The Concept and Characteristics of Securities Investment Fund

1. Fund is a tool suitable for public investment.

In the current market, in addition to savings and treasury bonds, financial investment tools include stocks, stock index futures, bond trading, gold trading, foreign exchange trading and securities investment funds (hereinafter referred to as funds). These investment tools have their own characteristics, such as savings, national debt, etc. There is no risk of loss, but the yield is low. During the period of paying negative interest rates, the funds are actually shrinking. Stocks attract a large number of investors, and "stock trading" has become people's daily talk. Retail investors have always said that "one rises, two draws and seven losses". Although it is not accurate, it illustrates a universal reality: the risk is great. For individuals who don't have rich stock market knowledge and practical experience, the probability of loss is greater than that of profit, and even "lock-in" has become a common language for investors. Stock index futures are more risky and may have higher returns, which may make people rich overnight or bankrupt overnight; Moreover, the threshold is very high, and at least 500,000 yuan must be invested at a time. Individual investors must never get involved. The risk of gold foreign exchange trading is relatively small, but it needs to have enough professional knowledge, grasp relevant information in time, and analyze and judge the market trend. It is difficult for ordinary retail investors to have such a level. The risk of bond trading is small, but the yield is also low. Listed financial bonds and corporate (company) bonds are unfamiliar, so it is difficult to trade.

With the development of this fund industry, fund knowledge is spreading rapidly, and the public's understanding and understanding of the fund has not been interrupted. Especially during the big bull market in 2007, fund investment fully showed the "worry-free, labor-saving" money-making effect. "Buying funds can make money" has almost become a household name. Vendors in the open-air market talk about money while selling goods, and there are many passengers talking about money on more and more buses. More and more people realize that the fund is a tool suitable for public investment.

2. The basic meaning of fund

The fund is approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and issued by the fund company. It is a kind of collective financial management method with * * * benefits and * * * risks. Fund companies concentrate investors' funds by purchasing funds from fund companies, which are managed by custodian banks. Fund companies use funds to invest in financial instruments such as stocks and bonds, and distribute investment income according to the proportion of investors' investment. This is an indirect way to invest in stocks and bonds.

3. Characteristics of the Fund

(1) collective investment

By issuing funds, fund companies pool investors' funds and invest in financial instruments such as stocks and bonds. Due to the low threshold for purchasing funds, the starting point for a single purchase is only 65,438 yuan+0,000 yuan. Ordinary people who want to invest have purchasing power, many a mickle makes a mickle, and can gather a lot of money. When investing in the securities market, the more abundant the funds, the more obvious the advantages. You can enjoy the relative friend advantage of large investment while reducing the investment cost, so as to obtain higher income than individual investment of retail investors.

⑵ Expert financial management

It is impossible for retail investors to spend a lot of time and energy to learn securities investment knowledge and lack practical experience, so it is difficult to obtain the expected return of securities investment. By purchasing funds, experts from fund companies are entrusted to invest at low cost, which saves worry, effort and time, and solves the problem of insufficient time, energy, knowledge and experience. Fund companies have a group of highly educated and specially trained experts with rich knowledge and experience in securities investment, forming a strong research team and a professional division of labor. For example, they specialize in the stock market trends of steel, automobiles, banks, real estate, business services, medicine and other different sectors. And hold meetings every day to discuss investment strategies to minimize risks and maximize returns. Their grasp and analysis of the national economic situation is much more accurate than that of retail investors, and the relevant information obtained is much richer in time. Energy consumption can make a more accurate prediction of the price change trend of financial investment tools in the market, avoid investment decision-making mistakes to the maximum extent and improve the rate of return. Professor Cheng Siwei, a famous economist and former deputy director of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), said: "Generally speaking, experts will earn more on average than ordinary retail investors when they make money, and they will lose less on average when they lose money."

(3) spreading risks

Any investment activity always has both risks and benefits. The greater the general risk, the higher the possible benefits. The essence of investment is to strive for higher returns with lower risks. It is difficult for retail investors to do this in securities investment. As far as stock trading is concerned, it is not only difficult to correctly choose stocks with upward price trends, but also difficult to choose which sector. The experts of fund companies are not only better than retail investors in stock selection, but also invest in a combination of multiple stocks and bonds, rather than a single stock. Strong financial strength, scientific and reasonable investment portfolio, avoiding "putting eggs in one basket" and effectively dispersing risks.

