Mutual fund investments have become one of the most popular investment instruments as they allow investors to invest systematically over time and build wealth through compounded returns. As there are numerous types of mutual fund schemes, such as equity, debt, balanced, hybrid, etc., you can invest to achieve short-term or long-term goals. However, it is important to regularly monitor your mutual fund investments as there may be a need to adjust them in real-time based on market conditions and the financial performance of the funds. One of the best ways to monitor and analyse the performance of your mutual fund units is through a consolidated account statement (CAS).

If you are a mutual fund investor, you should know about a consolidated account statement, as it can allow you to keep track of all your mutual fund investments. This blog will help you understand what is a consolidated account statement (CAS) and how you can view it for a better investment approach. 

• A consolidated account statement (CAS) aggregates financial information from multiple accounts into a single report, providing a comprehensive view of your financial status.
• CAS is provided by various financial institutions such as CAMS, CDSL, AMFI and NSDL free of cost.
• Mutual fund investors can analyse the financial performance of their mutual fund investments based on CAS.

A consolidated account statement (CAS), also known as a mutual fund consolidated account statement (CAS), is a detailed statement showing all the mutual fund units held by an investor through a brokerage account. The CAS provides a detailed view of all the mutual fund holdings with specific information about their purchase dates, their NAVs, and current value as per market price. Financial institutions, including banks, investment firms, and mutual fund companies, commonly provide CAS to their clients on a periodic basis. CAS allows investors to analyse their mutual fund holdings to make adjustments as per the current market conditions.

You can generate a consolidated account statement through various means such as CAMS, CDSL, AMFI or NSDL. Here is an example of how to generate a CAS through CAMS:

• Step 1: Visit CAMS's official website at https://www.camsonline.com/ and click on the ‘Mailback Services’ option in the menu at the left of the page.
• Step 2: Click on the consolidated account statement, which will appear as CAMS+ KFin Technologies Limited + FTAMIL + SBFS.
• Step 3: Enter details such as your registered email ID and password, which CAMS will send to your ID. You must specify the time and period for which you want the statement. After submitting the details, click on ‘Submit.’

After submitting the application, you will get the CAS on your registered email ID. You will need to enter the provided password to view your consolidated account statement. 

Here are the benefits of CAS:

• Performance review: Mutual fund investors can analyse CAS to review the performance of their current mutual fund units.
• Less paperwork: CAS allows mutual fund investors to view all of their mutual fund investments in a single report, reducing the need for paperwork.
• Tax compliance: Analysing all mutual fund investments through CAS ensures that investors can better identify their tax liabilities while filing their ITRs.

Here are the disadvantages of CAS:

• Complex: AS CAS aggregates data from various accounts, which can make the statement complex and overwhelming for some individuals.
• Dependence on Providers: The accuracy of the CAS depends on the data provided by different financial institutions, which might lead to inconsistencies if data is not updated or reported correctly.
• Limited information: CAS has limited information and does not provide the names of the fund houses, and it contains only one-line statements. 

Here are the details you can know by viewing CAS:

• Account summary: Overview of all mutual fund accounts.
• Transaction details: Details about all mutual fund transactions.
• Holdings Overview: Details of all investments and securities held.
• Balances: Current balances of each account.
• Performance Data: Information on the performance of investments.
• Tax Information: Relevant data for tax purposes.

Similar to other market-linked investment instruments, monitoring your mutual fund investments is important to ensure they are on the right track to profitability. A consolidated account statement (CAS) is a document that summarises all the important information about your mutual fund holdings. You can view the document and adjust your mutual fund holdings accordingly.