Scribox, Fundsindia and ZIPSIP – Which is the best mutual fund platform for SIP?
Last week there was a request from one of the blog readers indicating which is the best platform to invest mutual funds SIP’s among Scripbox, Fundsindia and ZIPSIP of Myuniverse? While the answer is not plain simple, I thought I can provide features, pros and cons about all these products at one place. What are the pros and cons of investing through Scripbox? What are the positives and negative factors of investing in Fundsindia? Does ZIPSIP from Myuniverse is a better mutual fund platform to invest your mutual fund SIP’s?
Before I jump into which is good and which is not, let us first check what they all about and what their features are.
a) About Scripbox Mutual fund platform
Scripbox is a mutual fund platform where automated mutual fund recommendations are given and investors can invest in pre-defined mutual fund portfolio. It claims that it is India’s most advanced investment platform.
Features of Scripbox Mutual fund platform
- It offers a mutual fund investment platform where one can invest with zero transaction fees.
- Scripbox would get trial fees from mutual fund companies directly. Such trial fees are paid by the mutual fund company through their AMC charges. No extra charges for mutual fund investors.
- Scripbox would recommend a portfolio of 8 mutual funds. 4 are equity funds which are mostly large cap funds, 2 are debt fund and 2 are tax saving mutual funds.
- I heard from some of the readers that it allows to invest in own funds other than these 8 mutual fund schemes.
How does the Scripbox mutual fund platform work exactly?
- Scripbox recommends only 8 mutual funds to be part of the portfolio.
- 4 mutual funds are for long terms of > 5 years.
- 2 short term mutual funds for < 5 years
- 2 tax saving mutual funds.
- Scripbox would review these funds every year and make changes. It would allow you to sell any dropped mutual funds and reinvest the withdrawn amount in new funds.
- Currently Scripbox recommends 4 equity diversified funds, i.e. SBI Blue Chip Fund, ICICI Pru Value Discovery fund, Kotak Select Focus and UTI equity fund.
- Scripbox recommends 2 debt funds, i.e. Birla Sunlife Dynamic Bond fund and Reliance money manager fund. I have been investing in these funds for several years for my liquidity / short term money.
- Scripbox recommends 2 ELSS tax saver funds, i.e. Axis long term equity fund and DSP BR Tax Saver Fund. I have been recommending these good ELSS Mutual funds for several years on this blog.
How Scripbox select its funds?
- It claims to select funds based on various parameters.
- Select funds based on growth options.
- Eliminate small funds to avoid sudden redemption pressure.
- Funds that have good performance records of over 5 years.
- Diversified mutual funds only
- Funds that are highly ranked compared to benchmark.
- Limiting funds from a single mutual fund company.
- If you observe, most of the parameters are considered by me when I recommend a mutual fund scheme. The big difference is they are recommending only diversified funds, including large cap. However, if you want to get good returns from your portfolio based on your risk appetite, you need to add mid-cap/small cap funds, balanced funds and sector based funds in your portfolio. This is the biggest drawback in Scripbox portfolio recommendations.
b) About Fundindia Mutual fund platform
Now, let us come to Fundsindia mutual fund platform.
- This too offers a mutual fund investment platform where one can invest which zero transaction fees.
- Fundsindia would get trial fees from mutual fund companies directly. Such trial fees are paid by the mutual fund company through their AMC charges. No extra charges for mutual fund investors.
- Fundindia would recommend a portfolio of 3-4 mutual funds based on selected financial goal like a child's education, retirement, wealth builder etc.,
- One can invest in own funds.
Also Read: Is it safe to invest in Fundsindia mutual fund platform?
How does Fundsindia mutual fund platform work exactly?
Fundsindia recommends mutual funds based on the financial goal selection.
Children Education: If you select this portfolio recommendation, Fundsindia would recommend 3 mutual funds to invest, equity, balanced and debt fund. Here are the current recommendations from them.
- Franklin India Blue Chip – 40%
- HDFC Balanced fund – 40%
- Birla SL Dynamic Bond fund Chip – 20%
If you want to earn Rs 10 Lakhs for child education (as an example) in 10 years, it indicates that an approx Rs 4,900 per month to be invested.
Retirement planning: If you select this portfolio recommendation, Fundsindia would recommend 4 mutual funds to invest, 2 equity funds and 2 debt funds. Here are the current recommendations from them.
- Franklin India Blue Chip – 40%
- UTI Opportunities fund – 20%
- HDFC MIP fund – 20%
- Birla SL Dynamic Bond fund Chip – 20%
If you want to earn Rs 1 Crore for retirement in 10 years (as an example), it indicates that an approx Rs 50,000 per month to be invested.
