Mutual Funds for Beginners

Updated on January 25, 2026 , 7506 views

investing in Mutual Funds for the first time? Good choice. Mutual fund investment offers an advantage of diversification and easy liquidity. But there is a process to be followed while Investing for the first time. Also, you need to invest in best mutual funds so that it gives you the motivation to invest more. Your fund investment should be simple, useful and easy to implement. There are both qualitative and quantitative parameters to look for.

What are Mutual Funds?

A mutual fund is formed by pooling in the money by a large number of investors. This money or fund raised is then managed by a fund manager who specialises in investing that money in different financial products.

Now that you know, what are Mutual Funds, let's look what process you need to follow to invest in mutual fund for the first time.

Beginners Guide to Mutual Funds

As a first timer investor, there are certain guidelines you must follow before picking any funds to invest.

1. Define your Goals

It is very important to define a clear goal for the investing in mutual funds. You must decide what kind of investment are you looking into. Is it a short-term or a long-term investment? What will be the time period for the investment? As a result of such precise planning, it becomes easier to map the road ahead. Another crucial step to follow is to avoid impatience or overexcitement. You should stick to your objective and avoid getting lured by certain funds (herd mentality or any other bias), without proper knowledge.

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2. Calculate your Risk Appetite

With every investment, comes a risk. Thus, it is important to understand the risks involved. Every investor must assess risks involved with the help of risk profiling. There are various criteria concerned with risk profiling. Age, income, investment horizon, loss tolerance, experience in investing, net worth, and cash flows. Each of these criteria contributes to your risk appetite. A good risk profiling helps you in selecting a mutual fund which best matches your needs.

Fund Selection Methodology used to find 8 funds

Sorted On : drat (high to low)
Tags: fcpro
No Of Funds: 8

3. Choosing the Right Mutual Fund

We are finally getting down to the business. After defining clear goals and an informed risk profile, selecting a Mutual Fund which caters all your needs becomes easy. There are many Types of Mutual Funds schemes available in the market. For investing in mutual funds, you should consider the ratings given by the rating companies. ICRA, CRISIL, MorningStar, ValueResearch, etc., are some of the notable rating systems which will provide you with the best Mutual Fund to invest in. Along with ratings, one must also look for the returns provided by the fund.

However, to make the fund selection process easy for you, we have shortlisted some of the Best Mutual Funds to Invest:

Fund	NAV	Net Assets (Cr)	3 MO (%)	6 MO (%)	1 YR (%)	3 YR (%)	5 YR (%)	2024 (%)	Sub Cat.
Franklin Asian Equity Fund Growth	₹38.1683 ↑ 0.45	₹315	8.1	20.5	36.1	11.8	2.8	23.7	Global
DSP US Flexible Equity Fund Growth	₹80.3957 ↑ 0.88	₹1,068	10.2	23.4	34.9	24	18.4	33.8	Global
DSP Natural Resources and New Energy Fund Growth	₹103.16 ↑ 1.49	₹1,573	7.8	14.9	26.9	21	23.3	17.5	Sectoral
Aditya Birla Sun Life Banking And Financial Services Fund Growth	₹63.37 ↑ 0.66	₹3,694	-1	3	22	17.1	15.6	17.5	Sectoral
ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund Growth	₹136.12 ↑ 1.09	₹11,154	-2.3	0.1	17.5	15.7	15.7	15.9	Sectoral
Kotak Standard Multicap Fund Growth	₹86.76 ↑ 1.58	₹56,460	-2.7	0.3	13.9	17.1	15.1	9.5	Multi Cap
Kotak Equity Opportunities Fund Growth	₹348.33 ↑ 5.86	₹30,039	-3	0.7	12.5	19.4	17.9	5.6	Large & Mid Cap
DSP Equity Opportunities Fund Growth	₹630.365 ↑ 6.76	₹17,576	-1.1	1.7	11.9	20.4	18.1	7.1	Large & Mid Cap
Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 27 Jan 26

