MONEY MANTRA: No entry barriers
The banning of entry load was a big move because it fundamentally changed the way mutual funds were sold. Investors used to pay entry load of 0.5-2.25% on the amount they invested
By January 2008, the mutual fund industry had reached an asset size of Rs 5.5 lakh crore — almost five-fold growth in 5 years. However, the fund industry received its first big jolt when the Sebi banned entry load for open-ended MF schemes from August 1 of 2009. The banning of entry load was a big move because it fundamentally changed the way mutual funds were sold. Investors used to pay entry load of 0.5-2.25% on the amount they invested
Small town equities’ Rush
Non-metros have outpaced the top 15 cities when it comes to SIP investments. “Driven by the surge in SIP inflows, beyond the top 15 (B-15) cities or non-metros have seen faster growth in assets for the mutual fund industry, growing at a CAGR of 30% in the past three years to March 2017, compared to T15 cities’ 27% growth,” according to Crisil
Direct benefit
From January 1, 2013, mutual fund investors were given the option of investing in funds directly with the fund companies in special ‘direct’ plans of all funds. This was a big thing because while investors could have invested directly with an AMC earlier too, there was no advantage in doing so. Now, the commission -- that would otherwise have been paid to intermediaries went to the NAV, and thus to the investors. Over 10 years, a difference of 0.50% could add Rs 23,000 to a Rs 1 lakh investment