A PROJECT REPORT ON

Creating Awareness on Mutual Funds- Mutual Fund

Simplified

Initiated By ICICI Securities Ltd

ICICI SECURITIES LTD

Submitted
In partial fulfillment of requirement of
Master in Management Studies
By
Sanket Vasudeo Nikhare
Roll no. 21
Under the Guidance of
Prof. Jyoti Singhal
Submitted to

Sterling Institute of Management Studies, Nerul

 Declaration

I hereby declare that the project report entitled, Creating Awareness on Mutual Funds
Mutual Fund Simplified Initiated by ICICI Securities submitted to NCRD`s Sterling
Institute of Management Studies, Nerul Navi Mumbai is the record of the original
work done by me under the guidance of Prof.Jyoti Singhal, and this project work is
submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in
Management Studies. The result embodied in this study has not been submitted to any
other Institute or University for the award of any other degree or diploma.

Place: NaviMumbai Sanket V Nikhare

Date: MMS Finance

 Roll No. 21
ACKNOWLEGDEMENT

Apart from the efforts of me, the success of any project depends largely on the
encouragement and guidelines of many others. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude
to the people who have been instrumental in the successful completion of this project.

First off all, I would like to extend my gratitude towards University Of Mumbai for giving
me an opportunity to take up this project as preparing this project has definitely broadened
my horizons.

Next, I would like to extend my thanks to NCRD`S STERLING INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT STUDIES, NERUL for providing me with the necessary ware withal to
successfully complete this project

.I would also like to thank my college director Mr. Tondan Kamal, my very helpful project
guide Prof. Jyoti Singhal for her continuous support and guidance

.I would also like to express my gratitude towards Mr. Bir bharat Mishra at ICICI Securities,
for helping me whenever the need arise in spite of their busy schedules and for encouraging
me and providing me with the necessary information and material, the blend of which has
made it a Knowledgeable project

Last but not the least; my heartfelt love for my friends, whose constant support and blessings
helped me throughout this project.
 Executive Summary

In few years Mutual Funds has emerged as a tool for ensuring ones financial well-
being. Mutual Fund have not only contributed to Indias growth story but have also helped
families tap into success of Indian industry. As information and awareness is rising more &
more people are enjoying the benfits of investing in Mutual Funds. The main reason the no. of
retail Mutual Fund investors remains small is that nine out of ten people with incomes in India
do not know that Mutual Fund exists. But once people are aware of Mutual Fund investment
oppurtunities,the member who decide to invest in Mutual Fund increases as to many as one in
five people.

The trick for converting a person with no knowledge on Mutual Funds to new Mutual Fund
customer is to understand which of the potential investors are more likely to buy MF and use
the right arguments in sales process that customer will accept as important &Relavent to their
decision

The project hada great learning experience and at same time it has scope to explore to the
corporate world. The analysis and advice presented in this project report is based on Market
Research on saving and investment practices of investors for investment in MF.This report
will help to know about investor preferences in MF means are they prefer any particular
AMC,or by ICICI only. Which type of product they prefer, which option (Growth&Dividend)
they prefer to investment strategy that follow SIP (systematic investment planning) or one
time plan.
 Table Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Introduction to the Company

Introduction to the Industry

Introduction to the Topic

Introduction to the Project

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: Study/Project Details

Needs for the Study

Objective of the Study

Study Methodology

Study Limitations

Chapter 4: Data Processing and Analysis

Chapter 5: Observations, Conclusions and Recommendations

Findings

Observation

Conclusion

Suggestions

Learning from the Internship

Contribution to the Organization

Bibliography
 Chapter 1

Introduction to the Company

ICICI Securities Ltd is an integrated securities firm offering a wide range of services
including investment banking, institutional broking, retail broking, private wealth
management, and financial product distribution.

ICICI Securities sees its role as 'Creating Informed Access to the Wealth of the Nation' for
its diversified set of client that include corporate, financial institutions, high net-worth
individuals and retail investors.

Headquartered in Mumbai, ICICI Securities operates out of 66 cities and towns in India and
global offices in Singapore and New York.

ICICI Securities Inc., the step-down wholly owned US subsidiary of the company is a
member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority /Securities Investors Protection
Corporation.ICICI Securities Inc. activities include Dealing in Securities and Corporate
Advisory Services in the United States.

ICICI Securities Inc. is also registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and
operates a branch office in Singapore

ICICI Securities facilitates access to capital for the growth engine of the Indian economy
which is the corporate sector including large, medium and small enterprises; both from the
public and private markets.

ICICI Securities' engagements include Equity Capital Markets, Private Equity Intermediation
and Public Issuance of Debt.

A team of professionals, which is organized by sector helps clients assess their business
models and advises them on specific financing alternatives. The company's advice is based
on the specific circumstances and strategic considerations relevant to the client.
ICICI Securities is a SEBI registered Category I Merchant Banker
ICICI Securities has been at the forefront of capital markets advisory for several decades and
has also been involved in most of the major public equity issuances in recent times. The
company was among the leading underwriters of Indian equity and equity linked offerings
with unparalleled execution capabilities. ICICI Securities provides end-to-end fund raising
solutions, from structuring to placement of the equity instrument.

