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March 31, 2008
Now selling property comes easy
In a move that could help property investors to exit the market in Mumbai, the Maharashtra State Budget has recently declared that now you need not hold the property for 'at least' three years to take advantage of the concession on stamp duties. In case a property was sold before three years, the buyer would have to pay a stamp duty, based on the entire sale agreement price. There are a large number of people who have purchased 2nd & 3rd houses and this clause will help them.

Pay hike: How to spend wisely
With more disposable income in the hands of public servants, it's time PSU employees started their financial planning. Invest before splurging should be the mantra. Financial experts say that the revised pay scale can serve as an opportunity for them to fill the gap in their investment plans. They can look at squaring off liabilities, investing in contingency fund, mediclaim and life insurance, builing assets and planning for retirement, to effectively utilise their pay hike.

FMPs: Don't ignore the risk
It's that time of the year, when fund houses roll out their FMP (fixed maturity plans) products in response to the attractive yields on corporate bonds. Expectedly, investors view FMPs as a means to clock a higher return at relatively low risk (actually many investors believe there is zero risk in an FMP). While this is mostly true, some points about FMPs are noteworthy.

March 29, 2008
All about Exchange Traded Funds
ETF is a basket of securities that is traded on the stock exchange, akin to a stock

Mutual funds: The best could be the worst!
There's something about a top-performing fund. The glowing reviews, self-congratulatory advertisements by the fund house and a host of stars (read ratings) and awards. It's a pretty heady mix. Sadly, the NAV performance in isolation presents a one-dimensional picture i.e. it may conceal more than it reveals. In this article, we make a case for looking beyond just the NAV performance by listing instances, when top-performing funds could potentially be bad investments.

March 25, 2008
Is dividend option in NFO a smarter choice?
What's better -- the dividend option or the growth option? That's one question, which investors regularly pose to us. In the case of an equity fund, so long as both the options have the same portfolio, they are at par (on rare occasions, some funds have different portfolios for the growth and dividend options).

Mid cap funds? Think long-term
The recent stock market crash has been particularly harsh on one investment category -- mid cap stocks/funds. Compared to their large cap peers, mid cap stocks/funds have fallen more sharply. The view that many frustrated investors might take is that investing in mid caps was a bad idea in the first place. And they can't really be blamed, in many ways mid caps were presented as an opportunity to make quick money without informing the investor of the higher risk involved.

March 24, 2008
Buying this FoF? Not worth it
Another product for high net worth individuals. However, the expense, in some options, is high.

March 20, 2008
HSBC Midcap: Not good enough
Mid cap companies tend to be under-researched ones, thereby providing an investment opportunity that is yet to be identified by the market. Investments in such companies offer high growth potential and the opportunity to clock above-average returns over the long-term (at least 3-5 years). On the flipside, since mid-sized companies are often under-researched, there is a fair chance that some reasons for "not investing" could be overlooked.

March 17, 2008
Using credit card? 7 points to note
Technically speaking, a credit card is an unsecured loan. This means that unlike a secured loan, which is advanced by a bank/financial institution against a security like property for instance, a credit card is offered without any security. In a secured loan, if the borrower fails to make good on his principal/interest commitment, the bank/institution can seize the security as compensation.

ICICI Prudential Discovery: Missing value
Broadly speaking, growth and value are the two popular investment styles. Growth style investing entails making investments in fairly/fully valued stocks that are expected to do even better going forward. Conversely, value investing involves making investments in fundamentally strong companies that are trading at a discount to their fair value. These stocks are then held onto until the mis-pricing is corrected and they attain their fair value.

Let's think over and above 80C
The Income tax Act, 1961 contains several provisions which can serve as tools for saving your tax outgo. While everyone is more focused on meeting the 80C limits, here are a few more options.

