Prajna Capital

---

• Debt Mutual Funds can help to beat inflation
• UTI Fixed Term Income Fund Series
• IDBI Mutual Fund - IDBI India Top 100 equity fund
• UTI Mutual Fund income fund - UTI fixed term income series
• How to use home loan to save tax?
• Insurance Buyer Rights
• Inflation linked bonds
• Should You Invest in Bank FDs or Liquid Mutual Funds?
• How to sell your car online?
• HDFC Mutual Fund Fixed Maturity Plans
• SBI debt fund series
• Income Tax Department to Ignore Mismatch below Rs 1 Lakh in TDS Claims
• More NCDs coming with attractive returns
• Do you need to e-file I-T returns?
• Public Financial Institutions Bonds
• Corporate debentures
• Fixed Income Instruments
• L&T Opportunities Fund
• Bharti AXA Equity Fund
• Shriram Life - Shri Vivah
• E-Insurance by June 2012
• Triggers for exiting a Mutual Fund
• Risk taking ability should decide exposure to equity
• IIFCL Infra Debt Fund
• JPMorgan India Hybrid Fund Series

Debt Mutual Funds can help to beat inflation Posted: 17 May 2012 07:30 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Sample this. You earn a return of six per cent per annum on savings account deposit today. This means that your money would grow from a ~100 to ~106 if you kept it in your savings account for a year. Say inflation stands at 7.5 per cent. This means that what you could buy for ~100 one year back, can now be bought at ~107.50. As a result, your real return (pre-tax returns minus inflation) is unfortunately negative. And you end up eroding your savings by ~1.50, by not beating the inflation rate. In this example, the real return is 6 per cent minus 7.5 per cent or negative 1.5 per cent.   If this were to happen to your money over a certain period of time or on a continuous basis, this is akin to termite eating into your furniture. And you realise it suddenly one day when the furniture gives way.   The main motive of investing should not be accumulating funds for future need. Unfortunately, that is what most identify investing with. But, it is prudent to understand that your investment should be able to beat inflation. And to be able to do so, you should earn real returns. This is important for your financial health. Otherwise, you will only keep accumulating funds.   You also need to understand the difference between savings and investment. You cannot invest if you don't save. Saving is income minus expenditure. Savings bank deposit is not an investment. A fixed deposit is. However, if you earn 8per cent on a one-year fixed deposit, the real return is only 0.5 per cent (8 per cent minus 7.5 per cent).   For risk-taking investors, equities (either direct stocks or mutual funds) are advised as this avenue is a high growth instrument that can easily beat inflation. Equities, on an average, give 12-15 per cent returns annually. Till now, the highest inflation has ever gone is ten per cent in 2011, when the Reserve Bank of India had to step in by easing liquidity in the market to stem inflation. Therefore, equity investors have been lucky so far.   However, on the fixed income side or for risk averse investors, returns may have been a tad lower or at best, on par with inflation. So, the lucky ones may not have made money on their investment. But, some may have had to lose some capital.   Hence, investing in avenues that beat inflation and generate positive real returns becomes even more important for such investors. Mutual funds can come to the rescue of the risk-averse investors, too as many of these investors are seen to be wary of this investment route. Just that, you need to understand that by virtue of being market-linked, mutual funds cannot assure returns unlike banks deposits. But, that does not make them very risky, these are safe instruments as they largely invest in government securities. And they work very well for different objectives for which you need money in future. But, do make sure to read the scheme information document before investing.   Debt mutual funds are more liquid and tax efficient when compares to its fixed deposit counterpart. Here's some help Liquid funds or money market funds are a strong contender to savings bank accounts. They invest in easily saleable fixed income securities like banks' certificate of deposits and highly credit rated companies' commercial papers maturing in 91 days. They offer excellent flexibility to get in and get out of the investment. You can withdraw, get the proceeds even the very next working day as long as you give the withdrawal instructions before 3pm. Withdrawal, here, is as easy as from your bank account or giving instructions online. These offered 9.12 per cent in the past year.   Ultra short-term funds are called debt funds in the offer document and the fund manager is free to buy securities that mature in more than 91 days. But there is no compulsion to do the same. The volatility of returns is marginally higher than liquids funds as they invest in instruments with longer maturity. These have returned 9.39 per cent in the last one year.   Longer term investors should explore the fixed maturity plans (FMPs) route. As the name suggests, FMPs specify a date on which your investments will mature. On maturity, the money is debited to the bank account. FMPs come in varied tenures from 3 months to 3 years. Some FMPs only invest into banks' certificate of deposits. The risks here are very low. These are also very tax efficient as it cuts across two financial years to give indexation benefit. FMPs have returned between 9 and 10 per cent in the last one year.   Liquid funds |Investment Period: 3-6 months |Invests in: Debt instruments with a maturity of 91 days |Advantages: Gives better returns than savings accounts, low interest rate and credit risk, helps dealing with equity market volatility   Ultra short-term funds |Investment Period: 1 day to 3 months |Invests in: Debt securities maturing in a year |Advantages: Give higher returns than liquid funds, better for those who can tolerate volatility   Short-term funds |Investment Period: 18 months to 2 years |invests in: Debt securities maturing in over one year |Advantages: Low to moderate interest rate risk Income funds |Investment Period: Over 2 years |Advantages: For investors who want regular, steady income, gives better returns when interest rates soften   Gilt short-term funds |Investment Period: 2-3 years |Invests in: Varied medium- and long-term securities |Advantages: Suitable for those who want safe instruments with zero default risk --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

UTI Fixed Term Income Fund Series Posted: 17 May 2012 07:04 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms UTI Mutual Fund has announced to launch UTI Fixed Term Income Fund-Series XI-IX (368 Days). The scheme will be open for subscription from April 20, 2012 to April 26, 2012.   This scheme will mature on April 29, 2013. ------------------------------------------ Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

IDBI Mutual Fund - IDBI India Top 100 equity fund Posted: 17 May 2012 05:48 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms IDBI Mutual Fund launched its maiden equity scheme called IDBI India Top 100 equity fund, probably in anticipation of a potential up move in equity markets going ahead after the recent slump. The NFO will be open for subscription from April 25 to May 9, and the scheme would invest in 25-30 stocks from the CNX 100 universe. The fund will invest in stocks that have a good track record of consistent profitability, dividend payment and it should be liquid stocks.  Current market offers good valuation and macro-economic scenario is looking better. We expect growth of 7.5 per cent in 2012-13 and 8.5 per cent for 2013-14. The MF company hopes to mop up capital in excess of Rs 100 crore. "We will follow bottoms-up approach and when things improve will use top-down approach," said V. Balasubramanian, VP & fund manager. On fund allocation to particular sectors, Balasubramanian said the scheme would invest in banking & finance, auto ancillary, FMCG and pharmaceutical stocks. "We may also look at infrastructure stocks following some positive signals in the budget, but will stay away from realty stocks for time being," said Balasubramanian. When asked on whether the fund may look at acquisitions, Mallick said, "We are not looking at inorganic growth, but in due course we may look for tie-up in overseas markets." --------------------------------------------- Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

UTI Mutual Fund income fund - UTI fixed term income series Posted: 17 May 2012 04:25 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Buy Gold Mutual Funds   UTI Mutual Fund has announced the launch of UTI fixed term income series XI X (366 days). The new fund offer will close for subscription on May 21.   -------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap FundsInvest Online DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap FundsInvest Online ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap FundsInvest Online Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap FundsInvest Online DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector FundsInvest Online Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

