After reading this, I thought of sharing here
direct plans give a much lower dividend per unit compared to the equivalent regular plans. Why do direct plans give lower dividends, especially because this problem is made worse by their higher NAVs? Now let's look at the misconceptions that investors have about mutual funds.
Misconception: Dividends are returns A lot of investors think this is true. The problem lies with the word 'dividend'. Compared to dividends on shares, this word has a completely different meaning in funds. In funds, dividends are not an additional income, but just a withdrawal from your capital. If the value of your investment in a fund is Rs 1 lakh, and the fund gives you Rs 5,000 dividend, then post dividend, the value of your investments will be Rs 95,000. There are no exceptions to this and there is no additional benefit at all.
Misconception: NAV is important This misconception is actively propagated by fund salesmen in order to push new funds, which start at a low NAV. Actually, all that matters is the investment management of a fund. A fund with an NAV of Rs 10 and one with and NAV of Rs 100 will give the same returns if their portfolios are the same. You may have a higher number of units in one, and fewer in the other, but that's irrelevant. If a fund gains 20%, your Rs 10,000 invested in it is going to grow to Rs 12,000. This could be 1,000 units at an NAV of Rs 12, or 10 units at an NAV of Rs 1,200, there's no difference.
What you should know about mutual fund dividends and NAVs - timesofindia-economictimes