ICICI Securities has also been involved in various pioneering issues in the Indian capital
markets - the first issue using the new alternate book-building (French Auction) method
(NTPC), the first issue of shares with Differential Voting Rights (Tata Motors), the first
public issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (Tata Capital), the first delisting using the
reverse book-building mechanism (Hewlett-Packard), etc
With offices across major financial centers (New York, Singapore, Mumbai and Delhi), ICICI
Securities delivers its products covering corporate and investors across geographies.

ICICI Securities empowers over 3.9 million Indians to seamlessly access the capital market
with ICICIdirect.com, an award winning and pioneering online broking platform. The
platform not only offers convenient ways to invest in Equity, Derivatives, Currency Futures,
Mutual Funds but also other services Fixed Deposits, Loans, Tax Services, New Pension
Systems and Insurance are available. ICICIdirect.com offers a convenient and easy to use
platform to invest in equity and various other financial products using its unique 3-in-1
account which integrates customers saving, trading and demat accounts.

Apart from convenience, ICICIdirect.com also offers access to comprehensive research

information, stock picks and mutual fund recommendations among other offerings. Tailored
services and trading strategies are available to different types of customers; long term
investors, day traders, high-volume traders and derivatives traders to name some.

ICICIdirect.com uses the most advanced commercially available 128-bit encryption

technology enabled Secure Socket Layer (SSL), to ensure that the information transmitted
between the client and ICICIdirect.com across the internet is safe and cannot be accessed by
any third party.

ICICIdirect.com is the first broker in India to introduce `Digitally Signed Contract Note' to its
customers. As a result, the process of generating contract notes has been automated and the
same would be instantly available to its customers in a safe and secure manner through the
website.

ICICI securities have set up neighborhood financial stores which offer a variety of financial
products and services under one roof. It is a one-stop shop that facilitates existing and
potential customers to speak to our team and understand their financial plans and get goals.
ICICI securities have 250 stores across 66 cities in India.

Another unique concept called the icicidirect.com Money Kitchen was launched in late 2009.
An extension of the superstore model, the money kitchen is an innovative financial store
where visitors can create their profiles to not only analyze their investment strategy by using
various financial tools but also monitor it from time-to-time.

To enable our customers to maximize their returns and plan for their future. ICICI direct has
also started financial planning services at these stores. Customized financial plans can be
created for customers by dedicated Relationship Manager who will understand the customers
requirements and future plans.

Based on this information the Relationship Manager works on creating a comprehensive and
easy to read financial plan. This enables icicidirect.com to move from just a transactional
based relationship to a meaningful and value added long term relationship with customers.
Icicidirect.com services and offerings evolve according to the customers ever changing
requirements and goals.

Customers can walk-in-to the financial superstores for products like icicidirect.com 3-in-1
online trading account, equities, mutual funds, IOPs, Life and General insurance, fixed
deposits and many other financial products. The stores also conduct periodic training sessions
on market and demo sessions of the trading website.
ICICI Securities Limited.

Ms. Chanda D. Kochhar,Chairperson

Mr. UdayChitale, Independent Director

Mr. Vinod Kumar Dhall, Independent Director

Ms. Vishakha Mulye

Ms. Shilpa Kumar

Mr. Anup Bagchi, Managing Director & CEO

Mr. Ajay Saraf, Executive Director

ICICI Securities Holding Inc.

Mr. Sriram Iyer, Chairman

Mr. Warren Law

Mr. Bishen Pertab

ICICI Securities, Inc.

Mr. Subir Saha, Chairman

Mr. Robert Ng

Mr. Jaideep Goswami

Mr. Bishen Pertab

Advantages with ICICI Securities:

3-in-1 account integrates your banking, broking and Demat accounts. All accounts at
are from ICICI and very well integrated. This feature makes ICICI the most
interesting player in online trading facility. There is absolutely no manual interfere
require. This is truly online trading environment.

Investment online in IPOs ,Mutual Funds,GOI Bonds and postal saving schemes all
from one website

Trading is available in both BSE and NSE

Unlike most of the online trading companies in India which require transferring
money to the brokers pool or towards deposits at ICICI Direct you can manage your
own Demat and bank accounts through icicidirect.com.Money from selling stock is
available in ICICI bank account as soon as the ICICI direct receive it.

Disadvantages with ICICI Securities:

ICICIDirect brokerage is high and not negotiable.

ICICIDirect doesn't offer commodity trading. With ICICI Trading account you cannot
trade at MCX or NCDEX.

With ICICIdirect.com e-Invest account(3-IN-1 concept), the Demat Account has to be

opened with ICICI Bank Ltd as the Depository Participant (DP) and the Bank
Account has to be opened with ICICI Bank Ltd. as the Banker.
 Introduction to the Industry

Financial services like banking, merchant banking, factoring, insurance, venture capital, act
as a vital machinery of an economy. These financial services that facilitate financial
transaction of an individual and intuitional services resulting in their resource allocation
activities through time. The sector that deals with such financial services is known as
financial service sector.

