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Fincash » Mutual Fund vs Stock

Mutual Funds Vs Stocks

Updated on March 23, 2024 , 13879 views

Mutual Funds or stock markets directly – where to invest, is one of the oldest debates when it comes to personal Wealth Management. Mutual funds allow you to invest a certain amount in a fund where the fund managers use their expertise to invest a client’s money in a variety of stocks to achieve the highest rate of return. Investing in stock markets gives you greater control over the investment on shares is made by the user. However, it makes them more prone to risks as they have to directly deal with the markets.

Difference: Mutual Funds Vs Stocks/Shares

1. Understanding Mutual Funds and Stocks

When compared on a risk Factor, stocks happen to be far riskier than mutual funds. The risk in mutual funds is spread across and hence reduced with the pooling in of diverse stocks. With stock,s one has to extensive research before investing, especially if you are a novice investor. Visit fincash for more details on the various areas of investments. In the case of mutual funds, the research is done, and the fund is managed by a mutual fund manager.

Stocks Vs Mutual Funds

This service though is not free and comes with an annual Management Fee that is charged by the fund house under Total Expense Ration (TER).

2. When investing as a beginner

If you are a new investor with little or no experience in the financial markets, it is advisable to start with mutual funds as not only the risk is comparatively lesser but also because the decisions are made by an expert. These professionals have the insight to analyze and interpret financial data to gauge the outlook of a prospective investment.

3. Associated Costs

Though you have to pay a fee to mutual fund managers unlike in the case of stocks that you buy individually, the Economies of Scale also come into play. It is true that active management of funds is an affair that does not come free of cost. But the truth is that due to their large size, mutual funds pay only a small fraction of the brokerage charges that an individual shareholder pays for brokerage. Individual investors also have to pay the charges for DEMAT which is not needed in the case of mutual funds.

4. Risk and Return

It is already established that mutual funds have the advantage of reducing the risk by diversifying a Portfolio.

MF-vs-Stocks

Stocks on the other hand are vulnerable to the Market conditions and the performance of one stock can’t compensate for the other.

5. Short Term Capital Gain

Remember when investing in stocks, you will be liable to pay 15 percent tax on your short term Capital gains (STCG) if you sell your stocks within a span of one year. On the other hand, there is no tax on capital gains on the stocks that are sold by the fund. This can mean substantial benefits for you. The tax saved is also available for you to invest it further thus making way for further Income generation through investment. But you will have to hold on to your equity for more than a year in order to avoid paying that short-term capital gains tax.

6. Long Term Capital Gain

Long Term Capital Gain (LTCG) is taxed at 10% for gains exceeding 1 Lakh gain (As announced in Budget of 2018). which means one has to pay tax on gains incurred in period over an year (Long term) if amount exceeds 1 Lakhs in a year at a Flat rate of 10%.

7. Control on your investment

In the case of mutual funds, the decision pertaining to the choice of stocks and their trading is solely in the hands of the funds manager. You do not have control over which stock is to be picked and for what duration. As an investor, if you invest in Mutual Funds you do not have the option to exit from some stocks that are in your portfolio. The decisions pertaining to the fate of the stocks rest in the hands of the fund manager. This way, an individual investing in stocks has more control over their investment than an investor who invests in mutual funds.

8. Diversification

A well-diversified portfolio should include at least 25 to 30 stocks but that would be a huge ask for a small investor. With mutual funds, investors with small funds can also get a diversified portfolio. Buying units of a fund allows you to invest in multiple stocks without having to invest a huge corpus.

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9. Time and Research

When you invest directly, you will need to invest a lot more time and research into your stock while in the case of mutual funds you can be passive. The fund manager is the one who invests his time to manage your portfolio.

10. Investment Tracking

With an investment in mutual funds, you have the benefit of a fund manager who has extensive expertise and experience in the field. Whether it is picking the stocks or monitoring them and making allocations, you do not have to worry about any of it. This service is not available in the case of stock investments. You are responsible for picking and tracking your investment.

