'One should not invest more than 5 to 10 per cent of their overall portfolio exposure in global or international funds.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Hybrid mutual fund (MF) offers, expected to drive higher investor interest after the change in debt fund taxation, are set to end 2023 with the slowest account growth in the past three years. Investment accounts in hybrid funds are up 5.7 per cent so far in 2023 compared with 7.6 per cent in 2022 and 20 per cent in 2021, shows the data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). In 2020, the count had dipped 2.4 per cent.
Investing is not just about setting aside money -- it's about making it work for you, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Only investors with a higher risk appetite should enter these funds.
The mutual fund industry in India is seeing unprecedented attrition among key personnel.
The systematic withdrawal plan stands out as a superior option, providing steady income despite market fluctuations and inflation, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
'Reduce your equity allocation, put that allocation into gold and fixed income.'
One should avoid keeping excessive funds in one's savings account.
Shares of asset management companies (AMCs) have rallied in the last 3-4 sessions due to clarity on regulatory changes in total expense ratios (TER) and expectations that it won't upset profits much in the long run. HDFC AMC has gained over 12 per cent in the last four sessions, while Nippon AMC and UTI AMC are up around 5 per cent. Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSL), the only other listed AMCs, has risen more than 2.3 per cent in the last four sessions.
Equity mutual funds (MFs) capped a strong 2024 with near-record inflows in December. With net inflows of Rs 41,156 crore in December, the 2024 tally surged to Rs 3.9 trillion, up 144 per cent compared to 2023. The December tally, which was only slightly short of the record-high inflows of Rs 41,887 crore achieved in October 2024, was fuelled by record inflows of Rs 9,761 crore into small-cap and mid-cap funds.
While a company spokesperson said Bharti would either dilute its stake or exit the venture, the fund house is trying to rope in a bank to strengthen its distribution network. In addition, an asset management venture is seen to have closer links with banks, which are looking to offer a wide range of financial products.
Mutual fund bets in their own schemes are nearing the Rs 1 trillion mark. The total value of sponsor and associate investments across all categories of schemes touched Rs 95,058 crore in February, according to a Business Standard analysis of data from industry body the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). This represents a 28.9 per cent increase over March 2023.
Cases of front-running mostly happen when large asset managers and intermediaries are involved in bulk trades as their transaction size is generally big enough to impact the stock price.
'Understand your financial goals. Next, categorise them by size. Then evaluate your investment options.'
Mutual funds (MFs) managed a record Rs 66.2 trillion in assets during the July-September quarter, marking a 12.3 per cent increase over the previous three-month period - the highest quarterly jump in MF assets in at least five years. During the April-June period, the average assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 59 trillion. The sharp rise in AUM, according to experts, is driven by a robust equity market rally and record inflows into equity schemes.
'The correction in the markets in the initial part of August provided investors a good buying opportunity.'
Investors should view the increase in the LTCG tax rate in conjunction with the increase in capital gains exemption from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh, which will provide some relief.
A strong influx of 11 equity new fund offers (NFOs) in June, particularly within the thematic space, helped mutual funds collect Rs 14,370 crore - the highest ever via such introductory offers. This surpassed the previous high recorded in July 2021, where four NFOs accumulated Rs 13,709 crore, with ICICI Prudential MF's flexicap NFO alone mobilising Rs 9,808 crore.
Mutual Fund inflows in FY25 have already reached two-thirds of the total inflows seen in the entire FY24, with net inflows standing at Rs 1.3 trillion.
At a time when exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were unloading Jio Financial Services from their portfolios, some active fund managers were placing large bets on the demerged financial services arm of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), a report by Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research shows. Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund and Quant Mutual Fund were the top MF buyers of the stock in August. They bought around 60 million shares each, together investing around Rs 2,800 crore.
Allocation to bank deposits -- fixed deposits, savings account deposits, and current account deposits -- came down.
According to the Mutual Fund Monthly Performance Report by Reliance Money, the fund houses were sitting on a cash pile of Rs 15,074.27 crore (Rs 150.74 billion) at May-end against that of Rs 20,108.92 crore (Rs 201.08 billion) at the end of previous month. Fund managers said that availability of stocks at cheap valuations renewed their interest in the secondary market.
Despite similar tax treatment, debt MFs enjoy certain advantages over FDs.
It did come as a surprise when, last week, Religare Enterprises (promoted by the former promoters of Ranbaxy) decided to acquire a majority stake in the ailing Lotus India Asset Management Company. This is the first deal in India since the financial crisis caused the market to crash 23 per cent in October, and Lotus' assets under management from Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) to about Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion).
Despite the uncertainties created by rising bond yields and oil prices, fund managers have been proactively deploying fresh flows into the equity market. The cash available with equity fund managers, which has remained lower at around 5 per cent in the past few months, hit a 16-month low of 4.8 per cent in September, shows a Motilal Oswal Financial Services report. Cash holdings in equity schemes had topped 6 per cent in February amid subdued equity market sentiment.
What if I told you that you only need to invest for 5 years to accumulate Rs 1 crore? Sounds unbelievable, but it's possible, asserts Ramalingam Kalirajan
'An equity-based index fund should be held for more than five years to average out market volatility and achieve financial goals.'
Mutual fund investors no longer need to link their PAN with Aadhaar to obtain 'KYC-registered' status.
rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers readers' mutual fund queries
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.
Follow this 15 x 15 x 15 rule to become a crorepati without taking big risks. Ramalingam Kalirajan explains how
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'Tax rate and stock markets are entirely two different things.'
Market watchers link the pullback to underwhelming listing-day performance and the lack of big-name IPOs.
'If gold's recent surge has increased its allocation beyond 15 per cent in your portfolio, now may be a good time to rebalance.'
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
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