stream of income, and from beating inflation to preserving capital.

Ideally, your fund roster should have more players than a basketball team but no more than a baseball team. For your starting five, a diversified lineup would be funds representing these types of stocks: large, fast-growing companies; smaller fast-growing companies; large companies selling at bargain prices; smaller companies selling as bargains; and foreign companies.

Investors are exposed to reduced investment risk due to portfolio diversification, economies of scale in transaction cost and professional management. Investors are exposed to reduced investment risk due to portfolio diversification, economies of scale in transaction cost and professional management.