International Journal of Management Studies ISSN(Print) 2249-0302 ISSN (Online)2231-2528 http://www.researchersworld.com/ijms/ Vol.–V, Issue –2(6), April 2018 [34] DOI : 10.18843/ijms/v5i2(6)/04 DOI URL :http://dx.doi.org/10.18843/ijms/v5i2(6)/04 Performance Evaluation of Gilt Mutual Fund Schemes in India Kamalpreet Kaur, Research Scholar, Department of Commerce, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India. J. S. Pasricha, Professor, Department of Commerce, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, India. ABSTRACT Mutual fund is an investment vehicle for small investors with common financial goals to enter the market through pooling. There are different types of mutual fund schemes which are available to investors, such as equity schemes, debt schemes, gilt schemes, hybrid schemes, index schemes etc. Amongst these schemes, gilt schemes are considered as safest for risk averse investors because these are confined only to government securities. In the present study, growth of gilt schemes has been examined and the performance of selected gilt schemes has been evaluated for the period 1st January, 2013 to 31st December, 2017. 15 gilt schemes, one from each asset management company (AMC) have been selected on the basis contribution to assets under management (AUM) as on 31st December, 2017. NAVs were collected on monthly basis and S&P BSE Sovereign 10 year Bond Fund has been considered as benchmark index for comparison. A major decline in gilt schemes in terms of number and resources mobilized was observed during 2016 and 2017. It was found that all gilt schemes had generated positive returns throughout the study period and involved high risk during 2015 and 2016. Further, it was revealed that L& T Gilt Fund ranked on top and Sundaram Gilt Fund ranked at bottom in terms of risk adjusted measures. Keywords: Mutual Funds, Gilt Schemes, CAGR, Beta. INTRODUCTION: Mutual fund is an investment vehicle particularly for small investors to enter the financial market without knowing the complexities of it. It allows a large number of investors to pool their money together with a pre- determined financial goal and thus invest the collected money in the securities market on their behalf. The money so collected is called Corpus of Fund and the investors are called Unit Holders. The benefits from the fund accrue to all investors in proportion to their share in the pool. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 define mutual fund as “a fund established in the form of a trust to raise money through the sale of units to the public or a section of the public under one or more schemes for investing in securities, including money market instruments”. The benefits of investing in mutual funds are professional management, portfolio diversification, low transaction cost, liquidity, flexibility, tax benefits and transparency. The mutual funds in India started its roots with the establishment of Unit Trust of India (UTI) in 1963. The UTI came into operation in 1964 with the introduction of its first scheme US-64. Till 1980s, UTI enjoyed monopoly and experienced consistent growth with Rs. 6,700 crore assets under management. In 1987, public sector banks and insurance companies were allowed to enter the market and by the end of 1990s, six public sector banks and two insurance companies entered the mutual fund industry and raised the assets under management (AUM) to Rs. 47,004 crore. To elevate the competition among the mutual fund companies, the private and foreign sector was also permitted to step into the mutual fund industry in 1993. During this period, a number of mergers and amalgamations took place and there were 33 mutual funds at the end of 2003 with Rs. 1,21,805 crore AUM. Since 2003, mutual funds have followed the path of success and rise to cater to the needs of modern market. There are 41 mutual fund companies operating 1904 different schemes with Rs. 21,26,665 crore assets under their management at the end of December 2017.