Are mutual funds worth it for long term?
If you need your money in two years and the market drops, you may have to take that money out at a loss. Generally speaking, mutual funds — especially equity mutual funds — should be considered a long-term investment.
Mutual funds are largely a safe investment, seen as being a good way for investors to diversify with minimal risk. But there are circ*mstances in which a mutual fund is not a good choice for a market participant, especially when it comes to fees.
Disadvantages include high fees, tax inefficiency, poor trade execution, and the potential for management abuses.
Stay invested for the long term: Mutual fund investments are best suited for long-term growth. Avoid the temptation to make frequent changes to your portfolio based on short-term market fluctuations.
Typically, the ideal holding period for an equity mutual fund is considered anywhere between a minimum of 3-5 years. But data shows that only investments in 3% of the units continued for more than 5 years.
(You must convert the rate of return to the monthly figure through dividing by 12). You also have n = 10 years or 120 months. FV = Rs 1,84,170. So, the future value of a SIP investment of Rs 1,000 per month for 10 years at an estimated rate of return of 8% is Rs 1,84,170.
Mutual funds with a long-term and rigid lock-in period like ELSS often come with liquidity risk. Such a risk signifies that investors often find it challenging to redeem their investments without incurring a loss.
As the funds are invested in market instruments, they carry certain stock market risks like volatility, fall in share prices etc., which deters us from investing in mutual funds. As we don't want to lose money, we often let it stagnate in our savings accounts.
All investments carry some degree of risk and can lose value if the overall market declines or, in the case of individual stocks, the company folds. Still, mutual funds are generally considered safer than stocks because they are inherently diversified, which helps mitigate the risk and volatility in your portfolio.
Mutual fund investments when used right can lead to good returns, keeping risk at a minimum, especially when compared with individual stocks or bonds. These are especially great for people who are not experts in stock market dynamics as these are run by experienced fund managers.
What if I invest $1,000 a month in mutual funds for 20 years?
If you invest Rs 1000 for 20 years , if we assume 12 % return , you would get Approx Rs 9.2 lakhs. Invested amount Rs 2.4 Lakh.
Jiral Mehta, Senior Research Analyst, FundsIndia said that in this strategy, if you invest Rs 10,000 every month, assuming annual returns of 12 per cent, it takes 8 years to reach the Rs 16 lakh maturity amount.
When it comes to equity, it is very important that, especially when you are thinking about long-term goals, you want to exit as soon as you have 2-3 years left approaching your goal and there are just 2-3 years to get there.
The 4% rule says people should withdraw 4% of their retirement funds in the first year after retiring and take that dollar amount, adjusted for inflation, every year after. The rule seeks to establish a steady and safe income stream that will meet a retiree's current and future financial needs.
Diversified management investment companies have assets that fall within the 75-5-10 rule. A 75-5-10 diversified management investment company will have 75% of its assets in other issuers and cash, no more than 5% of assets in any one company, and no more than 10% ownership of any company's outstanding voting stock.
If you have a substantial amount to invest, it can be possible to make a living investing in dividend mutual funds. If you have that much discretionary capital on hand, however, you may be better served by diversifying your portfolio by investing in other securities.
Now, let's consider how our calculations change if the time horizon is 10 years. If you are starting from scratch, you will need to invest about $4,757 at the end of every month for 10 years. Suppose you already have $100,000. Then you will only need $3,390 at the end of every month to become a millionaire in 10 years.
If you invest $10,000 today at 10% interest, how much will you have in 10 years? Summary: The future value of the investment of $10000 after 10 years at 10% will be $ 25940.
| Years Invested | Balance At the End of the Period |
|---|---|
| 10 | $102,422 |
| 20 | $379,684 |
| 30 | $1,130,244 |
| 40 | $3,162,040 |
The chances of a mutual fund becoming zero are very low. This is because a mutual fund invests in several assets. So, even if a few assets do not perform well, other assets can generate returns. This can balance the losses of non-performing assets.
Are mutual funds really worth it?
Access to different markets
You might also need an investment to serve a specific role in your portfolio, such as generating income or adding stability during periods of market duress. Mutual funds can provide access to many different parts of the market, even within the broad asset classes of stocks and bonds.
- Bank of India Overnight Fund.
- Mirae Asset Overnight Fund.
- Axis Overnight Fund.
- Kotak Equity Arbitrage Fund.
- Tata Arbitrage Fund.
- Nippon India Arbitrage Fund.
- Axis Arbitrage Fund.
- Aditya Birla Sun Life Arbitrage Fund.
Buy mutual fund units at a discount
If you understand the concept of rupee-cost averaging, it shouldn't be difficult for you to understand that this is the time to buy mutual fund units at a lower NAV. While the idea might seem bizarre to some as per the market trends, lakhs of other investors are already doing it.
Most mutual funds are aimed at long-term investors and seek relatively smooth, consistent growth with less volatility than the market as a whole. Historically, mutual funds tend to underperform compared to the market average during bull markets, but they outperform the market average during bear markets.
However, during a market crash, stock prices come down. This, in turn, pulls down the performance of mutual funds holding these stocks. Companies, too, face a tough time with their operations taking a hit, and it takes time for stocks to recover. Performance improves only when stocks recover lost ground.