How to use home loan to save tax? Posted: 17 May 2012 01:49 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms The EMI (equated monthly installment) that you pay to repay your home loan consists of two components - one is the principal and the other is the interest. The principal component of the EMI qualifies for deduction under section 80C. Even the interest component can save you significant income tax - but that would be under Section 24 of the Income Tax Act. Currently, anybody with a housing loan gets a deduction up to Rs 150,000, paid as interest for the loan, from his total income, for a self occupied property. For more information on how a home loan can help you save tax – please see our Section on Income from House Property      --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Insurance Buyer Rights Posted: 17 May 2012 01:32 AM PDT   Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms What are your options for insurance related grievances ?   Insurance customers mostly accept the unilateral decisions taken by the insurers, as most of them believe that fighting an insurance company is a lost cause. However, things are changing slowly. The health insurance space has seen a spate of court cases lately, with several judgements going in favour of the insured individuals. Recently, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) pulled up the state-owned New India Assurance for violating the provisions after the regulator received complaints on overcharging of premium and delay in claim settlements. These instances simply prove that it pays to be aware of yours rights as a consumer. Justifying The Premium Sure, the insurance company fixes the premiums, but that doesn't mean it can do that arbitrarily. The company has to adhere to the premium structure mentioned in the product details filed with Irda. But how would you know whether you are being overcharged or not? Premium is charged by the insurance company according to an Irda approved premium chart. This can be easily obtained from the insurer's website or its office. Typically, premiums go up on renewal with the policyholder's advancing age, claims made in the previous year and revision in the insurance company's premium chart. Now, if the insurer has stated that the rise is due to your age, you can easily verify it with the help of the premium chart. If it is because of claims made in the previous year, again, the claims loading structure mentioned in the policy wordings will come to your aid. Then, there is the modification in the premium chart. The insurance company can apply for changes in premium (and the loading policy), in view of healthcare inflation, or a justifiably large claim ratio. Such premium changes need to be justified and approved by Irda. Before calculating or validating premium, you should check whether there is a new premium chart. Renewal Is Your Right In most cases, that is. If the company has specified that the renewal will cease at a particular age of, say 65 or 70, there is little scope for recourse. If policy wordings are silent on this issue, though, renewal cannot be denied. Moreover, Irda has instructed companies not to deny renewals simply on account of claims being made in the previous year. A renewal request can be turned down only in case of frauds or misrepresentation of facts by the insured. This is also applicable to the cancellation of a policy before its tenure expires. Processing Within Deadline Since cashless claims are settled almost instantaneously, delays in processing are mainly associated with reimbursement claims. Usually, health insurers insist that you must submit the claim document, along with the bills, within 14-30 days, depending on their policies. Some could also insist on being intimated about the hospitalisation within seven days, though the documents could be submitted later. If your claim sanction is delayed even after following all these steps and complying with all document related formalities, you can take your insurer to task. Policyholders have the right to claim interest if the pay-out is delayed beyond 30 days after the acceptance of the claim. Other Rights There are various other issues about which the insured should be vigilant, such as: the timeframe for processing and settlement of claims; the financial limits of a surveyor (there are cases when a surveyor is appointed for claims which are higher than his eligibility limit); that piecemeal information cannot be sought; that a second surveyor cannot be appointed by the insurance company; various circulars regarding standardised definitions, premium, etc. If you are buying a health policy with a term of two years or more, you are entitled to a 15-day 'free-look' period, during which the policy can be cancelled (and the premium refunded) if it doesn't satisfy your expectations. In addition, the insurer cannot delay the decision on approving or rejecting your application for a cover beyond 15 days of submission. Court verdicts constitute another area you need to keep an eye on. Redress Your Grievances If the insurer fails to serve you to your satisfaction despite meticulous compliance, you can flag off the issue to the company. You are entitled to receive a written acknowledgement from the insurer within three working days of the receipt of a complaint. If it is not addressed during this period, the company is supposed to resolve the grievance within two weeks of its receipt and send a final letter of resolution. Your next stop should be Irda – through the online platform (www.igms.irda.gov.in) or the Insurance Ombudsman offices. The final recourse is to approach the consumer forum or a court of law. If a representation is made to the Irda, the insured should be vigilant and not wait endlessly for action or communication from Irda, as the time lost there can result in the complaint getting time-barred. Finally, if you are not satisfied with your insurer's services, you can always propose to "port", or switch your policy to another health insurer while retaining all the continuity benefits.   --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Inflation linked bonds Posted: 16 May 2012 11:12 PM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   These are bonds for which the coupon payment in a particular period is linked to the inflation rate at that time - the base coupon rate is fixed with the inflation rate (consumer price index-CPI) being added to it to arrive at the total coupon rate. Investors are often loath to invest in longer dated securities due to uncertainty of future interest rates. The idea behind these bonds is to make them attractive to investors by removing the uncertainty of future inflation rates, thereby maintaining the real value of their invested capital. -------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Should You Invest in Bank FDs or Liquid Mutual Funds? Posted: 16 May 2012 07:53 PM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms  Savings bank account and liquid and ultra short term bond funds were the only options available to investors looking to park their surplus cash in hand. Even after the deregulation of interest rates, mutual fund options were preferred by individuals in the highest tax bracket due to higher post-tax returns. But the scenario has changed a bit lately. The State Bank of India has recently increased the interest rate on fixed deposits of seven to 180 days up to . 15 lakh by 100 basis points to 8%. The interest rate is 9% for deposits between . 15 lakh and . 1 core. More importantly, there is no penalty on premature withdrawal of these deposits. Put simply, you can walk out of the bank with your money anytime after seven days and can still enjoy high interest rates. Obviously, high net worth individuals should take a hard look at these deposits. Ultra short term bond funds are offering annualised returns of around 9%. The post-tax returns offered by the short term fixed deposits or saving bank accounts are lower, which make the ultra short term bond funds still a better parking space for money. Towards the end of March this year, the liquid and ultra short term bond funds category offered weekly average returns of 0.21% and 0.26%, respectively. These translate into double-digit annualised returns. But one must understand that this is an outcome of the extremely tight liquidity condition towards the end of the financial year. Things may change soon. Short term interest rates are expected to move down gradually as liquidity tightness in the system improves over a period of time. One-year bank certificate of deposit (CD) yield, which was at 10.15% on March 30 this year, eased to 10% by April 12. Over the same period, three-month CD yield came down from 10.70% to 9.75%. This is in line with the expectations of market pundits. Though many market participants agree on interest rates going down this financial year, few expect a big fall in interest rates in the near term. RBI is expected not to touch CRR and maintain liquidity at the current levels. This should support the short-term rates in the near term The central bank may take time before cutting key interest rates. Given the heavy government borrowing programme in the first half of the financial year, liquidity may not improve drastically, which will ensure that money market rates won't move down much. If you look at the post-tax returns, the dividend options of ultra short term bond funds look attractive. Dividend distribution tax (DDT) on liquid funds stands at 27.03%, whereas DDT on ultra short term bond funds stands at 13.52% for individual investors. Fixed deposit interest is added to your taxable income and taxed at the marginal rate, which means for the highest tax slab it is 30.9%. The Union Budget 2012 proposes that savings bank interest income up to . 10,000 will not be taxed. A reverse calculation shows that if you have . 2.5 lakh in your saving bank account for one year, you will exhaust that limit at 4% rate of interest. Interest earned from your saving bank account beyond this limit will be taxable at the marginal rate. Though it appears to be a situation of 'advantage mutual funds', when it comes to money parking solution, there is another side of the coin. Before parking your money in a scheme classified as an ultra short-term bond fund, do check if there is any exit load. Some such schemes do have exit loads. If you cannot keep your money for the stipulated period after which there is no exit load, avoid such schemes. There is one more point you need to look at. A bank has to pay the agreed interest rate at the time of accepting a fixed deposit, even if the market interest rate falls in the currency of the fixed deposit. But a mutual fund performance is linked to market interest rates. The returns will fall if the interest rates were to go down in funds that do not have a significant mark-to-market component. Let's understand this with a simple example. You enter into a 180-day fixed deposit with 8% interest rate, and after one month, the bank revises the interest rate down to 6% in sync with market rate for all future customers. But the bank will pay you interest at 8%. However, things will be different for a mutual fund. Returns in the third month may not be the same as in the first. As the fund manager has to deploy maturity proceeds of high-paying investments at lower interest rates prevailing in the market, the returns should go down. If you are expecting a massive fall in short-term interest rates, you can consider fixed deposit with no premature withdrawal penalty and lock in your returns. Otherwise, mutual funds should offer better post-tax returns.   --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