Research Highlights & Commentary of 8 Funds showcased

Commentary	Franklin Asian Equity Fund	DSP US Flexible Equity Fund	DSP Natural Resources and New Energy Fund	Aditya Birla Sun Life Banking And Financial Services Fund	ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund	Kotak Standard Multicap Fund	Kotak Equity Opportunities Fund	DSP Equity Opportunities Fund
Point 1	Bottom quartile AUM (₹315 Cr).	Bottom quartile AUM (₹1,068 Cr).	Lower mid AUM (₹1,573 Cr).	Lower mid AUM (₹3,694 Cr).	Upper mid AUM (₹11,154 Cr).	Highest AUM (₹56,460 Cr).	Top quartile AUM (₹30,039 Cr).	Upper mid AUM (₹17,576 Cr).
Point 2	Established history (18+ yrs).	Established history (13+ yrs).	Established history (17+ yrs).	Established history (12+ yrs).	Established history (17+ yrs).	Established history (16+ yrs).	Established history (21+ yrs).	Oldest track record among peers (25 yrs).
Point 3	Top rated.	Rating: 5★ (top quartile).	Rating: 5★ (upper mid).	Rating: 5★ (upper mid).	Rating: 5★ (lower mid).	Rating: 5★ (lower mid).	Rating: 5★ (bottom quartile).	Rating: 5★ (bottom quartile).
Point 4	Risk profile: High.	Risk profile: High.	Risk profile: High.	Risk profile: High.	Risk profile: High.	Risk profile: Moderately High.	Risk profile: Moderately High.	Risk profile: Moderately High.
Point 5	5Y return: 2.81% (bottom quartile).	5Y return: 18.36% (top quartile).	5Y return: 23.33% (top quartile).	5Y return: 15.59% (lower mid).	5Y return: 15.73% (lower mid).	5Y return: 15.10% (bottom quartile).	5Y return: 17.88% (upper mid).	5Y return: 18.11% (upper mid).
Point 6	3Y return: 11.82% (bottom quartile).	3Y return: 23.97% (top quartile).	3Y return: 21.02% (top quartile).	3Y return: 17.13% (lower mid).	3Y return: 15.75% (bottom quartile).	3Y return: 17.08% (lower mid).	3Y return: 19.43% (upper mid).	3Y return: 20.40% (upper mid).
Point 7	1Y return: 36.10% (top quartile).	1Y return: 34.88% (top quartile).	1Y return: 26.86% (upper mid).	1Y return: 22.00% (upper mid).	1Y return: 17.52% (lower mid).	1Y return: 13.94% (lower mid).	1Y return: 12.52% (bottom quartile).	1Y return: 11.94% (bottom quartile).
Point 8	Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid).	Alpha: 2.48 (top quartile).	Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid).	Alpha: -1.32 (bottom quartile).	Alpha: -0.56 (lower mid).	Alpha: 1.61 (top quartile).	Alpha: -2.40 (bottom quartile).	Alpha: -0.86 (lower mid).
Point 9	Sharpe: 1.54 (top quartile).	Sharpe: 1.20 (top quartile).	Sharpe: 0.74 (lower mid).	Sharpe: 0.84 (upper mid).	Sharpe: 0.88 (upper mid).	Sharpe: 0.28 (lower mid).	Sharpe: 0.04 (bottom quartile).	Sharpe: 0.13 (bottom quartile).
Point 10	Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid).	Information ratio: -0.26 (bottom quartile).	Information ratio: 0.00 (lower mid).	Information ratio: 0.25 (top quartile).	Information ratio: 0.16 (upper mid).	Information ratio: -0.04 (lower mid).	Information ratio: -0.05 (bottom quartile).	Information ratio: 0.34 (top quartile).

Franklin Asian Equity Fund

Bottom quartile AUM (₹315 Cr).
Established history (18+ yrs).
Top rated.
Risk profile: High.
5Y return: 2.81% (bottom quartile).
3Y return: 11.82% (bottom quartile).
1Y return: 36.10% (top quartile).
Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid).
Sharpe: 1.54 (top quartile).
Information ratio: 0.00 (upper mid).