The three pillars of financial systems are:

a. Banking

b. Insurance and Mutual Funds

c. Online trading

Financial Institutions:

In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial

services for its clients and members. Probably the most important financial service provided
by financial institution is acting as financial intermediaries. Most financial institutions are
regulated by the government.

Broadly speaking, there are three major financial institutions:

A. Depository Institution: Deposits taking institutions that accept and manage

deposits and make loans, including banks, building societies, credit unions,
trust companies, and mortgage loan companies

B. Contractual Institution: Insurance companies and pensions funds

C. Investment Institution: Investment banks, underwriters, brokerage firms

Broking firms:

The stock broking industry is a service oriented industry where brokers act as agents
for investors when securities bought or sold and are compensated with a commission.
Investors would not hesitate to switch to alternative brokerage house if they do not
obtain satisfaction. Providing quality service and hence customer satisfaction should
thus be recognized as key strategy and a crucial element of long run success and
profitability for stock broking businesses.

Types of Brokerage Firms

As investor, you should shop for a brokerage firm just as you would for any other
professional service. A brokerage firm comes in all sizes, from one-man firms to
international corporations. Similarly the services offered by each firm and the
commissions they charged very significantly.

Brokerage firm may be classified into three basic types:

Full Service Brokerage Firm:

It can provide you a complete package of investment services,

including recommending securities, researching a particular issue, or
provide individualized service through a salesperson. The firm receives
its payments in the form of commission that is calculated according to
the type of securities and the amount you are investing. A full service
firm is generally best for those who are new to the market or who do
not have time or the desire to do their own investment research.
Discount Brokerage Firm:

It is the business that charges client significantly lowers fees than a

traditional brokerage firm but without providing financial advice.
Discount broker typically allow investor as well as consumers of
financial services to buy and sell online while offering comparatively
fewer services and /or support. While a discount brokerage also can
provide you with a wide range of services, its salespersons are not
allowed to give investment advice, to make recommendations or to
provide research materials. For these reasons, a discount firms can
offer substantially lower commissions than full service brokers.
Experienced investors capable of doing their own investment research
typically use a discount firm.

Limited Product Firms:

These brokerage firms specialize in the limited number of securities

products such as mutual funds, limited partnership or specific bonds.

Top 10 Financial Services Company

1. SBI Capital Market Limited

2. Bajaj Capital Limited

3. DSP Merrill Lynch Limited

4. Birla Global Finance Limited

5. Housing Development Finance Corporation

6. PNB Housing Finance Limited

 7. ICICI group

8. LIC Finance Limited

9. L & T Finance Limited

10. Karvy Group

Recent advancement in the Industry

After decades of financial repression, most countries in the world underwent

Significant financial sector reform over the last two decades in an attempt to reduce or
eliminate distortions in financial markets, deepen the financial sector and strengthen
financial institutions. Trade liberalization i.e. market opening and the elimination
of discrimination against foreign services and institutions was a crucial part of
those endeavors.

With falling barriers to entry in the financial services industry, the differences
between financial institutions have been eroded, and an increasing number of
competitive services and products are being offered by different types of institutions.
For example, commercial banks have been allowed to enter into investment banking,
finance companies provide banking products, and insurance companies also provide
different forms of financing.
 Introduction to the Topic

What is mean by Mutual fund?

A mutual fund is a professionally managed investment fund that pools money from
many investors to purchase securities. While there is no legal definition of the term
"mutual fund", it is most commonly applied to so-called open-end investment
companies, which are collective investment vehicles that are regulated and sold to the
general public on a daily basis.

In the United States mutual funds must be registered with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, overseen by a board of directors or board of trustees, and
managed by a Registered Investment Advisor. Mutual funds are subject to an
extensive and detailed regulatory regime set forth in Investment Company Act of
1940.Mutual funds are not taxed on their income and profits if they comply with
certain requirements under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.

Mutual funds have both advantages and disadvantages compared to direct investing in
individual securities. Today they play an important role in household finances, most
notably in retirement planning.

There are three types of U.S. mutual funds: open-end funds, unit investment trusts,
and closed-end funds. The most common type, open-end funds, must be willing to
buy back shares from investors every business day. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are
open-end funds or unit investment trusts that trade on an exchange. Non-exchange-
traded open-end funds are most common, but ETFs have been gaining in popularity.

Mutual funds are generally classified by their principal investments. The four main
categories of funds are money market funds, bond or fixed income funds, stock or
 equity funds, and hybrid funds. Funds may also be categorized as index (or passively
managed) or actively managed.

Investors in a mutual fund pay the funds expenses, which reduce the fund's returns
and performance. There is controversy about the level of these expenses.

Concept of Mutual Fund

Mutual Fund is essentially a mechanism of pooling together the savings of a large number of
small investors for collective investment, with an avowed objective of attractive yields and
capital appreciation, holding the safety and liquidity as prime parameters.

Mutual fund is a mediator that brings together a group of people and invests their money in
stocks, bonds and other securities.

Each investor owns shares, which represent a portion of the holdings of the fund. Thus, a
mutual fund is one of the most viable investment options for the common man as it offers an
opportunity to invest in a diversified, professionally managed basket of securities at a
relatively low cost.
How it works?
 Why select mutual fund?