How to sell your car online? Posted: 16 May 2012 08:27 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Today, you can sell just about anything over the internet. Cars, too. Over the last couple of years, a number of websites have entered this segment. This includes carnation.in, mahindrafirstchoice.com ,CarDekho. com and MotorExchange.in . The advantages are many for potential sellers. This mode of sale helps bring in a wider audience for the seller. Since the dealer has a fixed location, the number of people that a seller has access to is limited. On the internet, many more people can be reached. Those looking at buying a car can even compare the vehicles through the websites. Selling it to a dealer means you could end up getting 20-30 per cent lesser than what you would get in a direct deal with the buyer. The dealer will impute a number of charges, commission, rentals and warehousing costs. Besides, given that only 10 per cent of the dealer market is organised, it is difficult to benchmark their cost against others. Going through a website is definitely more cost-effective, Such websites even offer you expertise, which gives confidence to a person who is looking at buying a car —a big advantage. A website such as Carnation or Carwale does not charge you any commission or fee for evaluating your car. You can list your car for free with these websites. Sample this: a Honda Accord (2005), which has done 41,000 km, is being sold for ~4.95 lakh at a dealer in Mumbai. Whereas, on a website like CarDekho, a Honda Accord (2005), which has done 81, 000 kms, is being sold for ~5.55 lakh. To sell your car through a website, first, you would have to register with them. The potential buyers will make bids for your car. Buyers can directly contact you. While this is the direct option, another option is to sell it to the website based on its quote. Some offer additional services for a fee. For example, Carnation will take the necessary photographs for the website and also create a verification report, which talks about the condition of your car. Carnation will charge you ~1,000 for the verification report. After you contact us, our engineer will call you for an inspection of your car. After the auction, our representative calls you and communicates the final price. If you are okay with this price, he proceeds to set up an appointment between you, the winning buyer and our executive at which point payment and paperwork are concluded. The entire process from inspection to sale can be concluded in just two days. Very old cars, too, can be sold online. For buyers, the websites even offer post-purchase servicing. However, one major disappointment for buyers from these portals is that they cannot test-drive the car they intend to buy. Dealers score here. Since test drive is a very important part of the decision on one's purchase, it could prevent many from taking to the online route. The solution: Selling it to the web portal, so that interested customers can come and test-drive it. Yes, websites do score on convenience but dealers make a difference by allowing a test-drive – an important part of selling the car and getting the right price. If you were to sell it to the website, you may not get the best price. Therefore, do a cost-benefit check before opting for either. Websites like Carnation does not charge any fee or commission for evaluating yourcar apart from giving a wider audience -------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

HDFC Mutual Fund Fixed Maturity Plans Posted: 16 May 2012 07:13 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   HDFC Mutual Fund announces the New Fund Offer (NFO) of 3 Fixed Maturity Plans (FMPs) - HDFC FMP 370D May 2012 (2), HDFC FMP 92D May 2012 (1) & HDFC FMP 370D May 2012 (3).   The subscription will be open from May 16, 2012 to May 22, 2012 for HDFC FMP 370D May 2012 (2), May 17, 2012 to May 23, 2012 for HDFC FMP 92D May 2012 (1) & May 23, 2012 to May 29, 2012 for HDFC FMP 370D May 2012 (3). -------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

SBI debt fund series Posted: 16 May 2012 04:53 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   SBI Mutual Fund has announced the launch of SBI debt fund series 180 days 25. The new fund offer (NFO) of the scheme will be open for subscription from May 11. -------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Income Tax Department to Ignore Mismatch below Rs 1 Lakh in TDS Claims Posted: 16 May 2012 04:02 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Income Tax Department to Ignore Mismatch below Rs 1 Lakh in TDS Claims   A circular from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has directed tax officers to ignore the mismatch between the TDS amount stated in Income-tax returns and the TDS credit reflected in the department's system, if the difference does not exceed . 1 lakh. In such a circumstance, the TDS claim of the taxpayer has to be accepted without verification, according to the circular. The significance of this circular is that the department cannot withhold the refunds, merely on the ground of discrepancy in the TDS claim in the return filed by the taxpayer and the TDS credit reflected on the department's system, if the difference is less than . 1 lakh. Besides, the circular will put an end to the practice of tax officers forcing the taxpayers to pay up the difference whenever there is a mismatch between the TDS credit claimed by the taxpayer and the sum computed by the taxman. The anomaly, more often than not, occurs due to technical problems of the department's system, but taxpayers faced an additional tax demand or delay in the issue of refunds for no fault of theirs. The CBDT circular will have a positive bearing on the process of refunds that began from the second week of April. The CBDT has given a green signal to the department to begin the issue of refunds in the month of April itself. An I-T official said "We expect a refund outgo of about . 10,000 crore the first month of the current fiscal itself " . Last fiscal, thanks to a new initiative of the then CBDT chairman, at least . 50,000 crore — which accounted for about 50 % of last year's total refunds — was issued by the end of April. The I-T officials belie a substantial portion of the refund dues will be issued by the end of April. --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