11. Investment Horizon

When investing in mutual funds, remember that you will have to give the funds at least 8-10 years to generate good returns as these have a longer-term growth trajectory. In the case of stocks, you can get quick and good returns if you choose the right stocks and sell them at the right time.

Despite all of this if the stock market and its intricacies are something that an individual is familiar with, they can invest directly. They must be ready to play a long term game where a stock doesn’t provide immediate returns and must also have an increased appetite for risk. Unlike investors in mutual funds, they do not have the expertise on Smart investment which fund managers can provide. Even in the best of times, investment in stocks is a risk. In comparatively tougher times, it is better to invest in mutual funds due to the advantage of portfolio diversification, professional management and constant monitoring.

The choice between mutual funds or stocks generally boils down to personal factors like trust and an individual’s ability to take risks. It is a decision to be taken with the utmost of thought with all the options carefully weighed down. However what is important for an individual is the decision to plunge into personal wealth management and attempt to make their savings useful through either mutual funds or stocks, rather than simply sitting on it.

Top Equity MF investments FY 24 - 25

FundNAVNet Assets (Cr)3 MO (%)6 MO (%)1 YR (%)3 YR (%)5 YR (%)2023 (%)
Nippon India Small Cap Fund Growth ₹139.532
↑ 0.32
₹46,0441.914.953.233.528.648.9
ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund Growth ₹163.21
↑ 1.27
₹4,93214.230.460.538.42644.6
Invesco India Infrastructure Fund Growth ₹53.61
↑ 0.31
₹9041230.665.832.625.851.1
Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 26 Mar 24

*Below is the list of best mutual funds based on 5 year CAGR/Annualized and AUM > 100 Crore.

1. Nippon India Small Cap Fund

The primary investment objective of the scheme is to generate long term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in equity and equity related instruments of small cap companies and the secondary objective is to generate consistent returns by investing in debt and money market securities.

Nippon India Small Cap Fund is a Equity - Small Cap fund was launched on 16 Sep 10. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a CAGR/Annualized return of 21.5% since its launch.  Ranked 6 in Small Cap category.  Return for 2023 was 48.9% , 2022 was 6.5% and 2021 was 74.3% .

Below is the key information for Nippon India Small Cap Fund

Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth
Launch Date 16 Sep 10
NAV (26 Mar 24) ₹139.532 ↑ 0.32   (0.23 %)
Net Assets (Cr) ₹46,044 on 29 Feb 24
Category Equity - Small Cap
AMC Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd.
Rating
Risk Moderately High
Expense Ratio 1.82
Sharpe Ratio 3.56
Information Ratio 0.92
Alpha Ratio 3.47
Min Investment 5,000
Min SIP Investment 100
Exit Load 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

DateValue

Nippon India Small Cap Fund SIP Returns

   
My Monthly Investment:
Investment Tenure:
Years
Expected Annual Returns:
%
Total investment amount is ₹300,000
expected amount after 5 Years is ₹612,552.
Net Profit of ₹312,552
Invest Now

Returns for Nippon India Small Cap Fund

Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 26 Mar 24

DurationReturns
1 Month -2.9%
3 Month 1.9%
6 Month 14.9%
1 Year 53.2%
3 Year 33.5%
5 Year 28.6%
10 Year
15 Year
Since launch 21.5%
Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
YearReturns
2023 48.9%
2022 6.5%
2021 74.3%
2020 29.2%
2019 -2.5%
2018 -16.7%
2017 63%
2016 5.6%
2015 15.1%
2014 97.6%
Fund Manager information for Nippon India Small Cap Fund
NameSinceTenure

Data below for Nippon India Small Cap Fund as on 29 Feb 24

Equity Sector Allocation
SectorValue
Asset Allocation
Asset ClassValue
Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
NameHoldingValueQuantity

2. ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund

To generate capital appreciation and income distribution to unit holders by investing predominantly in equity/equity related securities of the companies belonging to the infrastructure development and balance in debt securities and money market instruments.

ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund is a Equity - Sectoral fund was launched on 31 Aug 05. It is a fund with High risk and has given a CAGR/Annualized return of 16.2% since its launch.  Ranked 27 in Sectoral category.  Return for 2023 was 44.6% , 2022 was 28.8% and 2021 was 50.1% .

