Do you fancy buying a small bar that contains oil, water and lye (sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide), and synthetic fragrance? Don’t scratch your head, we’re talking about soap. Now, would you buy a lavender soap that promises to refresh and revitalize you? You may be tempted.
Put it another way: would you prefer a product that invests in top 100 companies by market capitalisation, that are researched using complex ratios such as price-earnings multiple, return on net worth, and price-to-book value? Or would you buy a scheme that gives you enough money to send your daughter to a postgraduate college when she turns 21, without having to take a loan? In both the cases, we’re talking about a mutual fund scheme. The difference is: the former is a product, the latter is a solution. That’s the issue that the Rs22.41 trillion Indian mutual funds industry is trying to address: should it sell you products or dreams?
