Table of Contents
Mutual Funds Vs Stocks
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.
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.
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 25 - 26
Fund NAV Net Assets (Cr) 3 MO (%) 6 MO (%) 1 YR (%) 3 YR (%) 5 YR (%) 2023 (%) Nippon India Small Cap Fund Growth ₹149.458
↓ -2.18 ₹50,826 -14.2 -17.8 7.1 21.5 41 26.1 ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund Growth ₹177.43
↓ -0.81 ₹6,886 -5 -12.3 8.7 29.3 40.7 27.4 SBI Contra Fund Growth ₹360.451
↓ -1.20 ₹39,590 -4.2 -10.7 8.9 22.4 37.9 18.8 Note: Returns up to 1 year are on absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR basis. as on 26 Mar 25
*Below is the list of best mutual funds based on 5 year CAGR/Annualized and AUM > 100 Crore.
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 Below is the key information for Nippon India Small Cap Fund Returns up to 1 year are on 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 Below is the key information for ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund Returns up to 1 year are on To provide the investors maximum growth opportunity through equity
investments in stocks of growth oriented sectors of the economy. SBI Contra Fund is a Equity - Contra fund was launched on 6 May 05. It is a fund with Moderately High risk and has given a Below is the key information for SBI Contra Fund Returns up to 1 year are on 1. Nippon India Small Cap Fund
CAGR/Annualized return of 20.5% since its launch. Ranked 6 in Small Cap category. Return for 2024 was 26.1% , 2023 was 48.9% and 2022 was 6.5% . Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Growth Launch Date 16 Sep 10 NAV (26 Mar 25) ₹149.458 ↓ -2.18 (-1.44 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹50,826 on 28 Feb 25 Category Equity - Small Cap AMC Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd. Rating ☆☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 1.55 Sharpe Ratio -0.31 Information Ratio 0.66 Alpha Ratio 3.26 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.
Date Value 29 Feb 20 ₹10,000 28 Feb 21 ₹14,616 28 Feb 22 ₹20,593 28 Feb 23 ₹23,276 29 Feb 24 ₹36,606 28 Feb 25 ₹35,820 Returns for Nippon India Small Cap Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 26 Mar 25 Duration Returns 1 Month 3.5% 3 Month -14.2% 6 Month -17.8% 1 Year 7.1% 3 Year 21.5% 5 Year 41% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 20.5% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 26.1% 2022 48.9% 2021 6.5% 2020 74.3% 2019 29.2% 2018 -2.5% 2017 -16.7% 2016 63% 2015 5.6% 2014 15.1% Fund Manager information for Nippon India Small Cap Fund
Name Since Tenure Samir Rachh 2 Jan 17 8.16 Yr. Kinjal Desai 25 May 18 6.77 Yr. Data below for Nippon India Small Cap Fund as on 28 Feb 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Industrials 23.92% Financial Services 13.39% Consumer Cyclical 12.69% Basic Materials 12.3% Technology 9.17% Consumer Defensive 8.8% Health Care 7.92% Utility 1.94% Communication Services 1.89% Energy 1.82% Real Estate 0.61% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 5.07% Equity 94.93% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 22 | HDFCBANK2% ₹1,130 Cr 6,650,000 Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 21 | MCX2% ₹1,061 Cr 1,851,010 Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 12 | KIRLOSBROS1% ₹831 Cr 4,472,130 Tube Investments of India Ltd Ordinary Shares (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 18 | TIINDIA1% ₹830 Cr 2,499,222 Karur Vysya Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 17 | 5900031% ₹757 Cr 31,784,062 Dixon Technologies (India) Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 30 Nov 18 | DIXON1% ₹705 Cr 470,144
↓ -42,211 State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 19 | SBIN1% ₹703 Cr 9,100,000 Apar Industries Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 17 | APARINDS1% ₹674 Cr 899,271 ELANTAS Beck India Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 13 | 5001231% ₹620 Cr 614,648
↑ 23 NLC India Ltd (Utilities)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 22 | NLCINDIA1% ₹603 Cr 27,190,940 2. ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund
CAGR/Annualized return of 15.8% since its launch. Ranked 27 in Sectoral category. Return for 2024 was 27.4% , 2023 was 44.6% and 2022 was 28.8% . ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund
Growth Launch Date 31 Aug 05 NAV (26 Mar 25) ₹177.43 ↓ -0.81 (-0.45 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹6,886 on 28 Feb 25 Category Equity - Sectoral AMC ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Limited Rating ☆☆☆ Risk High Expense Ratio 2.22 Sharpe Ratio -0.25 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.
