Guest Lecture by Mr. Shashank Pal (AVP Regional Head West)
SBI Funds Management Pvt. Ltd.


Profile: Mr. Shashank Pal is working in financial service industry since 1991. First seven years in Merchant Banking, Investment Banking Issued management and allied capital market activities. Since 1999 he is working in Mutual Fund Industry. He has worked across the country except south at various levels in various organizations. He has also worked for companies like SPA Capital Services Pvt. Ltd., Birla Sun Life AMC Ltd, and Sahara AMC Pvt Ltd. He is working with SBI AMC Pvt. Ltd. as Regional Head for last two years. He spends his free time doing oil painting and likes to spend time with Family.

Topic: Introduction to the world of Mutual Funds

An open-ended fund operated by an investment company which raises money from shareholders and invests in a group of assets, in accordance with a stated set of objectives. Mutual funds raise money by selling shares of the fund to the public, much like any other type of company can sell stock in itself to the public. Mutual funds then take the money they receive from the sale of their shares (along with any money made from previous investments) and use it to purchase various investment vehicles, such as stocks, bonds and money market instruments. In return for the money they give to the fund when purchasing shares, shareholders receive an equity position in the fund and, in effect, in each of its underlying securities. For most mutual funds, shareholders are free to sell their shares at any time, although the price of a share in a mutual fund will fluctuate daily, depending upon the performance of the securities held by the fund. Benefits of mutual funds include diversification and professional money management. Mutual funds offer choice, liquidity, and convenience, but charge fees and often require a minimum investment. A closed-end fund is often incorrectly referred to as a mutual fund, but is actually an investment trust. There are many types of mutual funds, including aggressive growth fund, asset allocation fund, balanced fund, blend fund, bond fund, capital appreciation fund, clone fund, closed fund, crossover fund, equity fund, fund of funds, global fund, growth fund, growth and income fund, hedge fund, income fund, index fund, international fund, money market fund, municipal bond fund, prime rate fund, regional fund, sector fund, specialty fund, stock fund, and tax-free bond fund. A mutual fund is simply a financial intermediary that allows a group of investors to pool their money together with a predetermined investment objective. The mutual fund will have a fund manager who is responsible for investing the pooled money into specific securities (usually stocks or bonds).