According to the latest data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India, investors put in a net Rs 2.05 lakh crore in various Mutual Fund schemes during April-July period of the ongoing fiscal. This included a huge inflow of Rs 1.2 lakh crore in July 2015 alone. This is much higher in comparison to a net inflow of Rs 1.13 lakh crore witnessed during April-July period of 2014-15.

With the latest fund infusion, assets base of the country’s 44 mutual fund industry together has reached to an all time high of Rs 13.17 lakh crore at the end of July.  The drop in price of gold, which is trading below Rs 25,000 per 10 gm has pushed Indian retail investors towards equity schemes.

What is a Mutual Fund?

• A mutual fund is a pool of money from numerous investors. In simple it is a collection of stocks and/or bonds.
• Investing in a mutual fund can be a lot easier than buying and selling individual stocks and bonds on the own.
• Investors can sell their shares when they want.

All mutual funds are variations of three asset classes. They are,

1) Equity funds (stocks)

2) Fixed-income funds (bonds)

3) Money market funds