Mutual investment funds in the world. Opening - Promotions

Most existing investment tools require considerable knowledge and practical experience in their use. Especially you can’t do without special knowledge if you are counting on getting a solid share of the profit. But what about those who do not have the time or desire to "immerse themselves in material"? We advise you to pay attention to mutual investment funds based on the principle of trust capital management.

Mutual investment funds are engaged in the accumulation of funds that are invested in various projects with the aim of making a profit. The creation of the fund, its legal registration and direct business management is carried out by the management company. She, in the terms agreed in advance by the contract, distributes the fund’s income among the investors in proportion to the shares they hold.

Among all possible investment areas, mutual funds invest in:

• stocks;
• bonds;
• the property;
• certificates of deposit and deposits;
• mortgage
• loans
• artistic values, etc.

The activities of investment funds are regulated at the legislative level, which helps to reduce the risks of fraud in this area. At the same time, no one can insure the investor against the risk of reduction or even loss of invested funds. Mutual investment funds in Russia can only predict the return on investment in them. This is done on the basis of a superficial analysis of the market and indicators of past reporting periods. But any guaranteed income in this area is extremely rare.

Investment in a mutual fund provides for the acquisition by an investor of a part of its assets - an investment share. Most of the funds set the minimum contribution for such a unit, which is measured in fractions of the total assets of the mutual fund. The investment share of the fund certifies the participation of its owner in the association of investors and gives the right to receive part of the profit. The depositor has the right to demand productive fiduciary management of funds, the right to control the management company, the right to compensate for the value of the unit in case of contract termination and violation of its terms. In addition, an investment share is a security that you can sell, buy or provide as collateral.

As for the risks of capital loss, in comparison with other investment options, they are not so great. As a rule, such funds are created by large management companies with investment experience. Mutual investment funds declaring conservative principles of their work are close in reliability to banking structures. However, the return on investments in them hardly exceeds bank deposits.

Not all funds are conservative in their investment strategies. So, in exchange for higher risks, the investor can receive an annual income equal to 40-60%, and in some cases 100% of the initial investment. In any case, the yield of the fund directly depends on the selected tools and the aggressiveness of the principles of work.

  Types of mutual investment funds

Any private investor who wants to invest in mutual funds is required to understand their types and understand the differences. Experts divide all existing investment funds in Russia into several types:

1. Open share.  In it, investors are vested with the right to freely dispose of their shares. Investments in such funds are characterized by high liquidity and affordability for the general public, in view of the minimal amounts for contributions.
2. Interval mutual fund.  The agreements set in advance the time intervals in which unit owners are entitled to sell their parts. Similar rules are established for the withdrawal of funds.
3. Closed-end mutual investment fund.Such funds operate for a strictly defined period of at least 5 years. Sale and withdrawal of funds before the end of the life of the mutual fund is excluded, however, in some cases it is allowed to sell units to other participants of the fund. Closed mutual funds are a kind of private club of investors created for a specific project. The value of shares is estimated in millions of dollars, which is why participation in them is available only to wealthy investors.

There is a classification of mutual funds by investment direction. It distinguishes:

1. Equity funds.  The preferred direction for investing such funds is stocks. Potentially, such funds have the highest levels of profitability, but are also characterized by rather large risks. According to experts, the most promising investments in equity funds will be long-term investments.
2. Bond funds.  They are distinguished by their conservatism, since bonds imply a lower but stable yield. Ideal for investors who are looking for the most reliable and long-term investment tools.
3. Money market funds.  The bulk of the assets of such funds is contained in deposits, due to which they are characterized by a guaranteed, but relatively low yield.
4. Index funds.  index funds is contained in stocks of companies represented in the stock market. Their main income is earnings on stock indices. It should be noted that with relatively small risks, it is quite high.
5. .   Each such mutual investment fund is the founder of an enterprise. The creation of such funds is aimed at a specific type of business or commercial structure. According to investor reviews, investments in private equity funds are characterized by increased risks with high rates of return.
6. Real estate funds.  The goal is to invest in a specific construction project. Such mutual funds are organizations, mainly of a closed type. They are created for a long period, which is why they are distinguished by long-term investments. A fairly attractive investment option, characterized by high returns. Enjoys special appeal among wealthy players.
7. Mixed investment funds.  The assets of such funds are held in various financial instruments. They differ in average rates of return and average terms of investments. Investing in mutual funds of this category allows investors to diversify risks as comfortably and quickly as possible.