3. Security of the Fund

Security here does not refer to risks and possible losses, but to the possibility of investors' funds being misappropriated.

Once the fund company goes bankrupt, will it lose everything? It can be clearly said that there is no such possibility!

According to the regulations of China Securities Regulatory Commission, the assets of fund companies are not placed in fund companies. Fund companies are only responsible for investment and operation, and they can't touch money at all. The custodian bank is responsible for bookkeeping and financial management. The fund company must open a special account in the custodian bank. Except for the expenses of purchasing investment instruments such as stocks and bonds, the redemption amount of fund holders and the management fees that should be accrued by the fund company according to regulations and approved by the custodian bank, the fund company cannot and cannot use the funds, so the investors' funds will not be misappropriated. In theory, it is possible for a fund company to go bankrupt, but in fact, this possibility is very small and almost impossible. Even in the case of bankruptcy, no one or institution has the right to use the funds deposited in the special account for funds of the custodian bank, and investors' investment will never go to waste, which is completely safe.

Fund dividend

Paragraph 4 of Article 19 of China's Fund Law stipulates that the fund manager shall determine the fund income distribution plan according to the fund contract and distribute the income to the fund share holders in a timely manner. Article 35 of the Measures for the Operation and Management of Securities Investment Funds stipulates that the income distribution of closed-end funds shall not be less than once a year, and the annual income distribution ratio of closed-end funds shall not be less than 90% of the realized income of the fund year; The fund contract of an open-end fund shall stipulate the maximum number of fund income distribution and the minimum proportion of fund income distribution each year. Article 36 stipulates that the distribution of fund income shall be made in cash. In April, 2009, China Securities Regulatory Commission issued the Audit Guidelines for Income Distribution Clauses of Securities Investment Funds to fund companies, which clarified and refined the dividend clauses in fund contracts. The Guidelines for Dividends stipulates that the distribution ratio of fund income should be defined, that is, calculated by the distributable profit at the end of the fund, which refers to the lower of undistributed profit and realized profit in the balance sheet at the end of the fund; Clarify the dividend distribution time, requiring that the time from the fund dividend distribution date to the income distribution benchmark date (i.e. the deadline for calculating the distributable profit at the end of the period) stipulated in the fund contract and fund prospectus shall not exceed 65,438+05 working days; The dividend condition is determined as "the net value of fund shares minus the income distribution amount of each fund share on the base date of fund income distribution cannot be lower than the face value"; It is stipulated that the fund contract cannot stipulate vague clauses such as "if there is a net loss in the current period of fund investment, no income distribution will be made".

The so-called fund dividend is to convert some fund assets into dividend distribution holders after the fund realizes the net investment income. The net income of the fund refers to the balance of the fund income after deducting the expenses that can be deducted from the fund income according to the relevant regulations, including dividends, bonuses, bond interest, price difference between buying and selling securities, bank deposit interest and other income. In addition, the fund dividend must meet the following conditions: 1, and the fund can not be distributed until the current year's income makes up for the previous year's losses. 2. After the distribution of fund income, the unit net value cannot be lower than the face value; 3. If the fund investment has a net loss in the current period, it cannot be distributed. In addition to the requirements of relevant laws and regulations, the dividends of the Fund shall be distributed in accordance with the income distribution clauses in the prospectus. In April, 2009, "Guidelines for Auditing Income Distribution Clauses of Securities Investment Funds" made detailed provisions on fund dividends. The guideline contains five clauses. For example, when designing fund products with dividend clauses, fund management companies should stipulate the maximum number of fund income distributions each year and the minimum proportion of each income distribution in the fund contract and prospectus; When applying for products, a fund company shall stipulate the relevant contents of the fund income distribution plan, and at least specify the distributable profit at the end of the fund period, the target of fund income distribution, the distribution time, the distribution amount, the proportion and the distribution method. At the same time, the dividend distribution time is defined, and the time from the dividend distribution date to the benchmark date of income distribution (that is, the calculation deadline of distributed profits) shall not exceed 15 working days.

