The next time you buy a householder's insurance policy, you could be paying premiums that are 35 to 50 per cent lower. This is the result of the de-tariffing or lifting of price controls on insurance policies from January this year.
This product was first introduced by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (ICICI Prudential FMP Series 33) and Deutsche Mutual Fund in February. Recently, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has also floated a similar fund. The Nifty return, multiplied by the participation ratio (that is pre-decided by the fund) is the final returns. In Aviator, the participation ratio is 140-145 per cent, leading to returns of 43.14-44.5 per cent in our given example.
When the markets nosedived to 12,961.68 points on July 1, the country's richest man (read Mukesh Ambani) and his family lost more than Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion), all in a single day.
For the already invested, the road ahead looks rather bumpy. However, when markets offer little to cheer about, for ones who have stayed away for so long, it does offer a whole lot opportunities.
With rising interest rates and inflation taking a toll on home loan customers, banks are beginning to encourage them to partly prepay their loans. Many of them are doing so without charging them prepayment penalty.
With high property costs and home loan rates deterring buyers, builders are looking to get into affordable housing in the next few months.
Both private and public sector companies are introducing products for diabetes and hypertension- related diseases for the elderly.
Investors in SIPs should be especially careful because the taxation is done according to the first-in-first-out basis
When the NAV falls, you are going to get more units of the fund. That means when the market turns around, you will get much more returns
Gold as an asset class has shown its mettle in the last one year. Especially in the past six months when the equity markets have been on a downslide, this yellow metal has continued to move northwards. And the numbers are there for all to see.
IDFC is merging its Portfolio Management Services business with the newly-acquired Standard Chartered Mutual Fund to sell MF products targeting high net worth individuals. The company is also planning products that offer infrastructure as an asset to investors.
When Deutsche Asset Management Company (AMC) listed its debt scheme - DWS Fixed Term Fund-Series 43 (growth option) - on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on April 4 this year, little did they know that within 24 days the scheme's net asset value (NAV) would double to Rs 20.
Ever since the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) allowed motor insurance companies to decide premiums in December 2007, car insurance premiums have fallen sharply. The focus, it seems, is clearly on garnering more retail customers.For instance, in March 2007, the premium for a Honda City was Rs 20,760 in Mumbai. But this year it has fallen to Rs 15,770 - a difference of Rs 4,990.
These tax-free bonds were issued in 2003 to bail out Unit Trust of India's flagship scheme US-64, which got into trouble because of lack of transparency in its portfolio composition and investment strategy. Now these investors will finally get their due. And if you are among those, who have still not decided on what should be done with this windfall, financial advisors say the money should be channelled in instruments depending upon your age and risk profile.
In the last couple of years, reverse mortgage (RM) has been touted aggressively as a product that will allow the elderly to unlock the value of their house. In fact, in the last two Union Budgets, the finance minister has made a special mention about it.
With ICICI Bank recently offering to reduce the equated monthly instalments of existing customers for high tenure loans, many may like to exercise this option because it would reduce their burden for the time being. Also, with the rise in the interest rates in the last couple of years, many have found their monthly EMIs rising by over 15 per cent.
If you are planning to invest in Fixed Maturity Plans, think twice. Because most mutual fund managers believe that FMPs are unlikely to give higher returns as they did last year. And, this is beginning to show in their collections as well. In March 2007, FMPs had collected Rs 30,869 crore (Rs 308.69 billion). In March 2008, they attracted only Rs 21,688 crore (Rs 216.88 billion). Even in April this year, 62 schemes collected only Rs 1,126 crore
Buying a term plan from insurance firms and finds it a tad difficult.
In fact, the current market scenario provides more value investment opportunities. So, it is positive for mutual funds.
However, financial experts are of the view that though REMFs are good for those who want to participate in the property boom, investors should not look at them as equity funds.
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