Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Mutual fund is a trust that pools the savings, which are then invested in capital market
instruments such as shares, debentures and other securities. It works in a different manner as
compared to other savings organizations such as banks, national savings, post office, non-
banking financial companies etc. as most, if not all capital market instruments, have an
element of risk, it is very essential that the investors have a clear understanding of how
mutual fund operates and what are the advantages as well as limitations, how the net asset
value (NAV) are calculated and what is the impact of dividend on NAV etc. this
understanding has to be created among the investors by the distributors engaged in the
marketing of mutual fund products. The distributors should also be knowledgeable enough to
answer fundamental and basic questions raised by the investors. The distributors need to
understand accounting for the fund’s transactions with the investors and how the fund
accounts for its assets and liabilities which is essential for them to perform basic role in
explaining the mutual fund performance to the investors. For example, unless the distributor
knows how the NAV is computed, he cannot use even simple measures such as NAV change
to assess the fund performance. He should also understand the impact of dividends paid out
by the fund or entry/exit loads paid by the investor on the calculation of the NAV and
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INTRODUCTION:
Meaning:
The mutual fund industry in India started in1963 with the formation of Unit Trust of India, at
the initiative of the Reserve Bank and the Government of India. The objective then was to
In a mutual fund, many investors contribute to form a common pool of money. This pool of
money is invested in accordance with a stated objective. The ownership of the fund is thus
joint or mutual; the fund belongs to all investors. A single investor’s ownership of the fund is
in the same proportion as the amount of the contribution made by him bears to the total
amount of fund.
A mutual fund uses the money collected from investors to buy those assets which are
specifically permitted by its stated objective. Thus, a growth fund would by mainly equity
assets- ordinary shares, preference shares, warrants, etc. An income fund would mainly buy
debt instruments such as debentures and bonds. The fund’s assets are owned by the investors
in the same proportion as their contribution bears to total contributions of all investors put
together.
When an investor subscribes to mutual fund, he becomes part owner of fund’s assets. In
USA, mutual fund is considered as an investment company and an investor “buys into the
fund”, meaning he buys the shares of the fund. In India, a mutual fund is constituted as a
Trust and the investors subscribes to the “units” of a scheme launched by the fund, which is
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where the term unit Trust comes from. The term “unit-holder” is used to denote the mutual
fund investor which includes in both the open-end and close-end schemes.
In an open-end scheme, investors can buy and sell units from the fund continuously. The
stock exchange is not in picture. To ensure that there is fairness, sale and purchase has to take
place at fair value of the unit. Since the units held by an investor evidence the ownership of
the fund’s assets, the value of the total assets of the fund when divided by the total number of
units issued by the mutual fund gives us the value of one unit. This is generally called as Net
Asset Value (NAV) of one unit or one share. The total value of an investor’s part ownership
is thus determined by multiplying the NAV with the number of units held. As the fund’s
investments are revalued at their market prices, the net value of investments will change
depending upon the way prices of the investments move in the market. Therefore, the NAV
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Definitions:
Source Definition
Mutual Fund$ for “A mutual fund is a large pool of investment money
Quarterly Market Guide to “An investment company that pools the money of
market conditions.”
Business Week’s Annual “A mutual fund is an investment company that pools
Guide to Mutual Funds the money of many individual investors. When the
Words of Wall Street 1983 “Popular name for the shares of open-end management
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www.sec.gov/consumer/in “A mutual fund is a company that brings together
Shareholders.”
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The selection of an existing mutual fund depends on its performance - past as well as
expected. How should an investor judge the performance of a mutual fund? What criteria
There are a number of mutual funds in the market. New schemes are hitting the market
almost daily, with new names and targets. So, it becomes difficult for the small investor to
The performance of a mutual fund scheme is reflected in its net asset value (NAV) which is
disclosed on a daily basis in case of open-ended schemes and on weekly basis in case of
close-ended schemes.
The balance sheet of mutual fund is different from the usual balance sheet of other corporate
entities such as Banks, Companies or Partnership firms. All of the fund’s assets belong to
investors and are held in fiduciary capacity for them. Mutual fund employees need to be
aware of the special requirements concerning accounting for the fund’s assets, liabilities and
transactions with investors and others like banks, custodians and registrar. This knowledge
will help them understand their place in the organization, by getting an overview of the
Even the mutual fund distributors need to understand accounting for the fund’s transactions
with the investors and how the fund accounts for its assets and liabilities, as the knowledge is
essential for them to perform their basic role in explaining the mutual fund performance to
their investors. If they don’t know how the NAV is computed, then they cannot use even
The project enables us to know that performance of mutual fund is reflected in its net asset
value (NAV). Hence, it is not that investor’s should invest in those units which have highest
NAV, but they should also consider what are the risk and returns associated with the NAV.
Also, the investor must consider impact of dividend payout on the NAV. As far as
accounting of mutual fund is consider, SEBI lays down various guidelines and provisions in
which manner the AMC’s are required to maintain their accounts, what should be the
Methodology:
Data collection
• Primary data-
• Secondary data-
Internet
Business magazines
Workbook
• Mutual funds provide a rate of return, in the form of dividends, capital gains, and changes
in share value.
• All mutual funds have costs which lower the shareholder’s rate of return.
