Mutual funds can be classified based on their structure, nature and investment objective
Types of mutual funds by structure
Close ended fund/scheme: A close ended fund or scheme has a predetermined maturity period (eg. 5-7 years). The fund is open for subscription during the launch of the scheme for a specified period of time. Investors can invest in the scheme at the time of the initial public issue and thereafter they can buy or sell the units on the stock exchanges where they are listed. In order to provide an exit route to the investors, some close ended funds give an option of selling back the units to the mutual fund through periodic repurchase at NAV related prices or they are listed in secondary market.
Open ended fund/scheme: The most common type of mutual fund available for investment is an open-ended mutual fund. Investors can choose to invest or transact in these schemes as per their convenience. In an open-ended mutual fund, there is no limit to the number of investors, shares, or overall size of the fund, unless the fund manager decides to close the fund to new investors in order to keep it manageable. The value or share price of an open-ended mutual fund is determined at the market close every day and is called the Net Asset Value (NAV).
Interval schemes: Interval schemes combine the features of open-ended and close-ended schemes. The units may be traded on the stock exchange or may be open for sale or redemption during pre-determined intervals at NAV related prices. FMPs or Fixed maturity plans are examples of these types of schemes.
Types of mutual funds by nature
Equity mutual funds: These funds invest maximum part of their corpus into equity holdings. The structure of the fund may vary for different schemes and the fund manager’s outlook on different stocks. The Equity funds are sub-classified depending upon their investment objective, as follows:
- Diversified equity funds
- Mid-cap funds
- Small cap funds
- Sector specific funds
- Tax savings funds (ELSS)
Equity investments rank high on the risk-return grid and hence, are ideal for a longer time frame.
Debt mutual funds: These funds invest in debt instruments to ensure low risk and provide a stable income to the investors. Government authorities, private companies, banks and financial institutions are some of the major issuers of debt papers. Debt funds can be further classified as:
- Gilt funds
- Income funds
- MIPs
- Short term plans
- Liquid funds
Balanced funds: They invest in both equities and fixed income securities which are in line with pre-defined investment objective of the scheme. The equity portion provides growth while debt provides stability in returns. This way, investors get to taste the best of both worlds.
Types of mutual funds by investment objective
Growth schemes
Also known as equity schemes, these schemes aim at providing capital appreciation over medium to long term. These schemes normally invest a major portion of their fund in equities and are willing to withstand short-term decline in value for possible future appreciation.
Income schemes
Also known as debt schemes, they generally invest in fixed income securities such as bonds and corporate debentures. These schemes aim at providing regular and steady income to investors. However, capital appreciation in such schemes may be limited.
Index schemes
These schemes attempt to reproduce the performance of a particular index such as the BSE Sensex or the NSE 50. Their portfolios will consist of only those stocks that constitute the index. The percentage of each stock to the total holding will be identical to the stocks index weight age. And hence, the returns from such schemes would be more or less equivalent to those of the Index.
