Best Platforms to Invest in Mutual Funds
August 29, 2024 Mutual Fund
In this day and age of smartphones and technology at your fingertips, getting many tasks done has become easy — be it ordering groceries, food from a restaurant, buying furniture, availing of housekeeping services, to even investing. Surely, technology is playing the role of enabler in our lives.
If you are considering investing in mutual funds to plan for your envisioned financial goals and are looking at some of the best online platforms, let me tell you there are a plethora of options out there. They allow you to make investments in a hassle-free way in the comfort of your home, office, cafe, or wherever you are.
All you need to do is complete the e-KYC, link your bank account, and you are ready to invest/transact in a variety of mutual fund schemes, not limited only to schemes only from specific mutual fund house/s.
Moreover, other than performing transactions, some mutual fund platforms offer benefits such as:
- Help keep track of track of all your mutual funds in one place with the portfolio tracker
- Provide portfolio alerts
- You get insights on New Fund Offers and other developments in the mutual fund investing landscape
- Some even provide research-backed recommendations to build your portfolio
- Facilitate an online portfolio review
That being said, it is important to choose a mutual fund carefully, primarily assessing if there are robust security measures — after all, it’s the question of your important data. Plus, whether they are under the purview of the regulatory framework of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
While there is a plethora of platforms to invest in mutual funds, carrying out due diligence and reading the fine print of the terms of service is necessary. This will help you to recognise the hidden charges or fees, if any.
Also, it’s in your interest to assess if the mutual fund investment platform offers a Direct Plan or Regular Plan or provides you with the choice to invest in any of these.
If you are a DIY (Do It Yourself) seasoned investor or who makes investment decisions backed by research, it makes sense to go with the Direct Plan of mutual funds. The low expense ratio of the Direct Plan can make a significant difference to your mutual returns.
[Read: Direct vs Regular Plan: Can Expense Ratio Make Significant Difference to Your Mutual Fund Returns]
Here are some of the best platforms to invest in mutual funds:
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MFU is operated by MF Utilities India Pvt. Ltd. (MFUI), which is equally owned by the Participating AMCs, and was launched under the direction of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). All schemes of these participating AMCs are available for transaction/investment under the MFU portal. MFU allows choosing between Direct and Regular Plans of mutual funds schemes.
All you need to get started is an e-CAN (Common Account Number), which is a unique reference number issued by MFU.
Once the e-CAN is created, it will map all your existing mutual fund folios across fund houses (participating in MFU), thereby providing you with a consolidated view of all your mutual fund investments in India.
[Read: 3 Steps to Generate Your Mutual Fund e-CAN]
Transacting in mutual funds through MFUs provides browser-based access to multiple schemes with connectivity to KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs), Registrars and Transfer Agents (RTA), Banks, Asset Management Companies (AMC), and Payment Gateways (PG). In the present day and age, you also have the MFU app (available for Android and iOS) that can be installed on your smartphone.
To know more about MFU, click here.
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The BSE StAR MF is offered by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). However, this platform allows transacting only in the Regular Plan of mutual fund schemes and can be used only by Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs), Mutual Fund Distributors (MFDs), Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) etc.
In other words, you, the investor, cannot transact directly. So, it's a B2B (Business to Business solution allowing members (IFAs, MFDs, RIAs) to initiate transactions on your, the investor's/client's behalf. The investor could also initiate the transaction, provided the member allows.
That being said, the BSE StAR MF platform is packed with features, is extremely flexible, connects with both the depositories, i.e., NSDL and CDSL, and is set up to hold both mutual funds in physical and demat form. The transaction on this platform can be performed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on all working days of the exchange.
This platform is also available in the Mobile app version (BSE StAR MF Mobility), both in Android & iOS versions.
To know more about BSE StAR MF, click here.
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Computer Age Management Services Ltd. or CAMS, is a SEBI-registered RTA founded in 1988 and a company that provides technology-enabled services to mutual fund companies and investors in India.
myCAMS offers the convenience of managing your mutual fund investments. The investments in mutual funds can be performed through the CAMS website www.camsonline.com or the myCAMS mobile app (available for Android and iOS devices) across all participating mutual funds.
myCAMS brings you a host of features that will help you stay updated on your MF investments across all funds serviced by CAMS. It provides you with a consolidated portfolio view, allows switching between schemes, set up systematic transactions (e.g., digiSIP, STP, SWP), schedule future transactions, do digiNFO purchases, view transaction summary, generate a bouquet of useful statements/reports via the mail-back services, create watchlists and much more!
To know more about myCAMS, click here.
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KFintech, another SEBI-registered RTA and trusted technology partner to all financial services providers, also offers a platform to invest in mutual funds online through its portal and the kFinkart app (available for Android and iOS devices).
It currently has 28 fund houses empanelled and its Software as a Service (SaaS) has been defining benchmarks for investor servicing and operations excellence for the Indian mutual fund industry.
This platform is also power-packed with features much like its competitor CAMS. You can subscribe to NFOs online, invest in existing mutual fund schemes, do systematic transactions (viz. SIP, STP, and SWP), switch between schemes, as well as make insta-cash redemptions. Plus, it provides mail-back services to get your consolidated portfolio statement, capital gain account statement, etc. You can track your mutual fund portfolio, plus the family and minor's portfolio.
To know more about KFintech, click here.
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This platform is conceived by KFintech and CAMS in collaboration as an investor services hub. It brings all the mutual funds empanelled by KFintech and CAMs, thus offering an entire expanse of the mutual fund universe by leveraging the best technology.
It is India's first all-in-one mutual fund investment platform providing the convenience to transact across all folios (having the same PAN or PEKRN). In other words, it's a unified platform for all your mutual fund investments. It is the Indian mutual fund industry's initiative to minimise the need to visit multiple RTAs or platforms to access your portfolio, statements, make service requests, and much more! Thus, MFCentral offers with its highly secured environment offers ease, convenience, and a comprehensive view of the mutual funds in your portfolio.
To know more about MF Central, click here.
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At PersonalFN we too have our investment platform– PersonalFN Direct. It is a premium robo-investment platform, which is a combination of credible research and superior technology.
PersonalFN Direct is backed by our expert mutual fund research team, who have been successfully recommending solid investment opportunities for over 20 years now.
It delivers unbiased and independent views on mutual funds, helping you to create wealth and accomplish the envisioned financial goals. Keeping your interest at the fore, PersonalFN Direct recommends only Direct Plans of mutual fund schemes.
To know more about PersonalFN Direct, click here.
To conclude…
Depending on whether you are a seasoned investor or a newbie, choose your platform to invest in mutual funds thoughtfully. Accessing the best platforms to invest in mutual funds, will minimise the paperwork, plus make it easy and convenient to invest.
That said, want to know about the factors to select the best mutual funds? Watch this video:
Moreover, ensure that you invest in mutual fund schemes taking into account your age, risk profile, broader investment objective, financial goals you wish to address, and time in hand to achieve those goals, so that you own not only the best but even the most suitable mutual fund schemes in your portfolio. When in doubt, don’t hesitate to reach out to an unbiased SEBI-registered investment advisor.
[Read: How to Invest in Mutual Funds]
Make informed investment decisions. Be a thoughtful investor.
Happy Investing!
This article first appeared on PersonalFN here
