It is a beautiful sunny morning and you’ve just started your day at work. Suddenly, your phone beeps. It’s your stockbroking/ trading app with a price alert. The share prices of the two companies you recently invested in, just dipped by 15% in a single day. Nothing you could do to stop it from happening. Or maybe there was?
The golden rule of investing is, of course, diversification – the idea of investing in varying, dissimilar assets/instruments. Though not fool-proof, it is a time-tested method which significantly reduces your risk of losing money.
Sounds simple enough. It’s not. Even the most competent financial managers, brokers and financially literate investors often lose money in the market. You are no exception. And additionally, you’d need to keep a closer watch on the markets at all times to truly generate good returns.
So, what can you, as a regular investor, do to minimize your efforts and simultaneously earn positive returns?
The answer is again, the market. But not individual stocks, but a basket of them. Mutual funds.
Mutual funds can offer an answer to a lot of investor problems. Now what exactly are mutual funds and how are they different from investing in individual common stocks? To put it simply, mutual funds are nothing but a diversified pool of assets. This pool makes investments in the stock/bond market on your behalf. Every fund has an experienced, professional fund manager at the helm, working with the goal of achieving maximum returns. When you buy 1 unit of any mutual fund, you are essentially investing your money in all the assets the mutual fund owns. This reduces the risk of loss via any single entity failing. The SBI Mutual Fund is a good example of such a fund. With a large variety of schemes, many with an AUM of ~2,000 crores, it’s an attractive option for many investors seeking solid returns.
But, as is good investing practice, this isn’t sufficient to warrant an investment. Which is why we’re listing a few more good reasons, backed up by data. Here they are for your consideration before you decide to move your valuable money to SBI:
#1 – Professional management: Ensuring Returns as High as 20%
Apart from diversification, professional management is one of the bigger advantages with mutual funds. Mutual fund schemes from houses like SBI Mutual fund are operated by a dedicated team of experienced professionals. This team continuously analyses the markets so that they can earn maximum returns on your investment. They usually buy a variety of stocks and bonds of different companies spread across sectors, reducing the risk but keeping the returns positive. Of course, as an investor, you also gain peace of mind. Since once you purchase the units of any particular fund, you don’t have to worry about price fluctuations on a daily basis.
For example, the SBI Focused Equity Fund (Regular – Growth) has generated returns of over 20% annually since its inception in the year 2004 (as of June 2019). The fund is managed since 2009 by Mr. R Srinivasan, who boasts of an experience of over 26 years in the financial markets. He’s among the more qualified and experienced ones in the industry. So why not leave the job to the experts while you sit back and watch your money grow?
#2 – Credibility: It’s India’s Largest Bank Sponsored Mutual Fund
As is obvious from its name, SBI Mutual Fund is run by India’s largest banking enterprise – the State Bank of India. The SBI brand boasts of a rich and impressive track record. But the SBI Mutual Fund features a double dose of credibility – it’s a joint venture between SBI and Société Générale Asset Management, one of the world’s leading fund management companies that manages over US$ 500 Billion worldwide!
This combination has delivered results year after year. The SBI Small Cap Mutual Fund, for example, is amongst a select few that have delivered over 20% returns consistently over the past 7 years. Efficient management is a given too, with most funds from SBI exhibiting an expense ratio lower than 2%, and many lower than 0.2% – a factor that should impress even the most skeptical investors. Incorporated back in 1992, the SBI Mutual fund is an elegant combination of history and credibility.
#3 – Variety: There’s A Fund For Everyone!
Investors are of varying types. There are the risk-averse ones who’d prefer modest returns with higher safety, and there are those who don’t mind a greater element of risk if there’s a shot at larger returns. And of course, there are those who desire a mix of both. They’re all in luck with SBI’s Mutual Funds – which offers a large variety of schemes – 50 at last count – balanced, equity, debt, liquidity and more. Put simply – there’s a fund for everyone.
Schemes from SBI Mutual Fund are an ideal choice for a variety of investors, particularly those seeking consistent returns, backed by professional management, trust and credibility. As with most other mutual funds, investors can opt for a lump sum investment, or initiate a SIP for as low as Rs 500 a month to get started on their investment journey.