Project Report on

A Study on Investors’ Percipience about Mutual Fund

in the District of Nadia

Submitted for the degree of

Bachelor of Commerce
University of Kalyani

Author
Name: <YOUR NAME>
College: Dwijendralal College, Krishnanagar, Nadia
Class: B. Com. (Honours) 6th Semester
Roll No: <Your ADMIT Roll No Here>

Supervisor
Dr. Archan Nandi
Assistant Professor
Dwijendralal College, Krishnanagar, Nadia

1
 Certificate

Dr. Archan Nandi

Assistant Professor
Department of Commerce
Dwijendralal College, Krishnanagar, Nadia.

This is to certify that the Project Work titled “A Study on Investors’ Percipience about

Mutual Fund in the District of Nadia” is an original project work conducted by YOUR

NAME, a student of [Link]. (Honours) 6 th Semester, under my supervision for the purpose of

the degree of Bachelor of Commerce.

___________________________________
(Dr. Archan Nandi)
Project Supervisor
_________________________________
Countersigned by the H.O.D.
Department of Commerce
Dwijendralal College
Krishnanagar, Nadia

2
 Declaration

I do hereby declare that the Project Work titled “A Study on Investors’ Percipience about

Mutual Fund in the District of Nadia” is conducted by me under the Supervision of Dr.

Archan Nandi, Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, Dwijendralal College and is

submitted for the purpose of the degree of Bachelor of Commerce in the year 2023.

___________________________________
(Your Name)
Candidate
_________________________________
Countersigned by the H.O.D.
Department of Commerce
Dwijendralal College
Krishnanagar, Nadia

3
 Acknowledgements

I am grateful to my project supervisor Dr. Archan Nandi for helping me to complete

the project work in time. It was a good experience to work with him.

I am also grateful to all the teachers of my college. I have learned a lot from all of

them during the project work.

I am grateful the librarian of the college, for allowing to access to books and internet

facility as and when it was required. Without this, this study would not have been possible.

I also extend my gratitude to my fellow classmates, that all helped me in my study,

data collection, and throughout the process. What I have got my friends in invaluable in my

opinion.

4
INDEX:

SL. No. Content Page No.

i Title page 1
ii Certificate by the Project Supervisor 2
iii Self-declaration by the candidate 3
iv Acknowledgements 4
v Contents 5
vi List of tables 6
vii List of Figures 7
1 Introduction 8
1.1 Introduction 8
1.2 Framework of the Project 8
1.3 Objective of the study 9
1.4 Feasibility of the study 9
2 Conceptual Framework 10
2.1 Theoretical Aspects 10
2.2 Literature review 11
3 Data and Methodology 14
3.1 Data and Data Sources 14
3.2 Methodology 14
4 Analysis 16
5 Conclusion and Recommendations 24
5.1 Summarization 24
5.2 Conclusion 26
5.3 Recommendations 27
6 References 28
7 Appendix 30
7.1 Questionnaire 30

5
List of tables

Table No. Title of the Table Page No.

1 Educational Qualification of investors 16
2 Source of Information about Mutual Funds 17
3 Mode of investment in Mutual Fund 19
4 Preferred channel of Investment 20
5 Portfolio preference of the investors 21
6 Preference of Investors about invest in Sectorial Funds 23

6
List of Figures

Figure No. Figure title Page No.

1a Educational Qualification of investors 16
1b Educational Qualification of investors 17
2a Source of Information about Mutual Funds 18
2b Source of Information about Mutual Funds 18
3a Mode of investment in Mutual Fund 19
3b Mode of investment in Mutual Fund 19
4a Preferred channel of Investment 20
4b Preferred channel of Investment 21
5a Portfolio preference of the investors 22
5b Portfolio preference of the investors 22
6a Preference of Investors about invest in Sectorial Funds 23
6b Preference of Investors about invest in Sectorial Funds 23

7
 INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction:

The present time is a time where the small domestic investors are aware of the fact

that they should invest their savings in such a way that it can earn a return a return higher

than the rate generated by the conventional investment avenues like bank deposits or post

office savings certificates. In this context mutual fund nowadays is a very important and

dominant part of the avenues where the investment of the household investors goes.

But obviously not all the investors are aware that how they should choose between

different fund available in the market, and how they should compare between different

competing funds. Here comes the necessity of the methods, techniques and tools available for

this purpose. In this present study we will attempt to observe the investors’ Percipience about

the mutual fund in the district of Nadia.

