Many mutual fund investors discover that there are varied strategies for investing their money, ranging from passive managed strategies to actively managed portfolios. Amongst all that, ‘smart beta’ has come up as a popular middle ground, aiming to offer the best of both worlds. So, when the question of traditional index funds vs smart beta funds arises, why might an investor choose one over the other?
Many mutual fund investors discover that there are varied strategies for investing their money, ranging from passive managed strategies to actively managed portfolios. Amongst all that, ‘smart beta’ has come up as a popular middle ground, aiming to offer the best of both worlds. So, when the question of traditional index funds vs smart beta funds arises, why might an investor choose one over the other?
Many mutual fund investors discover that there are varied strategies for investing their money, ranging from passive managed strategies to actively managed portfolios. Amongst all that, ‘smart beta’ has come up as a popular middle ground, aiming to offer the best of both worlds. So, when the question of traditional index funds vs smart beta funds arises, why might an investor choose one over the other?
In today's world, investors may often feel spoilt for choice amongst the many options available for investing. With a wide variety of mutual funds to choose from, they may struggle to find a suitable scheme for themselves.
5 questions about passive investing
Though not as popular in India, as it is in the U.S., it is getting noticed. Here are a five questions investors need to get answered before they consider passive investing with regards to the stock market.
India has two recognized indices
When we discuss mutual funds, we come across the standard warning when, “mutual fund investments are subject to market risks.” However, such risks can be classified into two categories – systematic risks and unsystematic risks. Systematic risks arise because of macroeconomic changes in the domestic and global economy. Such changes can include economic growth, fiscal deficit, current account deficit, forex movements, etc.
When one chooses to invest in equity markets, BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 are the two most familiar words for the investors. These are the name of two major stock indices in the country – BSE Sensex and Nifty 50. Since such indices are constructed using scientific methodologies and back-tested techniques, retail investors may prefer to have investment exposure in such indices. However, one cannot invest in such indices directly as they are not a security within themselves, but just an index of different securities.
Market indices such as S&P BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty50, etc. are created by adopting scientific methodologies and back-tested techniques. As such, the investors may wish to invest in such indices to have smooth investment experience. However, since such indices are not tradable security in themselves, it is a difficult proposition for the investors to construct a similar investment portfolio, which replicates such an index. Index funds may be suitable to meet such investing needs.