More NCDs coming with attractive returns Posted: 16 May 2012 02:55 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms NON-convertible debentures (NCDs), which were a hit with the retail investors last year promising attractive returns of 11-13.50 per cent, are set to make a come back this year in a big way. Almost all the companies that tapped the retail NCD market last year — Shriram Transport Finance, Muthoot Finance, Religare Finvest, Shriram City Union Finance — are planning to come up with retail NCD issues in the next few months according to investment banking sources. With equity markets remaining unpredictable and interest rates on bank deposits falling, retail NCDs that promise assured returns could well turn out to be a favourable investment instrument for retail investors this year too. Dwindling credit support from banks has resulted in non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) hitting the retail NCD market yet again after launching a slew of issues last financial year. The year 2011-12 proved to be the biggest for retail NCD issues with about Rs 5,105 crore being raised by six NBFC's, compared with Rs 500 crore raised by just one company, Shriram Transport Finance, in the year 2010-11. Banks have their credit exposure limits in lending to NBFCs. But when the NBFCs are growing faster and bank lending is not growing at the same pace, we have no other choice but to tap other sources of funds like retail NCDs. The company, which raised Rs 750 crore last year through a retail NCD issue, is looking to raise a similar amount in the second quarter of this year. With the NBFC sector growing at a scorching pace, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in January this year commissioned a study which suggested a cap on bank lending to the non-deposit taking NBFC sector, as it posed a `systemic risk' since the NBFC's were involved in `higher risk activities', compared with the banks. Additionally, the RBI had also recently imposed a 7.5 per cent cap on a bank's exposure to any single gold loans NBFC, compared with 10 per cent earlier. Bank credit to the NBFC sector too, dwindled, growing by 26 per cent in 201112 to Rs 2,218 crore, compared with the 56 per cent growth seen in 2010-11 to Rs 1,755 crore, according to RBI data. Being an open market source, NCD is a much easier option for NBFCs compared with bank loans which are increasingly becoming difficult to get. The 11-13 per cent interest rates offered to NCDs is much cheaper compared with the rates that they borrow at from banks and the repayment tenure is also longer. --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Do you need to e-file I-T returns? Posted: 16 May 2012 01:41 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms If a resident holds any shares or financial interest in a foreign entity, then such information is required to be furnished ONE of the key points proposed in the Union budget 2012 is the compulsory filing of income-tax return by every resident individual or Hindu undivided family (HUF) in relation to assets located outside India. Keeping with the intention expressed in the budget, the central board of direct taxes (CBDT) has amended income-tax return forms especially to capture data of financial interest in any entity/ properties / assets held outside India. It would also include residents having signing authority in any account located outside India whether or not they earn taxable income. These forms are to be used for the year ended March 31. Some of the changes that have been brought about in the forms this year are detailed in this article: Furnishing of foreign bank accounts details: Residents, individuals and HUF, will need to furnish the details of any bank accounts that they hold in foreign countries along with the details of the peak balance in rupees held t in these accounts during the year. Details of financial interest in any entity / p properties / assets held outside India: If a resident holds any shares or financial interest in a foreign entity, then such information is required to be furnished along s with the total cost of investment in rupees. d In view of the same, the ITR-2, ITR-3 and ITR-4 forms have been amended to s seek such information. f It may be noted that though the income-tax return form requires the foreign c assets to be reported in rupees, the tax department has not specified the manner in t which the value needs to be converted a from the foreign currency yet. a E-filing of tax returns: Until last year, taxes payers had the option of filing their return manually or electronically. Now, e-filing of c the tax return has been made mandatory t in the following two cases. First, resident u individuals or HUF who hold assets (including financial interest) outside India or f have a signing authority in a foreign bank account. Second, individuals and HUF whose total income exceeds Rs 10 lakh for the FY 2011­12. Foreign tax credit: Individuals or HUF who claim a relief on account of foreign taxes paid on doubly taxed income in a foreign jurisdiction, will need to provide details of the foreign jurisdiction, the tax identification number in the foreign country, as well as the details of the income earned, tax paid and the amount of relief claimed. Some of the important information required to be disclosed in the income-tax return form are: In case, an individual co-owns a house property, then the co-ownership details which includes the name, PAN and ownership share of co-owners. If you are claiming deductions in case of specified donations, then the details of the donee (name, address and PAN). Reporting of the unique tax deduction at source (TDS) certificate number and the financial year in which TDS is deducted is required to be reported for TDS on incomes other than salary. There is also a requirement to calculate the long-term capital gains (LTCG) with and without claiming the benefit of indexation of cost of inflation and report them separately. With the above changes in the income-tax return forms, the tax authorities seek to make the reporting of individuals and HUFs more transparent and wish to gather more information on their foreign assets. ------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Public Financial Institutions Bonds Posted: 16 May 2012 12:03 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Apart from public sector undertakings, Financial Institutions are also allowed to issue bonds, that too in much higher quantum. They issue bonds in 2 ways - through public issues targeted at retail investors and trusts and also through private placements to large institutional investors. Usually, transfers of the former type of bonds are exempt from stamp duty while only part of the bonds issued privately have this facility. On an incremental basis, bonds of PFIs are second only to GOISECs in value of issuance. Retail bond issues of PFI bonds have become a big rage with investors in the last three years. PFIs have also been offering bonds with different features to meet differing needs of investors eg monthly return bonds (which pay monthly coupons), cumulative interest bonds, step up coupon bonds etc --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Corporate debentures Posted: 15 May 2012 10:36 PM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms These are long term debt instruments issued by private sector companies. These are issued in denominations as low as Rs.1,000 and have maturities ranging between one and ten years. Long maturity debentures are rarely issued, as investors are not comfortable with such maturities. Generally, debentures are less liquid as compared to PSU bonds and the liquidity is inversely proportional to the residual maturity. A key feature that distinguishes debentures from bonds is the stamp duty payment. Debenture stamp duty is a state subject and the quantum of incidence varies from state to state. There are two kinds of stamp duties levied on debentures viz issuance and transfer. Issuance stamp duty is paid in the state where the principal mortgage deed is registered. Over the years, issuance stamp duties have been coming down and are reasonably uniform. Stamp duty on transfer is paid to the state in which the registered office of the company is located. Transfer stamp duty remains high in many states and is probably the biggest deterrent for trading in debentures resulting in lack of liquidity. --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Fixed Income Instruments Posted: 15 May 2012 07:57 PM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Fixed Income Instruments Instruments Traditionally when a borrower takes a loan from a lender, he enters into an agreement with the lender specifying when he would repay the loan and what return (interest) he would provide the lender for providing the loan. This entire structure can be converted into a form wherein the loan can be made tradable by converting it into smaller units with pro rata allocation of interest and principal. This tradable form of the loan is termed as a debt instrument. Therefore, debt instruments are basically obligations undertaken by the issuer of the instrument as regards certain future cash flows representing interest and principal, which the issuer would pay to the legal owner of the instrument. Debt instruments are of various types. The key terms that distinguish one debt instrument from another are as follows: Issuer of the instrument Face value of the instrument Interest rate Repayment terms (and therefore maturity period/tenor) Security or collateral provided by the issuer Different kinds of debt instruments and their key terms and characteristics are discussed below. Money market instruments: By convention, the term "money market" refers to the market for short-term requirement and deployment of funds. Money market instruments are those instruments, which have a maturity period of less than one year. The most active part of the money market is the market for overnight and term money between banks and institutions (called call money) and the market for repo transactions. The former is in the form of loans and the latter are sale and buy back agreements - both are obviously not traded. The main traded instruments are commercial papers (CPs), certificates of deposit (CDs) and treasury bills (T-Bills). All of these are discounted instruments ie they are issued at a discount to their maturity value and the difference between the issuing price and the maturity/face value is the implicit interest. These are also completely unsecured instruments. One of the important features of money market instruments is their high liquidity and tradability. A key reason for this is that these instruments are transferred by endorsement and delivery and there is no stamp duty or any other transfer fee levied when the instrument changes hands. Another important feature is that there is no tax deducted at source from the interest component. A brief description of these instruments is as follows: Commercial Paper (CP): These are issued by corporate entities in denominations of Rs.2.5mn and usually have a maturity of 90 days. CPs can also be issued for maturity periods of 180 and one year but the most active market is for 90 day CPs. Two key regulations govern the issuance of CPs-firstly, CPs have to be compulsorily rated by a recognized credit rating agency and only those companies can issue CPs which have a short term rating of at least P1. Secondly, funds raised through CPs do not represent fresh borrowings for the corporate issuer but merely substitute a part of the banking limits available to it. Hence, a company issues CPs almost always to save on interest costs ie it will issue CPs only when the environment is such that CP issuance will be at rates lower than the rate at which it borrows money from its banking consortium. Certificates of Deposit (CD): These are issued by banks in denominations of Rs0.5mn and have maturity ranging from 30 days to 3 years. Banks are allowed to issue CDs with a maturity of less than one year while financial institutions are allowed to issue CDs with a maturity of at least one year. Usually, this means 366 day CDs. The market is most active for the one year maturity bracket, while longer dated securities are not much in demand. One of the main reasons for an active market in CDs is that their issuance does not attract reserve requirements since they are obligations issued by a bank. Treasury Bills (T-Bills): These are issued by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India and are thus actually a class of Government Securities. At present, T-Bills are issued in maturity of 14 days, 91 days and 364 days. The RBI has announced its intention to start issuing 182 day T-Bills shortly. The minimum denomination can be as low as Rs.100, but in practice most of the bids are large bids from institutional investors who are allotted T-Bills in dematerialized form. RBI holds auctions for 14 and 364 day T-Bills on a fortnightly basis and for 91 day T-Bills on a weekly basis. There is a notified value of bills available for the auction of 91 day T-Bills which is announced 2 days prior to the auction. There is no specified amount for the auction of 14 and 364 day T-Bills. The result is that at any given point of time, it is possible to buy T-Bills to tailor one's investment requirements. Potential investors have to put in competitive bids at the specified times. These bids are on a price/interest rate basis. The auction is conducted on a French auction basis ie all bidders above the cut off at the interest rate/price which they bid while the bidders at the clearing/cut off price/rate get pro rata allotment at the cut off price/rate. The cut off is determined by the RBI depending on the amount being auctioned, the bidding pattern etc. By and large, the cut off is market determined although sometimes the RBI utilizes its discretion and decides on a cut off level which results in a partially successful auction with the balance amount devolving on it. This is done by the RBI to check undue volatility in the interest rates. Non-competitive bids are also allowed in auctions (only from specified entities like State Governments and their undertakings and statutory bodies) wherein the bidder is allotted T-Bills at the cut off price. Short term corporate debentures Apart from the above money market instruments, certain other short-term instruments are also in vogue with investors. These include short-term corporate debentures, Bills of exchange and promissory notes. Like CPs, short-term debentures are issued by corporate entities. However, unlike CPs, they represent additional funding for the corporate ie the funds borrowed by issuing short term debentures are over and above the funds available to the corporate from its consortium bankers. Normally, debenture issuance attracts stamp duty; but issuers get around this by issuing only a letter of allotment (LOA) with the promise of issuing a formal debenture later - however the debenture is never issued and the LOA itself is redeemed on maturity. These LOAs are freely tradable but transfers attract stamp duty. Bills of exchange are promissory notes issued for commercial transactions involving exchange of goods and services. These bills form a part of a company's banking limits and are discounted by the banks. Banks in turn rediscount bills with each other. Long term debt instruments: By convention, these are instruments having a maturity exceeding one year. The main instruments are Government of India dated securities (GOISEC), State Government securities (state loans) public sector bonds (PSU bonds), corporate debentures etc. Most of these are coupon bearing instruments ie interest payments (called coupons) are payable at pre specified dates called "coupon dates". At any given point of time, any such instrument has a certain amount of accrued interest with it ie interest which has accrued (but is not due) calculated at the "coupon rate" from the date of the last coupon payment. eg if 30 days have elapsed from the last coupon payment of a 14% coupon debenture with a face value of Rs 100, the accrued interest will be 100*0.14*30/365 = 1.15 Whenever coupon-bearing securities are traded, by convention, they are traded at a base price with the accrued interest separate - in other words, the total price would be equal to the summation of the base price and the accrued interest. A brief description of these instruments is as follows: Government of India dated securities (GOISECs): Like treasury bills, GOISECs are issued by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India. These form a part of the borrowing program approved by Parliament in the Finance Bill each year (Union Budget). They are issued in dematerialized form but can be issued in denominations as low as Rs.100 in physical certificate form. They have maturity ranging from 1 year to 30 years. Very long dated securities ie those having maturity exceeding 20 years were in vogue in the seventies and the eighties while in the early nineties, most of the securities issued have been in the 5-10 year maturity bucket. Very recently, securities of 15 and 20 years maturity have been issued. Like T-Bills, GOISECs are most commonly issued in dematerialized form in the "SGL" account although it can be issued in physical certificate form on specific request. Tradability of physical securities is very limited. The SGL passbook contains a record of the holdings of the investor. The RBI acts as a clearing agent for GOISEC transactions by being the custodian and operator of the SGL account. GOISECs are transferable by endorsement and delivery for physical certificates. Transactions of securities held in SGL form are effected through SGL transfer notes. Transfer of GOISECs does not attract stamp duty or transfer fee. Also no tax is deductible at source on the coupon payments made on GOISECs. Like T-Bills, GOISECs are issued through the auction route. The RBI pre specifies an approximate amount of dated securities that it intends to issue through the year. However, it has broad flexibility in exceeding or being under that figure. Unlike T-Bills, it does not have a pre set timetable for the auction dates and exercises its judgement on the timing of each issuance, the duration of instruments being issued as well as the quantum of issuance. Sometimes the RBI specifies the coupon rate of the security proposed to be issued and the prospective investors bid for a particular issuance yield. The difference between the coupon rate and the yield is adjusted in the issue price of the security. On other occasions, the RBI just specifies the maturity of the proposed security and prospective investors bid for the coupon rate itself. In either case, just as in T-Bills, the auction is conducted on a French auction basis. Also, the RBI has wide latitude in deciding the cut off rate for each auction and can end up with unsold securities, which devolve on itself. Apart from the auction program, the RBI also sells securities in its open market operations (OMO) which it has acquired in devolvements or sometimes directly through private placements. Similarly, it also buys securities in open market operations if it feels fit. New types of GOISECs Earlier, the RBI used to issue straight coupon bonds ie bonds with a stated coupon payable periodically. In the last few years, the RBI has been innovative and new types of instruments have also been issued. These include Inflation linked bonds: These are bonds for which the coupon payment in a particular period is linked to the inflation rate at that time - the base coupon rate is fixed with the inflation rate (consumer price index-CPI) being added to it to arrive at the total coupon rate. Investors are often loath to invest in longer dated securities due to uncertainty of future interest rates. The idea behind these bonds is to make them attractive to investors by removing the uncertainty of future inflation rates, thereby maintaining the real value of their invested capital. Zero coupon bonds: These are bonds for which there is no coupon payment. They are issued at a discount to face value with the discount providing the implicit interest payment. In effect, these can be construed as long duration T - Bills or as bonds with cumulative interest payment. State government securities (state loans): These are issued by the respective state governments but the RBI coordinates the actual process of selling these securities. Each state is allowed to issue securities up to a certain limit each year. The planning commission in consultation with the respective state governments determines this limit. While there is no central government guarantee on these loans, they are deemed to be extremely safe. This is because the RBI debits the overdraft accounts of the respective states held with it for payment of interest and principal. Generally, the coupon rates on state loans are marginally higher than those of GOISECs issued at the same time. The procedure for selling of state loans, the auction process and allotment procedure is similar to that for GOISEC. They also qualify for SLR status and interest payment and other modalities are similar to GOISECs. They are also issued in dematerialized form and no stamp duty is payable on transfer. The procedure for transfer is similar to GOISECs. In general, state loans are much less liquid than GOISECs. Public Sector Undertaking Bonds (PSU Bonds): These are long term debt instruments issued by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). The term usually denotes bonds issued by the central PSUs (ie PSUs funded by and under the administrative control of the Government of India). The issuance of these bonds began in a big way in the late eighties when the central government stopped/reduced funding to PSUs through the general budget. Typically, they have maturities ranging between 5-10 years and they are issued in denominations (face value) of Rs.1,000 each. Most of these issues are made on a private placement basis to a targeted investor base at market determined interest rates. Often, investment bankers are roped in as arrangers for these issues. These PSU bonds are transferable by endorsement and delivery and no tax is deductible at source on the interest coupons payable to the investor (TDS exempt). In addition, from time to time, the Ministry of Finance has granted certain PSUs, an approval to issue limited quantum of tax-free bonds ie bonds for which the payment of interest is tax exempt in the hands of the investor. This feature was introduced with the purpose of lowering the interest cost for PSUs which were engaged in businesses which could not afford to pay market determined rates of interest eg Konkan Railway Corporation was allowed to issue substantial quantum of tax free bonds. Thus we have taxable coupon PSU bonds and tax free coupon PSU bonds. Bonds of Public Financial Institutions (PFIs): Apart from public sector undertakings, Financial Institutions are also allowed to issue bonds, that too in much higher quantum. They issue bonds in 2 ways - through public issues targeted at retail investors and trusts and also through private placements to large institutional investors. Usually, transfers of the former type of bonds are exempt from stamp duty while only part of the bonds issued privately have this facility. On an incremental basis, bonds of PFIs are second only to GOISECs in value of issuance. Retail bond issues of PFI bonds have become a big rage with investors in the last three years. PFIs have also been offering bonds with different features to meet differing needs of investors eg monthly return bonds (which pay monthly coupons), cumulative interest bonds, step up coupon bonds etc Corporate debentures: These are long term debt instruments issued by private sector companies. These are issued in denominations as low as Rs.1,000 and have maturities ranging between one and ten years. Long maturity debentures are rarely issued, as investors are not comfortable with such maturities. Generally, debentures are less liquid as compared to PSU bonds and the liquidity is inversely proportional to the residual maturity. A key feature that distinguishes debentures from bonds is the stamp duty payment. Debenture stamp duty is a state subject and the quantum of incidence varies from state to state. There are two kinds of stamp duties levied on debentures viz issuance and transfer. Issuance stamp duty is paid in the state where the principal mortgage deed is registered. Over the years, issuance stamp duties have been coming down and are reasonably uniform. Stamp duty on transfer is paid to the state in which the registered office of the company is located. Transfer stamp duty remains high in many states and is probably the biggest deterrent for trading in debentures resulting in lack of liquidity. Pass Through Certificates (PTCs): Pass through certificate is an instrument with cash flows derived from the cash flow of another underlying instrument or loan. Most commonly, they have been issued by foreign banks like Citibank on the basis of their car loan or mortgage/housing loan portfolio. The issuer is a special purpose vehicle which just receives money from a multitude of (may be several hundreds or thousands) underlying loans and passes the money to the holders of the PTCs. This process is called securitization. Legally speaking PTCs are promissory notes and therefore tradable freely with no stamp duty payable on transfer. Most PTCs have 2-3 year maturity because the issuance stamp duty rate of 0.75% makes shorter duration PTCs unviable. Some corporates have also issued zero coupon like debentures. The best example is Tata Steel's Secured Premium Notes (SPNs). These debentures had 4 bullet payments of principal and interest combined after a wait period of 4 years.       --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

