Mutual Fund houses collect a fee from the investors at the time of joining or leaving a scheme. This fee is referred to as a “load” and the amount charged while exiting a scheme is called as the Exit Load.
The objective behind this charge is to dissuade the investors from making frequent withdrawals or discourage them from exiting a mutual fund. Exit Load is expressed as a percentage and is calculated on the NAV applicable on the day of transaction.

For example, some funds have an exit load for exiting a scheme within one year of its purchase.