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MoneyWorks4Me

Part 5: Process or How the heck do I Invest in Equity Successfully?

5.13 Invest in very few Equity Mutual Funds but Smartly

Why invest in Mutual and Index Funds when you have a stock portfolio? Or vice versa. Which types of funds could add value to your portfolio? How to choose such funds? How to build a portfolio of funds? How to track the performance of funds? When investing lumpsum is there a right time to do so?  
 
The objective of your investment in equity is to earn healthy high returns by taking manageable risks. You cannot avoid risk when investing in Equity but by having reasonable returns expectations you manage it at a level where you stay invested. 
 
You can build your equity portfolio by investing in:
  1. Direct Stocks
  2. Actively Managed Mutual Funds
  3. Index funds or Passive Mutual Funds
  4. ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds)
  5. PMS (Portfolio Management Services)
Mutual Funds and ETFs exist for all asset classes and in any combination– stocks, Debt or Fixed Income, Gold, commodities, currencies and everything else. Since we are primarily interested in long term investing, not short term or trading in equity, we will cover only stock-centric mutual funds. 
 
An equity mutual fund essentially pools money from various investors and the Fund manager invests it a portfolio of stocks. Everything that you have seen about investing in stocks is what a Fund Manager-the person who builds and manages the mutual fund needs to do, albeit using their own methods, process and research. 
 
In contrast Index Funds and ETFs simply replicate the portfolio of the Index and there so, there is no Fund Manager making the decision on what to invest in. 
 
A Fund Manager manages the fund portfolio which are bought and sold as units like any ‘product’. Instead of a price, you invest at the Net Asset Value, NAV  of the fund. It is the value per unit of the fund. You can invest in MF with very small amounts unlike PMS which currently requires you to commit a minimum of 50lacs and the fees are much higher.
 
You can read more about the different types of Mutual Funds in this blog: Types of Mutual Funds
 
And to know the most important terms in MF investing , refer to this blog: Do you know the ABC of Mutual Funds Investing…
 
Each way of investing has unique benefits and challenges which you will understand better now that you know how to invest in stocks directly. This is summarized below:
 

Key benefits of investing in Stocks

Flexibility and Control

  1. Higher control over the portfolio.
  2. Can allocate more to a few stocks where investor/advisor has conviction.
  3. Decisions not impacted by external factors as in an MF eg large inflows, redemption pressure, fund manager exit, etc.

Lesser Cost

Lower overall cost compared to mutual funds.

  1. No fund manager expenses.
  2. Lower churn. Can enter and exit without impact cost (adverse impact on price) usually faced when order sizes are large.

Key Challenges

 

  1. Risk of capital loss
  2. Stock prices are extremely volatile in the short term leading to irrational investor behaviour.

Key benefits of investing in Mutual Funds

Diversification

  1. Mutual funds typically hold 50 stocks in a portfolio thus less risky.
  2. An investor can benefit from multiple investment strategies and themes with ease.
  3. Actively managed by a competent Fund Manager

Small Ticket Size

  1. Investment in a diversified portfolio with a very small amount.
  2. Easy to follow a disciplined way of investing monthly savings.
...........Read More

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About MoneyWorks4Me

MoneyWorks4Me has been helping investors make better investment decisions since 2008.
MoneyWorks4Me Investment Advisers is the trade/brand name of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd., a SEBI-registered non-individual Investment Adviser (Registration No. INA000013323).
We began in 2008 as an equity research company, helping investors identify high-quality Indian businesses and understand what they were worth through deep fundamental research and intrinsic-value-based investing.
Over time, we learnt that successful investing requires much more than identifying good stocks.
Investors also need to know how much to invest, how to allocate money across different assets, how to construct a strong portfolio, when to act and, equally importantly, when not to.
That understanding shaped our evolution from an equity research company into a broader investment company built around research, portfolio strategy, technology and human judgement .

One Investing Philosophy. Different Ways to Benefit From It.

Today, our capabilities extend across Indian direct equities, mutual funds, global equities, fixed income, gold and REITs and other suitable investment opportunities.
We do not see these as separate investment products. They are different building blocks of one portfolio.
The starting point is the investor: their goals, required returns, time horizon, ability to take risk and the role each asset needs to play.
Asset allocation determines where the money should go.Research and valuation guide what we own. Portfolio construction determines how much we own.Periodic review and rebalancing help keep the portfolio aligned with its purpose.
This investment philosophy is applied in different ways across MoneyWorks4Me.
Through Omega Freedom and Omega Legacy, we work closely with investors who want comprehensive investment advice and guidance in managing their portfolios.
Through Third Rock Wealth, we bring the same investment thinking and research depth to investors who prefer mutual funds as their route to wealth creation.

Research at the Core

We look at business quality, financial strength, competitive advantage, management, growth prospects and risks. But we always consider these alongside valuation.
A good company does not automatically make a good investment at every price.
Our Quality-at-a-Reasonable-Price approach seeks to bring quality and valuation together.

Start With the Portfolio

We do not begin by asking which stock, fund or asset looks attractive.
We begin by asking what the portfolio needs.
Indian equities may provide long-term growth. Global equities can broaden diversification. Fixed income can provide stability and liquidity. Gold has a different role to play.
Every investment should earn its place in the portfolio.

Focus on Process, Not Prediction

Markets cannot be predicted consistently. A sound investment process can be followed consistently.
We therefore focus on what can be controlled: asset allocation, quality, valuation, diversification, position sizing, risk management, review and taking action when required.

Let Compounding Do the Heavy Lifting

Long-term wealth is not created only by finding investments with spectacular returns.
It comes from putting money to work intelligently, earning satisfactory inflation-beating returns across the portfolio and staying invested long enough for compounding to make a meaningful difference.

Technology Has Always Been Part of MoneyWorks4Me

Technology has been integral to MoneyWorks4Me from the beginning, from our financial X-Rays and valuation tools to portfolio analytics and research systems.
Investing still involves context, uncertainty and decisions for which there is not always an obvious answer.

Investors Should Understand Why

Our advisory business operates in afiduciary capacity, and the investor's interests come first.
We believe investors should understand the reasoning behind important investment decisions rather than simply follow recommendations.
That is the thinking behind our Do-It-With-Me approach.
It is designed to help investors remain in control of their money while benefiting from professional research, process and perspective.

Our Vision

Our vision is to build a trusted, research-powered investment company that helps investors make calm, informed and well-reasoned decisions throughout their investing journey.
Markets will change. Investment opportunities will change. Technology will change how investors access information and advice.
But the principles of successful investing are far more enduring:own quality assets at sensible prices, build portfolios intelligently, manage risk and give compounding enough time to work.
That is the investment discipline MoneyWorks4Me has been building since 2008 and continues to strengthen for the future.