Prajna Capital

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• Check your Provident Fund balance online
• Rental Income from Real Estate rarely beats the Inflation rate
• OPD Health Insurance Cover

Check your Provident Fund balance online Posted: 07 May 2014 05:07 AM PDT Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300    Provident Fund balance online EPFO has launched a Member Portal, currently in Beta stage. This allows you to find out accumulated balance in your Provident Fund (PF) Account. You will need to register on their site using one of the document like PAN, Voters Card, Driving License, Aadhar, Passport etc. Once you register, you can request for an E Passbook. It takes a while for them but they do notify you via SMS once the E Passbook is ready for you to download. We found this service to be extremely useful in keeping a tab on your retirement savings. Please click here to visit their website. You will need your PF number for Registration.       For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call     Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them OR You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com   --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Invest Any Mutual Fund Online   Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Any Fund Application Forms ---------------------------------------------   Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds             Invest Online DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Franklin India Bluechip ICICI Prudential Top 100 Fund B. Large and Midcap Funds         Invest Online ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Franklin India Prima C. Mid and SmallCap Funds          Invest Online Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield Plus SBI Emerging Businesses Fund HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund ICICI Prudential Discovery Fund D. Small and MicroCap Funds   Invest Online DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund 2.       Franklin India Smaller Companies E. Sector Funds          Invest Online Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund F. Tax Saver Mutual Funds      Invest Online 1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan 2. HDFC Taxsaver DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund G. Gold Mutual Funds        Invest Online Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund Birla Sun Life Gold H. International funds         Invest Online 1. Birla Sun Life International Equity Plan A 2. DSP BlackRock US Flexible Equity 3. FT India Feeder Franklin US Opportunities 4. ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity 5. Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares NASDAQ-100 ETF Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Application Forms Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now

