When it comes to making investments in mutual funds, it all boils down to which fund to invest in.
The RBI added roughly 3 tonnes in 2025, taking its gold reserves to 879 tonnes as of January 31, 2025.
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.
The froth in the small and midcap (SMID) space is limited to a few pockets, but regulatory scrutiny could lead to sustained volatility, observe India's top-drawer wealth managers. They add that they have been advising clients to reduce their exposure to smallcaps. Anand Rathi Wealth, which manages investor wealth through mutual funds (MFs), reports that its exposure to smallcap stocks, both through MFs and directly, has decreased by nearly 7 percentage points in the past few months, now standing at 23 per cent.
Mutual funds are a popular investment tool for investors because it offers a convenient and cost-effective way to invest in the financial markets.
Managing 5-6 investments is easy. But when the number of investments increases significantly, the problem starts creeping in.
rediffGURU Sunil Lala answers your personal finance-related queries.
Navi Mutual Fund (MF), among the latest entrants in the Rs 35-trillion industry, is looking to make a mark in the passive investment space, which is gaining traction in the country. The Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal-led fund house filed seven offer documents with the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on a single day this week. Some of the schemes Navi MF plans to launch are Navi NASDAQ 100 Fund of Fund, Navi Nifty Commodities Index Fund, Navi Nifty 100 ESG Index Fund.
'Investors should allocate about 5% to 10% to such funds.'
In the 52 newly listed companies since 2014, fund managers have a total investment of a mere 2.5 per cent of their assets under management.
Crorepatis build wealth through disciplined saving, smart investing, and strategic risk-taking, proving that true financial freedom is earned, not inherited, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
Mutual funds have ratcheted up Rs 53,700 crore (Rs 537 billion) through new fund offers (NFOs) in 2022 until November, against Rs 1 trillion in Calendar 2021, notwithstanding the number of launches this year eclipsing the 2021 tally. Industry insiders cite the absence of launches in popular categories as the reason behind lower collections this year. Typically, only NFOs in popular categories from major fund houses rake in the moolah.
These are usually found among small and midcaps. It is not easy to find such stocks, especially after a strong bull market, discovers Debashis Basu.
Manas Sood, a Class 12 student from the Delhi Public School, has distributed 2,650 boxes of Tax City Education and empowered over 12,000 students from 52 schools across India. His aim? To help young Indians understand taxes and become financially literate.
The mutual fund (MF) industry added a record Rs 10 trillion to its total assets under management (AUM) in 2023, taking the cumulative tally past the Rs 50 trillion mark for the first time, in December. This 20 per cent growth in AUM last year was fuelled by a robust rally in the equity markets and a record Rs 1.62 trillion net inflows into active equity schemes. In another first, the AUM linked to systematic investment plans, too, hit Rs 10 trillion by the end of 2023.
Automobile retail sales in India rose 6 per cent to 2,61,43,943 units in FY25 with rural areas performing better than urban regions across passenger vehicle and two-wheeler segments, dealers' body FADA said on Monday. The last financial year saw growth in sales of passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers.
The new asset class (NAC) proposed by the market regulator could see diverse product offerings with high-risk strategies across equity and debt if the mutual fund (MF) industry's recommendations are incorporated into the final regulations. While the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has suggested relaxations in investment norms for NAC compared to traditional MFs, some fund houses are advocating for further relaxations in concentration norms, greater flexibility in leverage, and the ability to invest in securities currently outside the MF domain, such as unlisted debt papers and debentures, sources reveal.
While an impending rate cut is a good reason to enter debt funds, another is the high valuations in equity markets.
The equity market's recent downturn appears unlikely to slow the brisk pace of mutual fund (MF) scheme launches, at least in the coming weeks. Last month, fund houses introduced 21 new equity schemes, with another five launches already lined up for November. The number of filing with markets regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), suggests this momentum will continue with asset management companies (AMCs) seeking approval for 21 more equity schemes in October.
'Investors don't have to worry about underperformance in passive funds, which earn market-equivalent returns.'
As a prudent investor who wants to create a portfolio that will help you achieve your investment objective in a time-bound manner, Suren Kochhar explains what you should know.
'They can transition from short to long-duration funds when the yield curve normalises.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
These funds have lowered the entry barrier for investors who can now invest with just Rs 5,000, points out Sanjay Kumar Singh.
Your choice between the Old and New Tax Regimes should reflect your financial strategy and investment goals, says Ramalingam Kalirajan
'More investors now view the stock market as a valuable opportunity, though many still seek quick gains, leading to a rise in futures and options trading.'
India's stock markets corrected recently but foreign money is likely to chase China rather than India in the short-to-medium term, said Chris Wood, global head of equity strategy at Jefferies, on Thursday. Wood told the Business Standard Manthan Summit in New Delhi he is bullish about Indian equities from a long-term perspective, but for the short term he is cautious given the quantum of foreign investor (FII) outflows and valuation woes.
For the financial year 2011, profit after tax of Reliance MF stood at Rs 261 crore (Rs 2.61 billion), while that of HDFC MF was Rs 242 crore (Rs 2.42 billion).
Raising a child as a single mother in India can be challenging, especially when it comes to managing finances.
rediffGURU Dev Ashish answers your personal finance and mutual fund queries.
Domestic institutional investors pumped Rs 2.3 trillion into equities during H1 CY24. Of this, mutual funds contributed 80%.
UTI Mutual Fund will shortly launch auto sector fund and portfolio management scheme (PMS) even as it forged a tie-up with Corpration Bank to distribute mutual fund schemes through the latter's branch network in the country.
Multi-asset allocation funds emerged as the most popular option for MFs as they provided the needed flexibility.
'Equities are not cheap; I need to buy at levels I am not comfortable with; I need to 'create' a rationale about some stocks we are buying into; we have no clue about the prospective earnings of sectors or companies; most of our 'buy' reports are based on a nebulous understanding of the future; on most occasions the profits we project do not materialise.'
'...hesitate to support the risk-taking it requires.'
After heightened activity in 2024, there has been a slowdown in new listings, with no main-bourse IPOs hitting the market in the past three weeks due to a correction in the secondary market. This slowdown in IPO activity is reflected in the numbers, as only five companies went public in January and four in February, compared to 16 listings in December 2024.
Investors may take a 5 to 10 per cent exposure to silver. 'Have a long-term investment horizon when investing in silver ETFs to ride out short-term market fluctuations.'