L&T Opportunities Fund Posted: 15 May 2012 09:23 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Opportunities funds, as the name suggests, invest in stocks of companies across market cap segments (i.e. large cap, mid cap, small cap) and across sectors. Due to their fluid investment style, these funds stand a better chance of benefiting from attractive investment opportunities in various market cap segments as well as sectors. In practice, this depends mainly on the fund manager's expertise in identifying and tapping on investment opportunities well before others. A well-managed opportunities fund can add significant value to an investor's portfolio over the long-term. L&T Opportunities Fund (LOF) is one such open-ended diversified equity fund from the stable of L&T Mutual Fund, which follows a blend style of investing. LOF is primarily mandated to invest in equities and equity-related securities of Indian companies along with debt and money market instruments. Launched in November 1997, the fund has completed a little over 13 ½ years of existence now. The fund's primary investment objective is "to generate long term capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related securities. The fund will invest in a universe of stocks, which will be identified using fundamental analysis. The fund will invest in a portfolio of both value and growth stocks. The strategy will be to build up diversified portfolio of quality stocks, with medium to long term potential." The fund is mandated to invest 80% - 100% of its total assets in equity and equity-related instruments, and the rest (upto 20%) in domestic debt and money market instruments, to manage its liquidity requirements and as defensive stance. The Fund evaluates stocks based on the following factors amongst others ·         Business dynamics ·         Free cash flow generation ·         Financial strength of the company (which includes return on capital employed and return on equity) ·         Management quality, strength and vision   LOF adopting both – a top-down as well as a bottom-up approach imbibes in it the flexibility to actively shift its portfolio concentration between different market capitalisation buckets and across sectors. LOF has so far refrained from churning its portfolio too often (as revealed by its petite portfolio turnover ratio of 0.55 times).   Equity Portfolio As indicated by the table above, Top 10 holdings of LOF constitute majorly of blue-chip stocks. LOF is benchmarked against the S&P CNX Nifty Index. The latest disclosed portfolio (as on September 30, 2011) of LOF holds 53 stocks. Top 10 holdings form 37.8% of the equity portfolio while allocation to top 5 sectors has been 42.73%. Its complete portfolio discloses the dominance (68.0%) of the 'A' group ones, while holding in 'B' group stocks is to the tune of 32.0% of its equity portfolio. The fund's exposure to debt and cash over the past one year has not been more than 15% which indicates its tilt towards staying invested in equities. Interestingly, the fund has been maintaining significant exposure to index derivatives (futures) over last six months. But despite maintaining a balance across market cap segments, the fund has faltered on the performance front.   How LOF has fared vis-à-vis its peers The table above reveals that across time frame, LOF's performance is nothing to vie for. Over a 3-Yr and 5-Yr time frame the fund has clocked return of mere 18.3% CAGR and 9.4% CAGR respectively. Although it has managed to outperform its benchmark (S & P CNX Nifty) on 3 and 5 year returns, it has failed to match the performance of the benchmark over the last one year when markets were choppy and turbulent. When assessed on the volatility front too, LOF has exposed its investor to high risk (as revealed by its Standard Deviation of 10.70%), but has failed to compensate adequately (as revealed by its Sharpe Ratio of 0.09). This thus makes LOF a high risk-average returns investment proposition in the category.   Fund Manager Profile Name of the Fund Manager Mr. Pankaj Gupta Total Work Experience Over 13 years Managing the fund since Sep-10 Qualifications B.Com (Hons.), IIM (Lucknow)   Despite maintaining a balance across market cap segments and avoiding aggressive cash calls, L&T Opportunities Fund has faltered on the performance front. While the fund manager has adopted a "buy and hold" strategy, the lower risk adjusted returns reveal that the fund has not been able to spot the rewarding opportunities in the market. Higher exposure to derivatives too might have contributed to the underperformance but that is just a possibility. L & T is a process driven fund house managed by an experienced management. Despite this, the fund has disappointed. Investing merely in an opportunities fund would not help you capitalise on the investment opportunities available in the market but a careful selection of a fund would enhance your chances to be well placed to exploit the opportunities. Furthermore, risk management remains the key in an opportunities fund. We believe investors should be better off investing in a fund which has a proven track record and is managed by a process driven fund house. ------------------------------------------ Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Bharti AXA Equity Fund Posted: 15 May 2012 08:39 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Multi-cap funds provide investors a benefit of investing across market capitalisations - be it large caps, mid caps or small caps. Their investment mandate does not restrict them to invest in only a specific market cap segment, which thus provides them an opportunity to create wealth by delivering alpha returns. Moreover, they are not confined to one particular style of investing, which allows them to follow a value, growth or blend style of investing. While undertaking their stock picking activity too they can follow a bottom-up as well as a top-down approach for investing across capitalisations. Hence given that, the fund managers' of multi-cap funds very often actively engage in portfolio churning (to take exposure to the opportunities in respective market segment(s)) with an objective of creating wealth. Bharti AXA Equity Fund (BAEF) is one such open-ended multi-cap equity oriented fund from the stable of Bharti AXA Mutual Fund, which follows a blend style of investing. BAEF is mandated to invest in equities and equity-related instruments across capitalisation, along with debt and money market instruments. Launched in October 2008, the fund has been in existence for a little over 3 years now. The fund's primary investment objective is "to generate income and long-term capital appreciation through a diversified portfolio of predominantly equity and equity-related securities including equity derivatives, across all market capitalizations. The Scheme is in the nature of diversified multi-cap fund. The Scheme is not providing any assured or guaranteed returns. Further, there can be no assurance that the investment objective of the scheme will be realized." The fund is mandated to invest 65% - 100% of its total assets in equity and equity-related securities (across capitalizations) - including investment in derivatives upto 50% of net assets of the portfolio, and the rest (upto 35%) in debt and money market instruments to manage its liquidity requirements. While undertaking its stock picking activity, BAEF follows top-down approach to shortlist stocks for the portfolio construction. Under the top down process BAEF aims to look at the global and Indian economy and the domestic policy environment along with stock valuations. This would thus result in identification of themes which have a potential to outperform. The final stock selection process would also include the bottom-up approach wherein stocks from the short listed themes would be picked up based on valuations. Equity Portfolio BAEF believes in having companies with sustainable business models, along with those which have the potential for capital appreciation. However it imbibes in it the flexibility to pursue opportunities across the entire market capitalisation spectrum, from smaller companies to well-established large-cap companies, without having any bias in favour of sectoral allocations, or market capitalisation. However, as per the latest disclosed portfolio as on October 31, 2011, the fund has allocated majority of its corpus to large cap stocks which form 89.1% of its portfolio. Mid and small cap stocks account for 7% of the portfolio while the debt and cash component is 3.9%. Being benchmarked to the S&P CNX Nifty index, BAEF's latest portfolio (i.e. as on October 31, 2011) constitutes of 41 stocks, where the top-10 stocks account for 55.6% of the portfolio while the top-5 sectors account for 51.1% of its portfolio. However a noteworthy point is BAEF indulges in very aggressive churning (as revealed by its portfolio turnover ratio of 2.1 times) as compared to the other funds in its category.   How BAEF has fared vis-à-vis its peers? The above table reveals that on the return front, BAEF's performance vis-à-vis its peers is disappointing. Over a 3-Yr time frame, the fund has delivered a return of mere 15.8% CAGR being the second lowest in the peer set above and has not even been able to match the performance of its benchmark. On the volatility front, BAEF has exposed to its investors to the moderate risk (Standard Deviation of 8.29%) and risk adjusted returns clocked by the fund are appalling (as revealed by the Sharpe Ratio of just 0.13 which is lower as compared to its benchmark) . Fund Manager Profile Name of the Fund Manager Mr. Gaurav Kapur Total Work Experience Over 9 years Managing the fund since Mar-11 Qualifications CFA, CA, MBA Bharti AXA Equity Fund was launched during the bear phase of the market in spite of which the fund has failed to capitalise on the opportunity and has fared dismally. The average AUM of the scheme for past 12 months has been ` 80.3 crore and the expense ratio is 2.50%. The fund manager has churned the portfolio very aggressively and has mainly focused on short term opportunities thereby missing the initial advantage of buying stocks at cheaper valuation during its early days. Investing in a mutual fund during a market downtrend will not automatically translate into generating stellar returns. The strategy of taking momentum calls may hurt long term investors. BAEF is an example of how one may miss to capitalise on opportunities despite being investing at attractive valuation. Investing in a fund managed by a fund house which follows systems and processes and has an established track record of performance may enhance your chances of benefiting from your mutual fund investment. ------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Shriram Life - Shri Vivah Posted: 15 May 2012 06:52 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Shriram Life's Shri Vivah is a regular premium endowment plan designed to provide financial support to the family of a deceased policyh older, especially during events such as children's marriage. The policyholder here can choose anywhere between 7 and 25 years as the policy term. Key Features The unique selling point of Shri Vivah is its structured death benefit that this policy proclaims to give to the nominee. In the event of the death of the policyholder during the policy term, the scheme will pay death benefit to the nominee in three tranches: (a) An amount equal to sum assured and vested bonuses, if any, immediately on death (b) A sum equal to 1% of the sum assured per month till the end of the policy term (c) One further sum assured at the end of the policy term i.e. on maturity Shriram Life's Shri Vivah clearly scores on the death benefits that it proclaims to pay to the nominee of the policyholder. In fact, in the event of early death of the policyholder, say, within a few years of taking the policy, the scheme can end up paying more than three times the sum assured to the nominee. The payment of monthly income throughout the policy term also ensures that the family of the deceased is not deprived of a regular source of income. While the death benefits are far too lucrative, for survival benefit, only the amount of sum assured along with vested bonuses is payable. As the premiums charged by this scheme are high, in the event of policyholder surviving the entire insurance term, the premiums paid are likely to exceed the survival benefit. We, thus, recommend this scheme for insurance rather than investment needs. Assuming the age of the policyholder is 30 years and the policy term is of 25 years for a sum assured of 10,00,000, the annual premium payable will be 44,527. ------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

