Tips to Invest in Mutual Funds
New Delhi [India], July 21: Starting small with mutual fund investments may help individuals build financial discipline. It could support long-term planning for future goals. Many Indian investors usually begin with monthly online SIP mutual fund options. These plans allow easy tracking and regular contributions. This article explains a few simple and helpful tips that may help individuals have a seamless mutual fund investment experience.
Tips to Know While Investing in Mutual Funds
Understanding a few key things may make your mutual fund investments smoother and you may be able to make an informed decision.
Start Early in Your Investment
Starting early in mutual funds may provide a longer investment horizon. This approach often helps individuals spread the impact of market fluctuations over time. A longer period also usually gives more scope for structured planning. Early investment could make budgeting and tracking easier. It allows the fund to grow steadily through consistent contributions.
Know Your Financial Goals
Before investing, it may help to define your short-term and long-term goals. A clear goal gives direction to your investment strategy. It often helps choose the appropriate type of mutual fund. For example, someone saving for higher education may pick different schemes than someone planning for retirement. Understanding your purpose could support informed fund selection.
Understand Different Types of Mutual Funds
There are different types of mutual funds, such as equity, debt, and hybrid. Each serves different investment purposes. Equity funds typically invest in stocks, while debt funds focus on fixed-income assets. Hybrid funds offer a mix of both debt and equity. Learning about these categories may help you choose wisely. Reading product details on trusted platforms, such as official financial institutions, could be useful while planning your investment.
Assess Risk Before You Invest
Mutual funds come with different risk levels, and understanding your risk tolerance is important. If you prefer stable performance, then you may consider debt funds, as they are usually less volatile than other funds. Equity funds often experience more price fluctuations over time compared to other funds. Evaluating your risk appetite in advance, may help to assess how much change you are comfortable with. This step could support long-term patience and keep you prepared to manage changes during market shifts.
Invest Consistently with Online SIP Mutual Funds
Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) is to invest fixed amounts regularly. This habit usually supports long-term discipline. Using an online SIP mutual fund may offer flexibility and ease of use. Monthly contributions through SIPs make investing simple and structured. Regular investments often develop a routine and financial discipline into the investor's financial planning.
Read the Fund Document Carefully
Each mutual fund comes with a document called the Scheme Information Document (SID). It usually explains the fund's objectives, risk factors, and fees. Reading this may help you understand mutual funds and make well-informed decisions. The SID also outlines the portfolio manager's strategy. It may give clarity about where the fund typically invests.
Evaluate Fund Performance
While past performance may not ensure future outcomes, reviewing it may give an idea of how the fund typically performs. It usually provides insights into how the fund reacted to previous market conditions. However, this information should not be the only factor in decision-making. Evaluating fund performance usually becomes more helpful when the fund is compared with other similar types of mutual funds.
Be Patient and Think Long-Term
Mutual fund investments may show changes in value over short periods. These movements are often temporary. Being patient and having a long-term approach usually allows the fund to deliver the intended performance. Immediate reactions often create uncertainty, while patience generally increases the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes. Many individuals prefer SIPs because they promote regular and long-term contributions. Being patient and having a long-term approach may also help build steady financial habits.
Keep Track of Your Investments
Tracking your investments regularly may help you understand how your funds are performing. Reviewing your portfolio often shows whether it aligns with your goals. It also keeps you informed about any major changes in the scheme. Several platforms offer digital statements and updates, making it easier. Using these features could support more informed and timely planning for any adjustments.
Diversify Your Mutual Fund Portfolio
Diversification means spreading your investment across different types of funds. It usually helps in balancing the overall risk. For example, combining equity and debt funds may reduce the effect of market fluctuations. A well-diversified mutual fund portfolio may offer a more stable experience.
