Best SIP Plans From UTI Mutual Fund

UTI, with its presence of almost 50 years as a leading financial institution in the country, till early 1990's was the sole vehicle facilitating investment in the capital markets. The company after incorporating several technological advancements is providing quick investment solution by way of eSmart (OTM) which is a hassle-free mode to kick start investment with the fund house. And if you are looking for some lucrative SIP options to start with the most trusted brand name, here are suggested some:

1. UTI Equity Fund Regular Plan- Growth: This mutual fund scheme by UTI has a large fund size of the order of Rs. 5272 crore as on March 31, 2018. The scheme will be apt for those with high penchant for risk as nearly 98% of the fund corpus is diverted or allocated to equity and the rest goes to debt and other instruments. Categorized as a large cap fund, the scheme tracks the benchmark S&P BSE 200 index.

The NAV of the open-ended fund as on May 16, 2018 is 136.73. In the diversified equity space, the fund has been awarded 4th rank by the Crisil. The 1-year returns from the fund has been 16% while 2-years return stand a tad higher at 17%.

Top holdings of the include companies such as Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank and Infosys amongst others. Individuals can begin a SIP in the fund through small amounts of Rs 500. The initial investment of course is Rs 5,000.

2. UTI Nifty Index Fund-Direct Plan: The fund scheme with a total assets under management of Rs. 862 crore as on April 30, 2018 managed to provide annual returns to the tune of 14.24% comparable to the return of its benchmark Nifty 50 Total return index. The return from the fund since its launch in the year 2013 stands at around 12%.

Categorised within the equity large cap segment, the fund includes large-cap stocks such as HDFC Bank, RIL, ITC, HDFC, Infosys etc. Investors can bet on the fund with a minimum SIP amount of Rs. 500, nonetheless the initial minimum investment is pegged at Rs. 5000.

3. UTI MNC Fund- Direct Plan: The scheme categorized as equity-others has a total assets under management of Rs. 2056 crore as on April 30, 2018. The one-year performance of the fund has provided returns of as much as 15.28% while 5-year returns are a good 22.50%. The last NAV of the plan under the growth option is Rs. 206.38.

This scheme by UTI tracks the benchmark Nifty MNC TRI which yielded a 1-year return of 23.92%. The fund's top holdings are in stocks such as HUL, Maruti Suzuki, Britannia Industries, Mphasis etc. You can start a SIP by investing a minimum of Rs 500 every month. However, the initial amount of investment that is needed is Rs 5,000.

4. UTI Hybrid Equity Fund Regular Plan-Growth: If you are looking for balanced decent returns with low risk, you can get on this fund by UTI. Previously referred as UTI Balanced, the fund has a total of Rs. 6,127 crore as assets under management and falls under the hybrid-equity oriented fund scheme.

The NAV of the plan under the growth plan is Rs. 168.38 and tracks the underlying benchmark CRISIL Hybrid 25 + 75 Aggressive index. Top holdings of the fund include companies such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, L&T, Infosys, ITC etc.

One-year return from the fund has been 6.8% while 5-year return has been 13.82%. For the scheme, the minimum investment amount is Rs. 1000 instead of the usual Rs. 5000 whereas minimum SIP amount is Rs. 500. Investors need to provide minimum 6 cheques for the SIP.

5. UTI Core Equity Fund Regular Plan-Growth: It is one of the fund manager's favourite funds from UTI mutual fund house and carries comparatively low risk. The total assets under the scheme equal to Rs. 976 crore as on April 30, 2018.
The scheme in the last one year has provided returns of as much as 7.18 while its 3 and 5-year returns are 9.08% and 14.61% respectively. The net asset value of the fund under the growth plan is Rs. 63.10. The fund tracks the benchmark NIFTY Large Midcap 250 Index. Investors can put in Rs. 5000 as minimum investment under the scheme while the SIP can be continued with as low as Rs. 500.
The fund's portfolio includes stocks such as M&M, L&T, ITC , Maruti Suzuki amongst others.

Interestingly, as the markets are trading at high levels, it shall be best to opt for a SIP plan to get the rupee cost averaging benefit as against investing lump sum amount in these funds. Also, as lesser number of fund units will now be recieved by the investor, they need to tone down their return expectations a bit.