Best Mutual Fund Apps. There is no doubt about the fact that mutual fund is the best way to make money from stock market. With technology getting better day by day, buying and selling mutual funds has become very easy. In this blog post, we are going to look at some of the best mutual fund apps that you can use to make your investments easier.
These apps not only make mutual fund investments hassle free, most of them are free to use and do not charge any commission as they deal in direct mutual funds (more on that later)
But before we get into naming the best mutual fund apps, for those who do not understand what is a mutual fund and its types, here is a quick introduction:
What are Mutual Funds?
Contents
A mutual fund is a pool of funds which is invested in a predefined portfolio of stocks, or other financial instruments (such as bonds etc.), designed to achieve a specific financial goal in mind. This pool of fund is managed by a professional money manager who better understand the market and thus make the right investment decision on investor’s behalf.
Also read: 10 mutual fund terms you must know
There are mainly two types of plans that almost every mutual fund has, one is regular plan, where investor who invests in these funds is charged a nominal amount of commission (usually between 1% to 1.5% of invested amount) by the distributor (mutual fund seller). The second plan is direct plan where you don’t have to pay any commission. Most of the apps provide direct mutual fund plans.
NOTE: For more details on how to pick the right mutual fund different types of Mutual funds, read the following posts:
Having understood the basics of mutual funds, let us look at some of the best mutual fund apps, their features, advantages and disadvantages. In the end, we will also look at the factors you should be looking before picking the right app for yourself.
There are hundreds of mutual fund apps in the play store and app store, while most investors rely on star ratings given by the users as a metric of quality, however, we have tried, tested and hand-picked some of the best mutual fund apps for you. Here is a list of the most competent ones:
Kuvera:
Started as a robo-advisory portal and founded by ex-investment bankers, Kuvera is a completely free online for investing in direct plans for mutual funds. In simple words, there is no catch or hidden charges that you have to pay.
There are more than 36 AMC (Asset Management Companies) which means that you get a wide variety of mutual funds from which you can select the ones that suit your investment goals.
Kuvera also offer free goal based investment service, where you can invest in stocks with a particular goal in mind and a stipulated time horizon. Kuvera uses its “FREE” AI-based robo-advisory service to determine how much investment you need to reach a financial goal within a stipulated time.
Kuvera also hassle free in many ways. Not only it provides free investment advice, if you are investing for your family members, you don’t need to open a separate account for them. Kuvera allows you to manage the investments of all your family members through single account.
They offer services like fund selection, goal planning, tax optimization, portfolio re-balancing, etc. All these services are absolutely free. They claimed to offer the largest selection of direct mutual fund schemes.
Kuvera app is available on both in Android and iOS apps. For those who like to use computer, Kuvera also offers a web application for the same purpose.
Here is a quick look of the pros and cons of Kuvera app:
Pros of Kuvera App:
- Supports almost all the Mutual fund AMCs,
- Provides services like tax optimization, portfolio rebalancing
- Offers Goal-based investment advice
- Scheme recommendations based on your profile.
- Single account for your entire family’s financial investments.
- You can login using Facebook and Google accounts
- Very nice and clean user interface
- Clean and user friendly mobile app
Cons of Kuvera:
- Does not support all AMCs. Though Kuvera supports highest number of AMCs, it does not include all the AMCs in its kitty. Kuvera offers services of 36 AMCs while there are 42 AMCs in existence
- Irrelevant recommendations. Sometimes the robo-advisors give irrelevant fund recommendations, thus you cannot rely on their advice blindly.
Download link: Download KUVERA app
Groww:
Groww app is another amazing app for buying direct mutual funds, and has gained a lot of popularity in the recent times. The app offers similar number of AMC services (36 to be exact) which is quiet good and also, just like Kuvera, Groww also has a clean user interface on its app.
The only place where it might feel a bit lagging behind is that Groww app does not provide any scheme or fund recommendations, which some of the investors may find disappointing. However, Groww app has compensated for this drawback beautifully by providing great amount of details about each scheme.
The app digs deep into the data and provides various data points which will help you to take the right investment decision. The app provides data like comparative analysis among the schemes in the same group, and also the pie chart showing your holdings and its analysis is beautiful.
Another feature of Groww app that is completely different and unique from all the other apps is the feature of groups. The app has created financial groups on various topics to discuss ideas and answer queries of the members. The members can help each other in deciding the best scheme based on their user profile.