Wealth Builder: If you select this portfolio recommendation, Fundsindia would recommend 4 mutual funds to invest, 2 equity funds and 2 debt fund. Here are the current recommendations from them.
- ICICI Focussed Blue Chip fund – 30%
- Miral Asset India Opps fund – 30%
- Birla SL Dynamic Bond fund Chip – 20%
- HDFC Medium Term Opps fund – 20%
If you want to earn Rs 1 Crore for retirement in 10 years (as an example), it indicates that an approx Rs 50,000 per month to be invested.
Views on Fundindia portfolio
If you observe, even fundsindia does not recommend mid-cap/small cap, balanced funds and sector based funds. However, such funds should be made part of your portfolio based on your risk appetite to grow your money faster.
c) ZIPSIP – Myuniverse – Mutual fund platform
Now let us quickly run through ZIPSIP Myuniverse mutual fund platform. This is part of Aditya Birla Money.
- Zipsip offers investors to invest in mutual funds in predefined portfolio.
- It would recommend a mutual fund portfolio based on your age, risk appetite and financial goals.
- You cannot modify your mutual fund portfolio and cannot invest in own funds.
- I could see various limitation factors in ZIPSIP, hence not covering much
Also Read: How SIP Investments can be done through ZIPSIP?
Scripbox, Fundsindia and ZIPSIP – Which is the best mutual fund platform for SIP?
I would leave about ZIPSIP as it has some limitation factors compared to other two. If we compare Scripbox and Fundsindia, both have its unique factors.
- Both offers zero free transaction charges.
- Both of them offer recommended portfolios.
- One can invest in own funds from these 2 mutual fund platforms.
Positives of Fundsindia over Scripbox
FundsIndia is one of the trusted mutual fund platform by many investors. Fundsindia offers features to invest in stocks, bonds , etc. One need not go to other investment platforms if they are investing in various investment options. On the other side, Scripbox offers only mutual fund investments. Second major point is Scripbox would change these recommended portfolio every year. Mutual fund investment returns cannot be judged with short term performance. If they keep changing portfolio, your mutual fund returns could be lowered. Fundsindia recommends one portfolio and it gets executed during the tenure.
Positives of Scripbox over Fundindia
Scripbox offers a diversified portfolio of mutual fund, which has equity, debt and tax savings. If you do not have time, but want experts to manage your portfolio, scripbox works better for you. If you want to invest in ELSS tax saving mutual funds as part of your investment, Scripbox could be a good option.
My view about these mutual fund investment platforms
I am not in favour of these mutual fund platforms. If you have some time, do your own research on mutual funds and invest in those funds. You should consider your age, risk appetite and financial goals when picking up right mutual funds. Invest in funds that performed well in longer run of over 10 years. Investing in such funds through direct plans could be a better option. Investing in your own researched funds through Fundsindia or Scripbox could also be an alternative option as you can save transaction charges. However, if you are too busy in your life and cannot plan for your investments, you can consider opting for fundsindia or scripbox robotic portfolio recommendations. That should be your last option.
As of now, I have not invested through these platforms. In coming weeks, I want to register myself and want to test by investing small amounts in these platforms to understand them better. If I have better view, I would update this article in the coming months .
Readers, what is your view on Scripbox? Have you invested through Fundsindia? What are your experiences about these mutual fund platforms?
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Suresh
Scribox, Funds India and ZIPSIP – Which is the best mutual fund platform for SIP
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dear sir,
many thanks for your valuable research.
pl. share your views regd. upwardly, groww, ET Money, Paytm.
looking for your early reply.
Great list. Let me put them in an article in next couple of weeks.
Hi Suresh , In SWP plan is true I would have to pay short term capital gains as well as long term capital gain. It's confusing . They say SWP plan is better than MONTHLY INCOME PLAN. But playing double taxation is too much
Hi Krishnamurthi, From Apr-18, you would pay short term capital gains (< 1 year) as well as long term capital gains after 1 year (returns after 1 year). In dividend plans there is no capital gains, however we would not get fixed income. Under SWP, we can withdraw fixed amount irrespective whether we would have got returns or not. so, if you get returns after 1 year, you would pay LTCG after Rs 1 Lakh exemption.
Hi Suresh,
I request you to compare even ArthaYantra with Scripbox and FundIndia. Their portfolio gives higher returns than Scripbox and FundIndia. I have invested with them and service is also good.