E-Insurance by June 2012 Posted: 15 May 2012 05:15 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Buy Gold Mutual Funds Buy e-policy either through insurer or by opening an e-insurance account A month down the line, you may be holding insurance policies in electronic form. According to sector experts, the regulator is in the last lap of checking repositories preparedness and infrastructure, and is likely to allot licenses by May-end or early June. Though e-policies will be available across life, health and motor insurance segments, the service will first start for life covers. Experts say companies, such as ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and Birla SunLife Insurance are ready to launch. Five to 10 insurance companies are ready for issuing einsurance. The rest may start by September. The industry initially expects customer traction to be low. It sees two to five per cent of the new business premium in the electronic form in the first year of e-policy. This may increase to 10 to 15 per cent in the second year. Policyholders will understand the ease of owning an epolicy and gravitate towards it once they own one. Insurance repositories, like share depositories or mutual fund transfer agencies, will hold e-policy records. If you buy an e-policy and do not want to continue with it, you can convert it to paper, and vice versa, too. How to buy an e-policy? You can approach an insurer and ask it to issue an e-policy in your name. The company will inform the repository, which, in turn, will call you and complete the know your customer (KYC) norms for an e-insurance account (e-IA). Once the policy is issued, the insurer will share the details with the repository, who, in turn, will update it in your account. Then, you will be given a receipt with your transaction summary. Or, you open an e-IA and then buy a policy either online or offline. The repository service will be free of cost; the insurer will pay them. You will need your identity and address proof for KYC. For policy conversion, you can open an account and send the policy conversion request and policy document a long with the repository. Each e-IA will get a login ID and password to access one's account and electronic policy details online on the repository's website. Benefits Convenience, mainly. You can hold multiple policies in a single e-IA. You can access any of your policies at any time by logging on to the repository site. And, pay premium(s) online. Also, a single KYC window means less paper work. If you want to make changes to your personal details, you can change it in your e-IA with one request. The repository will inform all the companies with whom you hold electronic policies. All policies can be serviced just by providing your e-IA by placing a request to your repository instead of visiting different insurers -------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds Invest Online DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Invest Online Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Triggers for exiting a Mutual Fund Posted: 15 May 2012 04:22 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Buy Gold Mutual Funds   The stock market has been volatile. In three years, from a level of around 17,200, it has fallen all the way down to 8,100, then recovered to flirt with almost 21,000-levels, only to remain indecisive currently at around 18,000 points. More, the prognosis doesn't look too good. Greece's credit rating has been cut four steps below investment grade; consequently, there is areal fear of global credit markets drying up. Italy is at risk, Japan is under duress and the economic data coming out of the US is not promising. Domestically, after petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG prices may also be raised. If this happens, factors of production will become dearer, leading to a further increase in general price levels, that is inflation. No wonder, investors are flustered. So, the question, under the current circumstances, is, should you be selling your mutual fund (MF) investments? The world's most successful investor doesn't seem to think so. "Our favourite holding period is forever," says Warren Buffett. Therefore, before addressing the issue of when to sell your MF, lets first dwell upon when not to sell it. In this regard, the following quote is quite pertinent. Bernstein William, in his book, 'The Intelligent Asset Allocator' says, "There are two kinds of investors – those who don't know where the market is headed and those who don't know that they don't know. Then, again, there is a third type - the investment professional, who indeed knows that he or she doesn't know, but whose livelihood depends upon appearing to know." History has repeatedly proven, time and time again, that it is impossible to time the market. The index is flirting with around 18,300-levels right now. But no human being is capable of knowing where the market would be tomorrow or the next month or even later. So, if you invest or disinvest based on market movements or expected market movements, it amounts to pure speculation. And, know this much – you can either speculate or accumulate, but never both. When do you sell your MF investments? 1) UNDER-PERFORMANCE? Investing is all about the long-term. However, it has to be the right investment in the first place. Study the performance of your funds against their peer group and also the benchmark returns. Say your fund has gained by 10 per cent. While you may be happy, this doesn't actually tell you much. To put the fund's performance in perthe correct peer group. One should not compare an equity-diversified fund against a sectoral fund or a large-cap fund against a midcap aggressive fund. Also, take care that you gauge performance over a reasonable period of time. Most information sources publish three-month figures of fund performance. Three months is too short a time to come to any conclusion. You should always look at a minimum run of three to five years to arrive at any sort of a conclusion. 2) CHANGE IN COMPOSITION Moving on, another reason you sell your investment is if it doesn't remain the same investment. For instance, balanced funds earlier qualified with a 50 per cent exposure to equity. Now, with the revised laws, at least 65 per cent ought to be invested to equity. Most fund managers, in an effort to spike the return, even take a higher exposure. Therefore, if the investment has become riskier than what you would be comfortable with, it's time to sell. 3) CHANGE IN MANAGER MF companies will argue themselves hoarse that fund management is a process-driven activity and the individual doesn't matter. However, successful stock selection is a matter of experience, perspective and instinct. These are human qualities that cannot be completely reduced to a process. The fund manager's exit is a red flag; however, it could also be possible that the new guy is better than the earlier one. So, keep the fund under its erstwhile captain. 4) REALIGNING ALLOCATION Every investor has his or her own risk tolerance. Say you are comfortable with half your funds invested in equity. Time to time, you need to check the asset allocation. With the current substantial run up in equities, chances are that your total portfolio has become distorted towards these. To bring it back, you would need to sell. Here, take care of the fiscal side. While selling, it makes more sense to sell funds over a year old for the associated tax break in capital gains. Also, this realigning of asset allocation would automatically take care of our profit booking. But note it is maintenance of the asset allocation pattern that is the main trigger for selling and not the level of the index as such. We have established so far that amongst all the reasons for selling your funds, falling or rising markets should in no way influence your decision. If anything, if markets start falling, please buy additional units – the cheaper deal will eventually hold you in good stead.   --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds        Invest Online DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds     Invest Online ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds    Invest Online Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds             Invest Online DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds              Invest Online Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds             Invest Online Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