DSP US Flexible Equity Fund

Bottom quartile AUM (₹1,068 Cr).
Established history (13+ yrs).
Rating: 5★ (top quartile).
Risk profile: High.
5Y return: 18.36% (top quartile).
3Y return: 23.97% (top quartile).
1Y return: 34.88% (top quartile).
Alpha: 2.48 (top quartile).
Sharpe: 1.20 (top quartile).
Information ratio: -0.26 (bottom quartile).

DSP Natural Resources and New Energy Fund

Lower mid AUM (₹1,573 Cr).
Established history (17+ yrs).
Rating: 5★ (upper mid).
Risk profile: High.
5Y return: 23.33% (top quartile).
3Y return: 21.02% (top quartile).
1Y return: 26.86% (upper mid).
Alpha: 0.00 (upper mid).
Sharpe: 0.74 (lower mid).
Information ratio: 0.00 (lower mid).

Aditya Birla Sun Life Banking And Financial Services Fund

Lower mid AUM (₹3,694 Cr).
Established history (12+ yrs).
Rating: 5★ (upper mid).
Risk profile: High.
5Y return: 15.59% (lower mid).
3Y return: 17.13% (lower mid).
1Y return: 22.00% (upper mid).
Alpha: -1.32 (bottom quartile).
Sharpe: 0.84 (upper mid).
Information ratio: 0.25 (top quartile).

ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund

Upper mid AUM (₹11,154 Cr).
Established history (17+ yrs).
Rating: 5★ (lower mid).
Risk profile: High.
5Y return: 15.73% (lower mid).
3Y return: 15.75% (bottom quartile).
1Y return: 17.52% (lower mid).
Alpha: -0.56 (lower mid).
Sharpe: 0.88 (upper mid).
Information ratio: 0.16 (upper mid).

Kotak Standard Multicap Fund

Highest AUM (₹56,460 Cr).
Established history (16+ yrs).
Rating: 5★ (lower mid).
Risk profile: Moderately High.
5Y return: 15.10% (bottom quartile).
3Y return: 17.08% (lower mid).
1Y return: 13.94% (lower mid).
Alpha: 1.61 (top quartile).
Sharpe: 0.28 (lower mid).
Information ratio: -0.04 (lower mid).

Kotak Equity Opportunities Fund

Top quartile AUM (₹30,039 Cr).
Established history (21+ yrs).
Rating: 5★ (bottom quartile).
Risk profile: Moderately High.
5Y return: 17.88% (upper mid).
3Y return: 19.43% (upper mid).
1Y return: 12.52% (bottom quartile).
Alpha: -2.40 (bottom quartile).
Sharpe: 0.04 (bottom quartile).
Information ratio: -0.05 (bottom quartile).

DSP Equity Opportunities Fund

Upper mid AUM (₹17,576 Cr).
Oldest track record among peers (25 yrs).
Rating: 5★ (bottom quartile).
Risk profile: Moderately High.
5Y return: 18.11% (upper mid).
3Y return: 20.40% (upper mid).
1Y return: 11.94% (bottom quartile).
Alpha: -0.86 (lower mid).
Sharpe: 0.13 (bottom quartile).
Information ratio: 0.34 (top quartile).

4. Asset Management Company

Choosing a right asset management company is also very important while Investing in Mutual Funds for the First Time. Track record of the asset management company (AMC), the age of the fund and the track-record of the fund are also essential factors while finalising on investing in mutual funds. Thus, choosing the right mutual funds for the first investment links both the qualitative and quantitative measures.

There is no shortage of knowledge about investing in mutual funds. Sufficient information will only help at the time of investment and stops you from being a victim of misselling. The decision of investing in mutual funds for the first time has to be a well-informed and well thought. This will only encourage you to invest more. This can be your first step towards a gradual wealth creation.

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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.