The world is changing and growing fast. Faster than you and I can keep track and so are we, growing every day into what we can hope will be responsible citizens. If you’re reading this and have crossed the 18-year-old benchmark then this article is for you. You must be thinking about the future. What if I told you that you can be financially stable in the future if you learn to manage your money? You must’ve heard a lot about this mutual fund and that SIP scheme, but might not have the slightest idea about what it is.

 Here’s what you need to know:

 An equity mutual fund is an investment instrument through which you can invest in the stock market even without bearing the burden of paying a large sum of money, you buy a stock with heavy restricted money. You need not know the depths of the stock market to invest in a mutual fund. How? Well, in mutual funds, a large sum of money is collected in a pool to further invest in the stock market to gain profits. A fund manager decides which stocks to invest in to yield profits. Mutual fund is a safe way to get returns on your money.

This was all about mutual funds, but what about SIPs?

SIP – Systematic Investment Plan is a way you can invest in mutual funds. Using SIP, you can invest a small amount of money at a regular interval of time. You can invest starting as low as Rs.100 every month. You can start a SIP on websites like policybazaar and apps like Groww and Scripbox. You can also invest in other options and keep a track of investment online using these apps. Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund, Axis Bluechip Fund, SBI Bluechip Fund, ICICI Prudential Bluechip Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Savings Fund are some of the funds you can start SIPs in.

But how to choose SIPs you ask?

There are many SIPs, but you should choose the ones that cater to your needs and goals. To do that you have to know what goals you want completed with the SIP and the amount of risk you are willing to take. Risk factors include the fund house, duration of the SIP, and the amount of assets under management. We recommend taking low risks which means investing in reputed and well-known fund houses with a longer duration of SIP. The longer the duration of SIP, the lower the risk. You should always invest where the amount of assets under management is at least Rs.500 crores.  Lower than that is a matter of risk.

Invest carefully and only after reading all the documents regarding your investments. Go for the lower risks option in the beginning and gradually scale up. Happy Investing.