  Benefits of mutual funds for investors

According to the reviews of professional investors, we highlight the main advantages of investing in mutual funds:

• Transparency of investment activities. In addition to strict state control over the activities of mutual funds, an important factor in trusting them is the transparency of their activities. Anyone can find freely available financial statements of organizations, which eliminates fraud.
• Trust management allows you to make investments in any investment instruments, even without the necessary knowledge. Professional management minimizes risks.
• By investing in a fund with assets that are different in directions, the investor gets the opportunity to expand the possibility of making a profit under one project.
• Availability of mutual funds. The establishment of minimum sizes for deposits makes investing in them the easiest way to invest. Such investments are available today for most potential investors.
• Investment units have high liquidity, which is why investors of most open-end mutual funds have the opportunity to withdraw their funds at any time the fund exists.

  How to choose a mutual fund?

  The most common mistake in choosing an investment fund for beginner Russian investors is the fact that they pay attention to the profitability indicators of the institution. According to the objective opinion of large players, the profitability is relative, since it is predicted, not calculated. Using this approach in choosing a fund, there is a high probability of investing in mutual funds with an aggressive strategy, which can show stable high results only as an exception.

According to experts, when choosing a fund, it is important to proceed from the goals, objectives and priorities in investment activity. In view of this, we consider the aspects that should affect the choice of investor:

1. The main goal of any investment activity is to make a profit. If the focus of the goal is large income, it must be borne in mind that it will necessarily be associated with large risks of losing invested money. If you want to minimize possible losses, investors need to focus on equity funds. If you want to minimize risks, bond funds are perfect.
2. Terms of investing. Speaking of short-term investments, one will have to choose between bond funds and money market funds. Longer-term investments are possible in real estate or stock funds.
3. The amount of capital. The basic rule: the smaller the amount of investments, the narrower the range of investment funds that can be selected. As a rule, the minimum amounts for contributions are invested in the money market, stocks and mixed funds.
4. Rating. The Internet is full of various ratings of mutual funds, depending on various criteria - profitability, assets, borrowed funds, etc. When choosing between them, use only trusted and reputable sources.
5. Availability of a license. Before investing, familiarize yourself with the documents of the fund you have chosen, its license for investment activity. Be sure to check for the rules of trust.

In any case, regardless of the foundation you have chosen, you should be aware of the essence of your actions, taking into account the possible consequences given above. Not understanding the working mechanisms, entry conditions, control control schemes, it will not make sense to invest in any fund. By studying the details of the activity of mutual funds and choosing several investment funds for investments, you will create the conditions under which your capital will definitely be profitable, even if investments are made in the simplest, but conservative and reliable mutual funds.

Over the past twenty years, mutual funds have found wide popularity in Russia and have developed quite rapidly. Each of the mutual funds differs in its work scheme and offers shareholders a wide range of returns, depending on the risks. The greater the yield offered by a mutual fund, the greater the risk a client of a fund should expect, but this does not always happen. In general, mutual funds have established themselves as a very good type of investing money, attracting more and more people over time.

The amount of the minimum contribution usually varies from a few thousand to several hundred thousand, depending on what kind of audience the investor is designed for. fund. The most popular investment funds allow you to make a minimum contribution starting from several thousand rubles, while the upper ceiling is usually not indicated. If the holder of the unit (a security certifying the holder’s right to a part of the stock property) wants to withdraw his funds, this can be done by selling the unit.

The legislation of the Russian Federation forbids mutual investment funds to advertise the expected income to future shareholders, promising them a myriad of profits. The effectiveness of a mutual fund can usually be seen from published past results; on their basis, the investor draws conclusions about whether it is worth investing in this fund. Obviously, the most popular funds are those that have been floating afloat for more than a year and do not allow to lose the share contributions of their investors.

Answering the question of what mutual investment funds are all about, you can get by with just a few words. A mutual fund is an association of several investors whose funds the specialist manager invests in securities. Income grows based on changes in the value of a security and can vary in the limit of values, where the upper limit is not outlined. Since there are risks of depreciation of paper, each of the mutual funds seeks to reduce its dependence on such securities by investing in a variety of sources of income immediately, that is, diversifying investments. More on everything in more detail.

What is a mutual fund?

From a legal point of view, a mutual investment fund can be defined as a property complex without the organization of a legal entity built on trust management of the property of a mutual fund by a specialized management company (the management company is the brain of the entire fund) in order to increase the value of the property of the fund. An increase in the fund’s property is achieved by investing money in certain industries (technologies, stocks, bonds, real estate). Thus, such a fund is formed from the money of depositors (shareholders). Each investor owns a specific number of shares in the property of the fund. An investment share is a security owned by a depositor that certifies the right of the owner to a specific share in the property of the fund. One investor may have several units at once. Thus, the investment share also gives its owner the right to receive money from the mutual fund corresponding to this share. The share in the property of the investment fund depends on the size of the share contribution, the minimum amount of which varies quite widely, but in the open type of funds it usually amounts to several thousand rubles.