1.1. Framework of the project:

The project is attempting to observe the investors Percipience about mutual fund in

the district of Nadia.

A sample of sixty investors of mutual fund in the district of Nadia had been selected

at random, and a questioner containing six questions has been placed in front of them. The

questions containing some level of personal information like educational qualification, as

well as some other questions relating to their investments like their preferred portfolio, their

preferred channel of investment, etc.

8
 The information so obtained has been tabulated and some simple statistical tools like

bar diagram, pie chart etc. has been applied on the tabulated data in order to obtain the

meaningful inferences.

1.2. Objectives of the Study:

The objectives of the current study are:

1. To understand the relation between educational qualification of the investors and

their investment propensity in mutual funds.

2. To understand how the different investment vehicles like AMCs, banks and

financial advisories work in the field of mutual fund.

3. To understand the tendency to take risk by the investors investing in mutual funds.

1.3. Feasibility of the study:

The project study is undertaken because of the following reasons:

1. Mutual funds are nowadays very popular among the investors, and so it is certain that

the topic is very relevant at the present time.

2. It is comparatively easier to collect the necessary data to undergo this projected study.

There are a number of people investing in mutual funds in the district of Nadia.

3. Mutual funds are within our syllabus. So an in-depth study in this area goes hand-to

hand with the curriculum of the university.

4. The collection of the data necessary to conduct the study does not involve much

problems. It is not very time consuming and at the same time does not involve a

significant amount of cash expenditure at the same time.

So, based on the above reasons, the topic is selected for the project work. It is duly approved

by the project supervisor as well.

9
 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

2.1. Theoretical Aspects:

Definition:

A mutual fund is a professionally-managed investment scheme, usually run by an

asset management company that brings together a group of people and invests their money in

stocks, bonds and other securities.

Description:

As an investor, one can buy mutual fund 'units', which basically represent the

investors’ share of holdings in a particular scheme. These units can be purchased or redeemed

as needed at the fund's current net asset value (NAV). These NAVs keep fluctuating,

according to the fund's holdings. So, each investor participates proportionally in the gain or

loss of the fund.

All the mutual funds are registered with SEBI. They function within the provisions of

strict regulation created to protect the interests of the investor.

The biggest advantage of investing through a mutual fund is that it gives small investors

access to professionally-managed, diversified portfolios of equities, bonds and other

securities, which would be quite difficult to create with a small amount of capital.

10
2.2 Literature Review:

Review of some of the studies is presented in the following discussion: -

Jayadev (1996) evaluated the performance of two growth-oriented mutual funds

namely Master gain and Magnum express by using monthly returns. Jensen, Sharpe and

Treynor measures have been applied in the study and the pointed out that according

to Jensen and Treynor measure Mastergain have performed better and the performance of

Magnum was poor according to all three measures.

Afza and Rauf (2009) in their study of open-ended Pakistani mutual funds’

performance using the quarterly data for the period of 1996-2006. The study measures the

fund performance by using Sharpe ratio with the help of pooled time-series and cross

sectional data and also focused on different attributes such as fund size, expenses, age,

turnover and liquidity. The results found significant impact on fund performance.

Debasish (2009) studied the performance of selected schemes of mutual funds

based on risk and return models and measures. The study covered the period from April

1996 to March 2005 (nine years). The study revealed that Franklin Templeton and UTI

were the best performers and Birla Sun life, HDFC and LIC mutual funds showed poor

performance.

Ali, Naseem and Rehman (2010) in their study examined the performance of 10

mutual funds in which 5 were conventional and 5 were Islamic for the period from 2006

to 2008 by using Sharpe and Treynor measures. The results found that the funds of

Pakistan were able to add more value either conventional or Islamic. The study also found

11
that some of the funds were underperformed, so these funds were facing diversification

problems during the study period.

Garg (2011) examined the performance of top ten mutual funds that was

selected on the basis of previous years return. The study analysed the performance on

the basis of return, standard deviation, beta as well as Treynor, Jensen and Sharpe indices.

The study also used Charhart’s four-factor model for analyse the performance of mutual

funds. The results revealed that Reliance Regular Saving Scheme Fund had achieved the

highest final score and Canara Robecco Infra had achieved the lowest final score in the

one-year category.

