sidelines is another factor that will support the market during corrections in addition to around rs 4500 crore inflow every month equity mutual funds are also sitting on large cash piles which needs to be deployed largecaps should continue to do well and a largecap rally will reflect on all major indices the shortterm factors supporting the markets are monsoon and falling inflation what should investors do now investors have no option but to continue with equities because of another structural change happening in the economy due to the fall in interest rates posttax return from bank fds is only around 5 so longterm investors should continue with their regular sips do you prefer mutual funds over stocks i dont have a preference but if you are a first time investor i will recommend sips in mutual funds this is the best route for investors who dont understand the stock market the mutual fund industry has created a good ecosystem of longterm investing and people have understood that longterm wealth can be created through the sip route sips have come a long way since templeton started it in the 2000s you can consider direct equity if you have the required knowledge or have a good support system in place but here again you need to keep the expenses low by buying quality stocks and keep them for the long term the biggest mistake most retail investors make now is getting into the stock market through futures and optionswhich most investors dont understandgetting their hands burned and then deserting the stock market altogether stock brokers are upgrading their mobile platforms now it is useful for traders but how will it be useful for investors it will be useful for investors because the big data fundamentals of the company recommendations by research houses news report about that company etc can be made available on the mobile platform todays mobile apps are feature rich and they make life easy for customers we do so many things on mobile so why not invest as well investors and traders are accepting this change mobile volume is already at around 4 of the market and we expect this to double in one year