Date Value 29 Feb 20 ₹10,000 28 Feb 21 ₹13,597 28 Feb 22 ₹17,702 28 Feb 23 ₹21,851 29 Feb 24 ₹35,616 28 Feb 25 ₹36,176 Returns for ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 26 Mar 25 Duration Returns 1 Month 6.2% 3 Month -5% 6 Month -12.3% 1 Year 8.7% 3 Year 29.3% 5 Year 40.7% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 15.8% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 27.4% 2022 44.6% 2021 28.8% 2020 50.1% 2019 3.6% 2018 2.6% 2017 -14% 2016 40.8% 2015 2% 2014 -3.4% Fund Manager information for ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund
Name Since Tenure Ihab Dalwai 3 Jun 17 7.75 Yr. Sharmila D’mello 30 Jun 22 2.67 Yr. Data below for ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund as on 28 Feb 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Industrials 37.53% Basic Materials 21.32% Financial Services 16.4% Utility 8.67% Energy 6.7% Communication Services 1.27% Consumer Cyclical 1.01% Real Estate 0.39% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 6.12% Equity 93.3% Debt 0.59% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity Larsen & Toubro Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 30 Nov 09 | LT9% ₹687 Cr 1,925,850
↑ 221,167 Shree Cement Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 30 Apr 24 | 5003874% ₹302 Cr 108,747
↑ 13,090 Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 May 24 | ADANIPORTS4% ₹296 Cr 2,695,324
↑ 955,233 NCC Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 21 | NCC4% ₹265 Cr 10,506,117
↑ 2,958,417 ICICI Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Dec 16 | ICICIBANK3% ₹249 Cr 1,990,000 NTPC Ltd (Utilities)
Equity, Since 29 Feb 16 | 5325553% ₹235 Cr 7,260,775
↓ -450,000 Vedanta Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 24 | 5002953% ₹213 Cr 4,823,662
↑ 1,000,935 HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Jan 22 | HDFCBANK3% ₹208 Cr 1,225,000
↑ 200,000 InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (Industrials)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 23 | INDIGO3% ₹206 Cr 477,106
↑ 20,000 Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 23 | RELIANCE3% ₹204 Cr 1,609,486 3. SBI Contra Fund
CAGR/Annualized return of 15% since its launch. Ranked 48 in Contra category. Return for 2024 was 18.8% , 2023 was 38.2% and 2022 was 12.8% . SBI Contra Fund
Growth Launch Date 6 May 05 NAV (25 Mar 25) ₹360.451 ↓ -1.20 (-0.33 %) Net Assets (Cr) ₹39,590 on 28 Feb 25 Category Equity - Contra AMC SBI Funds Management Private Limited Rating ☆☆☆ Risk Moderately High Expense Ratio 1.7 Sharpe Ratio -0.24 Information Ratio 1.96 Alpha Ratio 0.91 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.
Date Value 29 Feb 20 ₹10,000 28 Feb 21 ₹15,350 28 Feb 22 ₹19,440 28 Feb 23 ₹22,753 29 Feb 24 ₹33,713 28 Feb 25 ₹34,528 Returns for SBI Contra Fund
absolute basis & more than 1 year are on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) basis. as on 26 Mar 25 Duration Returns 1 Month 3.6% 3 Month -4.2% 6 Month -10.7% 1 Year 8.9% 3 Year 22.4% 5 Year 37.9% 10 Year 15 Year Since launch 15% Historical performance (Yearly) on absolute basis
Year Returns 2023 18.8% 2022 38.2% 2021 12.8% 2020 49.9% 2019 30.6% 2018 -1% 2017 -14.3% 2016 40.2% 2015 2.4% 2014 -0.1% Fund Manager information for SBI Contra Fund
Name Since Tenure Dinesh Balachandran 7 May 18 6.82 Yr. Pradeep Kesavan 1 Dec 23 1.25 Yr. Data below for SBI Contra Fund as on 28 Feb 25
Equity Sector Allocation
Sector Value Financial Services 19.38% Technology 9.22% Basic Materials 7.96% Energy 7.09% Health Care 7% Industrials 5.86% Consumer Cyclical 5.59% Utility 5.54% Consumer Defensive 4.54% Communication Services 3.76% Real Estate 0.54% Asset Allocation
Asset Class Value Cash 22.38% Equity 76.48% Debt 1.13% Top Securities Holdings / Portfolio
Name Holding Value Quantity HDFC Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Aug 16 | HDFCBANK5% ₹2,161 Cr 12,723,129 Reliance Industries Ltd (Energy)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 23 | RELIANCE4% ₹1,560 Cr 12,328,250 Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 24 | KOTAKBANK2% ₹975 Cr 5,128,168 Tech Mahindra Ltd (Technology)
Equity, Since 31 Mar 22 | 5327552% ₹969 Cr 5,786,409 GAIL (India) Ltd (Utilities)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 21 | 5321552% ₹921 Cr 51,993,788 Torrent Power Ltd (Utilities)
Equity, Since 31 Oct 21 | 5327792% ₹902 Cr 6,163,300 State Bank of India (Financial Services)
Equity, Since 31 Dec 10 | SBIN2% ₹793 Cr 10,254,269 Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp Class A (Technology)
Equity, Since 28 Feb 23 | CTSH2% ₹773 Cr 1,079,430 ITC Ltd (Consumer Defensive)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 20 | ITC2% ₹750 Cr 16,766,741 Tata Steel Ltd (Basic Materials)
Equity, Since 31 Jul 22 | TATASTEEL2% ₹713 Cr 52,995,525
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