Sondhi and Jain (2010) examined the market risk and investment performance of

equity mutual funds in India. The study used a sample of 36 equity fund for a period of 3

years. The study examined whether high beta of funds have actually produced high returns

over the study period. The study also examined that open-ended or close ended categories,

size of fund and the ownership pattern significantly affect risk-adjusted investment

performance of equity fund. The results of the study confirmed with the empirical evidence

produced by Fama (1992) that high beta funds (market risks) may not necessarily produced

high returns. The study revealed that the category, size and ownership have been

significantly determinant of the performance of mutual funds during the study period.

Prabakaran and Jayabal (2010) evaluated the performance of mutual fund

schemes. The study conducted a sample of 23 schemes were chosen as per the priority

given by the respondents in Dharmapuri district covered a period from April 2002 to

March 2007. The study used the methodology of Sharpe, Jensen and Fama for the

12
performance evaluation of mutual funds. The results of the study found that 13 schemes out

of 23 schemes selected had superior performance than the benchmark portfolio in terms of

Sharpe ratio, 13 schemes had superior performance of Treynor ratio and 14 schemes had

superior performance according to Jensen Measure. The Fama’s measure in the study that

the returns out of diversification were less. Thus the India Mutual funds were not properly

diversified.

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 DATA AND METHODOLOGY

3.1. Data and Data sources:

The data are collected in order to perform the project study are secondary data. A

random sample of people of the district of Nadia who are investors of Mutual Funds has been

taken and a questioner has been placed in front of them. The response of those people

constructed the data for this study.

3.2. Methodology:

The data has been analysed using simple statistical tools and techniques. These are as

follows:

 Bar Diagram

 Pie Chart

 Tables

A bar diagram is a method of presenting data in which frequencies are displayed

along one axis and categories of the variable along the other. Here the frequencies are

represented by the bar length.

On the other hand, a pie chart is a circular chart divided into wedge-like sectors,

illustrating proportion. Each wedge represents a proportionate part of the whole, and the total

value of the pie is always 100 percent. Pie charts can make the size of portions easy to

understand at a glance. They're widely used in business presentations and education to show

the proportions among a large variety of categories including expenses, segments of a

population, or answers to a survey.

14
 A statistical table is a simple form of presenting statistical data. The collected

statistical data are presented in rows and columns according to some definite rules in the

tables.

15
 ANALYSIS

The analysis part of the study is dealing with the tabulation of the results obtained

from the questioner supplied to the sample population, presenting the tabulated data in

different forms of bar diagrams and pie charts and making the responses of the sample

population easier to infer.

The first question was about the educational qualification of the investors.

Table 1: Educational Qualification of investors

Educational Qualification of investors

Qualification Number
Post Graduate 30
Graduate 24
Under Graduate 6

Educational Qualification of investors

30

24

Post Graduate Graduate Under Graduate

Figure 1a: Educational Qualification of investors

16
 Educational Qualification of Investors

Post Graduate Graduate Under Graduate

Figure 1b: Educational Qualification of investors

Out of sixty persons, 30 has been found to be post graduates, the number of graduates

is 24 and the rest are having a qualification below graduation.

1. The Second question was about the source of the information, how the investors

came to know about the mutual funds as an investment option.

Table 2: Source of Information about Mutual Funds

Source of information No. of Respondents

Advertisement 25
Peer Group 15
Bank 12
Financial Advisors 8

17
 Source of Informati on
30

25

20

15

10

0
Advertisement Peer Group Bank Financial Advisors

Figure 2a: Source of Information about Mutual Funds

Source of Information

13% Advertisement
Peer Group
42% Bank
20% Financial Advisors

25%

Figure 2b: Source of Information about Mutual Funds

Here we observe that most of the investors (42%) came to know about the mutual

funds from advertisements. It is followed by peer group (25%), Banks (20%) and Financial

Advisors (13%). So it is obvious that advertisement plays a major role in the mutual fund

market.

2. The third question was about the mode of investment. Whether they prefer one

time investments or Strategic Investment Plan (SIP).

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Table 3: Mode of investment in Mutual Fund

Mode Of Investment

One Time SIP

45 15

Mode of Investment
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
One Time SIP
Mode Of Investment

Figure 3a: Mode of investment in Mutual Fund

Mode of Investment

Mode Of Investment One Time Mode Of Investment SIP

Figure 3b: Mode of investment in Mutual Fund

19
 Here we observe that most of the investors prefer one time investment than SIP. Three

fourth of the total 60 people included in the sample has preferred one time investment over

SIP.

