Investors never had it so good when it comes to the physical effort involved in investing. The telephone and then the internet have completely eased the investing system, so much so that buying a share is akin to buying groceries -- pick up the phone -- or log in -- and order.

Kotak Securities, which began the novel scheme to help retail investors with public issues through its dial an IPO option, has now launched 'Easy Mutual Funds', which helps you buy into leading schemes by just dialling.

Mind you, if you wish to pick up or sell the MF units based on that day's price, popularly known as the net asset value, the deadline to make the call is 1:30 in the afternoon.

"We are planning to progressively extend the deadline, but the issue is that we need to send the funds and the form to the MF office by a particular time anyway," says D Kannan, chief operating officer, Kotak Securities.

Investors can call up Kotak Securities at 022-30305757 and put in an order for buying or redeeming mutual fund units.

The company has tied up with 8 fund houses including Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, Sundaram Mutual Fund, Tata Mutual Fund, Standard Chartered Bank Mutual Fund, Cholamandalam Mutual Fund, Prudential ICICI and HDFC Mutual Fund for this.

A couple of months back, Kotak Securities introduced a similar procedure for IPOs. Those who have signed up for this with Kotak can avail of the mutual funds facility too.

Others too offer this facility. But Kotak Securities has taken a step further, and through its www.kotakstreet.com website, it helps an individual view his portfolio in terms of investments in the stock market, mutual funds and IPOs.

So how does this work? Once you dial in, Kotak Securities will register your application and make you sign a power of attorney, which would enable them to sign the form on your behalf.

An investor would need to open a depository account with Kotak Securities for an initial fee of Rs 550, which, says Kannan, can be offset against subsequent brokerage charges.

In addition, one needs to have an account in Kotak Mahindra Bank, UTI Bank, HDFC Bank or Citibank, since Kotak Securities has tied up with these banks for the internet payment gateway.

This enables retail investors to buy and sell the units or even equity investments using their bank account for making payments.

The PA given to Kotak Securities is limited for the purpose of applying for IPOs, assures Kannan.

A copy of the PA needs to be produced every time Kotak Securities makes an application on behalf of its clients, attaching the same to the application form, which incidentally is filled out by the brokerage house.

"As such there is no risk involved since funds cannot be transferred or touched in any manner by the broking house," he adds. Investors would need to transfer the funds from their bank account to kotakstreet.com and within that account, he has to identify where the funds are to be transferred -- to the equity portfolio, the IPO account or the MF account.

Only the account holder can make a request for buying or selling the units by calling Kotak Securities, which will first verify the identity of the account holder.

The launch of IPOs on call attracted huge response from the market place. Kannan expects with three MF IPOs in the offing, the easy MF service will equally attract retail investors.

Over 30,000 customers are trading on the Iinternet with Kotak Securities today through kotakstreet.com. And the number is growing by the day.