Suppose you have transferred money to your trading account but did not use it to buy securities, the broker could misuse this money, warns Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Linking all new floating rate loans to an external benchmark won't impact existing borrowers, so customers who have taken long-term home loans recently should watch things carefully, say Joydeep Ghosh and Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Individuals often postpone tax planning till the end of the financial year. As the deadline for showing proof of investments draws near, they invest randomly in any product that will help them save tax for that year. Later, they realise that it is not suited for them, so they abandon it. Tax planning should not be a standalone, one-off activity, but should be in sync with your overall financial plan, says Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Balance transfer is a facility in which you can transfer outstanding balance from one credit card to another. It works well if you have multiple cards.
One fear among regulators is that allowing side pocketing could lead to fund managers taking higher risks. Even in the US, side pocketing is not allowed in mutual funds, only in hedge funds
If your fund's expense ratio has risen dramatically after Sebi's recent changes, compare it with the category average before switching.
While buying health policies, customers should reveal any pre-existing diseases. This is the only way to ensure that the insurer does not reject claims.
'For the same level of return, you can reduce portfolio volatility significantly with a 10% to 15% exposure to international funds.'
Keki Mistry, bottom, left, vice-chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), tells Joydeep Ghosh that debt fund investors could become risk-averse, leading to problems for other non-banking financial companies.
'Allocate 30% to 35% of your equity portfolio to mid-cap funds and 10% to 15% to small-cap funds.'
'For the RBI, it is also strategic to allow the rupee to over-depreciate, then come and buy the rupee, and benefit from its appreciation. Speculators who have driven the rupee too low then make losses,' says Ashima Goyal.
With the rupee crossing Rs 72/dollar in recent times, things suddenly don't look too good on several counts.
It makes sense to shift to a home loan provider offering a lower interest rate or make occasional prepayments by using bonuses or other windfalls, says Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Investors in international funds should have a horizon of more than five years. Not only will this help them overcome equity and currency volatility, it will also help them enjoy better tax treatment, says Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Despite returns from gold down over 5% in the past three months, it is a good idea to keep this asset class in your portfolio.
The recommendation, if implemented, is likely to face opposition from the government's key support base among Hindu traders and businesspersons.
'If an investor wants to clone an ace investor's portfolio, s/he will be better off cloning the entire portfolio rather than cherry picking stocks selectively.'
If you default, it will affect your credit score and your career.
Retail investors will soon have to obtain a net worth certificate from a chartered accountant and submit it to their broker, and their trading limits will be decided accordingly.
Both NRIs and those who make payouts on sale of property need to understand the TDS provisions that are applicable or risk punishment, warns Sanjay Kumar Singh.
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