Best 360 One Equity Mutual Funds

IIFL Asset Management is an international asset management firm that offers various mutual fund schemes. Established in India in 2011, IIFL was the first to introduce benchmark agnostic funds in India and have gained assets under management worth over Rs.2000 crore. 

IIFL Asset Management offers approximately 3 unique mutual fund schemes in debt and equity categories. 

Equity funds, also called growth funds, invest predominantly in equity stocks and generate high returns against significant risks. The best IIFL equity mutual funds are the riskiest mutual funds but can offer the most returns based on market performance. Moreover, by diversifying the investment across different sectors or market capitalisations, equity funds offer more stable returns than stocks. 

Equity funds must invest at least 65% of their assets in equities or equity-related instruments. The rest are usually allocated to debt or money market instruments. This brings down the risk levels and takes care of sudden redemption requests. Diversification of assets in different sectors reduces market risks as losses from one stock is offset by profits from another. Investors require only a small amount of capital compared to achieving the same thing with direct stock holdings. 

IIFL offers around 1 equity mutual fund scheme with both direct and regular options.

The best IIFL equity mutual funds can either be passively or actively managed by fund managers. Passive funds reflect a popular market index like Sensex or Nifty Fifty. In active funds, the fund managers ‘actively’ scan the market and conduct market research to decide where to invest. 

Equity funds also come in different types based on market capitalisations, including large-cap, mid-cap, small-cap, micro-cap, and multi-cap funds. Large-cap equity funds invest in top companies that dominate the industry. These are stable and offer sustainable returns even during recessions. On the other hand, small-cap funds invest in smaller and younger companies with significant growth potential. These are volatile and riskier but generate significant profits when the economy emerges from a recession. 

Factors to Consider Before Investing

Before investing in the top IIFL equity mutual funds, one needs to take a look at the following factors. 

Returns: Equity funds have the potential to generate multi-fold returns though this can change due to market fluctuations. Over time, these investments generate a lot of wealth due to cost averaging, which isn’t possible with fixed-income instruments. Equity funds offer considerable returns, more so than hybrid or debt funds, offering 10% to 12% returns on average. 

Risks: The returns of equity funds fluctuate depending on the market and macroeconomic conditions. Thus, there’s substantial risk associated with all equity funds. They are highly volatile, and change in benchmarks like Sensex or Nifty Fifty reflect on their NAVs. 

Financial goals: Investors may consider the scheme goals when comparing the best IIFL equity mutual funds. Each scheme is set up with a different objective, and to benefit from an investment, individuals might want to align that with their personal goals. 

Role of fund managers: The top IIFL equity mutual funds are managed by experienced fund managers with their past performance held in public records. They allocate portions towards different assets based on a scheme’s investment strategy and asset allotment. They also make buying/selling decisions to take advantage of changing market conditions. Thus, investors need to take a thorough look at a fund manager’s performance before choosing the best IIFL equity mutual fund. 

Investment method: There are two ways to invest in IIFL equity mutual funds – lump-sum and a Systematic Investment Plan. The latter allows investors to invest a fixed sum on a periodic basis, which can be weekly, monthly or quarterly. This gives the benefit of rupee cost averaging, which mitigates risk by increasing the investment period. The lump-sum route allows individuals to deposit the entire amount at once. When a scheme’s NAV is low, individuals can buy a greater number of units via this route. 

Investment period: Even the best IIFL equity mutual funds are susceptible to market fluctuations and provide volatile returns in short investment periods. Long-term investment of above five years offers higher profits, with losses averaged out. 

Expenses: AMCs charge an expense ratio to manage an investor’s funds. Sometimes, actively managed funds can have a relatively high expense ratio. An exit load is another charge that can apply when withdrawing from a fund prematurely. 

Taxability

Long-term Capital Gains Tax: When the units of a scheme are held for more than a year, LTCG taxes apply at a rate of 10% on the proceeds. 

Short-term Capital Gains Tax: STCG applies at a 15% rate if investors realise profits after holding their schemes for a year or less. 

TDS: TDS @ 10% applies to dividends over Rs.5000 in a financial year. 

Also, investments in ELSS qualify for tax exemption u/s 80C of the Income Tax Act. The eligible amount is capped at Rs.1.5 lakh.  

These are some of the essential factors all investors need to look up before choosing the best IIFL equity mutual funds 2023.