This article looks at the origin of the mutual funds, their types and benefits, the present scenario of the mutual fund industry and the trends likely to persist in the future.

It was in the spring of 1924 that three Boston executives from the securities market got the brilliant idea of pooling their money and investing it for better returns. Thus, the world's first mutual fund, The Massachusetts Investors Trust was formed. The concept was so simple that it spread rapidly and within a year the Trust added 200 shareholders and $392,000 in assets.

The first mutual fund in India, the Unit Trust of India (UTI) was set up in 1964 and it had a total monopoly till the public sector banks and financial institutions entered the scene in 1987. The sector saw the entry of private sector and foreign institutions after the government approval in 1993. Kothari Pioneer Mutual Fund, the first private sector mutual fund was launched in October 1993.

Portfolio Organizer Magazine, Indian Mutual Funds, Unit Trust of India, UTI, Assets Under Management, AUM, Reliance Mutual Fund, Indian Trusts Act, Initial Public Offering, IPO, Asset Management, Tata Income Fund, Bombay Stock Exchange, BSE, Systematic Investment Plans, SIPs.