• Mutual funds can be purchased through brokers or directly from the fund through its
Transfer Agent
1) Portfolio diversification:
investor is a part owner of all the fund’s assets. This enables him to hold a diversified
2) Professional management:
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The investment management skills along with the needed research into available
investment options ensure a much better return than what an investor can manage on
his own.
3) Reduction/Diversification of Risk:
Diversification reduces the risk of loss. When an investor invests directly, all the risk
potential loss is his own. While investing in a pool of funds with other investors, any
A direct investor bears all the cost of investing such as brokerage or custody of
securities. When going through a fund, he has the benefit of economies of scale; the
funds pay lesser costs because of larger volumes, a benefit passed on to its investors.
Investors can easily transfer their holdings from one scheme to another. They can also
invest or withdraw their money at regular intervals. The mutual fund process is further
made convenient with the facility offered by funds for investors to buy or sell their
Investor pays investment management fees as long as he remains with the fund, albeit
in return for the professional management and research. Fees are usually payable as a
percentage of the value of his investments, whether the fund value is rising or
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declining. He also pays distribution costs, which he would not incur in direct
investing.
Investors who invest on their own can build their own portfolios of shares, bonds and
other securities. Investing through funds means he delegates this decision to the fund
managers. High net-worth individuals or large corporate investors may find this to be
Availability of a large number of options from mutual funds may again need advice
on how to select a fund to achieve its objectives, quiet similar to the situation when he
1. OPEN-ENDED SCHEME:
manager, it is called ’open-ended scheme.’ The fund manager buys & sells units
constantly on demand by the investors. Under this scheme, the capitalization of the
fund will constantly change, since it is always open for the investors to sell or buy
their share units. The scheme provides an excellent liquidity facility to investors. No
MERITS:
2. No intermediaries required.
4. No maturity period.
DEMERITS:
2. CLOSE-ENDED SCHEME:
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When units of a scheme are liquidated (repurchase) only after the expiry of a specified
capitalization & remain as a corpus with the mutual fund manager. Units of close-
ended are to be traded on the floors of stock exchange in the secondary market. The
price is determined on the basis of demand & supply. Therefore there will be, two
prices, one that is market determined & the other which is Net Asset Value based. The
market price may be either above or below NAV. Managing a close-ended scheme is
comparatively easy as it gives fund managers ample opportunity to evolve & adopt
long term investment strategies depending on the life of the scheme. Need for
liquidity arises after a comparatively longer period i.e. normally at the time of
redemption.
MERITS:
1. The prices are determined on the basis of market price & NAV.
2. Gives fund manager ample opportunity to evolve & adopt long term investment
strategies.
DEMERITS:
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1. INCOME FUND SCHEME:
The scheme that is tailored to suit the needs of investors who are particular about regular
returns is known as ‘income fund scheme.’ The scheme offers the maximum current income,
whereby the income earned by units is distributed periodically. Such funds are offered in two
forms, the first scheme earns a target constant income at relatively low risk, while the second
It is a mutual fund scheme that offers the advantage of capital appreciation of the underlying
investment. For such funds, investment is made in growth oriented securities that are capable
of appreciating in the long run. Growth funds are also known as nest eggs or long haul
A kind of mutual fund whose strength is derived from equity based investments is
called ‘equity fund scheme.’ They carry a high degree of risk. Such funds do well in
periods of favorable capital market trends. A variation of the equity fund schemes is
the ‘index fund’ or ‘never beat market fund’ which are involved in transacting only
those scripts which are included in any specific index e.g. the scripts which
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constituted the BSE-30 Sensex or 100 shares National index. These funds involve low
transaction cost.
It is a type of mutual fund whose strength is derived from bond based investments.
The portfolio of such funds comprises bonds, debenture etc. this type of fund carries
the advantage of secured & steady income. However, such funds have little or no
chance of capital appreciation, & carry low risk. A variant of this type of fund is
called ‘Liquid Funds.’ This specializes in investing in short term money market
instruments. This focus on liquidity delivers the twin features of lower risks & low
returns.
A scheme of mutual fund that has a mix of debt & equity in the portfolio of
funds will be often shifted between debt & equity, depending upon the prevailing
market trends.
When the managers of mutual fund invest the collected from a wide variety of small
investors directly in various specific sectors may include gold & silver, real estate,
specific industry such as oil & gas companies, offshore investments, etc.
5. FUND-OF-FUND SCHEME:
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There can also be funds of funds, where funds of one mutual fund are invested in the
units of other mutual funds. There are a number of funds that direct investment into a
specified sector of the economy. This makes diversified & yet intensive investment of
funds possible.
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History of Mutual Funds in India and role of SEBI in mutual
funds industry:
Unit Trust of India was the first mutual fund set up in India in the year 1963. In early 1990s,
Government allowed public sector banks and institutions to set up mutual funds. In the year
1992, Securities and exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act was passed. The objectives of SEBI
are – to protect the interest of investors in securities and to promote the development to and
to regulate these securities market. As far as mutual funds are concerned, SEBI formulates
policies and regulates the mutual funds to protect the interest of the investors. SEBI notified
regulations for the mutual funds in 1993. Thereafter, mutual funds sponsored by private
sector entities were allowed to enter the capital market. The regulations were fully revised in
1996 and have been amended thereafter from time to time. SEBI has also issued guidelines to
the mutual funds from time to time to protect the interests of investors. All mutual funds
whether promoted by public sector or private sector entities including those promoted by
foreign entities are governed by the same set of Regulations. There is no distinction in
regulatory requirements for these mutual funds and all are subject to monitoring and
inspections by SEBI. The risks associated with the schemes launched by the mutual funds
sponsored by these entities are of similar type. It may be mentioned here that Unit Trust of
India (UTI) is not registered with SEBI as a mutual fund (as on January 15, 2002).
