Wednesday, December 30, 2020

Which one is better - Direct Equity or Mutual Funds?

Many investors get confused about whether they should go directly into the Equity market or choose the Mutual Fund route to invest. There are pros & cons of each option and one should also know their strength & weakness before taking a call.

Equity Investments:

Pro:     
  • You have direct control over your investment & portfolio
  • Start independent stock picking
  • Get into multi-bagger stock
  • Can create aggressive / concentrated portfolio
  • Get equity ownership & the right to participate in AGM
  • High risk - high reward
Cons:
  • Required in-depth research, time & skillset
  • understand future business prospects thoroughly
  • Need technical and/or fundamental qualified
  • Stock picking is more of an art rather than a science
  • Timing is equally important when to buy & sell
  • One wrong call can deteriorate overall portfolio performance drastically
  • Should be alert & watch the market on a daily basis
  • Riskier than MF investment
  • Need a large amount to invest
  • Demat is mandatory
  • Comparatively more volatile than MF
  • Not suitable for conservation, senior citizen or first-time investor

Mutual funds Investments:

Pro:     
  • Get professional fund management
  • Convenient & simple to invest
  • Transparency
  • Flexibility
  • Tax benefit u/s 80C under ELSS
  • Easily liquidate
  • The economy of scale & minimum transaction cost
  • Proper diversification & asset allocation
  • Can do saving to investing
  • Start with a small lump sum amount & can do SIP
  • Demat is not mandatory
  • MF follows certain investment strategy, process & system
  • Comparatively low risk than direct equity investment
  • Dully regulated by SEBI
Cons:
  • Need to do homework on scheme selection but lessor than stock selection
  • No customized portfolio
  • No control on picking & holding stock
  • One should very clear about their investment time horizon & goal
  • Fund Manager non-performance or change in fund management can drag the return



Disclaimer: Investment in securities & mutual funds are subject to Market Risk


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