MBA 2014-16 |

Background:
Mutual funds are generally operated by a company which collects
money from the general public and would invest the amounts in a
group of assets such as debentures, shares etc., The amounts are
invested as per the stated objectives of the customers (public). Mutual
funds are generally considered to be a substitutes to the people who
are not able to invest in the equity shares or debentures directly
because of the lack of the knowledge on the appropriate shares or time
constraints or resources. The major advantages of investing in the
mutual funds comes from diversification of funds and professional
money management.
Mutual funds are generally issued and measured in units. The
companies managing mutual funds are known as Asset Management
Companies (AMC). Mutual funds are issued and redeemed based on the
funds Net Asset Value (NAV). NAV is the result of value of all the units
held by the fund, minus expenses and also includes dividend by
number of units if any received. Mutual funds are generally considered
to be long term instruments but there are few exceptions like money
market mutual funds which are considered to be short time
instruments.
Similar to stock market mutual funds are also subjected to risk but with
a fair share of profits most of the times. Mutual funds are famous for
the consistency in the returns irrespective of the bullish or bearish
phases of the market. Even with the advantages of providing fair
returns or very negligible losses on investment in any market
situations mutual funds are still not investors favorites. There are
many investments options which are ahead of mutual funds in terms of
the peoples choice. Investments in Fixed deposits, Insurance policies,
National Savings Certificate, Public Provident Fund, and Stock Market
are ahead of mutual funds in terms of peoples choice.

Objective/Aim:
To focus on the factors influencing the consumer buying behavior of
working individuals on the mutual funds in three major cities in South
India vis--vis Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. And also to extend

our study on advising the Asset Management Companies to develop

better positioning strategies.

Problem Statement:
1) To find out the factors influencing the consumers while choosing
an investment scheme
2) What are the sources of information before choosing an
investment scheme?
3) What are features they look for while choosing a scheme?
4) What are the motivational views of the investors regarding the
different investment schemes?
5) How do the social and economic factors affect the investors in
choosing a scheme?
6) And to identify the major savings objective of an investor
7) Find out their priority in choosing mutual funds as an investment
option
8) Reasons/factors that impact their decisions in choosing mutual
funds

Approach:
The approach towards the project would be by conducting focused
group discussions and personal interviews conducted on working
professionals. The research is more of a qualitative approach as it
would lead us to understand the motivational, social and economic
factors that are driving investors while choosing an investment scheme
along with their list of priorities while choosing mutual funds.

http://business.mapsofindia.com/investment-industry/top-10investment-options.html