What are Equity Funds ?

An Equity Fund is a Mutual Fund Scheme that invests predominantly in shares/stocks of companies. They are also known as Growth Funds

• Equity Funds are either Active or Passive. In an Active Fund, a fund manager scans the market, conducts research on companies, examines performance and looks for the best stocks to invest. In a Passive Fund, the fund manager builds a portfolio that mirrors a popular market index, say Sensex or Nifty Fifty.
• Furthermore, Equity Funds can also be divided as per Market Capitalisation, i.e. how much the capital market values an entire company’s equity. There can be Large Cap, Mid Cap, Small or Micro Cap Funds.
• Also there can be a further classification as Diversified or Sectorial / Thematic. In the former, the scheme invests in stocks across the entire market spectrum, while in the latter it is restricted to only a particular sector or theme, say, InfoTech or Infrastructure.
• Thus, an equity fund essentially invests in company shares, and aims to provide the benefit of professional management and diversification to ordinary investors.

What are Debt Fund?

A debt fund is a Mutual Fund scheme that invests in fixed income instruments, such as Corporate and Government Bonds, corporate debt securities, and money market instruments etc. that offer capital appreciation. Debt funds are also referred to as Fixed Income Funds or Bond Funds.

• A few major advantages of investing in debt funds are low cost structure, relatively stable returns, relatively high liquidity and reasonable safety.
• Debt funds are ideal for investors who aim for regular income, but are risk-averse. Debt funds are less volatile and, hence, are less risky than equity funds. If you have been saving in traditional fixed income products like Bank Deposits, and looking for steady returns with low volatility, debt Mutual Funds could be a better option, as they help you achieve your financial goals n a more tax efficient manner and therefore earn better returns.
• In terms of operation, debt funds are not entirely different from other Mutual Fund Scheeme However, in terms of safety of capital, they score higher than Equity Mutual Fund

What is a Hybrid Fund?

Our choice of meals when we dine depend largely on the time at hand, the occasion and of course, our mood. If we’re in a hurry, say during an office lunch or eating before boarding a bus/train, we may opt for a combo meal. Or if we know a combo meal is famous, we may not bother to go through the menu. A leisurely meal would mean ordering individual items from the menu, as many as we’d like.

Similarly, an investor in a Mutual Fund can select and invest individually in various schemes, e.g.equity fund, Debt fund, gold fund ,liquid fundetc. At the same time, there are schemes like a combo meal – known as hybrid schemes. These hybrid schemes, earlier known as Balanced Funds, invest in two or more asset categories so that the investor can avail the benefit of both. There are various types of hybrid funds in the Indian Mutual Fund industry. There are schemes that invest in two assets, viz., equity and debt, or debt and gold. There are also schemes that invest in equity, debt and gold. However, most of the popular hybrid schemes invest in equity and debt assets.

Different types of hybrid funds follow different asset allocation strategies. Remember to have your objectives clear before you invest.