Mutual fund as an investment choice is increasingly being accepted by more and more investors across the country. From millennials to senior citizens, from retail to high net worth investors (HNI), from conservative to aggressive investors are making use of this investment alternative to diversify their savings across equity and debt asset classes in order to generate high inflation-adjusted return in the long run.
For do-it-yourself (DIY) investors who want to invest in MF schemes on their own, MF Utility (MFU) is an online platform initiated by the Mutual Fund industry under the aegis of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The MFU is purely a ‘Transaction Aggregation Portal’ through which a mutual fund investor may transact in multiple schemes across mutual funds using a single form and a single payment.
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Before one starts to invest through the MFU online, the investor needs to get a Common Account Number (CAN). The CAN can either be generated by a duly signed physical CAN Registration Form (CRF) along with documentary proofs to an intermediary associated with MFU or at an MFU Point of Service (POS) or by generating eCAN electronically, immediately upon submission of the data online either at the MFU website or through an intermediary associated with MFU.
Once registered and after the CAN is generated and the initial login credentials received from MFU, one needs to visit https://www.mfuonline.com/ and start investing. One can also download the MFU online app titled ‘Transact in Mutual Funds -goMF’ from the Google Play Store or ‘goMF by MF Utilities’ from the Apple App Store. Mutual fund investors who have a Common Account Number and online access, can make use of this app to transact online and even view their unit holdings.
More than the transactional features, the MFU also offers 24/7 information access including Online Common Account Statement, Composite Portfolio information, Portfolio holding and scheme related information. It also offers industry level value-added services like alerts, triggers, reminders etc., allowing investors to monitor and manage their investments more effectively.
The payments for subscriptions may be done through net banking, NEFT, RTGS or PayEezz. For SIP based transactions, MF Utility follows the PayEezz mode for which one needs to register separately. For Net Banking Payments, the investors will be redirected to their Net Banking site for payment.
What’s more, MF Online provides a single platform to access different MF schemes across various fund houses and allows investments both in the Regular plan and Direct plan. But, before you start investing through MFU Online, zero in on the right MF schemes based on their long term consistent performance. For DIY investors, selection of the right scheme will go a long way in determining the final corpus amount over the long term.