March 13, 2008
MIPs: How good are they?
Hybrid funds (powered by their flexibility to invest across asset classes) can add immense value to the investor's portfolio (especially during the down turn). While the role of balanced funds in the investor's portfolio has been well-documented, it's time for investors to recognise the value MIPs can add to his portfolio. MIPs invest predominantly in debt instruments with a small portion of assets allocated to equities.

March 10, 2008
The top mutual funds in Feb
The month's big event was the Union Budget 2008-09; however, it proved to be a bit of an anti-climax for mutual fund investors. The only noteworthy change was that the short-term capital gains tax was raised from 10% to 15%. In effect, short-term transactions will become less attractive for investors. Clearly, the benefits of long-term investing aren't lost on the Finance Minister either. However, the month was certainly not a staid one.

March 07, 2008
How not to be misled by your advisor. 5 tips
Mis-selling and poor advice continue to plague the domain of investment and insurance products.

March 06, 2008
What's the Kotak Opportunities story?
In recent times, there has been a lot of buzz around Kotak Opportunities Fund, a diversified equity fund from Kotak Mutual Fund. We have also received a large number of queries about the fund, and given its performance on the net asset value appreciation front, we aren't surprised.

Birla Top 100: Far from the top
Birla Top 100 Fund, launched in October 2005, is a predominantly large cap fund that invests in the leading 100 companies by market capitalisation. Large caps boast of established track records; over longer time frames, their performances display a degree of stability. Investors are exposed to fewer surprises, which lowers the risk of investing in them considerably as compared to say mid caps or small caps which in many ways are still evolving.

March 03, 2008
You have more money to invest wisely
The Union Budget 2008-09 will leave more money in every pocket.

February 27, 2008
Infrastructure funds? Read this!
In this article, we are not going to preach that you should not invest in infrastructure and related funds (haven't we done that many times already?!). So, no preaching here. Only facts. And then, you decide what you want to do with your money.

February 23, 2008
When agents mis-sell tax plans
Agents are known to mis-sell tax plans to unaware investors. Mis-selling comes easy as basic facts are misrepresented and investors are made to buy plans that don't benefit them.

All about Morgan Stanley Growth Fund
If MSGF had shared the complete portfolio with its investors more frequently, the red flag on its misconceived investments might have been raised earlier.

February 22, 2008
Overseas trip? Important money tips
Carrying part of the money as currency and the rest in a travel card makes for a hassle-free holiday abroad at the least cost.

February 21, 2008
10 golden rules to become rich!
Once you decide to put your money to work to build long-term wealth, you have to decide, not whether to take risk, but what kind of risk you wish to take. Here are 10 investing rules that can make you rich:

February 19, 2008
Of stock market investments and health
Does full-time share trading show poor returns for health?

February 18, 2008
How to 'read' the market? 4 indicators
Experts always tout "market sentiment" as the reason for any sharp rise or fall. Some clues to understand it.

February 16, 2008
Investing your money? Caveat Emptor
Investors looking to make an investment are often so busy choosing the right option, that they can be oblivious to the basic details. This can be counterproductive over the long-term, especially if an important detail was overlooked and the same comes back to haunt the investor later.

February 15, 2008
Never let your trading profits turn into a loss
There might be a lot of public orders resting at $121 to buy the stock, but all the orders to buy at that price won't be filled. If they are all filled at $121, there's a reason why informed insiders would be willing to sell all the public wants to buy at the $121 level. My selling out my position at $120-7/8 would be warranted because the price of the stock should drop pretty drastically after all the public orders to buy at the 121 support level are taken out.

February 14, 2008
Now, reputed fund houses go thematic
There are so many infrastructure funds in the market today that most fund houses can now boast of managing one. So much so that even fund houses that were launched less than 12 months ago with just one equity fund in their portfolios, have been quick on the draw with their infrastructure NFOs.

February 13, 2008
Mutual fund add-on benefits? Be careful
Innovation is nothing new to the mutual fund industry. In the past, we have seen mutual funds provide add-on benefits like accident insurance, critical illness insurance and even life insurance. A recent innovation involves providing insurance benefit to the child in the event of the parents meeting with an eventuality.

