Unlike mutual funds, an ETF trades like a common stock.
Do a proper asset allocation and invest through systematic investment plans where one can benefit.
From the Sensex pack, Larsen & Toubro jumped 4.26 per cent to emerge as the biggest gainer, followed by IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, State Bank of India, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, NTPC, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank and Wipro. Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, UltraTech Cement and Hindustan Unilever were the major laggards.
Even as net flows into smallcap funds in March turned negative, for the first time in 30 months, they remained a big draw for new investors. The smallcap fund category saw a net of 360,000 investment accounts, or folios, getting added last month, the second-most among all active equity categories. Smallcap funds' continued traction could be driven by their strong performance across timeframes, say experts.
Investing in ETFs is similar to buying and selling shares on exchanges through your trading account, points out Ashwani Bhatia, MD and CEO, SBI Mutual Fund.
Asset management companies launched 239 new fund offerings (NFOs) mobilising Rs 1.18 lakh crore in 2024, with sectoral or thematic equity funds emerging as the top choice of investors, according to a report by Germinate Investor Services Research. This was higher than 212 NFOs collecting Rs 63,854 crore in 2023 and 228 NFOs garnering Rs 62,187 crore in 2022.
Commodity investments can help you diversify your portfolio in asset classes other than equity and debt, says Dwaipayan Bose.
HDFC Bank's latest shareholding data showed that the room for foreign investment has fallen just 5 basis points short of the threshold set by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) to fully include the stock in its indices. Currently, the index provider has applied an adjustment factor of 0.5 since the foreign room is less than 25 per cent. Removal of the adjustment factor will result in inflows of a massive $4.8 billion (Rs 40,000 crore) into HDFC Bank, according to Brian Freitas, a New Zealand-based analyst with Periscope Analytics.
Momentum funds can be 10 to 15 per cent more volatile than the Nifty 50.
'Value index funds are most appropriate for long-term investors who can withstand deeper drawdowns.'
Investing is not just about setting aside money -- it's about making it work for you, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Investors should use a mix of active and passive funds.
'A 20 per cent equity allocation to ESG funds is a good start.' 'As more evidence on ESG performance builds, investors may increase allocations.'
After a stellar 2023, the mutual fund industry sustained its growth momentum in 2024 with an impressive Rs 17 lakh crore surge in assets, driven by buoyant equity markets, robust economic growth, and increasing investor participation. Experts are predicting the positive trend will extend into 2025.
With just four trading sessions to go for the ITC-ITC Hotels demerger record date shares of ITC continue to consolidate in a thin range of Rs 460 - Rs 480 in an otherwise volatile equity market. On Tuesday thus far despite a near 1 per cent fall in the Sensex and Nifty; ITC traded on a flat note. ITC had set the demerger ratio at 1:10 - meaning 1 share of ITC Hotels for every 10 shares of ITC as of the record date January 6, 2025.
A key reason for the rise in crypto currencies in 2023 is the possibility of the world's first Bitcoin ETF over the next few months.
The Nifty Options would add to SGX's suite of Asian equity derivatives, which include SGX S&P CNX Nifty futures, the dominant Indian product for international participants.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Investors should match their investment horizon with the fund's portfolio duration.
Investors should look at actively managed funds, says Devangshu Datta.
Polarisation and the increase in index weight of a few a stocks have weighed on performance. The worst performers include Nippon India Large Cap and HDFC Top 100 (2.6 per cent).
It has mostly been a one-way street for smallcap stocks that have taken it on their chin thus far in February. The Nifty Smallcap 250 index has shed 3.2 per cent in the current month as compared to the 1.8 per cent decline in the Nifty Midcap 100 and the 0.5 per cent drop in the Nifty 50 index, data showed. Technically, the index has slipped below its 20-day moving average (DMA) placed at 14,800 levels on Monday, and is currently testing the 50-DMA, and is placed at 14,278 levels.
