New to the market and mutual funds? Learn how to invest smartly with Pratik Oswal

With the beginning of the new decade, India and the world at large have witnessed events of an unprecedented nature.  Trade wars, heightened geopolitical tensions, and a global economic slowdown that has been exacerbated by the largest healthcare crisis in recent history all have taken place in a matter of a little over six months.

Naturally, these disruptive events have ravaged both the Indian and the global economy, and as a result, investment instruments that have been widely popular for the past few years have been thrown into disarray. Substantial profits from equity markets have been eroded, and mutual funds have registered big slides in returns as well as redemptions.

While the Sensex and the Nifty have given negative returns in 2020 so far, mutual fund investors have also dialled back on their investments. For instance, money that flowed into mutual funds that invest in equities have dropped more than 95 percent to Rs 241 crore in June, a sharp fall from Rs 5,257 crore invested in May, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) shows.

So, the big question today is: How should one approach the market in this backdrop? Get answers on this episode of Money Matters with Shradha Sharma from Pratik Oswal, Head – Passive Funds at Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company on July 22, 2020, from 2 PM - 3 PM.

Pratik will be helping investors, especially millennials, with understanding the right strategy to profitably invest in the markets. Don’t miss this special episode. Click here to register.

Looking to buy low and selling high

Amid this extreme volatility in the equity markets, many millennials created their demat or mutual fund accounts for the first to invest in stocks or mutual funds, hoping to make an early start to their investment journey and weather this storm successfully.

While everyone loves easy money, half-baked knowledge about stocks and the factors driving the markets higher or lower can lead to massive losses. It is important to understand the nuances of investing in stocks or mutual funds and taking the advice of a financial expert is prudent. So, is this the right time to ramp-up your investments in markets and mutual funds? Pratik has the answers.

 Why you shouldn’t miss this episode

Apart from giving a macro perspective on investing and its principles, Pratik will shed light on specific strategies that could be apt for millennials, considering their risk profile, term of investment and returns potential, among other factors. Here’s a sneak peek into the topics he will be discussing:

-        Index funds and their significance for millennials: As first-time investors, not everyone would be well-versed with carrying out the research needed to pick the right stocks or mutual funds. Is there a single major type of mutual fund that investors could pick and learn to test the waters first? Here, Pratik will give an overview of why Index funds might make for a sound option for first-time investors. Moreover, one of the major advantages of index funds is also its ability to help millennials invest in developed international markets such as the United States. Motilal Oswal MF has an index fund dedicated to the US’ S&P 500 index. Pratik will shed light on the advantages of investing in this fund and benefit from investing in global names such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Netflix, among others. 

-        Minimalism: Is ‘less-is-better’ the type of approach that investors can adopt to make the most of the markets in this situation? What or how many kinds of mutual funds or equity instruments must investors look into?

Apart from mutual fund investments, how could investors allocate their investments into other instruments such as stocks, bonds, commodities such as gold or silver, and standard bank fixed deposits to generate wealth in these uncertain times? Pratik will answer these questions and more, helping every investor, whether millennials or otherwise, to make an informed decision to park their funds with the right platforms.