Conclusion
Getting started with mutual funds is usually simple when done with a thoughtful and systematic approach. With support from regulated platforms, investors can begin with clear information and well-organised services. Starting early, staying consistent, and keeping track of investments may support individuals in planning effectively for future. Beginners who explore online SIP mutual fund options often find it manageable and flexible. Always ensure your financial plans are in line with your needs and goals.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
10 minutes ago
- Hans India
AP fast emerging as best investment destination: CM
Singapore: Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who chose to go to Singapore professedly to rebuild ties that he believes had strained under the previous administration, has positioned the state as a burgeoning investment destination, citing abundant opportunities in key sectors like ports and green energy. During his ongoing official visit to Singapore, he affirmed that the state was actively implementing progressive policies designed to attract Singaporean enterprises. On Sunday, Chief Minister Naidu met with Shilpak Ambule, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, with whom the discussions centered on strengthening economic ties and exploring investment avenues. High Commissioner Ambule underscored the significant recognition and respect the 'CBN Brand' commanded within Singapore's government and industrial sectors. Chief Minister Naidu, recalling the earlier collaboration on the Amaravati capital city project, acknowledged Singapore's withdrawal between 2019 and 2024 due to unforeseen developments. He stated that a key objective of his current visit was to address past misunderstandings and rebuild the narrative through renewed engagement. The Chief Minister detailed Andhra Pradesh's newly introduced investment policies, reiterating the state's ambitious goal of achieving 160 gigawatt of green energy generation. He informed the High Commissioner that green hydrogen projects are already underway in Visakhapatnam (in partnership with NTPC) and Kakinada. Solidifying the state's technological aspirations, CM Naidu announced that Andhra Pradesh was set to establish India's first-ever Quantum Valley in Amaravati under the India Quantum Mission. He also confirmed that global tech giant Google was setting up a data center in Visakhapatnam. Highlighting the state's industrial potential, CM Naidu pointed out that regions like Rayalaseema offered highly conducive conditions for the establishment of defence, aerospace, electronics, and automobile manufacturing units. He expressed his view that Andhra Pradesh could serve as a strategic gateway for Singaporean investments into India and sought support to facilitate this. High Commissioner Ambule also noted that 83% of Singapore's population benefited from public housing projects. In response, Minister P. Narayana provided an overview of Andhra Pradesh's housing initiatives. The meeting also focused on collaboration in fields such as Artificial Intelligence, startups, medical device research, and academic partnerships between universities in Andhra Pradesh and Singapore. Ministers Nara Lokesh and TG Bharat, along with senior government officials from Andhra Pradesh, were present during the discussions.
Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Express View on trade pacts and agriculture: Carry forward the momentum
Now that the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been sealed, the focus shifts to the more challenging deal with the US. A major stumbling block to inking even an interim free trade agreement before US President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline — to either sign or face so-called reciprocal tariffs of up to 26 per cent — is agriculture. India does not want to open up its market for American soyabean, corn (maize), ethanol and dairy products. What this defensive stance misses is the potential loss from the fact that India's agricultural exports to the US, at $6.2 billion in 2024, exceeded its imports of $2.4 billion. A 26 per cent tariff will definitely hurt Indian seafood exports to the US that alone was valued at $2.5 billion. That loss would be a gain for the likes of Ecuador and Chile, slapped with only the 10 per cent baseline tariff. On the other hand, the fear of US farm imports is more about perception than reality. Take dairy, where the US isn't as big an exporter of milk powder, butter and cheese as New Zealand and the European Union. Or soyabean, where India imported over $5 billion worth of its oil during 2024-25. The bulk of that was from Argentina and Brazil, with the US share at just $126.3 million. The US is, no doubt, cost competitive in corn and the world's biggest producer as well as exporter. But corn is basically a feed grain, also increasingly being used as a biofuel feedstock. Allowing imports would benefit India's dairy and poultry farmers grappling with rising feed costs, aggravated by the diversion of corn for fuel ethanol production. The sheer demand growth makes corn imports by India inevitable, whether from the US or elsewhere. India needs a farm trade policy based not on import protection, but expanding and diversifying its exports. That happened during 2003-04 to 2013-14, when the country's agriculture exports soared from $7.5 billion to $43.3 billion and new markets were created in products from basmati rice and buffalo meat to frozen shrimps, guar gum meal, chilly and seed spices. Since then, exports have hardly grown to about $52 billion in 2024-25. Even worse have been shipment curbs — on rice, wheat, sugar or onion — clamped at the slightest indication of domestic supply shortfalls. CETA has been a refreshing departure, with India successfully negotiating duty-free access for its exports of seafood, processed foods, spices, fruit and vegetables to the UK, while simultaneously offering to cut tariffs on imports of whisky, chocolates, soft drinks and salmon from the latter. A similar confident approach of export proactiveness rather than import defensiveness is required in deals with other countries — the US included.
Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Smriti Irani writes: In a world where AI can code, but not create, how India can fill the gap
In my journey across the television screen, the political trail, transformative classrooms, the rattling loom, among other evolving contexts, I've seen one truth hold steady — our power lies in our imagination, curiosity, creativity and innovation. India's creative economy is projected to reach $80 billion by 2026, according to a report published recently. 'Creative Economy' is not just a smart phrase but holds the potential for building creative-cultural assets. It can operate as a strategic lever of inclusive growth. I want to bring together two powerful perspectives — education and entrepreneurship, and classrooms and creators. Together, they present India's development frontier with strong, inclusive opportunities. The question, therefore, arises: How quickly can our institutions prepare young minds with the skills and confidence to help them participate in the creative economy? A recent survey-backed report, 'Shaping Education to nurture the $80 billion Creative Economy', by a leading Indian management consulting firm, states that only 9 per cent of students across 22 states demonstrate strong readiness in design thinking, research and real-world problem-solving. These are 21st-century skills and core competencies of the creative economy. In a world where AI can code but not create, these gaps matter. The NEP 2020 calls for embedding 21st-century skills — critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication — into the curriculum. But we must go further. With the CBSE now mandating art-integrated learning from Grades I–X, and the Rs 400 crore Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT) launching in Mumbai, the blueprint is emerging. Creativity cannot be part-time, and in that sense, it cannot be extracurricular. It is time to mainstream creative entrepreneurial mindset training — through maker spaces, startup labs, and design sprints. Let creativity be assessed not just in art rooms, but in business models, digital portfolios and social impact. Bring it midstream in the curriculum. The Report also highlights how international boards such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) are more successful in developing core competencies of the creative economy in school students compared to Indian boards. India's creative force is exploding — not just in metros, but in village courtyards, small-town lanes, and local community centres. With affordable tech and deep cultural roots, over 100 million Indians — farmers, weavers and local experts — have become digital creators. The creator economy has now surpassed the $500 million mark, powered not by polished panache but by raw authenticity! Its revolutionary power shatters barriers: In Rajasthan, women resurrect and champion vanishing oral histories through vibrant smartphone films. In Bihar, Bhojpuri creators fill the education gaps left by traditional systems. They aren't just telling stories — they are telling 'their' stories and fuelling a grassroots movement, rooted in language, identity and local pride. We saw this raw, vernacular creative surge reshaping how India speaks, learns and leads in the recent launch of India's first public streaming platform, WAVES OTT, owned by Prasar Bharati. WAVES OTT accomplishes what commercial giants may not — by elevating daily creators, it is making local content and storytelling part of the national conversations. In today's India, the most powerful public messaging isn't top-down; it's created, uploaded, and amplified from the ground up. WAVES is not a passive pipeline of content; it is a democratic bridge. It confers institutional legitimacy on creators emerging from villages and towns and provides them with an equal opportunity to stream their content. Small-time films, established content producers, influencers, and student films can all showcase their content alongside each other. In classrooms across India, teachers are turning into creators, and students into solopreneurs. Khan Sir from Patna — armed with chalk, wit, and a camera — educates millions through YouTube. Meanwhile, Bengaluru's Parikrma Foundation builds storytelling, theatre, and filmmaking into everyday learning. In Maharashtra, 17-year-old Shraddha Garad launched her own digital embroidery tutorial channel during the pandemic, is now selling patterns online and mentoring younger girls in her village — a student, a creator, and an entrepreneur rolled into one. These aren't outliers — they are early signals of a systemic shift. Our policy must now respond with speed and scale. Imagine government-backed media labs and creator incubators in every district —where students prototype campaigns, narrate local stories, and learn digital production as a life skill. But this transformation won't happen in silos. Ministries like MoE, MSDE and I&B must converge — blending skilling with storytelling, curriculum with creator capital. In a Viksit Bharat, literacy isn't just about reading and writing — it's about creating, pitching, and publishing. Yet, the true power of the creative economy will be unlocked not only from scale but in its social resonance. In communities where institutions are slow or absent, creators are stepping in — bridging information gaps, shifting norms and activating public awareness in real time. In Odisha, tribal teenagers use Odiya rap videos to teach climate-resilient farming — reaching over 5,00,000 farmers, where traditional extension systems have fallen short (UNICEF, 2024). In Kerala, ASHA workers produce short-form health content in Malayalam, doubling engagement on TB awareness compared to state-led clinic outreach. Vernacular influencers, across platforms, have driven more than 70 million views on subjects like menstrual health, child nutrition, and vaccinations — topics too often left out of mainstream media. As we journey towards Viksit Bharat 2047, our greatest strength will not be in factories or code — but in our capacity to imagine, narrate, and innovate. In a world shaped by algorithms, India's currency is creativity — and its potential is limitless. Let's build an India where every child is a creator, and every creator is a force for economic, cultural, and social transformation. That is the India we must shape. The writer is a former Union Minister
