Fintech . Paytm Money app: Cost-effective and convenient

With investment in mutual funds through direct plans gaining popularity, various fintech companies have launched mobile applications that act as a marketplace for mutual fund investments. Here, we look at one such mobile app — Paytm Money.

Features

Paytm Money is a mobile platform where investors can buy and sell mutual fund schemes of their choice, free of cost. The app offers all schemes of 38 fund houses (only direct plans)on its platform. Investors can invest and manage their portfolio through the app from their mobile phone.

You can browse through various mutual fund schemes based on the category (such as equity, debt, balanced funds), and returns or ratings (from CRISIL, Value Research and Morning Star). This will help you get an idea on the top-performing schemes. In addition, the app also provides details of the fund managers of the schemes; you can view all the schemes managed by him/her.

The platform gives you details on the performance of funds over various timelines — from one month to five years. You can also key in the investment amount of your choice and compare the returns with that of savings account, fixed deposit, regular/direct mutual funds, for three, five, seven and 10 years.

The app lets you gauge your risk profile by evaluating your answers to a risk assessment questionnaire (8-10 questions), and accordingly offers investment suggestions.

While Paytm Money allows you to choose and invest in any of the funds listed on the app, it also has investment packs for investors who may be unsure about where to invest. These packs, built by the Paytm Money advisory team, are essentially combinations of 4-5 mutual schemes across equity and debt categories.

The schemes vary based on the investor’s risk profile, and come in two packs — large and mini. The minimum amount of monthly investment is ₹5,000 in the large pack, and ₹2,000 in the mini pack. Besides, there is also a tax-saving pack for investors across risk profiles.

What more

The Paytm Money app has some other useful features. If need be, the app gives you the option to pause your SIP for a specific period of time; once the date is crossed, your SIP will start again on the next due date.

The app also gives the account summary of your portfolio holdings, transaction history, returns made till date, and tax statement. If you have goals in mind, for instance, saving for vacations, retirement, etc, you can earmark investments against such goals while investing. You can track your goal achievement on a regular basis on the app.

Also read:Paytm plans digital distribution of general insurance this fiscal: CEO

Also, if you have mutual funds investments outside the Paytm Money app, you can import such portfolios into the app for an overall view of your investments.

For this, you will have to upload your CAS (consolidated account statement) generated via Karvy on the app.

Our take

Paytm Money app allows you to invest across most mutual fund schemes at a lower cost (direct plans). But it is a platform only for mutual funds, while other similar apps offer other financial products such as insurance, deposits and loans, too. Therefore, while Paytm Money offers an avenue for those looking to invest only in mutual funds, it may not be suitable for those seeking a comprehensive platform that offers more financial products under one roof.

The app may be a good choice for those who have the know-how to select their own fund schemes and track them.

Even though the app offers packs for new investors, such investors should understand the products and the associated risks before investing.

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