The risk return trade off indicates that if investor is willing to take higher risk then the
correspondingly he can expect higher returns and vice-versa if he pertain to lower risk
instrument which would be satisfied by the lower returns.

Thus investor chooses mutual fund as their primary means of investment, as mutual fund
provides professional management, diversification, convenience and liquidity.

That does not mean mutual fund investment is risk free.

This is because the money that is pooled in are not invested only in debts funds which are less
riskier but are also invested in stock markets which involves higher risk but can expect higher
returns. Hedge funds involve a very high risk since it is mostly traded in the derivatives
market which is considered volatile.
 History of Mutual funds

The first mutual funds were established in Europe. One researcher credits a Dutch merchant
with creating the first mutual fund in 1774.

Mutual funds were introduced to the United States in the 1890s, and they became popular in
the 1920s these early funds were generally closed-end funds with a fixed number of shares
that often traded at prices above the portfolio value.

The first open-end mutual fund, called the Massachusetts Investors Trust (now part of the
MFS family of funds), with redeemable shares was established on March 21, 1924. However,
closed-end funds remained more popular than open-end funds throughout the 1920s. In 1929,
open-end funds accounted for only 5% of the industry's $27 billion in total assets.

After the stock market crash of 1929, Congress passed a series of acts regulating the
securities markets in general and mutual funds in particular. The Securities Act of 1933
requires that all investments sold to the public, including mutual funds, be registered with the
SEC and that they provide prospective investors with a prospectus that discloses essential
facts about the investment. The Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 requires that issuers of
securities, including mutual funds, report regularly to their investors; this act also created the
Securities and Exchange Commission, which is the principal regulator of mutual funds. The
Revenue Act of 1936 established guidelines for the taxation of mutual funds, while the
Investment Company Act of 1940 governs their structure.

When confidence in the stock market returned in the 1950s, the mutual fund industry began
to grow again. By 1970, there were approximately 360 funds with $48 billion in assets. The
introduction of money market funds in the high interest rate environment of the late 1970s
boosted industry growth dramatically. The first retail index fund, First Index Investment
Trust, was formed in 1976 by The Vanguard Group, headed by John Bogle; it is now called
the "Vanguard 500 Index Fund" and is one of the world's largest mutual funds, with more
than $220 billion in assets as of November 30, 2015.

Fund industry growth continued into the 1980s and 1990s, as a result of three factors: a bull
market for both stocks and bonds, new product introductions (including tax-exempt bond,
sector, international and target date funds) and wider distribution of fund shares. Among the
new distribution channels were retirement plans. Mutual funds are now the preferred
investment option in certain types of fast-growing retirement plans, specifically in 401(k) and
other defined contribution plans and in individual retirement accounts (IRAs), all of which
surged in popularity in the 1980s. Total mutual fund assets fell in 2008 as a result of the
financial crisis of 200708.

In 2003, the mutual fund industry was involved in a scandal involving unequal treatment of
fund shareholders. Some fund management companies allowed favored investors to engage in
late trading, which is illegal, or market timing, which is a practice prohibited by fund policy.
The scandal was initially discovered by former General Eliot and led to a significant increase
in regulation.

At the end of 2014, there were over 15,000 mutual funds in the United States with combined
assets of $18.2 trillion, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), a trade
association of U.S. investment companies. The ICI reports that worldwide mutual fund assets
were $33.4 trillion on the same date.

Mutual funds play an important role in U.S. household finances; by the end of 2014, funds
accounted for 24% of household financial assets. Their role in retirement planning is
particularly significant. Roughly half of the assets in 401(k) (and similar retirement) plans
and in individual retirement accounts were invested in mutual funds.
Major Mutual Fund Companies in India

ABN AMRO Mutual Fund

Bank of Baroda Mutual Fund

HSBC Mutual Fund

Prudential ICICI Mutual Fund

State Bank of India Mutual Fund

Unit Trust of India Mutual Fund

Reliance Mutual Fund

Standard Chartered Mutual Fund

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund

Alliance Capital Mutual Fund

Morgan Stanley Mutual Fund India

IIFL Mutual Fund

IDFC Mutual Fund

India bulls Mutual Fund

LIC Nomura Mutual Fund

JM Financial Mutual Fund

Axis Mutual Fund

BNP Paribas Mutual Fund

BOI AXA Mutual Fund

 Unit Trust of India Mutual Fund

Unit Trust of India is a financial organization in India, which was created by the UTI Act
passed by the Parliament of India on December 30, 1963 under the direction of Col. Akash
Behl. He had fought very hard and intensely to get this organization come into reality. For
more than two decades it remained the sole vehicle for investment in the capital market by
the Indian citizens. In mid- 1980s public sector banks were allowed to open mutual funds.
The real vibrancy and competition in the MF industry came with the setting up of the
Regulator SEBI and its laying down the MF Regulations in 1993.UTI maintained its pre-
eminent place till 2001, when a massive decline in the market indices and negative investor
sentiments after the Ketan Parekh scam created doubts about the capacity of UTI to meet its
obligations to the investors. This was further compounded by two factors; namely, its flagship
and largest scheme US 64 was sold and re-purchased not at intrinsic NAV but at artificial
price and its Assured Return Schemes had promised returns as high as 18% over a period
going up to two decades.