Rental Income from Real Estate rarely beats the Inflation rate Posted: 07 May 2014 04:22 AM PDT Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300   Read this interesting article......   I live in a centrally located area of Bangalore. A canal bifurcates the main road into the 'rich' and 'poor' areas. On the affluent side of the canal, hotels, restaurants and high rises dot the street. The real estate rates hover between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000 a square feet. On the other side — home to a garbage dump — the rates are about Rs 3,000 a square feet. I clearly know which side of the street offers a better quality of living, but how does one decide which side of the street is a better investment for the future? Pay a bomb and buy an apartment in one of the high rises, and expect high rental income, or invest low and hope that the eventual development of the locality and capital appreciation on the property will work in one's favour? Unlike a stock market index, which captures the market conditions based on a basket of stocks, it is difficult to benchmark the performance of real estate, where the variations in real estate prices are alarming even within the same neighbourhood. Many people are of the view that land can only appreciate in value. This is far from true. Just like demand and supply dictate market economics, so is the case with real estate. There are factors that can go beyond one's control in determining the true value of a property. Even if a property has appreciated significantly in value, we tend to ignore frictional costs such as maintenance charges, registration costs, stamp duty, property tax, capital gains tax, lawyer fees, broker fees and other associated costs with real estate sales and purchases. Another common misconception is that rental incomes can fund expenses after retirement. Apart from the hassles of finding a good tenant and maintaining the apartment on a regular basis, rental yields in India are on average between 3% and 5% pre tax. With inflation hovering between 6%-8%, rental incomes will seldom beat inflation. Unlike financial instruments, real estate is also a very illiquid asset. In an emergency, it is difficult to sell a property in a pinch. If the property is sold in a hurry, the buyer takes advantage of the distress sale and bargains for a lower price. And the fair value of a property is not realized. Equities, over the long run, tend to deliver average returns of about 16-17% annually, while some of the best real estate appreciations in cities have been in the range of 10-15%, excluding taxes and other costs. What's more, gains on equity are tax free after a year. They do not have the high frictional costs of real estate associated with them. Stocks or mutual funds can be bought and sold within a day at their actual prices on that day. Redemption proceeds can be in your bank within a week. In an emergency, financial assets like equities are much easier to access than real estate. With a high level of transparency in assets that they have invested in, no entry loads and low cost structure, mutual funds offer an efficient way to invest in equity. Over time, equities will outperform all asset classes by a significant margin. Get real about this, your estate value will grow faster. For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300 Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them OR You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Invest Any Mutual Fund Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Any Fund Application Forms --------------------------------------------- Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds Invest Online DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Franklin India Bluechip ICICI Prudential Top 100 Fund B. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Franklin India Prima C. 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OPD Health Insurance Cover Posted: 07 May 2014 03:36 AM PDT Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300       Rising healthcare costs and inadequate cover for out-patient treatment can erode your savings.   Do you really need health insurance to pay for your treatment? Agreed, healthcare costs are going through the roof and there are gaps in your health plan since even a comprehensive policy will not pay for a tooth filling or a broken finger. Besides, the cost of dental treatment, diagnostic tests, periodic doctor consultation, preventive check-ups, medicines and medical equipment, which are usually out-of-the-pocket expenses, can burn a hole in your pocket. Still, are you willing to pay 20,000 more every year towards your health policy to get an additional OPD (out-patient department) benefit of just 17,000? This is where health cards come in as a better alternative. Here's how. Insurance is expensive Apollo Munich's Maxima Complete health plan covers both hospitalisation and OPD treatment costs on a cashless basis in network hospitals and clinics. This plan also offers coverage for pharmacy bills, diagnostic tests, outpatient dental treatment, contact lenses, spectacles and health check-ups. However, while a 3 lakh cover under the company's standard health plan, Easy Health Family Floater, costs 8,258 for a family of four (two adults and two children, with the eldest member being 35 years), a similar coverage under the Maxima plan would cost you a whopping 29,000. This, in spite of the riders that come with it—doctor consultations are limited to eight per year and a sub-limit of 7,000 on various expenses, including diagnostic tests, pharmacy bills, dental treatments and eye care (spectacles and contact lenses). Health check-ups are also limited to two per year. If you take all this into consideration, according to the company brochure, the total benefit adds up to 17,200 per year, in case you avail of the optimum limits under the policy. Similarly, Bajaj Allianz's Tax Gain Plan, a health policy with OPD benefits will cost you and your spouse 15,000, but the OPD benefits have a yearly sub-limit of just 7,500. Moreover, the exclusions list is pretty extensive for this plan. In short, an OPD cover is expensive. Why? Health insurers say out-patient healthcare services and their coverage typically involves small ticket, high-volume transactions. "The numbers make the insurer vulnerable to fraud and mis-utilisation and, therefore, the products have to be priced accordingly. Antony Jacob, chief executive officer of Apollo Munich Health Insurance, agrees. The propensity for a person to use the cover multiple times throughout the policy period is also greater. Hence, the financial value that a customer can avail of from such a policy is higher than a basic health insurance policy. Due to the higher assumption on incidence rates (nearly 100%), the OPD premium is often more than 50% of the sum insured and, with increasing age, becomes more than or equal to the sum insured. Most insurers, therefore, offer it along with the base indemnity plan. Moreover, there is lack of substantial data pool on OPD treatments, on which the underwriting is based. An insurance product pricing depends on data as well as experience, both of which are scanty for this product at this stage. Also, the treatments under OPD are yet to be standardised. This is where healthcare cards—provided by a few companies as well as established hospitals—can be a more cost-effective alternative. Health Insurance Cover ALTERNATIVE: Discount cards or health cards are not a substitute for hospitalisation cover, but are special schemes that typically give you discounted rates on medical, health and drug expenses for a monthly or annual membership fee. Also, unlike a health plan, there are no caps or sub-limits in a health card plan.   Health cards cover overall healthcare expenses, including cosmetic treatments. It is also of great help to high-risk people, such as those with pre-existing conditions, and those who are denied health insurance, especially senior citizens, who face prohibitions or have to pay extremely high premiums for a policy loaded with too many clauses and exclusions. While a loyalty programme from a hospital chain, such as Apollo, Max or Fortis, will limit your options to the concerned group's facility, a health card from an independent company that has a tie-up with multiple hospitals, nursing homes, individual medical practitioners, pharmacy chains, pathology labs and diagnostic centres gives more flexibility of choice. Apart from IHO, the companies that provide these cards, include WizzCare, Sharak Healthcare and EasyLife Care (operates only in Delhi/ NCR). In July 2013, E-Meditek Global, in association with Ratnakar Bank and Visa, had launched a reloadable prepaid card, 'Medicash Plus Card', which offered an automatic discount of up to 40% for availing of medical services, along with a few additional services, such as access to gyms, spas, beauty salons, restaurants and lifestyle centres. The membership fee of these cards varies from 1,000 to 8,000 depending on the plan you choose and the number of members registered. A basic plan offers a 15-30% concession on consultations and 10-20% concession on OPD treatments and procedures at hospitals. For dental care, you get benefits of free check-ups and up to a 50% discount on the total cost of treatment. IHO also offers up to 50% discount on doctor consultations at a few network clinics. There are some special add-on benefits as well, including 24x7 dial-a-doctor and chat service, free second opinion before a major surgery, discount on ambulance charges and online tools like symptom tracker and health records log. Most variants of the plans offer preventive health check-ups as part of the product. Therefore, the members are eligible for tax benefit of up to 5,000 under Section 80D. Unlike insurance, which is a regulated industry, any dispute with the health card provider would have to be contested before a consumer court. So, do due diligence on the company's background before buying a membership. Is it a registered company? For how many years has it been in business? Trawl the Internet for feedback on consumer complaints forums to ensure you are buying the right product. Don't forget to check the network quality and number of partners the health card provider has. Make sure it has tie-ups with a few reputed names in your city. If the company is not upfront in disclosing the network size and partnerships, check out a customer loyalty membership of the hospital in your vicinity.   For further information contact Prajna Capital on 94 8300 8300 by leaving a missed call Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300 Leave your comment with mail ID and we will answer them OR You can write back to us at PrajnaCapital [at] Gmail [dot] Com --------------------------------------------- Invest Mutual Funds Online Invest Any Mutual Fund Online Download Mutual Fund Application Forms from all AMCs Download Mutual Any Fund Application Forms --------------------------------------------- Best Performing Mutual Funds Largecap Funds Invest Online DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund Franklin India Bluechip ICICI Prudential Top 100 Fund B. Large and Midcap Funds Invest Online ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan HDFC Top 200 Fund UTI Dividend Yield Fund Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund Franklin India Prima C. Mid and SmallCap Funds Invest Online Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund DSP BlackRock Small & Midcap Fund Sundaram Select Midcap IDFC Premier Equity Fund Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield Plus SBI Emerging Businesses Fund HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund ICICI Prudential Discovery Fund D. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund 2.Franklin India Smaller Companies E. Sector Funds Invest Online Reliance Banking Fund Reliance Banking Fund ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services Fund F. Tax Saver Mutual Funds Invest Online 1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan 2. HDFC Taxsaver DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund G. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online Relaince Gold Savings Fund ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund HDFC Gold Fund Birla Sun Life Gold H. International funds Invest Online 1. Birla Sun Life International Equity Plan A 2. DSP BlackRock US Flexible Equity 3. FT India Feeder Franklin US Opportunities 4. ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity 5. Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares NASDAQ-100 ETF Invest in Tax Saving Mutual Funds Download Any Application Forms Buy Mutual Funds Online Invest Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Invest Now

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