Mutual fund investors forget common sense , they are net sellers when market is low

I have seen many mutual fund investors complaining their investments in mutual funds not yielding expected returns. When someone invests in mutual funds, entry and exit timings are also the deciding factors of your returns on investments. I have seen a number of my investors asking for suggestions for funds when the market is high. They are lured by the reports which mention the double digits numbers in returns column when the market is high. They are afraid of investing in equity and equity funds when the market is low. Their sentiments are purely governed by the short-term fund performance reports like 6 months or a year which are usually negative during the lower performance of stock markets. Anyone who has common sense can tell this is against common sense.

MF Inflows and market performance. Pic courtesy : Moneylife

Moneylife Advisory has published an article in their blog, comparing the fund flows in equity funds and market performance.  The article has proved with data that the mutual fund's investors tend to buy high and sell low. Indian share market was low in February 2016 and started recovery in March 2016. The net investment in mutual funds would have been positive or at least stagnant during this period to make the attractive returns. Mutual fund investors have done the reverse, net fund flow is negative during this period. There was more redemption than purchase. They have withdrawn from mutual fund rather investing when the market is low. During August 2016, the stock market is witnessing a huge inflow of funds, both foreign and domestic pushing the market to an all-time high. The mutual fund investors have also enthusiastically invested in last month. Investing in mutual funds when the market is high does not make much harm if someone is looking at a long horizon. But redeeming funds when the market is low will definitely make harm to your returns. 

I have some investments in SBI Magnum Tax Gain. My lock in period in the fund was over and was planning to redeem to make fresh investments for present year tax exemptions. If I had redeemed when the market was low, I would have got around Rs 100 per unit. Now I am getting Rs 125 per unit. I am getting 25% extra return for waiting just 5 months!! My three years waiting could have gone in vain if I was also one among them who made the net inflow negative when the market was low. (This fund is an example, I am not suggesting this fund)

Be a wise investor and use common sense. Invest low and redeem high

Famous Social Activist Anna Hazare Begins indefinite Fast for Lokpal

Anna Hazare is back in New Delhi's Ram Lila Maidan today and is set to go on an indefinite hunger strike against the Narendra Modi government, nearly seven years after his anti-corruption movement caught the imagination of millions of Indians and shook the then ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. This time, Hazare's agitation is over not just the Jan Lokpal but also on farmers' issues. Recently, Hazare slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Centre for failing to appoint a Lokpal and fulfilling its promises to farmers.Ahead of today's agitation, Hazare also slammed the central government for its "sly attitude", claiming it had "cancelled trains carrying protesters to Delhi"."This will be a satyagrah for Jan Lokpal, farmers' issues, and poll reforms. At least 1.2 million (12 lakh) farmers have committed suicide in the past 22 years. I want to know the number of industrialists who committed suicide during this period," Hazare said. The venue of his protest will be the same iconic Ram Lila Maidan, where he sat on a hunger strike in 2011 demanding that the then Congress-led government set up a Lokpal to investigate cases of corruption.Hazare has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states, besides the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which suggested ways to address the agrarian distress plaguing the country.Initially, Hazare is set to go to Rajghat on Friday with others. Later, they will reportedly march to Shaheedi Park and from there to Ram Lila Maidan. The day, March 23, has been chosen on purpose as this is the anniversary of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev's hanging to death by the British, said an aide of Hazare's.The Delhi Traffic Police has issued an advisory, warning commuters to avoid taking routes towards Aruna Asaf Ali Road, Delhi Gate, Darya Ganj, New Delhi Railway Station, Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj, ITO, Rajghat, Minto Road, Vivekanand Marg, and JLN Marg. Hazare slams government's 'sly attitude': Hazare spoke to news agencies ahead of his agitation and accused the government of cancelling trains carrying protesters to Delhi. He said that the government wanted to push the protesters to violence.Hazare added that the police force has been deployed for him as well even when he has written in many letters that he didn't need police protection. "Your protection won't save me. This sly attitude of the government is not done," said Hazare.