3. The fourth question was about the channel of investment in mutual fund they

prefer the most. The responses came like:

Table 4: Preferred channel of Investment

Preferred Channel of Investment

Channel No. Of respondents
AMC 32
Bank 17
Financial Advisor 11

Preferred Channel of In-

vestment
35

30

25

20

15

10

0
No. Of respondents

AMC Bank Financial Advisor

Figure 4a: Preferred channel of Investment

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 Here we notice that most of the investors prefer Asset management Companies in

order to perform the investment, with 32 responses. Banks and Financial Advisors has got the

second and third places respectively, with 17 and 11 responses respectively.

Preferred Channel of
Investment
Financial
Advisor;
11

AMC; 32

Bank; 17

AMC Bank Financial Advisor

Figure 4b: Preferred channel of Investment

4. The fifth question was about the portfolio preference of the investors. Here we

have noticed a situation which has been presented below:

Table 5: Portfolio preference of the investors

Portfolio preference No. of Investors

Equity 10
Debt 12
Balanced 38

21
 Portf olio Preference of Investors
40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0
Equity Debt Balanced

Figure 5a: Portfolio preference of the investors

It has been noticed that most of the investors (38 out of 60) has preferred the balanced

funds. The Equity funds has been preferred by 11 people and the debt fund has been preferred

by 12 people.

Figure 5b: Portfolio preference of the investors

22
5. Finally, it has been asked in the questioner that whether they would prefer to

invest in sectoral funds. The responses obtained from the sample population is as

followed:

Table 6: Preference of Investors about invest in Sectorial Funds

Preference of Investors about invest in Sectorial Funds

Response No. of Respondents
Yes 8
No 52

Preference of Investors whether to

invest in Sectorial

No 52

Yes 8

Figure 6a: Preference of Investors about invest in Sectorial Funds

23
 Preference of Investors whether to invest in Sec-
torial Funds

13%

87%

Yes No

Figure 6b: Preference of Investors about invest in Sectorial Funds

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This part of the project study deals with the summarization of the analysis and

findings as per the part four of the project report. It also provides some recommendation to

the target audience of the project, as well as the general investors of mutual funds.

5.1. Summarization:

From the study we have found a lot of information. Let us summarize the findings at

the first step.

From Table 1, we see that the half of the sample size is having an educational

qualification of post-graduation, which is 30. At the same time, the number of graduates are

also remarkably high, which is 24. Only six people we have found in the random sample who

are having an educational qualification below graduation.

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 This view is nicely depicted in Figure 1a and figure 1B as well, and we vividly notice

that the proportion of higher educated people in the mutual fund market than they have a

comparatively lower academic qualification.

This view provides an idea that the education plays a greater role in mutual fund

investment.

From Table 2, we see that advertisement plays a great role in the mutual fund market.

25 out of 60 persons came to know about the mutual funds from the advertisements.

Peer groups and Banks also play a major role in this field. Out of 60, 15 people came

to know about the mutual funds from their peers; whereas 12 of them came to know about it

from banks.

The financial advisors have underperformed in this regard, they booked only 8

persons which is reasonably low compared to the other sources.

The Figures 2a and 2b also depicts the same view, which is that the advertisement

wins and financial advisors underperform in bringing new customer-base in the mutual fund

market.

From Table 3, it is clearly noticeable that three fourth of the sample size, which is 45

out of 60 persons have preferred One Time Investment Plans over the Strategic Investment

Plans. Which is also supported in the figures 3a and 3b. Only 15 people of this sample have

opted for SIP.

25
 This information gives a fair conception that, at least in the geographical part in which

this study have been performed, One Time Investment Plans play a greater role than the SIPs.

From Table 4, we see that more than 50% of the sample size, which is 32 people out

of 60, opts for AMCs as their preferred investment channel. The Banks have secured the

second place with 17, and the financial advisors have obtained the third place again, with

only 11 people preferring them.

It gives a clear sense that the financial advisors have continued to underperform in

this part of the globe, as far as the mutual fund market is concerned.

The figure 4a and the Figure 4b has also depicted the same picture graphically, a

scenario of underperformance by the financial advisors once again.

From table 5, we see that nearly two-third (38 out of 60) of the sample size have

preferred a balanced portfolio over an equity or debt fund; whereas 12 persons have opted for

a debt fund and 10 persons have opted for equity fund.