Groww app is available on web portals, as well as on Android and iOS
Here are some pros and cons of Groww app that will help you determine if it’s the best mutual fund app for you:
Pros of Groww:
- Objective evaluation method instead of random recommendation
- Detailed data points and comparative analysis of all the scheme and funds
- Feature of Group on various topics to help users get the answer to all the queries
- Easy and user friendly portal and mobile app.
Cons of Groww:
- Does not have SIP calculator
- Lack of recommendation may be a reason why some investors may not feel comfortable using this app.
Download Link: Download Groww APP
Zerodha Coin:
The third mutual fund app that I personally like to use for my personal mutual fund investments is an app by Zerodha named “Coin”. Zerodha is one of the largest discount brokers in India with highest number of DEMAT and trading accounts.
Being the largest broker in the country brings a lot of trust and reliability. Zerodha coin offers both direct and regular funds to its customers.
Zerodha allows you to buy mutual funds online with no commission and no chargebacks, directly from the AMCs. Zerodha places all your mutual funds, currencies, stocks bonds etc., all in your Demat account in one place.
You can review all your mutual fund investments in their mobile app which has a very seamless, clutter free and user-friendly interface.
Another unique and a rather very useful feature of Zerodha Coin app is that you can easily start, stop or even modify the SIP as and when you like.
Also, you get a very simple and easy to understand profit and loss statement and statement of capital gains to track the growth and performance of your funds.
In my opinion, it is the best direct mutual fund app in India.
Here are some of the pros and cons of Zerodha coin.
Pros of Zerodha coin:
- Fixed charges, almost free app, no matter how big or small your investment portfolio may be.
- Set customized alerts
- Start, pause, or stop SIP anytime in just few clicks
- Easy to understand Profit and loss statement and various performance related reports.
- Backend provides various reports and financial statements you need to track your portfolio performance.
- Easy to use mobile app with clutter free user interface.
Cons of Zerodha Coin:
- Does not provide any advisory services, you have to research and pick the schemes on your own
- Does not provide SIP calculator so you have to make all SIP related calculations yourself
- You have to transfer and keep adequate balance in your demat account on the date of SIP
Download Link: Zerodha Coin App
Paytm Money:
Paytm Money is one of the late entrants in the list of best mutual fund apps, but it does not mean that it lacks any features. The reason why Paytm Money has been able to get such a huge attention in a short span of time is because of its association with popular brand name Paytm.
Just like other platforms, Paytm Money also offers both direct and regular mutual fund schemes to its customers and does not charge any fees for that.
Paytm money goes an extra mile ahead of all the other apps and provides investment advisory service, which no other platform offers. This is especially useful for first time investors who have no idea about how to pick the right funds for their investment goals.
For providing investment advisory services, they have tied up with some of the best names in the investment advisory industry such as Value Research Online and Morningstar India.
Another edge of Paytm money over its rivals is that you can start investing with a very small amount as small as Rs.100. This is a great feature for beginners and first time investors who want to try their hands on the platform until they completely trust the company.
That is not all, Paytm Money has another unique feature that probably no other platform is offering and that is truly digital KYC for first time investors. The platform helps you do your KYC in just a few minutes and you can start investing instantly.
Here are some of the pros and cons of Paytm Money:
Pros of Paytm Money:
- Digital KYC for investors in just a few minutes, no paperwork needed.
- Investment advisory service for investors, helpful for first time investors who cannot invest on their own.
- Can start investing with a small amount (Rs.100)
- Can start, stop, or even pause your SIP.
- Goal tracking feature to see if you are on the right path to achieve your financial goals
- Risk-o-meter to help you understand the amount of risk you will be taking by investing in a scheme.
- Fingerprint login and two factor authentication provides higher security to your funds.
Cons of Paytm Money:
- Supports only 25 AMCs out of 42 available
Download Link: Dowload Paytm Money
ET Money:
ET Money, as the name suggests, is an app from a reputed name Economic times a brands that holds more than a century old reputation of excellence. ET Money app is similar to all the other direct mutual fund apps and provides the same funds as the other apps do.
What sets this app apart from all the other apps is its features. ET Money provides one time KYC facility which means that you don’t have to provide KYC every time you invest in a new scheme. There is only one time KYC after which you can invest as many times you want in any mutual funds.
