'New investors should enter gradually and stay cautious.' 'Silver is a structural multi-year story, but timing matters in a high-volatility metal.'
The SIF vertical, which allows MFs to offer complex products to relatively sophisticated investors, has managed to garner scale in just seven months of the launch of the first products.
Some of the public banks showed improvement; much more still needs to be done
Importantly, is there hope going forward?
The sharp surge in investment accounts (folios) in midcap and smallcap mutual funds (MF) in recent months is likely driven by the do-it-yourself (DIY) investors. In the first five months of the present financial year (FY 2024), net folio additions in direct MF plans (4.5 million) has outpaced that in regular plans (3.9 million), contrary to the trend seen in the previous three six-month periods. The net folio additions in direct plans in the five-month period (April-August 2023) is 40 per cent higher than the total additions made in the previous six month period.
2025 marked a shift in investor preference when it comes to MF schemes.
Retail investors now own a bigger slice of small-cap companies than a couple of years earlier, attributable to their growing conviction in mutual fund (MF) schemes focused on this space. Data from Capitaline shows MFs' average holding in the National Stock Exchange Nifty Smallcap 250 rising to 8.67 per cent, from 7.67 per cent in the past two financial years, with the number of companies with over 20 per cent MF holdings, rising from 15 to 24. At the end of May, the top five small-cap firms with the highest MF holdings were Carborundum Universal, Blue Star, Cyient, Gujarat State Petronet, and Cholamandalam Finance.
Conservative investors seeking equity-like tax benefits with low risk may go for them.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Retail investors' equity portfolios have significantly underperformed benchmark indices over the past 16 to 18 months.
Sectoral funds, focused exclusively on public sector banks (PSBs), have delivered the strongest returns among domestic mutual fund (MF) categories over the past six months. However, active banking funds have significantly lagged because of their heavy tilt towards private lenders.
'The day that the market realises that they've overspent (on AI) and there's a sudden collapse in the capex, then India can start outperforming again.'
The rupee recovered 55 paise from its all-time low level to close at 90.38 against the US dollar after a volatile trade on Wednesday, amid suspected aggressive central bank intervention.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
With the listing of Reliance gold ETF on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday, four fund houses (Benchmark, UTI Mutual Fund and Kotak Mutual Fund being the other three) currently offer gold ETFs to Indian investors.
Inflows into mutual funds' equity schemes increased by over 14 per cent on-month to Rs 41,156 crore in December, even as market volatilities continued. The small and midcap schemes of mutual funds continued to attract investor interest with inflows touching record highs during the month, despite the concerns being expressed about the two segments for the risk they portend, industry body Amfi said.
'For most investors, I recommend a low double-digit allocation (10 to 12 per cent) to gold and silver combined.'
Fund managers are divided on the prospects for beaten-down information technology (IT) stocks, reflected in the wide variance in equity mutual funds' (MFs) sector exposure. An analysis by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research shows that while six large fund houses were overweight the sector relative to its weight in the Nifty 200 index, five were underweight as of October 2025. UTI MF had the highest exposure at 17.8 per cent, while SBI MF sat at the bottom with 5 per cent.
Ask rediffGURU and PF, MF and insurance expert Purshotam Lal your mutual fund, insurance and personal finance-related questions.
Inflows into equity mutual fund (MF) schemes declined for a fourth consecutive month in April, even as systematic investment plan (SIP) inflows reached a record high of about Rs 26,632 crore.
The domestic initial public offering (IPO) market is experiencing a significant surge, fuelled by the financialisation of savings, digital ease of investing, and expanding participation from both retail and institutional investors, investment bankers said on Wednesday.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) on Thursday said it has sold 3.53 per cent stake in RBL Bank for Rs 678 crore, representing a 62.5 per cent gain on the investment. On July 26, 2023, the Mumbai-based diversified firm had announced the acquisition of a 3.53 per cent stake in RBL Bank as a treasury investment at a cost of Rs 417 crore.
Mutual funds (MFs) - flush with cash amid record inflows in July - invested heavily in the Rs 25,000-crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) of India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI). Fund managers acquired SBI shares worth Rs 10,200 crore last month, making the lender their biggest buy in July.
'Such stocks may be useful for aggressive portfolios, but should not be part of the core holdings.'
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
Ask rediffGURU Naveenn Kummar your insurance mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
The competitive intensity in the mutual fund (MF) industry is moving beyond scheme performance, cost structures, and distribution. In recent months, several fund houses have rationalised exit loads applicable on redemptions.
MNC funds invest in companies where foreign promoters have more than 50 per cent shareholding.
Allocation to bank deposits -- fixed deposits, savings account deposits, and current account deposits -- came down.
Paper gold saves your investments from volatility, and you from hassles that come with the physical form. The chance of good returns gives that extra shine.
The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