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Sponsor, Trustee, AMC and Other Constituents:
• Sponsor creates the AMC and the trustee company and appoints the boards of both
• Investors’ money is held in the Trust (the mutual fund). The AMC gets a fee for
• The trustees make sure that the funds are managed according to the investors’
mandate.
• Sponsor should have at least a 5-year track record in the financial services business
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• Trustees are appointed by the sponsor with SEBI approval.
• An AMC cannot engage in any business other than portfolio advisory and
management.
• AMC should have a net worth of at least Rs. 10 crores at all times.
• Trustees are required to meet at least 4 times a year to review the AMC.
• The investors’ funds and the investments are held by the custodian, who is the
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• If the schemes of one fund are taken over by another fund, it is called as scheme
• If two AMCs merge, the stakes of sponsors changes and the schemes of both funds
• If one AMC or sponsor buys out the entire stake of another sponsor in an AMC, there
is a takeover of AMC. The sponsor, who has sold out, exits the AMC. This needs high
• Investors can choose to exit at NAV if they do not approve of the transfer. They have
• For closed-end funds, investor approval is required for all cases of merger and
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Legal and Regulatory Framework:
• Mutual funds are regulated by the SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations, 1996.
permission.
• RBI regulates money and government securities markets, in which mutual funds
invest.
• Listed mutual funds are subject to the listing regulations of stock exchanges.
• Since the AMC and Trustee Company are companies, any complaints against their
• Investors cannot sue the trust, as they are the same as the trust and cannot sue
themselves.
• UTI is governed by the UTI Act, 1963 and is voluntarily under SEBI Regulations.
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• SROs are the second tier in the regulatory structure.
• SROs get their powers from the apex regulating agency, act on their instructions and
• AMFI is an industry association of mutual funds. AMFI is not yet a SEBI registered
SRO.
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VALUATION OF SCHEME PORTFOLIOS:
The value of investors’ holdings of units in a mutual fund is calculated on the basis of Net
Asset Value of investments by the fund. Distributors and investors need to understand how
mutual funds value the securities held by them in their portfolios, so they can understand how
This knowledge will help them anticipate the fluctuations in the portfolio values under
different market scenarios and recommend or take their decisions accordingly. This will also
help them in comparing the performance of different fund schemes by reviewing the
As the industry regulator, SEBI aims at protecting the investors by ensuring that the valuation
b. Are uniform across the fund types and AMC’s to the extent possible.
The fair valuation ensures that realistic prices are used to compute the value of portfolio
securities and that there is no manipulation of the values of portfolios. Uniform valuation
practices ensure that everyone can compare the performance of different schemes and AMC’s
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without worrying about whether the fund valuation practices may be different from one
scheme to another.
AMC’s therefore adopt uniform portfolio valuation practices to the extent possible.
Fair value-
It means value of security that is realistic and not based on any arbitrary methodology. Fair
value may be determined based either on purchase cost, market price or on some accepted
principles.
Mutual funds invest essentially in marketable securities traded either on the stock exchange
or on to the money markets. The preference for traded securities is given to ensure liquidity
of the investments- ease with which the securities can be sold. The second reason for the
preference for ‘traded securities” is to ensure that these securities receive ‘fair valuation at
market prices’ that are publicly available. This valuation process is known as “mark to
market”- bringing the value of the securities in the portfolio to reflect their market value.
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Fair value of Illiquid Securities-
While fund managers always strive to include only traded or liquid securities in their
portfolios market conditions often result in some securities not being traded in the market.
Valuation of such non-traded securities poses a problem of how to determine their ‘fair
value’. Regulators prescribe methods wherever possible or require the Trustees to determine
Valuation date-
The date on which the fund calculates the value of its portfolio and the NAV is known as the
valuation date. Where funds value their investments on a ‘mark to market’ basis, the
valuation date is the date on which the traded price of a security is available. For non-traded
security it means the date that is selected and used for the valuation in accordance with some
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Valuation of Equity Securities:
The valuation principle to be used depends also upon whether a security is traded in the
market or not.
Traded Securities-
For traded securities the basis of valuation is ‘mark to market’. For this purpose, on the
valuation date, once the market price is obtained the fund will multiply its current holdings in
number of shares by the applicable market price to get the “mark to market” value. The
a. An equity security is valued at the last quoted closing price on the stock exchange
b. If no trade is reported on principal stock exchange, the last quoted price on any other
c. If an equity security is not traded on ant stock exchange on a particular valuation day,
the value at which it was traded on the selected/other stock exchange on the earliest
previous day, may be used, provided such date is not more than 30 days prior to the
valuation date.
For some securities market prices is not available easily. It becomes difficult in such cases to
apply the principle of ‘mark to market’. The reason for non-availability of market price is the
infrequency or small volume of trading in a security. Such securities are then considered
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‘thinly traded’ and SEBI give some freedom to AMC’s to use their own methods of valuation
in such cases.
value in a month is less than Rs.5 lakhs and the total volume is less than 50000 shares.”
a. In case trading I the security is suspended up to 30 days, then the last traded price is
used.
b. If trading in the scrip is suspended for more than 30 days, then the AMC can decide
the valuation norms to be followed and such norms would be documented and
recorded.
