NRI (UK) mutual fund investment advice

#1
Hi

Can anyone please advice or share their experience on NRI investment platforms in mutual funds?

1. SBI offers offline - Rs 200 per application. Is offline very complicated? How do I track total NAV of SIP's in offline?
2. I need something online wherein I can see my total NAV for SIP
3. Do I need Demat and PINS for mutual funds too (besides stocks)?

Thanks

H
 

milind

Active Member
#2
Hi

Can anyone please advice or share their experience on NRI investment platforms in mutual funds?

1. SBI offers offline - Rs 200 per application. Is offline very complicated? How do I track total NAV of SIP's in offline?
2. I need something online wherein I can see my total NAV for SIP
3. Do I need Demat and PINS for mutual funds too (besides stocks)?

Thanks

H
Hi H,

Why ruin? I hope you mean prosper! :)

Coming to your questions, here is what I would suggest.

1. Apply for PAN, if you don't have it already.
2. Take care of KYC requirements. cvlindia has information about how to do it.
3. Have an NRE account
4. Select the MFs you want to invest in. Select those who allow online access e.g. HDFC, Reliance, Sundaram etc. Refer to valueresearch if needed.
5. Do initial investment in chosen fund(s) by filling up the paper form, attaching your check and PAN/KYC proof and give it directly to the AMC office. Provide your bank details on the form so that funds deposit/withdraw is seamless.
6. After you have the folio(s) created, fill up respective PIN agreement forms and submit to the AMC.
7. When PIN is received - you are all set.

You don't need any middlemen like ICICIDIrect or SBI to buy MFs. You do not need DEMAT or PINS (this is the one required to invest in equities, right?) to invest in MFs. Money invested through NRE accounts is repatriable.

Hope it helps.

-- Milind
 
#3
Awesome.... you have made my job so much easier..... you have answered all my questions in one that 10's of brokers/banks didn't give me in their emails.

I really appreciate.... thanks Milind.

Just one question, if I am investing with different direct AMC's, than for every AMC's I will have different online account.... is that correct?

Thanks once again....
 

yodlee99

Active Member
#4
If I understand you correctly, I think the answer is Yes. You have to set up a online account with your Folio # with each AMC separately, but you have to do it only once. If you investing via SIP, you have to give them 1 cheque and they will track your bank/account from the cheque leaflet and take money every month/week, however you specify.

I have a follow-up question on this. Suppose a person sets this up with HDFC for a monthly SIP in say, HDFC Top 200. But after 1 or 2 years, he changes his mind and wants to invest in HDFC Prudence fund, how will he do it? Does he have to visit the HDFC fund office personally with a cheque leaflet again, or can he do it online ? For NRI, visiting offices personally won't be possible every time.

Thanks!
 

milind

Active Member
#5
If I understand you correctly, I think the answer is Yes. You have to set up a online account with your Folio # with each AMC separately, but you have to do it only once. If you investing via SIP, you have to give them 1 cheque and they will track your bank/account from the cheque leaflet and take money every month/week, however you specify.

I have a follow-up question on this. Suppose a person sets this up with HDFC for a monthly SIP in say, HDFC Top 200. But after 1 or 2 years, he changes his mind and wants to invest in HDFC Prudence fund, how will he do it? Does he have to visit the HDFC fund office personally with a cheque leaflet again, or can he do it online ? For NRI, visiting offices personally won't be possible every time.

Thanks!
Correct, you will have a separate folio (== account) at each AMC. Once you open a folio, set up the online access and have your NRE accounted connected to the folio - everything else including start and stop of SIPs at that AMC can be done online. BTW, my experience is primarily with STPs - I move the funds into some short term debt fund and then do weekly STP into equity fund. But SIP must be similar.

-- Milind
 
#7
The SIP forms of AMC's tend to have start and end month.

My Questions:

1. What if I wish to carry on the monthly payments with no end month in mind?

2. IF I put end month, and I wish to carry on making payments in the fund beyond the end month, what happens or how do I do this?

3. If I wish to close the mutual fund before the end month, how do I do that?

Thanks

H
 

yodlee99

Active Member
#8
It is better if you invest for 12 months and then review your portfolio. If needed, you can change it after an year. Hopefully, you should have funds that perform to your satisfaction at the end of an year and you can continue with it. If not, 1year is a good enough time to decide whether you want to continue with further SIP.
At the end of your SIP term, you can restart your SIP for another term.
Also, you can cancel SIP anytime. However, it is better to do so atleast 1 week before SIP is triggered. In the case of ICICI, I get an email almost 5 days before the SIP gets triggered and I cannot cancel it after that. Hope this is clear.... once you sign up, it is pretty convenient to use. Also, you don't need PINS or demat account for investing in mutual funds.
 
#9
It is better if you invest for 12 months and then review your portfolio. If needed, you can change it after an year. Hopefully, you should have funds that perform to your satisfaction at the end of an year and you can continue with it. If not, 1year is a good enough time to decide whether you want to continue with further SIP.
At the end of your SIP term, you can restart your SIP for another term.
Also, you can cancel SIP anytime. However, it is better to do so atleast 1 week before SIP is triggered. In the case of ICICI, I get an email almost 5 days before the SIP gets triggered and I cannot cancel it after that. Hope this is clear.... once you sign up, it is pretty convenient to use. Also, you don't need PINS or demat account for investing in mutual funds.
Thank you Yodlee.

So the AMC's normally inform.. that is good.

Is it possible to increase or decrease the SIP amount too... or it stays fixed for the term mentioned in the form?
 
#10
When you sign up with AMCs, ask them if they will send you an email intimation before every SIP and also if its possible to change the SIP amount. In my understanding, the amount is fixed and you cannot change it on the go. If you have extra cash, just dump it in a liquid fund or a MIP fund. Read about HDFC's Flex STP also.

An alternative: I know a round about way to go about it. For eg., lets suppose you can put down 7500Rs per month into a fund for sure and sometimes 10000Rs per month. In that case, set up a 4 individual SIPs of 2500Rs, 1 week apart from each other, say on every 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th of each month (BTW, you can get a slightly better cost averaging). Whenever you have the entire 10000Rs in your account, let all 4 SIPs trigger that month. But if you have only 7500Rs that month, either add extra 2500Rs before the 4th SIP could trigger or cancel it altogether. One drawback is that you have to set up the 4th SIP once it stands canceled. Don't do it for more than 1 fund because you might forget it and it might trigger without sufficient funds in your account.
 

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