Would like to know which fund would have been better had one invested Rs. 50000 on 17/03/2006 instead of 2/1/2006.(It would have been more or less the same) In that case the advantages if one had invested in Dividend payout 1) Dividend available. The investor can decide what to do with that money - invest in same fund or some other fund or spend on oneself. And in case of funds with lock in period there is increased liquidity. 2) The dividend could have earned him interest had he deposited that money in some bank.
