Investing in mutual funds made easier.

FOR a layman in Pakistan, investing is a needlessly complicated phenomenon with limited options available. There is the real estate sector which is full of fraud. Then there are the prize bonds that basically end up diminishing your money over time. Lastly, there are mutual funds which most of us do not properly understand. But enter an Islamabadi startup, the last problem might get solved.

Growpaisa.com.pk is an aggregation platform for mutual funds. Through their easy-tonavigate website, you can find information on asset management companies and their many funds, past performance and other relevant details.

Thosealreadyfamiliarwithinvestmentproducts can choose `explore funds` to look for a comprehensive list of all available options. You can also filter by company, risk appetite, category (income, money market, equity etc), returns and type (conventional or Islamic).

Based on these preferences, the website shows you the customised possibilities along with the fund size. Click on any to find out its net assetvalue, style (whether frontend or backend), or even the asset allocation and if you are still in a mood for more details, look at the sector-wise exposure, credit quality or even stock holdings, all in interactive charts.

In case you are a layman with no understanding of what to look for and just want to save or purchase something in a few yea rs, there is the `set a goal` tab for you. The website has a few pre-listed options like buy a car, house, plan a vacation etc or you can customise your own.

Enter the name, decide on the risk appetite, your goal`s current value, number of years to meet that, and whether investment will be made on a monthly or one-time basis. Using all of that, the portal will calculate the amount that needs to be put in and recommend top funds.

If you decide to go for any of the given options, click on `invest` and fill in a form with your details to get a callback. At the backend, Growpaisa team connects you with the relevant fund`s agent to take things ahead.

The startup was founded in March 2019 by Hasan Shahid and Sikander Barry two chartered accountants with professional background in asset management, insurance and banking industries.`There were institutional voids in the [financial] sector so the idea was to fill those gaps.

Then I teamed up with my co-founder and we joinedthe National Incubation Centre,Islamabad and by September, the website was launched,` Shahid recalls.

So far the startup has limited...