Among index funds, the most popular products are those tracking the Nifty 50 and the Sensex, says Dwaipayan Bose, and explains the finer points of selecting the right index mutual fund.
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Index funds are growing in popularity among retail investors in India.
Assets under Management in index funds stood at over Rs 2 lakh crore as on January 31, 2024, growing 13x in last three years (CAGR of 137 per cent, source: Association of Mutual Funds of India).
There are several benefits of investing in index funds like lower costs (TER or total expense ratio), no unsystematic risk, no human biases, convenience, transparency, etc, which make these products suitable for both experienced and first-time investors.
Furthermore, unlike exchange traded funds, you do not need to have a demat account to invest in index funds.
In this article, we will discuss how to select the right index funds for your portfolio.
Index funds are passive funds which track the market index. Unlike actively managed funds, index funds do not aim to beat the benchmark index; they simply track the index.
Among index funds, the most popular products are funds tracking the Nifty 50 and Sensex; index funds tracking Nifty and Sensex have a large share of overall equity index fund AUM.
The passive space has evolved and matured significantly over the last few years in India. There are many choices for investors now.
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Funds tracking broad market indices
The most popular broad market indices are Sensex, Nifty 50, Nifty 50 Equal Weight, Nifty Next 50, Nifty 500, etc.
We will not discuss the composition of specific indices in this article. It's suffice to say that the broad market indices will give you broad exposure across different industry sectors. If you want to get exposure to specific market cap segments, you can invest in funds tracking Nifty 100 (large cap), Nifty Midcap 150 (midcap) and Nifty Small Cap 250 (small cap) indices.
Different market cap segments have different risk profiles. You should invest according to your risk appetite and consult with your financial advisor if you need any help.
Index funds tracking broad market indices can be suitable for both experienced and new investors.
Funds tracking sector indices
You can also take sector exposure through index funds which track different sector indices -- for example, banks/financials, FMCG, Infrastructure, IT, pharma, automobiles, PSUs, etc.
Investment experts recommend index funds over active funds for taking exposure in certain industry sectors, especially sectors which are dominated by a few large companies.
Investment in sector index funds requires knowledge of the relevant sectors. As such, these funds are more suited for experienced investors who want a satellite allocation to the core equity portfolio. You should consult with your financial advisor if you need help in understanding risk factors in specific industry sectors.
Funds tracking strategy indices
Index funds tracking strategy indices provide low-cost investment opportunities to different investment strategies that are based on quantitative models, free from human biases. These indices are known as smart beta indices and are constructed based on quantitative, rule-based investment strategies -- eg dividend yield, momentum, value, low volatility, high beta, alpha, quality, etc.
Index constituents are selected based on defined quantitative models. Index funds tracking these indices are known as smart beta funds. Smart beta indices can be a based on a single factor model -- eg dividend yield, momentum, high beta, low volatility, etc, or multi-factor models combining quality, value, alpha and low volatility.
Examples of multi-factor strategy indices are Nifty 50 Value 20, Nifty Alpha Low Volatility 30, etc.
Investments in smart beta funds require understanding of the strategies used but they can be very useful from a portfolio diversification perspective. These funds are also more suited for experienced investors.
Look beyond equities for asset class diversification
Many investors associate index funds with equities. You should know that index funds associate diversification opportunities in other asset classes; through index funds you can get low-cost exposure to fixed income and international equities also.
Fixed income
The most popular fixed income index funds are target maturity index funds.
Target maturity index funds are open ended passive debt mutual fund schemes which have defined maturity dates.
These funds invest in central or state government bonds of certain maturities. They have an FD like structure, wherein they accrue the interest paid by these bonds and payout the accrued interest and principal on maturity. Since they are open ended funds, you can redeem units of target maturity funds at any time at prevailing net asset values (NAV).
Target maturity funds are suitable in high interest environments like now, since you can lock-in the prevailing yields till maturity.
As per current SEBI regulations, target maturity funds can only invest in G-Secs and state development loans which have sovereign status and, therefore, no credit risk. You should select target maturity funds depending on your investment needs.
International equities
Index funds provide low-cost opportunities to diversify your investments in international markets. There is low correlation of returns of different markets; adding international index funds can reduce your portfolio volatility e.g. some international markets may outperform when India underperforms.
Investments in international equities can provide you exposure to global megatrends especially in areas of advanced technologies that are not yet mature in India. Additionally, you can benefit from INR depreciation. Your asset allocation in international equities will depend on your risk appetite and investment needs.
You should consult with your financial advisor if you need help in determining your asset allocation across different asset classes and in understanding which international market may be suitable for your investment needs.
Low cost (TER)
The total expense ratio (TER) of a mutual fund is the cost of managing and operating the scheme on a per unit basis. It is calculated by dividing the total expenses of the fund with the assets under management.
The expenses of the fund include fund management, registrar and transfer agent fees, custodian fees, transaction costs and marketing and distribution costs.
TERs have a direct impact on returns because TERs are deducted from the market value of the underlying securities of the scheme portfolio to arrive the scheme’s NAV.
While the TER of index funds are much lower than actively managed mutual fund schemes, if there are two index funds tracking the same benchmark index, the fund with lower TER is likely to outperform the fund with the higher TER.
Even if the difference in TERs is small, the difference in absolute returns over long investment horizons can be significant due to the compounding effect.
Low tracking errors
Tracking error is the deviation of the index fund returns from the market benchmark index returns.
The standard of monthly deviation of an index fund and the market benchmark index returns is defined as tracking error. There are various sources of tracking error -- eg fees and expenses of the scheme, cash balance held by the scheme due to dividends received, halt in trading on the stock exchange due to circuit filter rules, etc.
You can find tracking errors of index funds in the monthly fund factsheets. You should always invest in index funds having low tracking errors.
Summary
Both active funds and index funds can play important roles in your portfolio. Your core and satellite portfolios can comprise of both active and index funds. Index funds can be cost effective and convenient investments to provide diversification to your investment portfolio.
In this article we have discussed that there are many investment options in index funds. We have also discussed how to select index funds depending on your risk appetite, investment experience and investment needs.
You should consult your financial advisor or mutual fund distributor about index funds that can be suitable for investment needs.
Mutual fund investments are subject to market risk, read all scheme related documents carefully.
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Disclaimer: This advisory is meant for information purposes only. This advisory and the information in it does not constitute distribution, an endorsement, an investment advice, an offer to buy or sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any securities/schemes or any other financial products/investment products mentioned in this article or an attempt to influence the opinion or behaviour of the investors/recipients.
Any use of the information/any investment and investment related decisions of the investors/recipients are at their sole discretion and risk. Any advice herein is made on a general basis and does not take into account the specific investment objectives of the specific person or group of persons. Opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.
Dwaipayan Bose leads content production and mutual fund research at 