Non-Traded Securities:
When a security is not traded on any stock exchange for 30 days prior to the valuation date,
Both non-traded and thinly traded securities are to be valued “in good faith” by the AMC on
a. Based on the latest available Balance sheet, Net worth per share is calculated. [Net
worth per share= (Share capital+ Reserves- Miscellaneous expenditure and Debit
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b. Then value per share is calculated using the Capitalized Earnings Method. The
formula used is (Earnings per share *applicable P/E multiple). For this purpose,
average P/E ratio for the industry is to be based upon BSE or NSE data. PER should
be followed consistently. The identified PER has to be discounted by 75% and only
25% of the industry average P/E shall be taken as the applicable P/E multiple.
Earnings per share of the latest audited annual accounts are considered for this
purpose.
c. The value per share based on the net worth method and capitalized earnings method,
d. In case the EPS is negative, EPS value for that year is taken a zero for arriving at
capitalized earnings.
e. Where the latest balance sheet of the company is not available within nine months
from the close of the year, unless the accounting year is changed, the shares of such
f. In case an individual security accounts for more than 5% of the total assets of the
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Example:
1. Assume that we hold an engineering company’s share that is not quoted on the
market, but we know that the company makes Rs.2 EPS and has a net worth of Rs.8
2. We can use other traded engineering companies industry average for basing the
3. With a 75% discount, the P/E multiple applicable to our untraded share is 3
(12*25%).
4. We can use the multiple of 3 to obtain our untraded share’s price by multiplying our
company’s Rs.2 EPS with the applicable PER and get the valuation price of Rs.6.
5. This is further averaged with the company’s net worth of 8 to give a value of Rs. 7 per
share [(6+8)/2].
6. Since our share is not liquid we must discount 7 by 10% to give a valuation of Rs.
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Equity dividends impact on NAV:
Income to be distributed as a dividend remains part of the fund’s NAV until ex date. On ex
date, the NAV is reduced by the amount of the dividend. The table below illustrates the
per share
XYZ Biotech fund At the end of the • has had no expenses
operation shares
it’s portfolio
share
($105,000/10,000=$10.50)
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XYZ Biotech’s April 10 • decides to distribute all of the
set as April 25
XYZ Biotech fund April 15 • still has an NAV of $10.50
(record date)
XYZ Biotech’s April 16 (ex date) • Removes the $5,000 from the
record as of April 15
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The table below illustrates which investors (buyers or sellers) are entitled to
the dividend in the previous example, and relates their entitlement to the
and will
when it pays.
buyer on or after ex date • pay $10.00 per share, which
dividend.
seller prior to ex date • receive $10.50 per share for
NAV.
seller on or after ex date • receive $10.00 per share for
will
when it pays.
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Valuation of Debt Securities:
Traded Securities-
A debt security may be traded on a stock exchange (corporate securities) or in the interbank
market (government security). If a security is traded on the stock exchange then again
publicly available and quoted market prices are used for its valuation. If a debt security (other
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than govt. security) is not traded on any stock exchange on a particular valuation day, the
value at which it was traded on the principal stock exchange on the earliest previous day, may
be used, provided such date is not more than 15 days prior to the valuation date. If a debt
security (other than govt. security) is purchased by way of private placement, the price at
which it was bought may be used for a period of 15 days beginning from the date of
purchase.
These needs to be identified and then valued especially. A debt security (other than govt.
individual trade on that security in marketable lots on the principal stock exchange or any
Non-traded debt securities with residual maturity of up to 182 days should be valued
on the same basis as money market securities. These securities are valued on the basis
of amortization of purchase cost plus accrued interest till the beginning of the
purchase plus the difference between the redemption value and the purchase cost that
2. Non- traded, Non-Government, debt instruments over 182 days to maturity- All non-
traded debt securities including asset backed paper with maturity of over 182 days are
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valued ‘in good faith’ by the AMC I accordance with the detailed valuation principles
laid by SEBI.
a. All Non-traded Debt Securities are classified into “Investment grade” and “Non-
assets.
Securities:
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The approach to valuation of non-traded debt security is based on the concept of “spreads”
over the ‘benchmark rate’ to arrive at the yields for pricing of non-traded security. The
process is as follows-
Step A:
A Risk Free Benchmark Yield is calculated, using the government securities as the base as
they are traded regularly, free from credit risk and traded across different maturity spectrums
every week. All securities with minimum traded value of Rs. 1 crore are grouped by
maturities called “duration buckets” – 0.5 to 1 year, 1 to2 year, 2/3 years, 3/4,4/5,5/4,5/6 and
over 6 years. Then, volume weighted yields are calculated for each bucket. This is done
Step B:
Expected yield on non-govt. securities is generally higher than the corresponding maturity
govt. security to reflect the higher credit risk on non-govt. securities. The differences between
the two yields are the “spread” over the benchmark yield. “Spreads” are determined using the
market prices of non-govt. securities and comparing them with the yields on govt. securities.
