If you are one of those people who don’t like to invest directly in shares and gravitated towards mutual funds (as it does not include the hassle of monitoring your investment frequently),you need to re-evaluate your priorities immediately.

Sometime ago, I started investing in mutual funds as part of my evolving relationship with my money. Every year I decide to learn and implement something that puts me in a better place financially. I’ve always believed in the ” Never put all your eggs in one basket” concept and actively seek out ways to find additional (and most importantly ,legal) ways of earning more money– as a result, I taught myself about investing in mutual funds.

I learnt about SIPs,investing in mid-cap and multi-cap funds but the most important fact that missed my attention is something I am about to share with you — something that will resonate with you and make you think twice before choosing a mutual fund that simply gives you better returns.

You don’t get to choose the companies the fund manager selects to create a portfolio.

I know this is not an earth-shattering fact and this feature is actually considered to be the USP of mutual funds as it translates into risk distribution,but consider this– if you are someone who does not believe in,say, alcohol ,you might not want to be involved in promoting (directly or indirectly) alcohol consumption of any kind.

In my case I had invested in SBI FMCG  fund that had a certain percentage invested in United Breweries (which I found out much later). I did not want anything to do with United Breweries group after the Kingfisher Airlines debacle and so exited the fund.

There is no crime in a fund manager investing in profit-making companies but when given the choice to decide the direction of your investment, one would always opt for companies that are in sync with one’s values. Also, if you do want to invest in certain companies you can buy shares in them directly.

At the end of the day, people should educate themselves about investing while remaining thoughtful about how their money can make the wrong impact.