There are two ways of fund dividend: cash dividend and dividend reinvestment. Investors are free to choose when buying funds. According to the Measures for the Administration of the Operation of Securities Investment Funds, if the investor does not specify the dividend distribution method, the default income distribution method is cash dividend. Investors can go to the institution where you bought the fund to modify the dividend distribution method before date of record. The cash dividend is the fund share you hold multiplied by the dividend amount distributed by each fund. At present, the state does not levy income tax on dividend income from securities investment, so the dividend income you get is equal to the cash dividend distributed. If dividend reinvestment is selected, the cash dividend from the dividend will be automatically converted into fund units for reinvestment according to the net asset value of the fund units on the dividend payment date specified in the dividend announcement. Need to be reminded that the fund shares obtained by dividend reinvestment are free of subscription fees, which can help your long-term investment to obtain higher returns. If investors continue to be optimistic about the future performance of this fund, investors can choose to reinvest in dividends; If you see the performance of other funds of the company or the funds of other fund companies, you can use the cash after dividends to invest in other funds; If you are optimistic about bank wealth management products, you can also make corresponding investments; If the stock market is risky, you can also invest in bond funds or deposit them directly in the bank. Investors have the autonomy to choose the dividend method and how to invest after dividends.

For open-end funds, whether cash dividends are beneficial to investors depends on the timing of dividends and the subsequent net value trend. But it is different for closed-end funds. After paying dividends, the discount rate of closed-end funds will increase significantly. If the discount rate rises rapidly, the secondary market price of closed-end funds is likely to increase due to the requirement of discount rate return. This is called dividend arbitrage effect. The higher the unit dividend amount, the more obvious the dividend arbitrage effect. Therefore, in general, dividends of closed-end funds are beneficial to investors, and the higher the dividend amount, the better. Whether the fund pays dividends is not the main criterion to judge whether the fund is worth investing. If the investment ability of the fund is strong, the fund with dividends will help investors maximize their investment income in the long run. Of course, under certain market conditions, such as a bear market, if the fund pays dividends, it will harm the interests of investors.

Do good funds need to pay more dividends? Is it a good fund with more dividends? The growth rate of net worth is the only criterion to judge the investment value of funds. Some funds pay dividends frequently, but the net growth rate is low after reinstatement, which is not a good fund; On the contrary, some funds do not pay dividends for a long time, but the cumulative net growth is among the best. Such funds are still excellent funds.

Should I buy the fund before or after the dividend? Since the fund income distributed by dividends is a part of the fund's net value, the fund's net value will be relatively low after dividends. Is it more cost-effective to buy? Assuming that there is no market fluctuation between date of record and dividend reinvestment date, there is no difference in the assets owned by investors whether they buy before or after dividends. This is because, although the subscription before dividends can get dividends and be converted into fund shares, the subscription after dividends can buy more fund shares with the same subscription amount due to the decrease of the net value of the fund. How much dividends will be paid, and the net worth will be reduced accordingly. For example, a person's net worth should have been 1.248. If the dividend and ex-dividend are both 0.004 yuan, the net value becomes 1.244. Therefore, for refundable funds, in fact, dividends are divided into their own money. Some people vividly say that "dividend is to put your money from your left pocket to your right pocket", which is actually a little cheap: there is no redemption fee for the dividend amount. Investors don't have to pay too much attention to dividends.

Two keys to fund profit and loss

In recent years, funds have been favored by investors more and more, and the number is increasing day by day. However, due to their busy work, most citizens have little time and energy to familiarize themselves with the relevant knowledge and operational skills of fund investment, resulting in poor returns or even losses. In fact, investment funds are much simpler than stock trading, and the key to profit and loss lies in four words: timing and base selection.

