But often, it is difficult for the lay person to get the required information on schemes even where they have invested money, leave alone the others. It is also very difficult for an investor to get information in a comparable format so as to be able to choose a suitable scheme for investment. Again, the problem of working out things like yields, NAVs and performances as per the specific requirements has been bugging the investor. The answer to such a problem comes in the form of a new site on the Internet at www.mutualfundsindia.com.

Thesite, developed by the Online IndiaCapital.com Pvt. Ltd, provides access to a complete database on the mutual funds industry in India. The site covers more than 400 schemes and allows you to easily get information like primary details about the schemes, latest and historical NAVs, performance track record, fund portfolios, fund manager profile and other parameters.You can view the latest fact-sheet of any scheme, which gives details like the fund objective, exit-entry load, top 10 holdings, dividend history, industry allocation, fund size, asset break-up, latest NAV, fund manager name, AMC, registrar, etc.

The most interesting feature of the site is Choose a Scheme, which enables users to find out the schemes on their own specific criteria. For example, if you want to know all open-end schemes that are growth schemes, have exposure to infotech industry and require a minimum investment of Rs 2,000, you can retrieve the information by just clicking a few buttons.

After getting the details of such schemes asyou are interested in, you can compare their performances and yields, you can read the fund managers' profiles, see how the other schemes of the same mutual fund are performing and decide for yourself. You are no longer dependent on somebody else to make the decision for you.

Another useful feature of the site is My Fund Monitor, which enables you to view the latest NAV of all the schemes of your choice at a glance. Investing also becomes much easier through this site as you can download the forms of certain schemes right from there and send it to the concerned mutual fund after filling it and attaching the required payment. Also, after investing, you can keep track of your investments on the site itself by using the various tools.

Other ancillary features of the site are a detailed primer on mutual funds, tax laws, latest news about mutual funds, and links to the related sites. The Website managers claim that the site has over 75,000 hits per month and already has more than 1,500 registered users.

Allin all, the site is a serious attempt to give a new face to how information on mutual funds is disseminated. Complete and quick information flow would definitely result in more prudent decisions leading to more efficient allocation of savings, which is a must for the middle-class investor.