The spreads are built only for investment grade corporate paper which is grouped credit
Step C:
Yields to be used for valuation are further adjusted to reflect the illiquidity risk of a security.
The yields have to be marked up/marked down to account for the illiquidity risk, promoter
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background, finance company risk and the issuer class risk. As illiquidity risk would be
higher for non-rated securities, higher expected yield would be used to value non-rated
securities as compared to rated securities. For securities rated by external agencies, SEBI
permits a discretionary discount up to 2 years and 0.75% for those of higher duration. The
AMC has to assign an internal credit rating to non rated securities but with mandatory lower
discounts or premiums.
Step D:
The yields so arrived for all categories of securities are used to price the portfolio. If yields
for any category of securities cannot be obtained using any or all of the above steps, then a
fund may use the credit spreads from trades on appropriate stock exchange for the relevant
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An issuer may call a debt security and repay before maturity. Such securities with
call option have to be valued at the lower of two values- value obtained by valuing
the security to final maturity and that obtained valuing the security to call option
date.
Where investors have the option to redeem earlier than maturity. Such securities
with put option shall be valued at the higher of the values obtained the security to
final maturity and valuing the security to the put option date.
traded and unlisted equity shares shall not exceed 15% of the total assets of an open-
end scheme and 20% of a closed-end fund. Illiquid assets held in excess of the limits
b. All mutual funds have to disclose s on March 31 and September 30 the scheme-wise
total illiquid securities in value and percentage of the net assets while making
c. Mutual funds are no allowed to transfer illiquid securities internally among their
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Risk, Return and Performance:
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This number can be annualized by multiplying the result by the factor 12/n, where n is the
number of months in the holding period. If the holding period is in days, the above factor will
• Change in NAV method of calculating return is applicable to growth funds and funds
(NAV at the end of the holding period – NAV at the beginning of the holding
period)/NAV at the beginning of the period. Return is then multiplied by 100 and
annualized)
If NAV on Jan 1, 2001 was Rs. 12.75 & June 30, 2001 was Rs. 14.35
• Example:
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• The total return with re-investment method or the ROI method is superior to all these
methods. It considers dividend and assumes that dividend is re-invested at the ex-
dividend NAV.
[(Value of holdings at the end of the period - value of holdings at the beginning of the
• Value of holdings at the beginning of the period = number of units at the beginning x
begin NAV.
• Value of holdings end of the period = (number of units held at the beginning +
• Income ratio is the ratio of net investment income by net assets. This ratio is
important for fund earning regular income, such as bond funds, and not for funds with
• Portfolio turnover rate refers to the ratio of amount of sales or purchases (whichever is
• Higher the turnover ratio, greater is the amount of churning of assets done by the fund
manager.
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High turnover ratio can also mean higher transaction cost. This ratio is relevant for
• If the turnover of a fund is 200%, on average every investment is held for a period of
6 months.
• Risk arises when actual returns are different from expected returns.
• Beta co-efficient is a measure of market risk. The quality of beta depends on ex-
marks.
• Ex-marks are an indication of extent of correlation with market index. Index funds
• Compare both risk and return, over the same period for the fund and the benchmark.
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With a market index
When comparing fund performance with peer group funds, size and
Treynor and Sharpe ratios are used for evaluating performance of funds.
While fund managers are under pressure to increase their asset base, they are confident of
While that is a comforting thought for retail investors, fund managers agree that it may be
difficult to achieve the same levels of outperformance as in the past. Prashant Jain, chief
investment officer of HDFC Mutual Fund, notes that in India, equities will continue to
outperform all other asset classes going forward. But there is a caveat. "The gap between
performance of equities and other asset classes will narrow," says Jain.
While fund managers are under pressure to increase their asset base, they are confident of
giving reasonable returns in the long term. However, they warn against high expectations.
"Investors should not expect equity funds to give 90-100 per cent returns every year. Broad
markets should give a CAGR return in the range of 12-15 per cent over the next two-three
years".
With opportunities in the broad market tapering out, funds are dependent on the stock-picking
abilities of fund managers. "I think it is becoming a stock pickers' market. If we identify good
companies which have the opportunity and potential to grow, fund managers will continue to
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But fund managers are guarding against taking sectoral bets. Nilesh Shah, chief investment
officer of Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund, believes that the days of sector-specific rallies are
over. While they are bullish on sectors like banking, infrastructure-related and consumer-
So what will drive equity returns this year? "I expect a re-rating of Indian equities to happen
soon. In many cases it has already started". Fund managers also expect the mid-cap segment
to do well, though they agree that returns may not match that of last year. Jain is of the
opinion that mid-caps will continue to see good growth going forward. "Though there are
some stocks which have become overheated, the universe of mid-caps is still pretty large, and
it is possible to find 30-35 good stocks in the segment for your portfolio," says he. "I would
Overall, fund managers continue to be bullish on equities, though they warn against big
return expectations. But rest, assured, if fund managers are to be believed, they will continue
to give better returns than other asset classes. "I think at least for the next five-10 years,
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ACCOUNTING:
A mutual fund is a common investment vehicle where the assets of the fund belong
directly to the investors. Investor’s subscriptions are accounted for by the fund not as
liabilities or deposits but as “Unit Capital”. The investments made on behalf of the
investors are reflected on the assets side and are main constitutes of fund’s scheme.
