Intermediaries act as critical bridges in the investment world. More specifically, those looking to start investing in mutual funds must familiarise themselves with such entities.
Now, as per data from the Financial Times, NJ Invest and SBI are the two giants when it comes to mutual fund distributors in India. However, for the average individual who merely wants to dip their toe into this world, navigating the processes can be incredibly demanding, if not downright confusing.
That’s where mutual fund distributors such as Choice India, Zerodha, and Kuvera come into the picture. Offering a simplified channel for mutual fund investment, these platforms form the foundation of the current market.
So, let’s dive right in and see what each has to offer!
1. Investica by Choice India
Choice India’s Investica is perhaps the country’s most comprehensive mutual funds investment platform. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the application has it all.
For instance, Investica offers investment opportunities for both Direct and Regular mutual funds. Even better, an internal team provides users with in-depth research regarding the fund category.
There’s also the ‘Optimo’ feature, an integrated financial advisor that doles out comprehensive and user-specific plans, covering aspects such as:
- Insurance Planning
- Emergency Funds Planning
- Expense Management
- Asset Analysis
- Retirement Planning
- Goal Planning
As if that wasn’t enough, there is a dedicated feature for automatically rebalancing your portfolio. In short, the application analyses market trends in the background and recommends critical changes to optimise your current portfolio.
As such, Investica serves as a complete solution to all your mutual fund investment needs.
2. ETMoney
Quickly rising to become one of the most popular platforms for mutual funds investment, ETMoney offers its members a host of features.
First, users can take advantage of the ‘Smart Solutions’ feature to get recommendations for the best investment plans depending on their financial goals. For instance, based on investment patterns and criteria, the platform suggests tailor-made portfolios that appeal to specific users.
There is also a provision for users to get suggestions for mutual funds by category. Meanwhile, the ‘Smart Deposit’ plan ensures that a user-designated amount is invested monthly into a stable portfolio to garner a long-term return.
Nonetheless, ETMoney has had several reviews criticizing it for mismanaged accounts and hidden charges. Coupled with the drawn-out customer service response time, the platform has recently faced some flak.
3. Groww
A relatively new name in the market, Groww has a simple UI and offers investment opportunities in mutual funds, stocks, gold, and fixed deposits. More importantly, the application does not charge any commission fees for its members.
There are also provisions for users to seamlessly invest in the US stock market, including equities, ETFs, and digital gold. Yet, perhaps Groww’s most prominent draw is how easy it is for people to open a Demat account.
However, there are some concerning elements here. First, Groww does not offer options for commodity and currency trading. And, unlike most of its peers, the app has no dedicated dashboard for stock or fund recommendations, analysis, or general trading advice.
More importantly, advanced features such as GTT and cover order are missing.
In short, Groww is a simplified mutual funds investment platform directed at those who want to dip their toe into the market.
4. Kuvera
Best suited for beginners, Kuvera is a mutual fund investment platform that touts its zero-brokerage fees. As such, the application is designed with its core audience in mind. That is, the UI is clean and minimal and offers information regarding SIPs, financial schemes, and policies transparently and deliberately.
Similar to Choice India’s Investica, it also has a few tricks up its sleeve, namely:
- Dedicated goal planning
- Investment portfolio for investing in gold assets
- Consolidated family account management
- Recommendations for trending mutual funds
Yet the one issue with Kuvera is that it has an incredibly drawn-out KYC procedure. And considering the platform is for newcomers, this hurdle can contradict its goal of making mutual fund investments accessible to everyone.
5. Coin by Zerodha
Zerodha’s Coin had somewhat of a turbulent launch. Initially charging a subscription fee for portfolios above 25,000 INR, the platform drew criticism from its community. That fee was waived soon after, but the associated charges with unit sales and redemptions remain.
Regardless, Coin is still an excellent platform for mutual fund investment, primarily due to its offerings:
- Consolidated avenues for investing in other channels, including equities
- Executable orders
- Seamless alterations for SIPs
- No commissions for both the initial investment and the subsequent trails
- Easy accessibility to the designated nominee in case of emergencies
Despite all the offered perks, Coin may still fall short for some. Firstly, the platform has no dedicated analytics or recommendation strategy for which funds to invest in. Users must rely on their intuition. Second, there are annual maintenance charges for the associated Demat account.
Wrapping Up
Now, the distributor you align with is entirely dependent on your financial goals and plans. However, assessing and examining the current market perspective on your preferred platform is vital.
That will give you an objective view of the entity and help you recognize where it shines or falls short. This will ensure your final decision is based on factually-correct information rather than misleading marketing material.