Development in India After Independence

Many think that India’s growth story since the 1947 was good. But several experts often opinion that the country’s development for the past six decades has been average. Despite the announcement of Five-Year Plans which focused on many sectors in order to speed up the pace of development, the result hasn’t been on expected lines. And, the country is taking its own time to climb up with the economic and social world.

Service Sector Growth

Telecom and software development had most of the growth in the nation’s services sector. A trend that started some twenty years back is now well in its prime. Several multinational companies continue to outsource their telecom and IT services to the country. In terms of employment, the services sector employs 24 % of the Indian workforce and this process of development started back in the 1980s. In the 1960s, the sector employed just 4.5% of the working population. According to the experts, the services sector accounted for 63% of Indian GDP (2008-09) and the numbers continues to grow.

Agriculture Sector Growth

Since Independence the growth in agriculture has been somewhat steady. The growth of the sector was about 1 percent per annum up to 1950’s. During the post-Independence era, the growth rate bumped about 2.6 percent per annum. Rapid expansion of farming lands and introduction of high-yielding varieties of crops were the major factors contributing to the growth in agricultural production. One of the significant effects of the growth was that it could well manage to end dependency on import of food grains. Despite the unpredictability of the monsoon, the sector has progressed both in terms of yield and structural changes. Other factors contributed to the growth include, good investment in research, land reforms, expansion of scope for lending facilities, and improvement in rural infrastructure. Besides, the country has also grown strong in the agri-biotech sector. A report from a leading financial institution had revealed that the agri-biotech sector has been growing at 30 percent since the last few years.

Infrastructure Development

Allocation of huge funds and availability of electricity had triggered large scale expansion of infrastructure. The Indian road network has become one of the largest in the world with the total road length increasing from 0.399 million km in 1951 to 4.24 million km in 2014 (July 2014). Moreover, the total length of the country’s national highways has increased from 24,000 km (1947-69) to 92,851 km (2014). Governmental efforts have led to the expansion of the network of State highways and major district roads, which in turn has directly contributed to industrial growth. After almost seven decades, India has bagged the third place in the list of largest producers of electricity in Asia. It has increased its electricity generation capacity from 1,362 MW in 1947 to 1,13,506 MW in 2004. When it comes to rural electrification, the Indian government has managed to bring lights to 5,93,732 (2013) villages as compared to 3061 in 1950.

Education sector

India has somewhat managed to bring its education system at par with the global standard in some cases. A number of initiatives have been implemented to eradicate illiteracy. The number of schools witnessed a dramatic increase after 1950’s. The government had declared elementary education, a fundamental right for children in the age group of 6-14 years by passing the 86th amendment to the Constitution in 2002. At independence, India’s literacy rate was a paltry 12.2 % which increased to 74.04% in 2011. The Government launched a big initiative under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan programme in 2001 to ensure education for the children from 6 to 14 years.

Health care sector

Increase in life-expectancy is considered one of the major achievements in health care in India. For example, life expectancy was around 37 years in 1951, it almost doubled to 65 years by 2011. Besides, Infant Mortality (IM) has also declined with death rate coming down to half of what it was during the 1940-50s. Moreover, similar developments were noticed in maternal mortality rate also. After a long-drawn struggle, India has finally been declared a polio-free country. Malnutrition in children under five years came down to 44% in 2005-06 from 67% in 1980. The number of tuberculosis cases also got reduced to 185 per lakh people in 2009. Moreover, the cases of HIV-infected people are also witnessing a declining trend. Government had also increased public health spending which is about 6- 6.5 % of the GDP.

Scientific achievements

India has reached new heights in rocket science and space technologies. Ever since, the launch of its first satellite Aryabhatta in 1975. India has emerged as a growing power that has successfully launched several foreign satellites. Its first mission to Mars was launched in November 2013 which successfully reached the planet’s orbit on 24 September 2014. Besides, space technology, India is also aggressively pursuing both nuclear and missile programmes. BrahMos Missile (with the help of Russia) inducted into the defence system is the world's fastest cruise missile. After more than six decades of independence, India has reached the level of being self-dependent in the field of space and missile technology.