Smallcase vs Mutual Funds: Points of Comparison

1. Exercise Control

Investing in Smallcases potentially offers investors better control over securities as the shares are credited directly in the demat account. Having the portfolio right at your fingertips allows you to time your exit and know where each investment goes, which isn’t possible with mutual funds; you can cherry-pick which mutual fund you want to invest in, but the customization ends there.

2. Risk Mitigation Mechanisms

Smallcases are thematic investments; they invest in companies and securities that follow an underlying strategy or idea. For example, there can be a Smallcase that focuses on Clean Energy companies or fast-growing tech companies that focus on enterprise software integrations. Since these ideas are highly specific, diversification is restricted. For those intent on diversification, mutual funds offer a basket of good companies that are related by larger themes such as industry type and revenue benchmarks that may be a better hedge against volatility over several business cycles.

3.Cost of Leaving

In mutual funds, there is an in-built penalty for liquidating your assets before the minimum stipulated time- this expense is called the expense load which ranges from 1-2% of the total investment. Typically, all mutual fund houses adjust this amount against the net asset value (NAV) of the fund. Smallcases, by design, allow investors to buy individual units of securities that are directly credited in the demat account like common shares. Since there is no exit load on selling shares, there is no exit load on selling smallcases.

4. Management Fee

Any asset allocation structure is only as good as the people managing it, i.e., the fund manager- who in these cases is typically someone who holds high repute in the financial markets. Understandably, this expertise attracts a certain cost, apart from the cost of monitoring and managing the fund. In the case of mutual funds, this cost, called the expense ratio, is a percentage of the total fund value, capped at 2.5% by SEBI. Smallcases have no fixed range – the cost differs from case to case and RIA to RIA, depending on the nature and theme of the basket of investments. For example, TejiMandi charges just Rs 199/month for its smallcases!

5. Access to Returns

Smallcases give investors direct access to their holdings since the shares are directly credited to their demat account. Hence, all corporate actions such as dividend distribution as well as the issue of bonus shares take place directly with the investors. In the case of mutual funds, the returns are collected in real-time but distributed quarterly.

6.Volatility

Due to the nature of the theme-wide concentration of Smallcases, they are typically more volatile than the stock market in general since the risk is concentrated in a specific strategy or idea. However, as one of the fundamental principles of finance states – the higher the risk, the higher is your potential for gains. Mutual funds, on the other hand, spread the risk across companies working in different areas even if the fund is concentrated in a specific industry. Hence, the latter is more resilient during market ups and downs.

Closing Thoughts

As far as investments as concerned, asset allocation structures are as effective as the investor’s understanding of their goals. Both Smallcase and mutual funds are excellent avenues for growing wealth and intelligent investors should use these tools judiciously to their benefit. Where mutual funds provide the diversification a portfolio might need, Smallcases are conveniently packaged customizable investments in simple ideas that could return well over time.