This view, that the balanced funds are more preferred by the investors than the debt

funds and the equity funds have been clearly depicted in figure 5a and 5b as well.

From Table 6, it is strikingly clear that the investors are not willing to invest in sector

specific funds. 52 out of sixty people of the sample have said a clear no to the sector specific

funds, and only 8 people have said that they have investments in sector specific funds.

26
 We see this scenario in figure 6a and figure 6b as well, that the investors are not

agreeing to take a higher degree of risk by investing in mutual funds.

This situation leads to a Percipience that the investors of mutual funds are not readily

willing to assume a higher level of risk, and so they are avoiding the risky medium of

investment like sector specific mutual funds.

5.2 Conclusion:

From the above study, these conclusions may be arrived at:

1. Education level of the investor and investment in mutual fund is apparently having a

steady relationship. People having higher level of education is preferring to invest in

mutual funds in a greater rate than the people not having a higher level of education.

2. Advertisement plays the most important role in the marketing of mutual fund

schemes. People becomes aware about the schemes of mutual funds by

advertisements in a higher rate than the other ways.

3. The investors prefer One Time Investment Plans at a greater level than the SIP

schemes.

4. While investing in mutual funds, AMCs are the first choice of the investors, and then

it comes the banks.

5. The investors prefer the balanced funds than the all-equity funds or the all-debt funds.

6. The investors of mutual fund don’t want the additional market risks associated with

the sector specific mutual funds.

5.3. Recommendations:

27
On the basis of the above study, the following recommendations may be done:

1. The financial advisories are underperforming, and this scenario has been noticed

continuously in this study. So, the financial advisors has a wide range of the market to

be explored, and thus the market of mutual fund may spread even in an accelerated

rate.

2. The investor awareness programmes may help the people having a comparative less

level of education to play confidently in the market of mutual funds, which will

definitely add some positive count to the market.

3. Floating more balanced funds may attract more investors to the mutual funds.

REFERENCES:

Ali, Rizwan., Naseem, Muhammad Akram and Rehman, Ramiz Ur (2010). Performance

Evaluation of Mutual Funds. Social Science Research Network Online Publication

10 May, Available at SSRN: [Link]

Afza, Talat and Rauf, Ali (2009). Performance Evaluation of Pakistani Mutual Fund.

Pakistani Economic and Social Review, 47(2), 199-214

Debasish, Sathya Swaroop (2009). Investigating Performance of Equity-based Mutual

FundSchemes in Indian Scenario. KCA Journal of Business Management, 2(2), 1-

15.

28
Garg, Sanjay (2011). A Study on Performance Evaluation of Selected Indian Mutual

Funds. International Journal of Innovation Creativity and Management (IJICM),

1(1), 1-10.

Jayadev, M (1996). Mutual Fund Performance: An Analysis of Monthly Returns. Finance

India, 10 (1), 73-84.

Kundu, Abhijit (2009). Stock Selection Performance of Mutual Funds Managers in India:

An Empirical Study. Journal of Business and Economic Issues, 1(1) 59-73.

Prabakaran, G and Jayabal, G (2010). Performance Evaluation of Mutual Fund Schemes in

India: An Empirical Study. Finance India, 24 (4), 1347-1363.

Sondhi, H.J and Jain, P.K (2010). Market Risk and Investment Performance of Equity

Mutual Funds in India: Some Empirical Evidence. Finance India, XXIV (2), 443-
464.

Shanmugham, R and Zabiulla (2011). Stock Selection Strategies of Equity Mutual

Fund Schemes in India. Middle Eastern Finance and Economics, ISSN 1450-2889,

Issue 11, 19-28.

Websites:

www. [Link]

[Link]

[Link]

29
 [Link]

[Link]

Appendix

7.1. Questionnaire

1. What is your educational qualification?

 Post Graduate
 Graduate
 Under Graduate

2. What is the source you came to know about Mutual Funds

 Advertisement
 Peer Groups

30
  Banks
 Financial Advisories

3. What is your preferred mode of investment

 One Time Plan

 SIP

4. What is your preferred channel of Investment?

 AMCs
 Banks
 Financial Advisors

5. What is your preferred portfolio?

 Equity
 Debt
 Balanced

6. Your preference to invest in sectoral funds:

 Yes
 No

31