Secondly, the management of your investment portfolio easy as it provides a detailed performance of all your funds in just one tap of a button.
The app also provides performance analysis of each fund individually so that you get a clear idea which funds are performing well and which ones is lagging behind.
Another unique feature of ET Money app is that it provides you an option to invest your idle cash lying in your bank account into liquid mutual fund schemes, which provides higher return to investors than normal savings bank account.
Some of the pros and cons of ET Money app are as follows:
Pros of ET Money:
- One time KYC
- Detailed performance report of your investment portfolio
- Option to park your idle cash in liquid funds.
- Established brand name
- Zero commission platform
Cons of ET Money app:
- Provides services of only 20 AMCs
If you use these apps, all of them feel WOW! To use. All of them have easy navigation, wonderful and interactive user interface, and are loaded with features that you would love to use.
But in recent years, there has been a plethora of such apps and since every app has its own unique feature, finding the best mutual fund app that suits your needs can be challenging.
How to select the right mutual fund platform?
So how would you pick the right app for yourself and what are the things you should look for before selecting an app that suits all your investment needs? Well, here is a quick app selection guide that will give you all the right guidance that you should follow while selecting the right app for yourself.
Identify your goals and investment horizon:
There is a reason why there is a word “personal” in personal finance. Since different people have different needs, aspirations, different goals, the financial plan varies from person to person.
Since most of these platforms are based on the automated system that provides you suggestions based on the inputs given by you, being at the nascent stage of their development, these apps are not well-equipped to handle the needs of an individual. That is why you should not trust their advice blindly and should take the help of a certified financial planner or an investment advisor before making an investment decision.
However, that does not mean that all the automation and AI-based software provided by these platforms are useless, you can always use these robo-advisors to automate your execution.
What are they offering?
All these portals have wide range of services to offer such as goal based investing, scheme recommendation, risk profiling, investment advisory and many more.
First, look at your requirements and then find which of these platforms provides all of them. For example, if you are a beginner and cannot pick mutual funds for yourself, better go for platforms that provide investment advisory service.
Also, since your needs keep changing with time, you should also need to keep your future requirements in mind. For example, you need to ask yourself, if you would ever arrive at a situation in life where you may have to stop or pause SIPs due to financial problems? If your answer is yes, then you should choose platform that allow you to do so.
Unbiased Advice:
While all their platforms provide their services free of cost, you must still ensure that the scheme or the fund suggested to you is totally unbiased advice and is not being delivered under the influence of a powerful fund house.
The platform must offer suggestions based on research backed data and past performance. There should be a sound and logical reasoning furnished by the platform while making a recommendation.
This will help you select the right mutual fund and chances of going wrong are very less.
Customer Support:
The most important aspect among all that you should pay attention to while choosing a platform for investing is the customer support.
Since you are going to use these platforms yourself without any human intervention, it is important to get a quick and strong customer support if you feel stuck and need help.
A good customer support must be able to take care of all your queries and questions within a stipulated time frame.
While testing customer support, you must ensure that it meets all your requirements and you feel comfortable dealing with them.
Take your time to get familiar with the platform:
Once you are satisfied with all the aspects of a platform, it is still no necessary for you to start investing immediately.
Once you have created an account for any of the above mentioned platforms, go ahead and check their portal thoroughly for a few days.
Check how the portal looks, is it user-friendly? Are you able to access all the necessary data with ease? Does the portal work smoothly without any glitches? How seamless is the process of money transfer and how fast does the platform credit money back into your account? All these functions are of critical importance.
Take your time and check which one suits your needs as you are going to commit for a long time to come.
Conclusion:
The days are gone when you had to fill a ton of forms, submit lot of documents and personally visit the office of AMC companies just to start an SIP. Today buying mutual fund is as easy as ordering food online. Thanks to some of the best mutual fund apps and platforms that make our task so easy.
While it has become easier to buy a mutual fund, choosing which mutual to invest in has also become quiet simple.
Most of these mutual fund apps provide sufficient data so that users can easily figure out by themselves, which one is best suited for them. If you are still confused, some of these mutual fund apps also provide free investment advisory service that would help you choose the right fund for you.
So that is a wrap on this post of best mutual fund apps I hope this guide will help you choose the right platform that will make your investment journey more hassle free and enjoyable.
Leave a Reply