Several organizations participate in the work of the investment fund. The brain of the entire fund is a management company. It is she who answers with her property in case of the slightest violations by the fund. All transactions are carried out there, and when suspicious transactions appear, everything is blocked by the depositary.

The second member of the fund is a specialized registrar. It takes into account the rights of depositors (shareholders) to a part of the property in a unit investment fund using a special registry. This register records all information about the units owners and their share in the ownership of the fund.

The third participant is the auditor. He monitors the correct reporting of the management company, making sure that the reporting is built in accordance with all the rules. All auditors are licensed by the Ministry of Finance.

Advantages of investment in mutual funds

The effectiveness of the fund's investments can be assessed by past achievements, but it is prohibited to advertise the expected return on investment funds in Russia. This was stated by the head of the Federal Financial Markets Service of the Russian Federation, pointing out the similarity of the exchange game and mutual funds and stating that the shareholders (fund investors) must withstand up to 50% of the fund’s losses without panic.

When evaluating the effectiveness of a fund, actual returns are usually compared with potential returns.

Each fund is checked by the state for the availability of certificates of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market from specialists. The investor does not trust his investment to incompetent specialists, but invests them in the management of competent and professional managers. Each of the funds goes through a rather strict licensing process. Moreover, control by government agencies is carried out even during the operation of the fund, but sometimes this is also the disadvantage of investing in mutual funds, because often the state limits what stocks and bonds the fund manager can buy, thus minimizing risks, but saving investors from opportunities to get high interest. Here, private investors are more likely to win, who are not limited in their freedom to invest clients' money.

According to many experts, mutual funds are a more profitable investment option than bank deposits, so when considering the issue of investments, always think about investment funds.

Mutual Funds guarantee greater profitability in comparison with the typical investment tool for the majority of the population - bank deposits. Often the risks even come close to the risks of bank deposits, because even at the time of the loss-making operation of the fund, the money of the depositors does not burn, but is transferred to another management company.

In Russia, the most popular invest. funds are characterized by a low entry threshold, starting already from 1 thousand rubles, despite the myths that almost 100 thousand rubles can be invested in such funds. The upper boundary is not outlined.

To date, according to the National League of Managers, the price of the net assets of all existing mutual funds in Russia is approximately 500,000,000,000 rubles. Of these, 104 billion rubles belong to open frauds, 365 billion rubles to closed ones, and 38 billion rubles to interval ones. The number of working mutual funds is approximately 1100, the number of emerging ones is 19, and the number of managing companies is 287.

Benefits of investment in mutual funds

• Your money is managed by highly qualified specialists with a certificate of the Federal Commission for the Securities Market, and a whole staff. All this speaks of minimizing risks and reliability. Funds are also licensed and their activities are controlled by the state.
• Good investment conditions. The investor can enter the club at any time (with the exception of the closed and interval type of funds) and leave it, for example, by selling a share to another investor.
• An opportunity to study the income history of most of the most reliable and popular funds. Based on the previous results, you decide whether to invest in this fund.
• Preferential tax system. This means that you are not required to pay a percentage of the annual profit, although once a year you will have to pay a fee to the fund, even at times when the fund suffers losses. However, this can be considered both a plus and a minus.
• Mutual Funds earned their attention from investors for many years of work, providing them with high returns and minimizing risks. This respect on the part of investors has appeared not just like that, but is supported by actual results. Definitely, mutual funds should be considered when deciding on the investment of available funds.

Disadvantages of investing in mutual funds

In the Russian Federation, this type of organization has been operating since the mid-90s and since then has been able to earn the trust of people as one of the effective options for investing in the risk-return ratio. However, as in any other type of investment, you should carefully study the information about the fund where you want to invest your available funds, because there are big risks. Mutual funds do not apply to instruments with fixed profitability and legislative return of funds in case of loss by their fund. In the role of such an instrument, bank deposits with a fixed annual yield or investing in high-rated bonds are more suitable.

When investing, you should not count on instant profit from the air. Investing in mutual funds is a choice for patients, as well as bank deposits. In fact, high profitability is provided only in the long term, often before you get high profit you should wait up to several years.

However, it is worth noting that there are mutual funds investing exclusively in bank deposits and high-rated bonds. This type of funds is characterized by a low degree of risk due to its diversification, even in comparison with many bank deposits.

As it was said earlier, the government’s activities are constantly monitored by the government and often impose restrictions on the purchase of bonds and shares by the management company. This step minimizes risks, but limits the ability of investors to obtain high returns in a short time. In this regard, an alternative is a private investor, in no way limited in freedom to manage the money of contributors.

