'Healthcare costs in India rise by 10 to 14% annually, causing treatment costs to double roughly every 5-7 years.'
With duties at 15%, GST at 3%, and making charges running as high as 20% -- the gap between a smart purchase and a careless one can easily be Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 on every Rs 1 lakh invested. And most of that gap is entirely avoidable. Ramalingam Kalirajan explains the math.
rediffGURU Jinal Mehta answers readers' financial planning and health insurance queries
Returns of liquid funds are meant only for the short term and don't help investors create wealth over the long term, as equity funds do.
Retiring at 50 is not unrealistic. It simply requires: Discipline + Long-Term Vision + Compounding
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Investors with a 6 to 12 month horizon may consider them. They should align their holding period with the fund's maturity profile and prefer schemes with a lower expense ratio.
NPS Vatsalya offers a disciplined investment avenue that parents can use to create intergenerational wealth by contributing even small sums.
Rediff explains why the system, not the Budget, is the problem.
'We operate in an economy that is structurally positioned for long-term growth. As market levels rise over time, our AUM grows in line.'
'They are positioned as defensive products and can potentially give marginally higher returns than liquid funds.'
The returns from liquid funds, currently, look better than what savings accounts of leading banks are offering, points out Sarbajeet K Sen.
Young earners with high incomes and few responsibilities can save more than 30 per cent, while those with low salaries and high expenses may save less.
As deposit growth lags credit expansion, Indian banks face shrinking low-cost Casa inflows, rising funding costs, and structural shifts driven by UPI, e-Kuber, and digital savings trends, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
One should avoid keeping excessive funds in one's savings account.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Conservative investors seeking equity-like tax benefits with low risk may go for them.
When we try and understand the term 'liquid' in financial terms, it means an asset which is as good as hard cash. Real estate is the least 'liquid' of all assets and a savings deposit is the most 'liquid' of all. Similarly, Liquid Funds are a kind of mutual fund or debt fund which can be redeemed in as less as 24 hours.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
JioBlackRock Asset Management Pvt Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture between Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL) and BlackRock, on Monday announced closure of its maiden New Fund Offer (NFO), recording a total investment of Rs 17,800 crore ($2.1 billion).
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The net inflow into equity mutual funds surged 24 per cent to Rs 23,587 crore in June, reversing the declining trend of the last five months, driven by strong equity market performance across segments, data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Wednesday. Also, the latest fund infusion by investors marks the 52nd consecutive month of net inflows into the segment.
Reliance Capital Mutual Fund has announced a dividend at the rate of 0.100% (Rs 0.010 per unit) in the weekly dividend option.
So, the next time someone tempts you with a slightly higher FD rate from a lesser-known bank, point them to hybrid funds that can deliver extra returns without the administrative and emotional rollercoaster.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The fear of losing purchasing power due to inflation and low-interest rates has led many to explore safe alternatives to fixed deposits with high returns
Investments made in liquid funds, which invest in short-term debt instruments, offer better returns for retail investors than parking money in savings bank account, says a study.
When selecting a liquid fund, stick to schemes with an AUM of above Rs 1,000 crore.
Debt-oriented mutual funds witnessed an outflow of Rs 6,525 crore in February, a sharp reversal from the strong inflow of Rs 1.28 lakh crore in the preceding month, chiefly due to redemptions in short-duration funds. Notably, 10 of 16 debt mutual fund categories reported net outflow during the month, data with Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) showed.
With the RBI infusing Rs 7.5 lakh crore in liquidity -- and possibly more in the future -- the short- to medium-term corporate bond market is expected to benefit.
'Arbitrage funds make the most sense for those in the 30 per cent tax bracket, are viable for those in the 20 per cent bracket, but less so for those in the 10 per cent bracket.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
In the last one year, liquid funds have returned between 7.7 per cent and 8.85 per cent. Liquid-plus funds, on the other hand, have slightly higher returns between 8.4 and 11.29 per cent. Obviously, that makes them a better choice as against money earning a dismal 3-3.5 per cent in your savings account.
Among the 11 equity sub-categories, thematic funds received the highest net inflows at Rs 9,017 crore, followed by smallcap funds at Rs 5,721 crore and flexicap funds at Rs 5,698 crore.
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