Every mutual fund has two variants — A direct one and a regular one. A direct mutual fund is offered exclusively by the asset management company (AMC) or fund house. In another sense, no third-party operators — brokers or dealers – are employed. Here all the taxes or brokerage fees are absent because there are no third-party intermediaries involved. Hence, a direct fund’s expense ratio is lesser and the decreased expense ratio leads to a larger return. 

Regular mutual funds are totally opposite to direct ones. They are those plans that are purchased through an agent. The fund house is charged a particular fee by the brokers for offering their mutual funds. Generally, AMCs recoup this money through their expense ratio. Regular funds tend to have a greater expense ratio than direct funds. However, it may be beneficial for those Investors who do not have the understanding of the market or the time to manage their portfolio. Let us now understand the difference between direct vs regular mutual fund.

Direct vs regular mutual fund

The primary difference between the two types of mutual funds is that the fund corporation pays a fee as a payout charge in a standard plan. No such commission or cost is involved in the direct plan. The other major points that one must look into when it comes to direct vs regular mutual funds are mentioned below — 

Greater Net Asset Value or NAV 

Any direct plan’s NAV is indeed higher compared to regular forms of the equivalent mutual fund. It is the estimate of the value of one mutual fund unit and is calculated by dividing the net assets of the fund by the number of units outstanding.

The fund’s assets are mostly made up of debt securities like debentures and bonds, along with equity securities such as corporate stocks. Cash may also be included among the assets held, in some circumstances. To obtain the assets controlled by the fund, the total score of these assets is determined.

The total NAV may be greater if the payments made to the agencies could be eliminated. Thus when it comes to direct vs regular mutual funds, direct funds have an upper hand with a greater NAV than the regular ones of the similar mutual fund. 

Greater Returns

Returns play a crucial role for investors when it comes to mutual funds. Any direct mutual fund’s returns are always greater than those of the regular form of a similar mutual fund. The ‘expense ratio’ is the chief reason behind this. Thus, between direct vs regular mutual fund, The direct form has a lesser expenditure ratio than the regular one.

Lower Expense Ratio

This is a major point when it comes to direct vs regular mutual funds. The expense ratio is the cost asked by the mutual fund organization. Direct mutual funds have a reduced expense ratio as compared to regular ones. 

When it comes to investing in regular funds, most consumers follow the advice of their favored mutual fund consultant or a local financial advising service provider. However, the consumer is responsible for paying the advisor’s fees. It is withdrawn directly from their invested amount and paid to their counselor or agency. This is mainly included in the fund’s expense ratio. As a result, the increased commissions lead to the higher expense ratio of mutual funds.

In direct plans, no such distribution cost or commission fees are included. Thus, the expense ratio is naturally lower here. 

Any individual is allowed to invest in the mutual funds with which they are most comfortable. With direct funds at hand, the consumer himself or herself is in the driver’s seat and is in total control of their investments. This also symbolizes that they themselves have to do some research about the funds, the working of mutual funds, KYC requirements, and transaction procedures among other things. This minor effort can take them a long way. Most of the individuals may be satisfied with their agents handling all their investments. However, taking a more effective stance towards your long-term economic targets might be rewarding.