UTI Mutual Fund is promoted by the four of the largest Public Sector Financial Institutions
as sponsors, viz., State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Bank of Baroda
and Punjab National Bank with each of them presently holding an 18.5% stake in the paid up
capital of UTI AMC. T Rowe Price Group Inc (TRP Group) through its wholly owned
subsidiary T Rowe Price International Ltd. (TRP) has acquired a 26% stake in UTI Asset
Management Company Limited (UTI AMC).

The UTI Asset Management Company has its registered office at: UTI Tower, Gn Block,
Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai - 400 051.It has over 70 schemes in
domestic MF space and has the largest investor base of over 9 million in the whole industry.
It is present in over 450 districts of the country and has 150 branches called UTI Financial
Centers or UFCs. About 50% of the total IFAs in the industry work for UTI in distributing its
products! India Posts, PSU Banks and all the large Private and Foreign Banks have started
distributing UTI products. The total average Assets Under Management (AUM) for the
month of June 2008 was Rs. 530 billion and it ranked fourth. In terms of equity AUM it
ranked second and in terms of Equity and Balanced Schemes AUM put together it ranked
FIRST in the industry. This measure indicates its revenue- earning capacity and its financial
strength.
 Future prospect of mutual fund

The Future of Mutual Funds in India is quite bright. Mutual Funds are one of the most
popular forms of investments as these funds are diversification, professional management,
and liquidity. In the year 2004, the mutual fund industry in India was worth Rs 1, 50, 537
crores. The mutual fund industry is expected to grow at a rate of 13.4% over the next 10
years.

Future of Mutual Funds in India-Facts on growth

Important aspects related to the future of mutual funds in India are -

The growth rate was 100 % in 6 previous years.

The saving rate in India is 23 %.

There is a huge scope in the future for the expansion of the mutual funds industry.

A number of foreign based assets management companies are venturing into Indian
markets.

The Securities Exchange Board of India has allowed the introduction of commodity
mutual funds.

The emphasis is being given on the effective corporate governance of Mutual Funds.

The Mutual funds in India has the scope of penetrating into the rural and semi urban
areas.

Financial planners are introduced into the market, which would provide the people
with better financial planning.
 Introduction to the project

A mutual fund is a kind of investment that uses money from many investors to invest in
stocks, bonds or other type of investment. A fund manager or portfolio manager decides how
to invest money, and for this he is paid a fee which comes from the money in the fund.
A. By Structure:

Open Ended Funds: An open ended fund is one that is available for subscription and
repurchase on continuous basis. These schemes dont have fixed maturity period.
Investors can conveniently buy and sell units at NAV related price which are declared on
a daily basis.

Close Ended Funds: A close ended scheme has a stipulated maturity period. The fund is
open for subscription only during a specified period at the time of launch of the scheme.
Investors can invest in the scheme at the time of IPO and thereafter they can buy or sell
the units of the scheme on the stock exchanges where the units are listed. These mutual
funds schemes disclose NAV generally on weekly basis.

Interval: Operating as combination of open and close ended schemes, it allows investors
to trade units at pre-defined interval

B. By Nature:

Equity Fund: This fund invests the maximum part of their corpus into equity holdings.
The structure of the fund may vary different schemes and the fund managers outlook on
the different stocks. The equity funds are sub classified depending upon their investment
objectives as follows:

Diversified equity funds

Mid-cap funds
Sector specific funds
Tax savings funds

Debt Funds: The objective of these funds is to invest in debt papers, government
authorities, private companies, banks and financial institutions are some of the major
issuer of the debt papers. By investing in debt instruments, these funds ensure low risk
and provide stable income to the investors. Debt funds are further classified as:

Gilt Funds: Invest their corpus in securities issued by government, popularly known
as Government of India debt papers. These funds carry zero default risk but are
associated with interest risk.
Income Funds: invest a major portion into various debt instruments such as bonds,
corporate debentures, and government securities.
 MIPS: Invest maximum of their total corpus in debt instruments while they take
minimum exposure in equities. It gets benefits of both equity and debt market.
Short Term Plan: meant for investment horizon for three to six months. These funds
primarily invest in short term papers like Certificate of Deposits, Commercial paper.
Liquid Funds: Also known as Money Market Scheme. This fund provides easy
liquidity and preservation of capital. These schemes invest in short term instrument
like Treasury Bills, interbank call money market, CPs and CDs.

Balanced funds: The objective of these funds is to provide a balanced mixture of safety,
income and capital appreciation. The strategy of balanced funds is to invest in a combination
of fixed income and equities. A typical balanced fund might have a weighting of 60% equity
and 40% fixed income. The weighting might also be restricted to a specified maximum or
minimum for each asset class.

According to Investment objectives:

A scheme can also be classified as Growth Scheme, Income Scheme and balanced scheme

Growth Oriented Fund: A growth fund is a diversified portfolio of stocks that has capital
appreciation as its primary goal, with little or no dividend payouts. The portfolio mainly
consists of companies with above-average growth that reinvest their earnings into expansion,
acquisitions and/or research and development. Most growth funds offer higher potential
capital appreciation but usually at above-average risk.