Liabilities of a mainly short term nature may be part of the balance sheet. The fund’s
total net assets are therefore defined as the assets minus the liabilities. The following are
i.e.; (Market value of investments+ receivables+ other accrued Income+ other assets-
Accrued expenses- other payables –other liabilities.)/ No. of units outstanding on the
valuation date.
• For the purpose of the NAV calculation, the day on which NAV is calculated by
• NAV for all schemes must be calculated and published at least every Wednesday
for closed end schemes and daily for the open end schemes. The day’s NAV must
be posted on AMFI’S website by 8.00 p.m. that day. Those close end schemes
which are not listed on the stock exchanges mat be publish NAV at monthly or
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• For valid applications received up to the cut off time, NAV computed later that
day would form the basis. For valid applications after the cut off time, NAV
computed the following day would form the basis. For all schemes except liquid
schemes, the cut off time is 3 p.m. in respect of liquid schemes, a different
method is followed. Applications for fresh sales received till 1 p.m.’ NAV
computed the previous day would form the basis for that day and for applications
received after 1 p.m., the same day NAV shall be used. For repurchases, the
• “Other Assets” include any income due to the fund not received as on the
valuation date. “Other Liabilities” include expenses payable by the fund. These
the NAV.
• Additions and sales from the portfolio of securities, and changes in the number of
units outstanding will both affect the per unit asset value. Such changes in
securities and number of units must be recorded by the next valuation date. If
frequency of NAV declaration does not permit this, recording may be done within
7 days of the transaction, provided that the non-recording does not affect NAV
calculations by more than 1%. For example, if a fund declares NAV every week,
with the next declaration date being January 15, then all
of January 15, except for transactions whose value does not affect the NAV by
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more than 1%.in case non-recording of transactions leads to difference of more
than 1% between the declared NAV and final NAV, the AMC must pay the
investors at a price higher than NAV or repurchased from them at a price lower
than NAV. Similarly, the AMC/scheme must be recover the difference from the
investors where units are allotted to them at a price lower than NAV or
liquid/money market schemes and up to two decimals places in case of all other
schemes.
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Pricing of Units:
Although NAV per unit defines the fair value of the investor’s holding in the fund, the fund
may not repurchase the investor’s units at the same price as NAV. There can be entry and exit
loads. The sale price is NAV plus entry load: the repurchase price is NAV minus exit load.
SEBI requires that the fund must ensure that repurchase price is not lower than 93% of NAV
(95% in case of close end schemes) and that sale price is not more than 107% of NAV. The
difference between the repurchase and sale price should not exceed 7% of the sale price.
For example, if the applicable NAV is Rs.10, the entry and exit load is 2%, then sale price
will be Rs. 10.20 and repurchase price will be Rs. 9.80. This evident from the fact that
difference between sale price and repurchase price is Rs. 0.40, which is lower than 7% of sale
price.
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Fees and Expenses:
The AMC may charge the scheme with investment management and advisory fees that are
• @1.25% of the first Rs. 100 crores of weekly average net assets outstanding in the
accounting year, and @ 1% of weekly average net assets in excess of Rs. 100 crores.
• For no load schemes, the AMC may charge an additional management fee up to 1% of
In addition to fees mentioned above, the AMC may charge the scheme with the following
expenses:
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• Audit fees
• Custodian fees
warrants
any schemes
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• Expenses on investment management/general management
costs
The total expenses charged by the AMC to a scheme, excluding issue or redemption expenses
but including investment management and advisory fees are subject to the following limits:
• On the first Rs. 100 crores of daily or average weekly net assets- 2.5%
• On the next Rs. 300 crores of daily or average weekly net assets- 2.25%
• On the next Rs. 300 crores of daily average weekly net assets- 2.0%
For bond funds, the above percentages are required to be lower by 0.25%.
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Initial Issue Expenses:
SEBI has rationalized the Initial Issue Expenses as follows effective from April 4, 2006:
• Initial Issue expenses will be permitted for closed ended schemes only and such
• In closed ended schemes, the initial issue expenses shall be amortized on weekly basis
over the period of scheme. For example, a 5 year (260 weeks) closed ended scheme
with initial expenses of Rs. 5 lakhs shall charge Rs. 1923 (500000/260) every week.
• In closed ended schemes where initial issues are amortized for an investor exiting the
scheme before amortization is completed, AMC shall redeem the units only after
issuance of new units shall be done only after the balance unamortized amount has
• Open ended scheme should meet the sales, marketing and other such expenses
connected with sales and distribution of scheme from the entry load and through
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• Unamortized portion of initial expenses shall be included for NAV calculation,
considered as “other asset”. The investment advisory fee cannot be claimed on this
asset. Hence, they have to be excluded while determining the chargeable investment
expenses, the unamortized portion of the initial issue expenses will not be included as
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Disclosures and Reporting Requirements:
• MF/AMC shall prepare for each financial year, annual report and annual statement of
• Within 6 months of the closure of the relevant accounting year the fund shall display
the scheme wise annual report on their websites which should be linked with AMFI
website, mail the annual report/ arbitraged annual report to all unit holders.
• Each item of expenditure accounting for more than 10% of total expenditure should
• The mutual fund shall make scrip wise disclosures of NPAs on the yearly basis along
with the half yearly portfolio disclosure. The total amount of provisions against the
NPAs shall be disclosed in addition to the total quantum of NPAs and proportion of
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• Large unit holdings (over 25% of net assets of a scheme) shall be disclosed in annual
and half yearly results by giving the number of such investors and their total holdings
in percentage terms.
