Or could it be that the non-performance of many mutual funds is to blame? Has the mutual fund industry not been pro-active enough, failing to build the retail infrastructure needed to woo the investor?
The temptation is to contrast the investors' torrid affair with debt funds, but retail participation in these funds too has belied expectations. Perhaps this has something to do with the high yields on alternative debt instruments such as the small savings schemes? We explore all these points in this issue.
Of course, with the current run-up in the stockmarkets it's possible that a vituous circle of increasing returns drawing more investors into mutual funds may develop. But it's important to realise that we have had booms and boomlets before, and investors have been left holding the can after some disastrous decision-making by asset managers. It's important, therefore, to emphasise the importance of investing discipline.
Our approach has been to build scenarios for the investor, pointing out what kind of funds will perform best under each scenario. An investor will be able to find out the type of fund that is best suited to his needs.
No review of the mutual fund industry can be complete without the performance rankings. How did the funds you are invested in perform in FY 2003? Which category of funds did the best? You'll find the answers to all those questions in our ranking tables. And finally we lead you to the money managers, the men behind the asset management companies, to the best fund managers of the year.