Income Oriented Scheme: An income fund is a type of mutual fund that emphasizes current
income, either on a monthly or quarterly basis, as opposed to capital appreciation. Such funds
hold a variety of government, municipal and corporate debt obligations, preferred stock,
money market instruments, and dividend-paying stocks.

Balanced Funds: A balanced fund is a fund that combines a stock component, a bond
component and, sometimes, a money market component, in a single portfolio. Generally,
these hybrid funds stick to a relatively fixed mix of stocks
And bonds that reflects either a moderate (higher equity component) or conservative (higher
fixed-income component) orientation.

Money Market Funds: A money market fund (also called a money market mutual fund)
is an open-ended mutual fund that invests in short-term debt securities such as US Treasury
bills and commercial paper.[1] Money market funds are widely (though not necessarily
accurately) regarded as being as safe as bank deposits yet providing a higher yield. Regulated
in the United States under the Investment Company Act of 1940, money market funds are
important providers of liquidity to financial intermediaries.

Other Schemes:

ELSS: An ELSS is a diversified equity mutual fund which has a majority of the corpus
invested in equities. Since it is an equity fund, returns from an ELSS fund reflect returns from
the equity markets. This type of mutual fund has a lock in period of 3 years from the date of
investment

Index Funds: An index fund is a type of mutual fund with a portfolio constructed to match
or track the components of a market index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P
500). An index mutual fund is said to provide broad market exposure, low operating expenses
and low portfolio turnover.

Sectoral Scheme: Sectoral schemes are invested in specific sector like infrastructure, IT etc.

Types or Methods of SIPs:

Monthly Systematic Investment Plan: this is the traditional way of investment in Equity
mutual fund. This is the best option for salaried people.

Daily Systematic Investment Plan: in this method your investment is invested only in the
fund on daily basis. Some mutual funds offer daily SIP option. This product is best for small
traders involved in micro segment.

Flexi Systematic Investment Plan: Traditional SIP allows you to invest a specific amount
on a monthly or daily basis.
 Literature Review

Mutual fund is a growing at a very fast rate India. Various studies and research has been on
this industry by experts. Here are the few books list that have been referred for purpose of the
study.

Mr. M Jaidev in his book investment policy and performance of mutual fund has studied the
Indian public sector mutual funds. In this book he has covered risk, rate of return.
Investment policy and pricing of mutual funds. In this book he has done an empirical study
covering all aspects of mutual fund investment along with the regulatory framework.

Tripathy in her book Mutual funds in India Emerging Issues provides a detailed evaluation
of investment management which is not only helpful for influencing marketing operations but
also for securities selection, investment research and timing and research allocation.

Dr.H Sadak in his book Mutual Funds in India has highlighted the importance of financial
institution in India. The basic focus on the growth and development of the mutual funds in
India. The entire theoretical aspects of the fund management have been critically examined in
the context of the performance of mutual funds and it provides an insight into fund
management and areas of weakness.
 Need For the Study

The main purpose of this project is to create awareness about what are mutual funds
and how one can invest online, manage it online, and redeem it online through ICICI
direct platform by showing a demo prepared by ICICI securities. In this way ICICI
securities can collect more customers and the feedback which is taken from customers
can be used to improve the website and improve the services. Even to understand the
buying behavior of the customers. It also helps in understanding different schemes of
mutual funds. Because my study depends upon prominent funds in India and their
schemes like equity, income, balance as well as the returns associated with that
scheme. The project study was done to ascertain the asset allocation, entry load, exit
load, associated with the mutual funds. Ultimately this would help in understanding
the benefits of mutual funds to investors.
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. The objective of the research is to study and analyze the awareness level of investors of
mutual funds.

2. To measure the satisfaction level of investors regarding mutual funds.

3. An attempt has been made to measure various variables playing in the minds of investors in
terms of safety, liquidity, service, returns, and tax saving

4. To get insight knowledge about mutual funds

5. To know the mutual funds performance levels in the present market

6. To analyze the comparative study between other leading mutual funds in the present market

7. To measure the satisfaction level of investors regarding Mutual Funds

8. To get insight knowledge on Mutual Funds

 Research Methodology

Research Type

Exploratory: The analysis of behavior of customers regarding mutual funds use of

icicidirect.com for making investment and trading and analyzing the effectiveness of
awareness program Mutual Fund Simplified will be done through Exploratory Research. A
proper questionnaire is formed to get required feedback from the customers.

Descriptive: The comparative study of various mutual funds schemes will be done through
descriptive research .there will be used of icicidirect.com website as well as financial news
channel reports, financial/investment magazines for gathering the required information on
comparative study of different mutual funds schemes .Also experts opinions or
recommendations will be useful for this study.

The study consists of analysis about customers awareness and ICICI securities ltd for the
purpose of the study 39 customers are picked up and their views solicited on the different
parameters .Discussion were held with ICICI securities customers to ascertain the awareness
satisfaction level.