• It should be mentioned in the annual report of the Mutual fund that unit holders may,
Dissemination of Information:
• The fund shall furnish to SEBI once in a year, copies of audited annual statements of
• Within 30 days of the close of each of half year (March 31 and September 30), the
fund shall publish its unaudited financial results in one national English newspaper
and one newspaper in the language of the region where the head office of the fund is
situated. These results are also required to be put on the websites of mutual fund with
• The trustees shall make such disclosures to the unit holders as are essential to keep
them informed about any information which may have an adverse bearing on their
investments
• The annual report containing accounts of the asset management companies should be
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Accounting Policies:
• Investments are required to be marked to market using market prices. Any unrealized
appreciation cannot be distributed and provision must be made for the same.
• Dividend received by the fund on a share should be recognized, not on the date of
declaration, but on the date the share is quoted on ex-dividend basis. For example, if a
fund owns shares on which dividend is declared on April 5, and the shares are quoted
on ex-dividend basis on April 20, the dividend income will be included by the fund
• In determining the holding cost of investments and the gain or loss on sale of
investments, the average cost method must be followed. Example, a fund acquires 100
shares in company A for Rs. 5000 on April 1. It buys another 150 shares in the same
company for Rs. 7000 on April 15. It sells shares of company A for Rs. 3500 on April
30. The gain on sale is Rs. Rs. 1100 calculated as- Average cost of holding per share
settlement date.
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• Bonus/rights shares should be recognized only when the original shares are traded on
• Nonperforming assets and income thereon shall be treated in accordance with SEBI’s
• Investments owned by mutual funds are marked to market. Therefore, the value of
reflected in the balance sheet. However, this change in value constitutes unrealized
gain/loss. When any investments are actually sold, the proportion of the unrealized
any time, the NAV includes realized and unrealized gain/loss on investments. While
• Equalization: An open end scheme sells and repurchases units on the basis of NAV.
(Unrealized gains are excluded). Practically, many funds make the adjustment
The above percentage is multiplied with the number of new units sold, and the
equalization account is credited by this amount, if units are sold above par: if
the units are sold below par, the equalization account is debited by this
repurchased, and the equalization account is debited by this amount if the units
are repurchased above par: if the units are repurchased below par, the
The net balance in the equalization account is transferred to the profit and loss
account. It is only adjusted to the distributable surplus and does not affect the net
Day 1:
• An open end fund issues 1000 units at its face value of Rs. 10 per unit.
Unit capital will appear in the balance sheet at Rs. 10,000 (1000*10)
(If units were issued at a price above par i.e. at a price higher than Rs.10 per
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• Effect of accounting entries
(Net assets are the total assets at market value less current liabilities and provisions. In
this example, we have assumed current liabilities, other income and expenses to be
zero. Hence, investments= net assets. Units outstanding are 1000. Thus, NAV=
10000/1000=Rs.10)
Day 2:
cost 10,000).
Investments will be marked to market i.e. they will appear in the balance sheet
at Rs. 11,000
Day 3:
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• Market value of investments rises to Rs. 12,000.
• 10% of the original portfolio is sold i.e. investments with an original cost of Rs. 1000
Day 4:
• The fund sells 100 additional units and repurchases 75 units, both transactions taking
Decrease in unit capital= Rs. 750 (75*10). (Thus, unit capital will
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Guidelines for Identification and Provisioning for Non-
Non- performing assets in a fund’s portfolio have a significant bearing on fund’s NAV.
Hence, SEBI has become out with guidelines for the identification and treatment of non-
have not been received or remained outstanding for one quarter from the day such
The definition of NPA may be applied after the lapse of a quarter after the due date of
the interest. For example, if the due date for interest is 30.06.2000, it will be classified
After the expiry of the 1st quarter from the date income has fallen due, there will be no
further interest accrual on the asset, i.e. if the due date for interest falls on 30.06.2000
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and if the interest is not received, accrual will continue till 30.09.2000 after which
there will be no further accrual of income. In short, taking the above example, from
the beginning of the 2nd quarter there will be no further accrual of income.
On classification of the asset as NPA from a quarter past due date of interest, all
interest accrued and recognized in the books of accounts of the fund till the due date
should be provided for. For example, if interest income falls due on 30.06.2000,
accrued will continue till 30.09.2000 even if the income as on 30.06.2000 has not
been received. Further, no accrual will be done from 01.10.2000 onwards. Full
provision will also be made for interest accrued and outstanding as on 30.09.2000.
Both secured and unsecured investments, once they are recognized as NPAs, call for
provisioning in the same manner. Where these investments are part of a close end
scheme, the phasing would be such as to ensure full provisioning prior to the closure
The value of the asset must be provided as per the following timeframes or earlier, at
the discretion of the fund. A Mutual fund will not have any discretion to extend the
should be made at the following rates, irrespective of whether the principal is due for
repayment or not.
a) 10% of the book value of the asset should be provided for after 6 months past
due sate of interest i.e. 3 months from the date of classification of the asset as
NPA.
