New Delhi, Sept. 17 -- A mutual fund's past return is easy to find. But for investors, the harder question is whether the Asset Management Company (AMC), fund manager, and fund itself have the characteristics to support consistent performance over different market cycles.

A recent issue of DSP Mutual Fund's Neev lays out a research framework by Rahul Kulkarni, Mutual Fund Distributor and a Prudent Partner, to analyse funds beyond ratings.

Here is how investors can use these checks to analyse a fund before investing.

The AMC is the institution behind the fund, so investors should look beyond its brand name and examine how it has operated over time.

A fund manager's recent performance should not be viewed in isolation. Investors should ...