Now, investors can opt new online platforms to save 2% entry load

PFW Bureau / April 10

The retail investors can save upto two per cent entry load on the mutual fund schemes as the fund houses are floating new online plateforms for the investors to invest directly through online. Fidelity India is the first fund house to launch a special online initiative for the investors to buy and sell MF schemes. 

The fund houses want to take the benefit of the new regulatory norms to tap investors through the online initiatives. According to the new norms, the investors need not pay the entry load on the MF schemes if they invest directly through online platform. They can save one to two and half per cent entry load on the direct investments which include online investments and at the counter of the fund houses.

In line with the new regulatory norms, Fidelity India launched  Fidelity Online  - www.fidelity.co.in -  a financial gateway that will help investors to learn and plan as well as transact and track their investments in Fidelity funds. The investors will be able to invest, redeem and switch their lumpsum and SIP investments online following a short registration process.

Ashu Suyash, country head and managing director, Fidelity Fund Management, said that “with Fidelity Online, we have taken the next step in developing alternate channels to enhance customer choice and convenience whether he is looking for information or to transact. We are now able to give our investors greater ease in managing their Fidelity portfolios from anywhere, anytime. Whether it is viewing valuations of their portfolios or conducting transactions, Fidelity investors now have the option of doing so at their convenience.”

Some of the investor-friendly features of Fidelity Online include:

-     Investors will be able to view and transact under one single ID by linking all  folios
- Payment gateway with 14 banks for lumpsum investments and 10 banks for SIP investments for  a direct debit facility
- Transactions on joint holdings possible (provided both holders have registered)
-     - Completely secure site with a two-level authentication

In addition, routine account management, such as obtaining account statements, checking valuations, comparing benchmarks and updating user profile has also become easier. Fidelity Online also has interesting financial tools for investors like my plan which is an interactive, easy-to-use calculator to help investors with their financial planning, a SIP calculator and a Learning Centre that offers insights on investing.

All the major fund houses including Reliance Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and UTI Mutual Fund have beef-up their existing online platforms.

A financial services and broking firm, Bonanza Portfolio has also launched an online portal which will  enable the investors to invest in the MF schemes through this portal.