The data collected for the study purpose is through questionnaire .39 customers of ICICI
securities gave appointments to watch the demo of Mutual Fund Simplified.

Then the information revealed from the customers is analyzed and interpreted in the study.
Questions are:

1. How much will you rate the demo between scales 1-5? ..5 beings the highest

2. Are you planning to invest in Mutual fund?

3. Any feedback or Suggestions

Population:

Kalyan, Dombivli, Badlapur, Ambernath, Thane customers of ICICI

Securities.

Sampling Size:

A sample of 202 was chosen for the purpose of the study. Sample considers of
small investors, large investors, and traders of ICICI Securities Ltd.
 Data Processing and Analysis

Objective:

To study the content of the mutual fund awareness video shown to ICICI Securities Ltd
customers.

Mutual Fund Investing:

If one has an ICICI Direct Account

Step 1: LOGIN:

Login to account by entering login Id and Password and Date of Birth

If the mutual fund section is not enabled either you have not opted for the facility or
may not be KYC (Know Your Customer) complaint.KYC is mandatory for all investors of
mutual funds as per the Securities Exchange Board of India. ICICI Securities online service is
ever evolving and offers facilities like making a lump sum investment, redemption switches
within same funds, setting up Systematic investment plan etc.

We can start with as Rs.500 when we start a Systematic Investment Plan or Rs.5000 if
we are looking for a lump sum investment.

Step 2 Fund Selections:

It will go to find selection page which is consists of following options:

Select fund to invest: directly type the name of fund

Fund of the month: it is monthly recommended fund based on current market

scenario.

Research recommendations: these are fund recommended on the basis of

performance of the fund and the market conditions in different assets classes
depending on different parameters like time horizon, risk appetite etc.
 Top selling fund: These are the funds which have been bought on icicidirect.com in
last 30 days.

Step 3 Purchase: After clicking on any option above it will go to purchase page where we
can choose new folio or existing folio. Once everything has been filled, click on proceed for
confirmation. It will take us to add to the modifying allocation page.

And on that we can add or reduce the amount we want and once we click on the submit
button, it will take us to the final confirmation page. And once we click the button final
confirmation our mutual fund order will be placed.

Step 4 Portfolio Management: To do portfolio management go to the mutual fund page and
select portfolio and then it will go to the portfolio tracker page, where we can see the details ,
NAV etc.

NAV-Net Assets Value

It is the market value of asset of the scheme minus its liabilities .the per unit NAV is
the net assets value of the scheme divided by the Number units outstanding on the valuation
date.

NAV denotes the performance of a particular scheme of mutual fund. Mutual fund invests the
money collected from the investors in securities market. In simple words, NAV is the market
value of the securities held by the scheme. Since market value of the securities every
day.NAV of a scheme also varies on day to day basis.

Step 5 Redemption: In addition to giving hassle-free paperless redemption icicidirect.com

offers faster liquidity. We can redeem the mutual fund units through icicidirect.com.

To do this we have to go to the tracker page and click on the redeem whichever mutual fund
we have to redeem select the amount we have to redeem and then click on confirmation will
be taken and money will be credited to the bank account automatically in 3 days after order
placement date.
 Q1 .How much will you rate the demo from 1 to 5?

Out of 800 calling 202 customers were ready to watch demo

Data collected from 202 customers are given below:

Ratings No of respondents percentage

5 96 48%
4 88 44%
3 17 8%
2 0 0
1 1 0.49%

8% 0%
1
2
48% 3
44% 4
5

From the survey it was found that out of 202 respondents 44% of customers find it satisfied
with the services of icicidirect.com and 48% of customers are highly satisfied. Then we can
say that icicidirect.com offers quality service that touches customers satisfaction level.
Objective 2: to analyze the interest of a customer through mutual fund simplified video to
create business for ICICI Securities.

After showing the mutual fund video to customers we asked them their interest in investing in
mutual fund.

Are you planning to invest in mutual fund?

Ratings No of respondents percentage

yes 73 36%
no 129 64%

36%
1
2
64%

36% of the customers tendency is they believe that mutual fund is the safest way to invest in
the market. And 64% of the customers are not looking forward for investing in mutual funds
due to various reasons.

Brokerage and other charges of ICICI Securities are high

No guaranteed return

Financial problem
Q3.Have you invested in mutual funds through other distributor?

Ratings No of respondents Percentage

yes 15 7%
no 187 93%

7%

1
2

93%

7% of the customers invested through other distributor and 93% of the customers have their
accounts with ICICI Securities but dont invest in mutual funds.
Objective 3: To examine the extent to which the information made available on the web
portal meets the information needs of the retail investor.

From the survey some of the important suggestions has been collected which is given by
customers.

Most of the investors prefer investing in equity funds and bank FDs rather than mutual fund
due to lack of knowledge about mutual funds.

ICICI direct platform is user friendly as it gives overall view on single click.

Viewers found that duration of long term capital gains and short term capital gains is not been
satisfied which is important for investor to know about whether he is able to invest for a short
term and long term and when it comes to capital gains tax implications it can be categorized
into long term capital gains tax and short term capital gains tax.

