Best HDFC Equity Mutual Funds

HDFC Mutual Fund is one of the largest fund houses in India in terms of assets under management (AUM). It began operations in 1999 as a joint venture between Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and Standard Life Investment Limited (SLI).

This asset management company offers more than 100 mutual fund schemes under various channels. Its categories of MF include ETFs, debt schemes, hybrid schemes, and the best HDFC equity mutual funds, among others.

Equity funds are a kind of mutual fund that invests primarily in stocks of different companies across market capitalisations. Here, the performance of the underlying companies in a fund’s portfolio determines its returns. 

Based on their investment objectives, investors can choose the best HDFC equity mutual fund from a variety of schemes. These include small-cap funds, mid-cap funds, large and mid-cap funds, and large-cap funds, among several others.

Like any mutual fund investment, investing in equity mutual funds has its benefits and drawbacks. The best HDFC equity mutual funds distribute wealth in equity and other related instruments with the potential to generate significant returns.

Typically, an equity fund holds approximately 40-50 stocks in its portfolio. Therefore, it effectively lowers the concentrated risk of investment.

Equity funds primarily cater to investors who seek to maximise capital appreciation in the long run through a diversified portfolio. 

All equity instruments are inherently volatile. Therefore, equity mutual fund’s downsides include a moderate to high-risk quotient, depending on market conditions. These mutual funds are deemed suitable for investors with long-term horizons and a considerable risk appetite.

Currently, HDFC Mutual Fund has more than 5 schemes under its category of equity funds.

Taxability

Prior to investing in the top HDFC equity mutual funds, it is vital that prospective investors know their tax treatment.

Short-term Capital Gains Tax: When investors sell their MF units before a holding period of 1 year, the returns attract a short-term capital gains tax. This STCG tax is applicable at a flat rate of 15%, irrespective of an investor’s tax bracket.

Long-term Capital Gains Tax: LTCG tax is levied on the redemption of equity fund units after a holding period of 1 year. Here, capital gains worth up to Rs.1 lakh a year are exempt from taxation. On the other hand, capital gains of more than Rs.1 lakh attract long-term capital gains tax at 10% without indexation benefits.

TDS: When investing in the best HDFC equity mutual funds, investors must know that dividend payouts exceeding Rs.5,000 are taxed at a rate of 10%.

ELSS: Investments in ELSS up to Rs.1.5 lakh in a financial year is exempt from tax under section 80C. 

Factors to Consider Before Investing

Alongside their taxability, an investment in equity funds also calls for prospective investors to examine numerous other parameters.

Financial objective: When investing in any fund, it is vital to ascertain your investment objective. Premised upon your financial goals, you can select any of the best HDFC equity mutual funds that align with them. Moreover, it is critical to determine a timeframe for accomplishing these goals.

Expense ratio: Like any other organisation, mutual fund houses incur annual expenses, such as administrative costs and management fees. Therefore, they levy a fee known as the expense ratio. This aggregate expense is expressed in percentage. Let’s say an equity mutual fund offers 7.67% returns and charges 1.25% as the expense ratio. Therefore, it delivers actual returns worth 6.42% to its investors.

Exit load: Asset management companies charge an exit load from investors if they divest from a scheme within a particular tenure. Generally, most fund houses levy this fee if investors sell their mutual fund units within 1 year from the date of purchase. This fee varies based on the type of MF plan. However, some schemes may not feature any exit load. It is, therefore, wise to check these aspects of an equity mutual fund before investing.

Past performance of the fund: It is essential to evaluate an equity fund’s previous performance prior to investment. However, prospective investors must note that a fund may or may not sustain its past performance in the future. Therefore, this parameter cannot be used to determine probable returns. That being said, the previous performance of a scheme offers valuable insights into its bullish and bearish trends under various market conditions. 

Experience of the fund manager: A review of an equity fund manager’s experience can indicate if your investment is in competent hands. Furthermore, it reveals his/her ability to manoeuvre an equity fund across various market cycles.

Portfolio analysis: Every mutual fund has a stated investment mandate to declare certain information about its asset allocation. As a result, you can examine a fund’s allocation of assets between large and small companies as well as their growth prospects. Therefore, when investing in the best HDFC equity mutual funds, investors must analyse their portfolios and gauge their associated risks.