The best way to invest in Mutual Funds is through Discount Brokers like Zerodha, Upstox or Groww, which charge no commission for investing in Direct Mutual Funds. I invest through Coin by Zerodha which I find completely hassle free.
Alternatively, you can Invest through the corresponding Mutual Fund House Website or Visiting the office of Mutual Fund House or From a Mutual Fund Distributor like Your Bank (Worst or Least Preferable Option).
Cost
I prefer Discount Brokers because of no cost. I invest via direct option, since I’m long term investor and make my own investment decisions. The other one is a regular option where you buy through a mutual fund distributor which leads to additional charges for commission.
Usability
Their Apps or Website’s user interfaces are very intuitively designed with zero technical glitches.
Convenience
And these apps are like e-commerce marketplaces for Mutual Funds and Stocks and helps to manage all the investments from multiple fund houses in single place. And finally they give a single document with all my investment for the ease of tax declaration.
On the other hand, you shouldn’t be surprised if a webpage stops responding while redirecting to payment confirmation page on a Mutual Fund House website, that’s how poorly they used to be maintained (2019). Not sure about the present situation.
And Finally, Mutual Fund Distributors like Banks, that may suggest a random recommendation of mutual fund without providing the investor with knowledge related to basics of Mutual Funds so that they can make their own choice. Mutual Fund Distributors have targets to sell a particular Mutual Fund rather than empowering the customer.
If you don’t have a Demat and Trading account yet, I recommend you to pick a discount broker like Zerodha. Although there are many apps in market, I personally use Zerodha because of its ease of use, level of trust and competency in Fintech space.
If I missed something, Do let me know in the comments!
