Before investing in mutual funds, it is critical to analyze mutual funds, before selection, in order to safeguard ourselves from loss, in the event of a market downfall. For this, the top-down approach can help investors make an informed decision. This method helps investors analyze the market critically, “from the big picture, all the way down to individual stocks,” i.e., viewing the mutual fund scheme from the magnifying glass to the microscope.
The first step in the top-down approach involves determining the state of the global financial economy. This can be done by first analyzing the financial health of developed countries like North America and Western Europe, but also of other emerging countries like Asia and Latin America, by determining the growth in the GDP of those countries. This can help you ascertain the value of the prospective mutual fund, which will help you in making a proper investment choice. Your decision to invest must first be backed by a need to invest. Although this may seem like a naive advice, it has strong investment undercurrents within it.
Secondly, you must determine the best time to place your investments in the mutual fund scheme. Thus, the answer is simple, lucid and coherent: The best time to make an investment in mutual funds is simply the time when you have funds to invest.
Since markets are vulnerable and unpredictable, it is almost impossible to time its performance. Thus, investor s must select the best and right investment and make a steady investment for a long period of time. For this, a simplified approach of the top-down method can be used, i.e., first-of-all, choose an investment scheme of your choice. Decide whether you would like to invest in debt or equity allocation. As per your investment criterion, time-frame of investment and the amount of risk you are willing to incur. Thus, invest in equity for long-term investments and debt instruments for short-term investments. Long-term can involve a period that is more than 3 years, whereas short-term investments involve a period of less than 3 years.
On the contrary, small-cap and mid-cap funds can deliver higher returns but also involve high risk quotient. Large cap stocks however, moderate between risk and profit, providing a safer bet to investors. This framework helps investors understand the general framework of mutual fund classification. Making a right choice of mutual funds is critical in determining your investment returns, as a bad choice can hinder your growth prospects, even if it is the best pioneering fund of its type.
Although your mutual fund house may provide you with various pointers that claim to help you in making the correct choice, it is largely a do-it-yourself activity that an investor has to solely do on his own. Thus, it is important to do proper ground-work before leaping into an investment, in order to win over the challenging situation of the choice of mutual funds.
And as goes the saying:”Never put all your eggs in one basket”, applies to this phenomenon of growing your investments. Do save your funds equally into different Mutual Funds. If the markets go upwards it will result in the increase in the value of a particular asset or two and in case of a down run, it will be one or two funds that might be affected in the short run thereby safeguarding your investments from a total wipe out. Remember, the main reason you need to opt for investing in any asset is to reduce or even eliminate your dependence on debts like a personal loan or a home loan. If you have managed to succeed in fulfilling this requirement, you have managed to build a strong portfolio. If not, you need to review your allocations and make changes if necessary.