Best Mutual Funds for Students in India

Conventional FD’s are still popular among the student class, but they are not a good substitute to save them from time-for-money-trap.  best substitute for all other kind of investment products is investment in Mutual Funds for students.

There was a time when only the adults shouldered the responsibility of earning and saving the money, but nowadays the times have changed. With the advent of the internet, low cost data packs and smartphone penetration even the students are putting in their best efforts to save money for the future.

Which are the best mutual funds  for students?

The most common dilemma faced by the students is they are clueless about how to start investing in the mutual funds and which products are apt to protect the investments from unnecessary risk.  The best investment plan for college students in India is mutual funds through SIP.

Mutual Funds for students with short term goals

As a student, you may have various short term goals in mind, like funding for the coaching classes, admission fees etc. In such cases, best mutual funds for student in India are:

Debt Mutual Funds

Debt Mutual Funds are oriented for the students who have short term goals in mind and those who want regular cash flow in the kitty. These debt schemes offer assured returns and are less affected by the volatility.

• HDFC Liquid Plan-The students investment plan in India can range from post office saving scheme to mutual funds. But this debt mutual fund scheme offers them high liquidity along with optimal returns while maintaining safety and high liquidity.
• ICICI Prudential Liquid Plan– This plan is best for the investors who don’t have an appetite for risk. Apart from offering, high degree of liquidity, the ROI offered by this scheme exceeds more than 8%, which indicates strong performance in various phases.
• Reliance Liquid Fund– This fund is a right amalgamation of liquidity and consistent returns topped up with a moderate level of risk. In order to offer this winning combination, the fund managers focus their investments on MIBOR linked instruments featuring put or call options, reverse repos, and other cash investments. This investments is a good stead in this category with an ROI exceeding to 5%.
• ICICI Prudential Flexible Income Plan– This plan is focused on offering high returns to the investors. The fund managers invest money in the money market and debt instruments. The investments in this plan offer a right blend of liquidity, safety and returns.

Equity Linked Mutual Funds

The recent volatility in the debt market has slackened the sentiments of the investors in the debt market.  The Reserve Bank of India confused signals and inherent lack of liquidity in the debt instruments are making the students move towards the equity linked saving schemes. Here are such schemes that students can invest into:

• DSP Black Rock Equity Opportunity– Backed with 10% yearly returns of 12.29%, this fund has outperformed the benchmark indices and has beaten its own records over the past decade.
• L&T Emerging Business Fund– This fund is meant for the aggressive investors whose investment horizon is more than 20-25 years. The objective of this fund is to generate diversified portfolio in Indian and foreign securities.
• Tata India Tax Savings Mutual Fund– The objective of this scheme is to offer long-term capital growth. Investments in equity are around 80%, while allocation to debt and money market instruments is 20%.

Well, there is plethora of schemes in debt and equity mutual fund universe, but it is important to select the scheme that aligns with your goal, investment time horizon and risk profile.