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b) 20% of the book value of the asset should be provided for after 9 months past
due sate of interest i.e. 6 months from the date of classification of the asset as
NPA.
c) Another 20% of the book value of the asset should be provided for after 12
months past due sate of interest i.e. 9 months from the date of classification of
d) Another 25% of the book value of the asset should be provided for after 15
months past due sate of interest i.e. 12 months from the date of classification
e) The balance 25% of the book value of the asset should be provided for after 18
months past due sate of interest i.e. 15 months from the date of classification
In other words, a mutual fund is allowed to phase out the provisioning over a one-
Book value for the purpose of provisioning for NPAs has to be taken as value
Illustration:
01.01.2001
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6 months past due date of interest i.e. 3 months from the date of classification of asset
as NPA
(01.10.2000)
20% provision
01.04.2001
20% provision
01.07.2001
25% provision
01.10.2001
25% provision
01.01.2002
Thus, 1 ½ years past due date of income or 1 ¼ year from the date of classification of the
If any installment is fallen due, during the period of interest default, the amount of provision
E. Reclassification of assets:
borrower starts paying the interest or principal amount that were overdue. Upon
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1. In case a company has fully cleared all the arrears of interest, the interest
and if the debt is regularly serviced over the next two quarters.
3. In case the company has fully cleared all the arrears of interest, the interest not
4. The provision made for the principal amount can be written back in the
following manner:
100% of the asset provided for in the books will be written back at the
2nd quarter where the provision of principal was made due to the
50% of the asset provided for in the books will be written back at the
2nd quarter and 25% after every subsequent quarter where both
5. An asset is reclassified as a standard asset only when both overdue interest and
overdue installments are paid in full and there is satisfactory performance for a
When fund has received income/principal amount after their classifications as NPAs:
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1. For the next 2 quarters, income should be recognized on cash basis and
2. The asset will be continued to be classified as NPA for these two quarters.
3. During this period, of two quarters, although the asset is classified as NPA, no
provision needs to be made for the principal if the same is not due and
outstanding.
classified a NPA and provisions are continued as per the norms set at (D)
Investments in Deep Discount Bonds can be classified as NPAs, if any two of the
available.
Provision should be made as per norms of set at (D) above as soon as the asset is
classified a NPA. Full provision will be made if the rating comes down to grade ‘D’.
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H. Reschedulement of an overdue asset:
In case any company defaults on either interest or principal amount and the fund has
the asset, namely NPA may be continued and existing provisions should not
be written back. This practice should be continued for two quarters of regular
ii. If reschedulement is done due to default in interest and principal amount, the
servicing of the debt. The provision should be written back only after it is
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Treatment of derivatives:
In India, SEBI has permitted mutual funds to use derivative trading subject to certain
market, with consequent impact on NAV. That means the open positions are valued at the last
quoted price at the exchange where the instrument is traded, while non traded contracts are
valued at fair price as per procedures determined by the AMC and approved by the Trustees.
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Case Study:
The Client:
State Bank of India Mutual Fund (SBIMF) is one of the leading Mutual Fund having 29
Investor Service Centres (ISCs) across the country. It has a corpus of about Rs 50 billion
($125 million) from approximately 50 different schemes having more than a million investors.
The inflow of funds is from their ISC's. The funds collected are subsequently transferred to
their main account at SBIMF corporate office. Similarly, they issue cheques for dividend,
The Challenge:
SBIMF wanted their investor applications to be processed, and the statement of account to be
dispatched on the same day. This was possible only on getting credit confirmation from the
Fund Reconciliation:
The funds were collected under various schemes through ISC's and the same was deposited in
various banks across the country. Depending on deposited amount the investor was allotted
units calculated on the prevailing NAV (Net Asset Value) of that day. To reach the final
corpus for the days transaction, for a particular scheme one had to reconcile all the cleared and
uncleared cheques.
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Liability Reconciliation:
Similar to fund reconciliation, all cheques issued to investors and brokers had to be reconciled.
Before issuing the cheques one had to make sure that the required funds were available in the
scheme account.
The Solution:
Computronics followed up with SBIMF ISC's to get clearance of wrong credits and pending
applications. Close vigilance of bank accounts of all schemes led to faster reconciliation.
The Benefits:
Due to Computronics close monitoring of the reconciliation process SBIMF was able to
mobilize and invest their fund in different securities depending on the scheme features. This
also led to High Net Investors being able to invest and redeem faster.
Conclusion:
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The value of investors’ holdings of units in a mutual fund is calculated on the basis of Net
Asset Value of investments by the fund. Distributors and investors need to understand how
mutual funds value the securities held by them in their portfolios, so they can understand how
This knowledge will help them anticipate the fluctuations in the portfolio values under
different market scenarios and recommend or take their decisions accordingly. This will also
help them in comparing the performance of different fund schemes by reviewing the
Mutual fund employees need to be aware of the special requirements concerning accounting
for the fund’s assets, liabilities and transactions with investors and others like banks,
custodians and registrar. This knowledge will help them understand their place in the
Even the mutual fund distributors need to understand accounting for the fund’s transactions
with the investors and how the fund accounts for its assets and liabilities, as the knowledge is
essential for them to perform their basic role in explaining the mutual fund performance to
their investors. If they don’t know how the NAV is computed, then they cannot use even
Bibliography:
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• Mutual Funds In India – By H. Sadhak.
Edition.
Webliography:
• www.mutualfundsindia.com
• www.sbimf.com
• www.investopedia.com
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