Risk taking ability should decide exposure to equity Posted: 15 May 2012 03:41 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms ARE mutual funds among the most convenient vehicles to invest in equity markets? Not necessarily! Age is one of the primary criterions for investing in mutual funds. What matters more is your ability to understand what level of risk you can comfortably take at different times in your life. And finding a mutual fund that aligns with that level of risk hence, becomes more critical. Today, mutual funds are able to serve the needs of both, an investor who is very conservative and wants minimal risk, and also who can take risk aggressively. Of course, like with anything in life, the likelihood of higher returns is greater when you take higher risk and vice-versa. For the very conservative investor, one can even start by investing in money-market funds which are less volatile and tends to offer better liquidity, compared with traditional investment option. On the other end of the risk spectrum are pure equity funds, that may be volatile in the short-term, but tend to offer much better returns over a longer investment horizon, compared with money-market funds. So how do you decide what share of your investments should be in equity funds? There is an old thumb rule of investing which says that 100-minusyour-age can be your percentage allocation to equity mutual funds. The rest can be in funds with lower risk such as money market and debt funds. However, with average life expectancy in India growing rapidly to 66 years in 2010, compared with 58 just 20 years ago, this rule of thumb now often gets challenged. In over two decades that I have been associated with advising clients, I have seen investors at the age of 70 feeling comfortable investing a greater share of their assets in equity funds, and seen young investors in their 30s favour lower-risk debt funds. In either case, one can argue that both investor types challenged traditional wisdom that the younger you are, greater the risks you can take. What it implies is that both investors had a more developed appreciation of their respective financial goals taking into account the time they can stay invested, their experience with mutual funds as a category, the return they need on their capital and the risk they were willing to take to achieve their goals. All of the above, when combined, aims to make a comprehensive and confident investment decision. It is also well known globally that mutual funds are amongst the most convenient vehicles to invest in equity markets. The Indian regulator is keen to enable increased ownership of mutual funds beyond just the metros to the common man right across the length and breadth of India. This will not only help develop the Indian capital markets, but equally aims to give a more direct route to participate in the growth of corporate India and the Indian economy at large, thereby growing their wealth. Regardless of their age, in my career, I have met investors who have never in vested in mutual funds, to those who actively invest in them. The former often hesitate because they do not know how to choose a fund from over 2000 choices that exist today, while the latter is often hassled with the administrative burden of keeping track of the performance of funds, filling subscription and redemptions forms, writing cheques and reconciling their bank statements. To address both their needs, a new category of mutual funds has now begun to se are what are called multi manager funds. These researched funds aim to invest in the best of breed funds across the industry, thereby, eliminating the burden of selecting funds for the investors. To sum it up, age is but just one factor to take into account when investing in mutual funds. And there is never a substitute for gaining firsthand experience. -------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