Cospecturing the above, we can note the main disadvantages of mutual funds:

• The presence of risk. Yes, in life one rarely encounters stability and reliability, but it is not for nothing that most people prefer bank deposits to mutual funds. Each of the investors can both make good money and not earn anything, and least of all - lose money at all.
• Mutual investment funds are organizations that generate income in a rather long term, within a few years.
• Funds do not work for free and sometimes you need to pay a fixed fee. Even when the fund suffers losses.

What are mutual funds

Consider the whole variety of types of mutual funds should be based on several criteria:

• The degree of accessibility (openness).

There are 3 types of funds: open, closed and interval.

1. Open funds operate and work every working day, the most public and popular type of funds with a very low entry threshold. Investment units are distributed and redeemed every business day. The main assets of open funds are usually securities and stocks with high liquidity, that is, those that can be quickly sold at a price close to market. "Liquid" means flowing into money.
2. In closed funds, units are issued during the formation of the organization, and are redeemed only after the end of its term of operation. Most often, such funds are organized for specific projects. To date, this type of fund has the highest total asset value. Most often they differ in the most advantageous offer for the investor, but the number of shares is limited.
3. Interval funds accept shares at regular intervals, usually two to three per year for two weeks. Here, the main assets are the opposite of open - securities with low liquidity.

• Direction of investment.

This item is a bit more complicated.

In the direction of investment, funds are divided into:

• Money market funds - invest mainly in short-term deposits - bills of exchange, certificates of deposit, etc.
• Bond funds - invest in bonds and, most often, in government bonds as they are the most reliable. Bonds provide the company with monthly income.
• Equity stock is a fairly popular type of investment, as stocks provide high returns. There is a high risk factor, as the price of shares varies greatly depending on the situation on the market.
• Mixed investment funds - There is no need to explain much here; such funds use bonds, stocks, and certificates of deposit in their work. The advantage of these funds is a reliable monthly income from bonds, and high profit with great risk on the part of the shares.
• Funds of funds - funds of investors are invested in other types of funds, due to which risk minimization and reliable income are achieved.

It is worth noting that there are several more popular related types of funds.

Pension, which invest in stocks and bonds. The length of time an investment depends on the age of the investor. Such funds provide up to 10% per annum after the investor retires.

Guaranteed funds that invest only in areas that bring high returns with minimal risk. It provides very large returns on really long investment periods (5-15 years)

There are many other types of funds related in their direction of investment, but they should not be considered all, since they are quite rare.

Rating of the most profitable mutual funds in Russia

1. April Capital - shares of commodity companies. Growth from 03/31/17 to 03/31/18 - 39.47%
2. Sberbank - Global Internet. Growth from 03/31/17 to 03/31/18 - 38.53%
3. April Capital - stocks. The increase from 03/31/17 to 03/31/18 - 34.57
4. Alpha - Technology Capital. Growth from 03/31/17 to 03/31/18 - 32.05%
5. VTB - BRIC. Growth from 03/31/17 to 03/31/18 - 30.90%
6. RIFFEISEN - information technology. Growth from 03/31/17 to 03/31/18 - 31.03%

Subsidiaries of the same management companies were not repeated.

Already on the basis of this list, you can make a competent contribution, which will bring you hundreds of percent per annum in the long run.

If we consider the management companies, then in 1 place there will be subsidiary funds, the organizer of which is Sberbank. This is the choice for those who are looking for a reliable investment with a low risk. The maximum yield here is 25% per annum.

The second place is taken by mutual investment funds of the German company Raiffeisen. The middle segment in the ratio "Risk - profitability". The average profitability in the perspective of the year is approximately 40%.

The third place in the TOP fund of the best management companies is occupied by a group of subsidiary funds of the Trust Investment Company. The profitability is 50-60%, and the term of work of more than ten years deservedly attracts attention and popularity of this company.

When choosing a mutual investment fund, always try to study the history of its income to the maximum. Obviously, you should give your preference to organizations that have been working on the market for more than 5-10 years. Young funds are formed and disappear at high speed, and few remain afloat. Often, young organizations offer investors more profitable interest. It can both play into the hands of the depositor and play with him a cruel joke,

• equity funds;
• bond funds;
• mixed investment funds;
• index funds;
• money market funds;
• fund funds;
• real estate funds;
• funds of especially risky (venture) investments;
• mortgage funds;
• private equity funds.

(Funds belonging to the last four groups may be closed funds only).

The full name of the fund must indicate whether the fund is a stock fund, a bond fund, or any of the following.