Below is the key information for ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund

ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund
Growth
Launch Date 31 Aug 05
NAV (26 Mar 24) ₹163.21 ↑ 1.27   (0.78 %)
Net Assets (Cr) ₹4,932 on 29 Feb 24
Category Equity - Sectoral
AMC ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited
Rating
Risk High
Expense Ratio 2.22
Sharpe Ratio 3.61
Information Ratio 0
Alpha Ratio 0
Min Investment 5,000
Min SIP Investment 100
Exit Load 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

DateValue

ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund SIP Returns

   
My Monthly Investment:
Investment Tenure:
Years
Expected Annual Returns:
%
Total investment amount is ₹300,000
expected amount after 5 Years is ₹584,107.
Net Profit of ₹284,107
Invest Now

Returns for ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund

Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 26 Mar 24

DurationReturns
1 Month -0.3%
3 Month 14.2%
6 Month 30.4%
1 Year 60.5%
3 Year 38.4%
5 Year 26%
10 Year
15 Year
Since launch 16.2%
Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
YearReturns
2023 44.6%
2022 28.8%
2021 50.1%
2020 3.6%
2019 2.6%
2018 -14%
2017 40.8%
2016 2%
2015 -3.4%
2014 56.2%
Fund Manager information for ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund
NameSinceTenure

Data below for ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund as on 29 Feb 24

Equity Sector Allocation
SectorValue
Asset Allocation
Asset ClassValue
Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
NameHoldingValueQuantity

3. Invesco India Infrastructure Fund

The Scheme seeks to provide long term capital appreciation by investing in a portfolio that is predominantly constituted of equity and equity related instruments of infrastructure companies. However, there can be no assurance that the investment objective of the Scheme will be achieved.

Invesco India Infrastructure Fund is a Equity - Sectoral fund was launched on 21 Nov 07. It is a fund with High risk and has given a CAGR/Annualized return of 10.8% since its launch.  Ranked 24 in Sectoral category.  Return for 2023 was 51.1% , 2022 was 2.3% and 2021 was 55.4% .

Below is the key information for Invesco India Infrastructure Fund

Invesco India Infrastructure Fund
Growth
Launch Date 21 Nov 07
NAV (26 Mar 24) ₹53.61 ↑ 0.31   (0.58 %)
Net Assets (Cr) ₹904 on 29 Feb 24
Category Equity - Sectoral
AMC Invesco Asset Management (India) Private Ltd
Rating
Risk High
Expense Ratio 2.49
Sharpe Ratio 3.45
Information Ratio 0
Alpha Ratio 0
Min Investment 5,000
Min SIP Investment 500
Exit Load 0-1 Years (1%),1 Years and above(NIL)

Growth of 10,000 investment over the years.

DateValue

Invesco India Infrastructure Fund SIP Returns

   
My Monthly Investment:
Investment Tenure:
Years
Expected Annual Returns:
%
Total investment amount is ₹300,000
expected amount after 5 Years is ₹570,326.
Net Profit of ₹270,326
Invest Now

Returns for Invesco India Infrastructure Fund

Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 26 Mar 24

DurationReturns
1 Month -0.2%
3 Month 12%
6 Month 30.6%
1 Year 65.8%
3 Year 32.6%
5 Year 25.8%
10 Year
15 Year
Since launch 10.8%
Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
YearReturns
2023 51.1%
2022 2.3%
2021 55.4%
2020 16.2%
2019 6.1%
2018 -15.8%
2017 48.1%
2016 0.8%
2015 -2.6%
2014 83.6%
Fund Manager information for Invesco India Infrastructure Fund
NameSinceTenure

Data below for Invesco India Infrastructure Fund as on 29 Feb 24

Equity Sector Allocation
SectorValue
Asset Allocation
Asset ClassValue
Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
NameHoldingValueQuantity

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Disclaimer:
All efforts have been made to ensure the information provided here is accurate. However, no guarantees are made regarding correctness of data. Please verify with scheme information document before making any investment.
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GAURAV, posted on 3 Dec 18 5:08 AM

Clarified my doubts

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