LTCS tax is applied when units are held for more than 12 months or one year. While STCG
tax has to be paid when units are held for less than 12 months, this segregation of short term
capital gain and long term capital gain with tax should be specified so that one can compare
expected returns and tax from them and accordingly invest their savings.
 Limitations
This research reflects on individual customers. Finding and suggestions given on the
basis of this research cannot be extrapolated to the entire population.
As sampling technique is convenient sampling so it may results in personal biased. So
perfect results cannot be achieved.
It takes much time to go in different areas and fill up questionnaire.
 Findings

From the study we can understand that the customers are not investing in the mutual funds
through icicidirect.com here some findings are there

Most of the customer were not fully aware about with mutual fund and its
advantage .
Customers even who know about mutual fund are not investing their money into it
because of lack of knowledge about mutual fund.
Customers prefer to invest in other alternatives mostly in equity and share market.
There was communication gap between some customer to their respective
Relationship Manager.
In future , customer would like to invest in mutual fund if ICICI Securities create
awareness and provide right knowledge about mutual fund among customer.
 Suggestions

After seeing the whole data analysis and findings, the recommendations for the company are
shown as below

The company should give the knowledge regarding mutual funds through various
sources like more advertisements TV programs etc. about what it is? How it works?
What are its benefits for us with its advertisements or in program because many
people have heard about it but dont know what it is?
The company should also attract the low income people by showing them the benefits
of the liquidity fund for the short term to attract them because of low income and
willing to invest in mutual fund but they cannot invest.

The company should also attract the customers through different schemes who having
knowledge about mutual funds but not investing in mutual funds.
The company should give information regarding tax benefits to invest into mutual
funds through online portal.
The company should organize free seminars to give information about and should
distribute brochures having details of schemes of mutual funds.
The company should also give some attractive retirement plan for investment to the
senior citizens who wish to invest in mutual funds.
ICICI Securities is charging for buying the mutual funds where online AMCs are not
charging for buying and know a days all AMCs are having their own online portal
and giving facility to purchase and sell of mutual funds
ICICI Direct should take low Commission and service tax on their SIP investment.
.
 Learning from the Internship

My work during the internship involved mainly the using ICICI DIRECT online portal which
has helped me in learning the online using of portal and have given me the brief view about
how it works.

During my internship had a great experience to learn

How to deal with customers and try to resolve their problem.

Also help me in improving my communication skills.
I observed the practical applications of how to buy, redeem mutual funds
online.

During my 2 months of internship I got to know how broking firm

works does. Thus helping me to gain more Learning from the Internship

My work during the internship involved mainly the using ICICI DIRECT online portal which
has helped me in learning the online using of portal and have given me the brief view about
how it works.

During my internship had a great experience to learn

How to deal with customers and try to resolve their problem.

Also help me in improving my communication skills.
I observed the practical applications of how to buy, redeem mutual funds
online.

During my 2 months of internship I got to know how broking firm works does. Thus helping
me to gain more practical knowledge in mutual fund sector.
 Contribution to the Organization

During the course of my internship at ICICI SECURITIES LIMITED for the duration of 2
months. I was assigned to show the demo to the current ICICI direct customers about the
working of ICICI direct portal how they can buy, redeem and maintain the mutual funds.

So the data collected by me were used by the ICICI SECURITIES to map and unmapped the
customers as they will get the glimpse about the customer behavior.

This would help in generating revenue

Observation
 Most of the people dont have proper knowledge about the mutual funds and that is
why probably they dont invest in mutual funds.
The services provided through online platform by icici direct is so flexible and user
friendly that most of the businessmen who have good knowledge about mutual funds
and as result they invest in mutual funds very frequently.
Most of the respondents consider bank deposit as investment vehicle. They dont have
clear cut idea about the difference between savings and investments.
And some of the people only invest in fixed deposits because they dont know the
difference between fixed deposits and mutual fund

Some of the respondents have wrong perception about the mutual funds. They feel mutual
funds are very risky to invest.
 Reference

www.icicidirect.com

www.amfiindia.com

www.ific.ca/en/articles /who-we-are-history of mutual funds/

 Annexure

Following is the questionnaire, which I took responses from client and helped for doing the
project.

Q1.How do you rate this video?

Q2. Are you planning to invest in mutual fund through ICICI direct?

Yes

No

Q3. Have you invested through other distributors?

Yes

No

Q4. Any feedback or suggestion.

 CONCLUSION

We can infer from the analysis that the concept of mutual fund in the place through ICICI is
still in its growing phase. With the growing importance of mutual fund in other areas in the
country, this place is witnessing the same rate of growth in mutual funds. Apart from these
facts the following are some other important facts which can easily be inferred from the
paper---

Huge opportunities of Mutual funds exist in the ICICI. In short the market in this city
is a growing market
As because many companies exist in this market, competition is cut and throat.
Posters, banners or other promotional activities are rarely seen in this market.
Mutual fund companies do not have aggressive strategies.
Insurance products are and can be the main competitors of mutual funds
Most of the respondents are satisfied with their current return from their investment.
Most of the respondents neither do not want to take risk in investing their money in mutual
funds.