I. Timing

Choosing the right buying (subscription) selling (redemption) opportunity is the most important key to the fund's profit and loss. The ideal buying point is that the stock index is at the bottom of the stage, but because it is very difficult to predict the rise and fall of the short-term market, even experts can make accurate judgments. Every day on the internet is ups and downs, which makes people confused and at a loss. In fact, it is not necessary and impossible to buy at the bottom, just ask to buy near the bottom. Although it is difficult to predict the rise and fall of the stock market in the short term, the trend can still be grasped. As long as you follow the trend and buy at a relatively low point, it is the correct operation. "There is no stock market that only falls but does not rise". If it falls sharply, there will be a retaliatory rebound, which is usually the time to buy. There is a saying in the stock market called "the market fell out", which is quite reasonable. On the contrary, even if the price rises sharply, there will be a callback, and you must not chase the rise, otherwise you may be caught.

In the choice of redemption opportunity, there have been two strategies: "long-term holding" and "band operation". In fact, these two operations are not contradictory, let alone mutually exclusive. It is unwise to stick to any operation method, so we should combine them organically, complement each other and be flexible. If the expected return has been achieved and the stock market is about to enter the downward channel, it should be redeemed in time and profit-taking. If the stock market crashes after buying, redemption can avoid loss expansion according to the pre-set "stop loss point". Under normal circumstances, the fund should not go in and out frequently, so as not to waste the handling fee and lose the income brought by the rise.

If you want to grasp the opportunity correctly, you must know the fundamentals as much as possible, get the relevant information of the stock market in time, be diligent in analysis and thinking, and constantly improve your ability to judge the market outlook.

Two. Selection of fund types

Selecting the base is another key to determine the income of the fund. Compared with timing, it is less difficult and more reliable.

Fund investment requires controlling risks first, and then pursuing high returns. On the premise of effectively controlling risks, invest in another one.

Some high-risk/high-return funds. Therefore, the selection of funds should first consider the scientific and reasonable combination, and then choose which specific fund. The "core-satellite" combination strategy introduced from abroad has been widely recognized by investors and widely used in actual combat, with satisfactory results.

The "core-satellite" strategy is to divide the fund portfolio into two parts, each part is composed of different funds, and one part has a large weight in the whole portfolio, which will determine the expected risk level and return level of the overall assets and is not easy to adjust, so it is called "core"; The other part is slightly lighter, and its relationship with the core combination is like a satellite orbiting a planet, so it is called a "satellite". It can adjust and change actively, actively and flexibly, and often get amazing benefits.

The choice of core funds should be considered and decided according to their own risk tolerance and willingness to take risks. Generally speaking, the older you get, the more conservative your investment should be. Young people with stable income can use equity funds as their core funds. With the growth of age, core funds gradually become hybrid funds and bond funds. Market structure is also an important basis for choosing the type of "core-satellite" fund. In a bull market, the average yield of active funds is often lower than that of passive index funds. Therefore, based on the unchangeable judgment of bull market, index fund is still the best choice to obtain the average market income. In the slow bull market, whether it is the rotation of style or the ups and downs of the stock market, it gives active funds the space to choose actively. At this time, there are often unexpected surprises when choosing equity funds. In a volatile city, bond funds may be chosen as the core, and stock funds with large fluctuations will be used as satellites to profit from the price difference. In a bear market, it is generally not suitable to buy funds.

After selecting the fund type, which specific fund should be selected. You should choose a fund with good performance managed by a fund manager with strong investment management ability. First of all, we can see the overall management ability of the fund management company, whether the number of funds under the company has won four-star or five-star funds, whether the company has won awards in fund investment management selected by authoritative organizations, and the media's evaluation of the company. These materials can be obtained in newspapers and related websites. After choosing a fund management company with strong management ability, many awards, high public evaluation and compliant operation, choose a fund with high star rating, high net growth rate and continuous leading performance. It should be noted that there are different types of funds, and only similar funds can be compared. For performance comparison, we should not simply look at the recent performance of the fund, but consider its short-term and long-term performance together. In the specific operation, we can adopt the "four-four-three-three rule" recommended by experts: the first "four": screen out the top quarter of the same type of funds for one year's fund performance ranking; The second "four": select funds with 2 years, 3 years and 5 years (the longest term is less than 3 years and 5 years) and the performance of this year is in the top quarter of the same type of funds, and the third "three": rank the products screened in the first two steps in the top third of the same type of funds within 6 months; The fourth "three": the products screened in the first three steps, the fund performance ranked in the top third of the same type of funds within three months. This is a very effective and practical method.