Individuals' right to create wealth forms the bed rock on which stands the grand edifice of capitalism and of free economies. The bulk of the wealth that the world today has is the result of this unfettered freedom to create, and accumulate wealth. But only a select few had the wherewithal to make use of this freedom to build financial empires or to create financial firewalls for self and family. It was not until the Mutual Funds appeared on the scene that the common man ,the small retail investor could dream of joining the other more fortunate ones to seriously and meaningfully set out on the road to realize what was till yester day a pipe dream

Rewarding Investors
Indian investors' first serious rendezvous with the mutual funds got them a bounty. Over a 10 years period Indian funds have grabbed eight of the top 10 ranks, Over the last five years and three years they occupied seventh and sixth top position among the top ten respectively. Their failure to gain even one position among the top ten in the last year is explained by the long term investment perspective of the Fund managers.
In simple words it means if you had invested Rs 1 lakh in Reliance Growth Fund as on October 31, 1996, your investment would have increased by over 20 times to Rs 20.42 lakh.
The spectacular performance of the Indian funds did not escape the notice of the investors. who are now ready to solemnize their marriage with this investment vehicle to reap rewards that are really out there in the market through the Agency of Mutual Funds. The industry is now fully geared to provide investment solutions to the informed as well as the less informed investors , and to providing a smooth ride through the stormy and tumultuous passage of investment process.

Need to Get Intimate
How to go about making the best use of the services provided and opportunities created and offered by the Mutual Funds. To be frank, thing aren't that simple. Investors too have to do their bit . It is in their own interest to understand the mutual fund concept more clearly and comprehensively. They should acquaint themselves with the MF jargon, like loads and fees, NFOs and NAVs, Capital Gains, (short and long term) They must also clearly understand various kinds of schemes, like growth, income, dynamic arbitrage, close and open ended funds, small cap, mid large caps and the like.

Learning to Live with Reality
Why recourse to Mutual Funds. What is very special about them Those of us who are used to parking our savings in the subsidized government sponsored saving schemes have in fact been lulled into a sense of self defeating complacency.
In free economies, market is the final arbiter of value. And Mutual Funds help us stand up to that reality by making professional investment guidance available at nominal cost to us
How much is your money worth at any given point of time is not to be decided by the state but is supposed to be determined by the forces of demand and supply. A monetary system to be self sustaining, healthy and lasting, must of necessity align with the macro forces impacting the market and global economies. Any persistent interference by means of subsidies by the state can at best a temporary or stop gap measure Continuing and persisting with state structured returns on your saving is only at the expense of tax payers money (including that of yourself).

Why Mutual Funds
Among other things features like the facility to spread one's investment over wider asset classes leading to optimization of returns (Asset Allocation and Diversification) Strategy), Systematic Investment Plans ( making it possible to invest money in small installments) ,Systematic Transfer Plans (STP- Putting lump money in one scheme and transferring fixed amounts to SIP ), comparative safety, liquidity, tax efficiency and transparency have enabled the Mutual Funds endear themselves to very large section of investors. These features are in reality, inbuilt features of mutual fund products.
There few other things which have been made possible by the Mutual Fund Industry for the benefit of the small investors. Leave aside real estate, or investing in global market, even to build a portfolio matching the sensex is simply beyond the resource of an ordinary investor. No wonder Index funds are perhaps some of the most important and popular Mutual fund schemes. Diversification both in the same category as well as in over different asset class , a thing beyond the wildest dreams of small investors has been made a distinct reality by Mutual Funds

Opening Up a Whole New World of Investment Options
In short Mutual Fund have opened up a whole new world of investment opportunities - exciting vistas that lead to wealth creation for the small investors. Soon there will gold based funds, real estate denominated funds fund of funds and capital protection funds. The variety is simply mind boggling. Being business people asset management companies have seen to it that needs of all categories of investors are met and the potential investors do not have to look to any other vehicle to route their investment through. Not in the distant future, insurance, direct investing in the stock market and the mutual funds are going to be main avenues of investment. State sponsored small saving schemes have their days numbered are likely to lose their luster. Now real competition is between the banks and the Mutual Funds.. For the more aggressive young investors Mutual Funds appear to be the first preference because they have the potential to deliver substantially higher returns albeit with commensurate risk. For the senior citizens retirees and passive investors whose risk tolerance capacity is limited, banks would form the main parking agency with very limited exposure to equity.

Favorites In Spite of Faults
Mutual Funds today enjoy universal acceptance. There are numerous instances where investors have been charged management fee for underperformance or negative performance resulting into erosion of the original corpus . None of these however have dented the popularity of Mutual Funds . They continue to enjoy the status of most viable and reliable investment vehicle. These are healthy signs and signify maturity of the Indian investors mindset.. On their part Mutual Funds are ever striving to come up to the expectation of the investors who have reposed unflinching faith in their (Mutual Funds) potential to deliver the desired returns.