Best LIC Equity Mutual Funds

Established in 1989, LIC Mutual Fund is an associate company of LIC of India. While LIC has a 45% stake in the asset management company (AMC), 39.3% of the shares are held by LIC Housing Finance Limited. The remaining shares are owned by GIC Housing Finance Limited (11.7%) and Union Bank (4%). 

For the quarter ending March 2021, the fund house has a QAAUM of approximately Rs.16,594 crore. This AMC offers over 20 schemes, which include the best LIC equity mutual funds. 

Equity funds are MF schemes that primarily invest their fund corpus in equity shares of companies across different market capitalisations and sectors. These schemes are further categorised into sub-categories based on market capitalisation and investment strategy or objective. The different types of equity funds include large-cap, mid-cap, thematic, ELSS, value, etc. While a portfolio of an equity fund primarily comprises stocks, the remaining portion consists of debt and money market instruments or even cash. 

The performance of these funds is impacted significantly owing to market fluctuations. Hence, the risk level associated with the top LIC equity mutual funds is extremely high. However, they also hold the potential to deliver sizeable returns.

Taxability

The returns earned on these schemes are taxable based on how long an investor holds his/her units. Here’s how the gains are taxed. 

Short-term Capital Gains Tax: If investors redeem their units within one year from the date of purchase, the returns earned are known as short-term capital gains (STCG). A flat tax rate of 15% is applicable on such gains. 

Long-term Capital Gains Tax: In case an investor redeems the units after one of investment, the returns he/she earns from the sale are termed long-term capital gains (LTCG). Such gains of up to Rs.1 lakh are not taxed. However, the amount exceeding Rs.1 lakh is taxable at 10%. Note that investors are not eligible for indexation benefits in this case.  

Factors to Consider Before Investing

The best LIC equity mutual funds are of various types and not suitable for every investor. Hence, one must consider certain things before they allocate their funds to a scheme. Let’s delve into these aspects. 

Investment goal: Investing, in general, is complicated as there is no readymade solution. If one type of equity scheme is suitable for an individual, the same might not be appropriate for another. Hence, it’s always vital for investors to identify their financial goals before deciding which is the best LIC equity mutual fund for them. 

Risk appetite: As noted above, equity funds are associated with high risk as the underlying securities are subject to market volatility. Hence, investors must assess their risk profile before they park their funds in an equity scheme. 

Exit load: This is a charge a fund house levies on investors if they sell their units before a pre-specified period. The main purpose of exit load is to stop investors from withdrawing their units from a fund prematurely. The exit loads of the best LIC equity mutual funds are not the same. Hence, one must know it beforehand before parking their savings in a fund. 

Expense ratio: Expense ratio refers to the charge AMC levies on investors to finance the operating and administrative expenses of a scheme. It is a small % of a fund’s total assets and includes the fund manager’s salary, advertising costs, and more. This fee has a direct impact on the returns earned by an investor. One must consider this aspect when investing in the best LIC equity mutual funds 2022. 

Past performance of a fund: The historical returns of a fund does not determine how it’ll perform in the future. However, it offers insights into whether a scheme has been able to achieve the objective it was set up to fulfil. A fund with a proven track record of delivering consistently represents vital things, such as the fund manager’s efficiency. 

Experience of the fund manager: The underlying stocks of the best LIC equity mutual funds are impacted by volatile market conditions. Thus, fund managers have to rely on their risk management techniques, thorough research and analysis to overcome the various challenges of a dynamic economic environment. This is where experience comes in handy. A portfolio manager with vast experience in this field is likely to overcome difficult challenges that may come his/her way. 

Direct/regular plan: Direct plans are mutual fund schemes that one can directly invest in. It does not involve third parties, for example, brokers or distributors. These equity mutual funds are prefixed with the word “direct”. On the contrary, regular plans involve third parties, for which asset management companies have to pay commission. Hence, regular plans report lower NAVs and also have a higher expense ratio in comparison to direct plans. 

Investment route: When investing in the best LIC equity mutual funds, investors have to opt for an investment mode. They can either choose a systematic investment plan (SIP) or the lump sum route. The former enables individuals to invest their savings via fixed monthly instalments at regular intervals, like monthly, quarterly, annually, etc. However, by opting for the lump sum mode, an individual can invest his/her entire amount in one go.