Multi-cap funds are best suited to exploit the present market scenario as they are free to invest across all market capitalisations and sectors, says Naveen Kukreja, CEO and co-founder, Paisabazaar.com.
Actively managed mutual fund (MF) schemes had been at the receiving end over the past few years for their inability to beat their benchmarks. However, the slump in shares of Adani Group companies - two of which are part of the benchmark National Stock Exchange Nifty50 index - have helped them improve their performance vis--vis exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or index funds.
Actively-managed large-cap mutual fund (MF) schemes have managed to regain some lost sheen this year after faring poorly in the 2022 calendar year (CY22). At the end of the first six months (H1) of CY23, 78 per cent of the active large-cap schemes were ahead of the Nifty50 index funds as against just 26 per cent in 2022. When compared to the Sensex index funds, 61 per cent active funds have delivered better returns, shows an analysis of Value Research data.
The newest entrant to the Rs 46-trillion mutual fund (MF) space - Zerodha - plans to focus strictly on the low-cost passive segment and offer its products solely through the commission-free digital route, as it aims to replicate its broking success in the MF space. "We will offer an array of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index funds that would help investors take varied exposures and build portfolios based on their financial needs and risk tolerance. "Zerodha Fund House (FH) products will be exclusively distributed online and available as direct plans to engage directly with individual investors and consumers, taking advantage of the pronounced shift from physical to digital interactions," said Vishal Jain, chief executive officer, Zerodha FH.
Mutual funds' equity buying remained elevated for the fifth consecutive month in December, taking the net equity purchase past Rs 1.7 trillion in 2023. The aggressive buying in December indicates that flows into equity funds are likely to have remained unaffected by the sharp run-up in the market last month. Mutual funds (MFs) bought equities worth Rs 23,000 crore last month (until December 28) compared to Rs 18,000 crore in November, shows data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
In May, MFs were the net sellers in several PSUs, as they deployed Rs 47,600 crore in equities during the month.
One of the biggest advantages of index funds and ETFs is their low cost, points out Sarbajeet K Sen.
NSE Indices on Wednesday changed the methodology for handling schemes of demerger involving index constituents. The index provider said a company undergoing demerger would now be retained in its indices. The move comes ahead of the proposed demerger of Reliance Industries' (RIL's) financial services arm. Under the rules prevailing thus far, RIL -- which has the highest weighting among the 50 Nifty components -- would have been required to be removed from the index, resulting in a churn by funds tracking the Nifty index.
It doesn't face cash redemption pressures or rebalancing problems as other funds do.
Active largecap funds, which have the toughest job in terms of outperforming the benchmark, did better in 2023 as their bets in the mid and smallcap stocks paid off.
There is widening gap between what the government's premier retirement fund makes on its investments and what it offers to employees. The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) makes the bulk of its investments in government-related securities. In other words, it lends to central and state governments and related entities. The interest it gets from these instruments is largely what it uses to pay interest to its subscribers.
Rediff.com spoke to registered investment advisors to figure out how best the extra Rs 17,500 saved ever year can be invested to create a decent corpus in the years ahead. This is what they said.
'Like every Budget, this time, too, there is chatter around tinkering with the long-term capital gains tax.' 'Investors may not want to jump into the markets until there is clarity on this front.'
'Investors should allocate about 5% to 10% to such funds.'
FMPs remain an option for investors who believe interest rates could head downward over time and wish to lock in the current rates. TMFs have very low expense ratios, which makes them cost-efficient.
An allocation to ESG theme funds can bring down the overall risk of an equity portfolio. Investors with long-term financial goals, such as retirement, should not ignore sustainable investing.
The mutual fund (MF) industry had an action-packed 2023 as it tackled the scrapping of tax benefits for debt fund investors and surging flows into equity funds.
Mutual funds, as experts and custodians of another set of retail investors' savings, play a speculative game they are neither supposed to nor equipped to do, cautions Debashis Basu.
