Filling up the mutual fund form correctly

As per mutual fund guidelines, forms without mandatory information or requirements won't be processed. It is imperative for investors to check forms before signing and submission. The guidelines for correctly and completely filling forms are mentioned in the application form. A few hints on the mandatory and important details which may be inadvertently omitted or incompletely filled in application forms are given below.

APPLICATION FORM

Your name and address should be written correctly and legibly. The complete address is required, and the PO Box isn't sufficient. For NRIs, the overseas address is mandatory.

Bank details are mandatory, and investors should correctly mention the account number and select the type of account.

Any mandatory document, like proof of KYC compliance/acknowledgement/submission should be attached, and the details entered appropriately in the form. Fill in the PAN details correctly. The Mode of holding i.e. Single/Joint/Either or Survivor must be mentioned.

Signature of all the applicants is a must. In case of minor applicants, the following details are required: date of birth with proof attached; name of the guardian, who is either the natural guardian / court appointed legal guardian; proof of guardian's relationship with the minor; signature of the guardian.

Investors must fill the scheme name in the application form, and select the option. If this isn't selected, the default option would be allotted.

CHEQUES

The cheque amount, in words and figures, should tally with the amount in the application form. Investors should note that third-party cheques aren't accepted. In addition, the fund/scheme name should be correctly mentioned on the cheque. Of course, the cheque should be dated correctly and signed, and the investment amount should be at least for the minimum amount mentioned in the scheme documents.

SYSTEMATIC INVESTMENT

New investors filling Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) forms for the first time shall fill/select the below fields:

SIP Instalment Amount: This refers to the amount investors wish to invest periodically. This should be the amount mentioned in the first SIP cheque.

Frequency: This refers to the periodicity of the SIP i.e. monthly, quarterly or as allowed by the fund.

SIP Debit Dates: This refers to the date on which the amount would be debited periodically, and units allotted. The choice of the date could, for example, be the 1st or 15th or 25th of the month.

First SIP cheque: This should be drawn on the bank account which is registered for SIP debit.

SIP Enrolment Period: There is a start and end date in each SIP form. This indicates the date on which the investor wishes to start the SIP instalments and the date on which the SIP should end.

Particulars of auto-debit bank account: This refers to the bank account from which the SIP amounts would be deducted. It is very important to give bank details, branch, ECS (MICR) number, account type and the accountholder's name, as it appears in the bank account.

Signature in the authorisation form: Finally, the investor, being the bank accountholder, should sign the authorisation form as is available in the bank records for successful registration of the mandate with the bank. Signature mismatch between the bank record and the authorisation form will lead to SIP registration failure.

(Contributed by CAMS Viveka, an Investor Education Initiative from CAMS. The views expressed herein are general practices in the Mutual Fund industry, and may vary on a case-to-case basis).

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