As an investor with a conservative risk profile, mutual funds can be a suitable investment product for you. Mutual funds are investment instruments that are suitable for both new investors and experienced investors. If you don’t have the time to monitor your investments, minimal knowledge about the world of investing, or want to diversify your investments, then mutual funds can be the right choice to help you grow your assets more easily and practically.

Before that, let’s learn more about mutual funds.

   I. What is a mutual fund?

Referring to Capital Market Law No. 8 of 1995, article 1 paragraph (27), a mutual fund is defined as a vehicle used to collect funds from investors, which are then invested in a securities portfolio by an investment manager.

   II. Advantages of Mutual Funds

Just like other investment instruments, Mutual Funds offer attractive potential returns for investors, including:

1. Relatively Small Capital

Starting a mutual fund investment requires less capital compared to other investment instruments, such as stocks, starting from IDR 10,000.

2. Managed by Professional Managers

If you have limited time and minimal knowledge about investment products, you can start investing through mutual funds. These investment products are managed by professional Investment Managers who have expertise in managing investor portfolios, so your investment will be safer because it is managed by experienced Investment Managers with a solid track record and who are registered with the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

3. Portfolio Diversification

What you need to know is that mutual fund investment products are not only placed in one security, but are also allocated to various securities, so that the risk is more diversified. This means that the risk of mutual funds is not as great as if you bought one or two types of securities individually.

4. Information Transparency

Mutual funds provide monthly performance information in fund fact sheets so that investors can track the performance of mutual funds at any time.

5. Tax Exempt

Mutual Fund profits are exempt from income tax (Article 4 paragraph (3) letter f number 1 point b of the Income Tax Law), as amended by Law No. 11 of 2020 (Job Creation Law) and its implementing regulation PP No. 9 of 2021.

   III. The Risk of Mutual Funds

Just like other investment instruments, mutual funds also carry investment risks, including:

1. Net Asset Value Decrease Risk

Even though mutual fund products are managed by investment managers, there are times when the investment manager’s selected portfolio experiences a decrease due to the effect of price declines in the market.

2. Risk of Dissolution or Liquidation

In accordance with Financial Services Authority (OJK) Regulation Number 4 of 2023 dated March 30 concerning the Second Amendment to Financial Services Authority Regulation Number 23/POJK.04/2016 on Mutual Funds in the Form of Collective Investment Contracts, mutual funds must be dissolved if the total Net Asset Value (NAV) falls below IDR 10,000,000,000.00 (ten billion Rupiah) for 120 consecutive trading days. Therefore, mutual funds carry a risk of dissolution.

3. Liquidity Risk

If the investors sell their mutual funds all at once, the Investment Manager will have difficulty providing cash immediately to pay off the mutual fund sales from the investors.

4. Economic and Political Change Risk

This risk is related to external factors and cannot be separated from economic and political factors, both globally and locally. Therefore, if there are certain regulatory changes in a country related to investment, this may affect existing mutual products.

Writer: Riska Novi Cahyani

Editor: Salsabila Wardhani & Yundira Putri Rahmadianti