IIFCL Infra Debt Fund Posted: 15 May 2012 02:55 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms IIFCL Infra Debt Fund   India Infrastructure Finance Company (IIFCL) on Wednesday said it expects its $1-billion (about . 5,000 crore) infrastructure debt fund (IDF) to be operational by the end of next month. "The company has initiated the process for launching an IDF along with other co-sponsors and investors for a corpus of around $1 billion with an investment of around . 1,500 crore through mutual fund route," IIFCL chairman and MD SK Goel said after announcing its annual performance.   "We expect IDF to be operational before May end," he said, adding, the company has already got provisional approval from the Sebi. He said, IIFCL decided to go for mutual fund route because it is more flexible. Of the total fund size, $500 million would be raised from the domestic market while remaining would be from the overseas market, he said. Domestic investors would include IIFCL, IDBI Bank and LIC while ADB has committed $200 million, Barclays and HSBC likely to bring in $150 million each. The country's poor infrastructure is seen as a major bottleneck for economic growth. -------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

JPMorgan India Hybrid Fund Series Posted: 15 May 2012 01:39 AM PDT Invest Mutual Funds Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms JPMorgan Asset Management India on Wednesday announced the launch of JPMorgan India hybrid fund series 1. The fund will close for subscription on May 21. --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Transact Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Fund Application Forms   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds: DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Large and Midcap Funds ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Mid and SmallCap Funds Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Small and MicroCap Funds DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund Sector Funds Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund Gold Mutual Funds Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund   Mutual Fund Application Forms Download Any Applications Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Infrastructure Bond Application Forms Download Applications

You are subscribed to email updates from Prajna Capital - An Investment Guide To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610