February 12, 2008
3 common mutual fund misconceptions
Investors end up making incorrect investment decisions

February 11, 2008
Why auto component stocks are hot picks
Despite the hiccups experienced by the auto component industry, better growth prospects and low valuations suggest that it's a good time to buy solid companies in this space.

February 08, 2008
Sebi bats for the investors
The Securities and Exchange Board of India ruled that investors could avoid paying the entry load charged while investing in mutual funds

February 06, 2008
Retirement plans? A list of what all you need
A great corpus is just not enough.

February 05, 2008
5 things mutual funds must do for investors
Over the last few years, the domestic mutual fund industry has grown by leaps and bounds. Several asset management companies have established base in the country and there are more on the way. Expectedly, the gamut of mutual fund offerings has grown as well. While few would dispute that the mutual fund industry now has more to offer, there is one aspect that continues to be ignored -- quality of disclosure.

Income generator plans: Read the fine print
Though deferred annuities are mostly sold as pension plans/income generators and tax saving devices, you can safely ignore such plans

January 30, 2008
How dividends in mutual funds work
Often investors are lured to mutual funds due to dividends. It is necessary to understand the role of dividends in MFs and know that the only way MFs give returns is through NAV appreciation.

January 29, 2008
Are you a lazy investor? Read this!
SBI Magnum Balanced is a two-in-one scheme for the lazy investor. It rationalises risks, while giving the equity kicker.

January 25, 2008
How to spend wisely. 4 tips
In a guide targeted at the youth, to ignore spending would be akin to committing a cardinal sin

January 24, 2008
All you want to know about DSP ML Opp
Investors who are enamored by thematic funds (especially infrastructure funds) must not lose sight of the fact that diversified equity funds (which include opportunities funds) can make aggressive sectoral/thematic calls. More importantly, they can exit the sector/theme when valuations peak; this is something thematic funds cannot do because they are bound by their mandates to remain invested in the theme regardless of the valuations.

January 17, 2008
Comparing MF portfolios? 5 points to note
While comparing portfolios of various mutual fund schemes, investors must keep the following points in mind. Read on:

January 15, 2008
Opening a bank a/c? Buy insurance first!
For far too long, individuals have been at the receiving end of unfair practices from various entities in the financial services industry. Now it's time to stand up and be counted!

Investing in MFs? Think beyond yourself
Thinking beyond oneself and one's immediate environment is looked upon as a good trait in any person. But when this logic is extended to mutual funds, one might find it surprising. "Shouldn't mutual funds be concentrating on giving returns to the customer?" is a question that comes to mind immediately. Yes, they should.

January 14, 2008
How many accounts should one have?
Considering the above and a double income family, there would at least be around four to six different accounts. And managing all of them becomes cumbersome and you realise the complexity of the issue when you have to collate this information to give your chartered accountant or financial advisor.

January 12, 2008
Is your fund house opportunistic?
Speaking of fund houses, it is quite disappointing to note that not all fund houses have taken the 'no load on direct investments' regulation in the right spirit.

January 10, 2008
Want to be stock market boss? Try this
Cautious investors should consider a number of strategies that are formulated to enter and exit the market in a predetermined manner.

January 07, 2008
Investment strategy for 2008
Last year money-making hardly took any effort, this year you will need to pick and choose.

January 05, 2008
Top performing mutual funds
Investors fail to realise the potential of tax-saving investments in contributing towards wealth creation. As a result, it is vital that tax-planning be considered as a part of the investor's overall financial planning and not in isolation.

January 03, 2008
What investors MUST do in 2008
The key to successful investing is not blindly participating in every trend

January 02, 2008
Mutual funds: What lies in store in 2008
Investors must have predetermined investment objectives and plans before they start investing; also, they must invest in line with the same at all times.

Learn all about Magnum Multicap Fund
Magnum Multicap Fund, an offering from SBI Mutual Fund is a flexicap fund

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