A mutual fund is a collection of individual and institutional investors’ investments. Mutual funds require a staff of financial specialists to administer and create profits. As a result, the service is not free. ‘Load’ is another term for this cost. When a fund’s units are sold or redeemed, specific AMCs levy an exit load.
What Are Zero Exit Load Funds?
The business earns a charge when investors join or exit a mutual fund scheme. The term ‘load’ is used to denote the expense charged. An exit load fund is a fee or amount payable to an investor for withdrawing from a program as a participant.
The expenditure ratio does not include the exit burden. Investors can take their money out at any time. The goal of collecting this fee when investors leave a mutual fund scheme is to discourage them from doing so, reducing the number of mutual fund exits. Different mutual fund firms evaluate exit loads in different ways.
For instance, if you put Rs 1000 in mutual funds with a one-year lock term, you must only redeem this amount after one year. However, if a scenario forces you to remove your investment before the 9th month, you will be assessed an exit fee depending on your investment’s NAV.
Let’s pretend your mutual fund company doesn’t impose an exit load after the tenth month. It indicates that the exit load is not applicable if the investor decides to reduce their investment after the tenth month, regardless of whether the withdrawal occurred before one year.
How Is The Exit Load Calculated?
The mutual fund fees imposed as a proportion of the redemption amount at appropriate NAVs and the exit load duration are specified in the scheme’s exit load structure.
Assume a scheme imposes a 1% exit load on redemptions made within 365 days of the purchase date. Let’s say you buy 500 units of a program and redeem them 4 months later. Assume that the NAV is 100 rupees. The exit burden will be equal to 1% X 500 (units) X 100 (NAV) = Rs 500. This sum will be taken from the redemption proceeds deposited into your bank account. As a result, the amount received in your bank account for redemption will be Rs 49,500.
Why Should You Invest in Exit Load Mutual Funds?
The essential advantage of investing in zero exit load funds is the increase in your returns. At the time of premature redemption, even a little 1% of the exit load will make a noticeable difference. Worse, as your returns improve, the amount you lose will also rise. Let’s not even get started on several withdrawals. To avoid such profit loss, make investments in zero exit load funds.
Advantages of Exit Load Funds
- Offers higher returns – While a 2.25 percent entrance fee may appear insignificant, this amount is compounded when investing for the long run, and the total amount may be pretty significant over time.
- The whole amount is invested – If you choose a no-load fund, the total amount is invested in different equities, allowing the investor to get the benefits of the entire investment.
- No reliance on the broker – With the no-load fund, the investor may do their market research and make independent judgments about which companies to buy. The investor does not have to rely on the fund manager or broker or agent or investing distributor’s decisions.
Bottom Line
Since equity funds are structured for long-term investment goals, exit loads in mutual funds are frequently higher than those levied by debt funds. In actively managed stock funds, exit loads are common. On the other hand, many index funds do not charge exit fees.
ETFs are an excellent alternative if you invest in equity funds while incurring exit loads. Hybrid and arbitrage funds levy an exit load on early redemptions. According to the average investor, Arbitrage funds are only acceptable for short-term investments. On the other hand, most arbitrage funds charge exit fees on redemptions received within 15 to 30 days. An investor may consider storing their funds for at least one month or more to prevent an exit load on arbitrage funds.
