Try FundsIndia to Invest in Mutual Funds Online in India
FundsIndia is an Online Mutual Funds investment platform in India for individuals. There is no joining/account opening charges, and the company claims they don’t charge a commission for transactions/mutual fund investments through their platform. People can join and monitor the performance of their portfolios anytime through the website/mobile app.
The company had organized a bloggers meet yesterday in their office premises at Royapettah, Chennai. In this post, I present an overview of the information presented to us there.
Why Invest – Why not just keep our money at homes?
Inflation.
The money we have today is worth lesser after a period of time. Assuming inflation in India is 8% a year, your money will also be worth 8% less after one year. So you are losing money with each passing year if you just keep it in your home lockers.
Why not just invest in “secure” post office, bank deposits or Govt. bonds?
Not a bad idea, but the average interest of 8% you would get with these sources may not be sufficient to beat inflation. Besides, interest on bank deposits are taxed by the Govt.
What other options do I have to invest and grow my savings?
Capital market (or stock market) is one way to get more interest because individuals can directly lend to large companies at a higher interest rate without going through an intermediary like a bank (technically speaking).
But investing all money in one company or one sector is for bravehearts and risk-takers. Besides, it takes time to monitor, analyze and decide on which stocks one could invest for best results.
For others, there are mutual funds where experts collect money from the public, do the research and analysis, and invest in multiple company stocks that they determine to be the best. They take a percentage from the profits gained upon investments before passing them on to the investor.
Are Mutual Funds safe to invest?
Mutual Funds are directly linked to capital/stock markets, hence they are not assured. While mutual funds may give higher interest rates over a period of time on an average, there is a chance that you may lose money. But the risk is reduced considerably when compared to direct investments in the stock market.
How can FundsIndia help?
FundsIndia has a robo financial advisory service called Money Mitr. The company co-founder Mr. Sreekanth Meenakshi told us that this software application is a result of three-and-a-half years of research and analysis, and it recommends the best mutual funds to invest in, depending on the investor and their goals.
The Money Mitr app asks simple questions like your age, how much money you want to invest (per month), for what purpose, etc. and then it will suggest the most appropriate funds for you. It seems FundsIndia has a research team that keeps updating this tool with the latest performance metrics which help in choosing best mutual fund options.
If you are just starting out, Money Mitr – available on FundsIndia website, maybe a good option to enter and test waters in the mutual fund markets. The team suggests SIPs, where customers invest a small amount every month in select mutual funds, instead of investing lump-sum in one. They claim that the joining process/KYC application, etc. is very simple. Am yet to try it out – will update you all if I do 🙂
If you want to learn more about mutual fund investments, check out FundsIndia blog, Free FundsIndia robo/human advisory services, List of FundsIndia select funds.
Destination Infinity
Disclaimer: Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks – please read all Terms & Conditions before investing. Also, I have written this article based on what I learned yesterday at FundsIndia office – I have not done research/don’t have experience on mutual fund investments, myself.