Are investments in mutual fund units safe?

Got to understand that though some of the best managers head the funds, they aren't absolutely free of risk.
The order of risks would be

Stocks (Highest Risk) > private bonds, papers (Moderate)>Funds (Moderate to Low)> Government Bonds, Bank Deposits (Least)

In the chain..higher returns always associate with it greater risk

it depends on what type of mutual funds you are investing in, some are safer than others, a large cap us fund is probably safer than a latin america fund, but doesnt have the chance for a huge gain either, none are totally safe though

No stock market related investments can be termed safe with certainty as they are inherently risky. However, different funds have different risk profile which is stated in its objective. Funds which categorize themselves as low risk, invest generally in debt which is less risky than equity. Anyway, as mutual funds have access to services of expert fund managers, they are always safer than direct investment in the stock markets.

Mutual Funds go out and purchase stocks and a lot of them! But they diversify their stock holdings so if any one stock completely tanks (a la Enron) then the damage is relatively minor to the entire fund. So, in that sense they are safe. But, if the entire market declines then it's a real possibility that your mutual fund can lose money.

Some are, some are not.

Study them grasshopper...

yes but after evaluevating carefully

i can say it is 100% safe

thy r 3 ty

equity balance & gilt MIP

divide it in these type accd 2 ur risk

i reccd all in balance MF SBI HDFC UTI etc & Ril MIP

A highly regulated industry with equity behind the units that one purchases. It is almost as secure as the money in your wallet (a bit of an exagerration). US started it, and it has almost $9Trillion dollars invested in mutual funds. Are they going away? No Way.

There are risky hedge funds, and futures funds that come and go. There was one in the US that just went from $2B in profit to $6B in losses due to the hedging that the manager did and do not close out. But, this was not a traditional mutual fund that small investors buy.

So, go for it. And, please do SIPs? Look up SIP if you do not know. That is the safest of all strategies.....

Good luck.

KKP_Investor