Equity funds, bond funds and mixed investment funds - The most common funds. It is these three types of funds that are most prevalent in the Russian stock market. The names speak of the investment objects of these funds. However, this does not mean that the investment portfolios of these funds should contain either only stocks or only bonds. Equity funds must invest in shares of at least 50% of assets, while no more than 40% of assets can be invested in bonds. For bond funds, the opposite is true - at least 50% of all funds should be invested in bonds and at the same time no more than 40% in stocks. In mixed investment funds, the ratio of stocks and bonds can be any.

Investment strategies of these three types of funds  clearly visible on the chart. Equity funds are characterized by high returns and, at the same time, a high probability of losses, due to the volatile conditions of the stock market. Bond funds, by contrast, are conservative. They allow you to get a stable yield with very little risk of falling unit costs. Mixed investment funds that have stocks and bonds in their portfolios at the same time, as a rule, represent an average option for profitability and risk.

Consider these three types of funds in more detail. Depending on which particular securities are invested, funds, even within these groups, may differ in their investment strategies.

Almost all funds invest in "blue chips" - shares of several major companies, but there are exceptions. For example, equity funds may be second-tier equity funds if investments are made primarily in less liquid shares of small-cap issuers (they are called second-tier stocks). A stock fund may be industry-specific if assets are invested in securities of companies belonging to the same industry. For example, the fund of the oil and gas industry, the fund of electric power, telecommunications, metallurgy, etc. There is a fund that invests mainly in shares of companies with state participation (where the state owns at least 25% of the company). Or a dividend fund.

Even bond funds  may vary - government securities funds, funds of "junk" bonds (these are high-yield bonds, which are classified as risky).

These are all different strategies that management companies can offer for equity funds, bond funds, and mixed investment funds.

Index funds

These funds consist entirely of stocks, and the stock portfolio includes the same stocks and in the same proportion as for calculating stock market indices, for example, the MICEX Index.

Why are such funds created? It has been historically proven that it is quite difficult for a stock fund to get ahead of the market's return (i.e., stock market indices) over long time intervals. Then why try to beat the market when you can invest directly in the index and get market profitability. The dynamics of the value of a unit of the index fund exactly repeats the dynamics of the index (see figure).

The advantage of this fund is its low management costs (management is not required from the management company as such, it is only necessary to maintain a portfolio structure similar to the index; therefore, expenses are low). As a result, at long intervals due to low costs, the return on the index fund may exceed the return on the stock fund. The profitability of the index fund does not depend on the mistakes and miscalculations of the manager. And finally, you can always be up to date by simply tracking the stock index to which the fund is attached.

The disadvantage of this fund is that in times of a bear market the share of the fund will inevitably fall after the index - just as deeply. That is why it is recommended to invest in this fund for a long period - from three to five years or longer, when the general market rise compensates for temporary market downturns.

Money market funds

The profitability of money market funds is low - at the level of a bank term deposit. But such funds, in contrast to term deposits, have an advantage - namely, liquidity. A unit of the money market fund can be redeemed at any time, without any costs (discounts, allowances).

Suppose you have the amount that you must spend three months to buy an apartment. For this period you will not receive anything at the bank (you will not be able to withdraw from the term deposit without loss of interest). There is a way out - to put in the money market fund, where the yield will approximately correspond to the bank term deposit.

The assets of money market funds are invested in deposits with banks (at least 50% of assets), in short-term bonds and other money market instruments. These funds are even more reliable and conservative than bond funds.

Fund funds

These funds do not invest in stocks or bonds, but in units of other mutual investment funds! The risk of an unsuccessful investment of your funds by fund managers can be reduced by distributing the funds among several mutual funds. In fact, this is what fund funds do. They buy shares of successful management companies that have proven in practice their professionalism in asset management. You just have to buy a share of one fund ...

The disadvantage of this fund is the possible higher management costs, which are passed on to the shareholder.

Real estate funds, especially risky (venture) investment funds, mortgage funds, private equity funds, as noted above, can only be created in the form of closed-end funds. This means that you can buy a share only during the formation of the fund, and redeem it only a few years after the end of the fund (closed funds are created for a period of one year). As a rule, these funds are not created for small private investors - the minimum investment amount here can be millions of rubles.

As the names implies, real estate funds invest in the construction of commercial and residential real estate or earn on the rental of real estate; mortgage funds invest in cash claims on liabilities secured by a mortgage; venture capital funds finance various commercial projects; assets of direct investment funds include shares that have not been listed on exchanges in the amount of not less than 50% of the volume of securities placed by the joint stock company plus one share, and the funds will always be majority shareholders.