Investors can sell a part of the stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and other securities held in their portfolios at a loss and use this loss to offset tax on the capital gains made on the sale of other securities.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Friday launch two schemes of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that may go a long way in changing how the household sector invests, and complains if anything goes wrong with their savings. These schemes - retail direct and an integrated ombudsman - will be launched by the Prime Minister virtually, in the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. With the introduction of retail direct, a common man can directly take a position in government securities (G-Sec), considered to be the safest asset class a sovereign can offer.
A cocktail of heatwave and upcoming cricketing events is expected to usher in the peak season for the country's largest beer maker, United Breweries. The beer maker, which has gained share in some key markets, will be a major beneficiary as April to July is an important period contributing to 40-45 per cent of its annual beer volumes. Going ahead, the T20 Cricket World Cup in June and the ongoing IPL will have a positive impact on volumes and should be able to offset the negative impact of elections on sales, experts believe.
'Our advice is to put money into equities now rather than staying away.'
Notwithstanding robust volume growth and a strong performance from Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Tata Motors, the country's second-largest automobile (auto) manufacturer by market capitalisation, disappointed the Street with its January-March quarter (Q4) results for 2023-24 (FY24). While consolidated revenues saw a 13 per cent increase, lower-than-expected realisations in the Indian operations weighed down overall performance.
'In the short term you keep your return expectations very, very low; in the medium term be prepared to invest and in the long term growth will come and your returns from stocks will be high.'
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
The net profit of the listed Adani group companies more than doubled year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the first half of 2023-24 (H1FY24), even as their revenue declined in this period. The nine firms posted a 107.7 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 23,929 crore in April-September compared to the year-ago period. Net sales, on the other hand, were down 14 per cent to Rs 1.49 trillion in H1FY24, data collated by Business Standard showed.
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.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
One category which stands out is fixed maturity plans due to its tax benefits, notes Prateek Mehta, CEO and company-co-founder, Upwardly.in.
rediffGURU Jinal Mehta answers readers' financial planning and health insurance queries
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday seized three offices in a prime location in Mumbai, valued more than Rs 41 crore, as part of a foreign exchange violation probe against a businessman whose name figured in the Panama Papers.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
'We are confident that over the next few years the government will strike a fine balance between populist measures and growth, and manage coalition partners well.'
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
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).
If a 5% to 10% fall in the equity market gives you sleepless nights, you are not cut out for a 75% to 80% allocation to equities and must reduce it.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
'Higher valuation remains the only spoiler for equities.'
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your mutual fund queries.
'It makes sense to have gold in one's portfolio keeping the political and economic risks of 2024 in mind.'
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
'Investors need to understand that these schemes may not do well in the market that is in a bull run, but quality stocks would protect the downside.'
Before framing regulations to curb 'misleading' messages and stock recommendations by finfluencers (a portmanteau of the phrase 'financial influencers'), the market regulator plans to put in place some 'building blocks' to ensure smooth enforcement. Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), is of the view that the 'traditional approach may not work' to rein in finfluencers. "There are many interlinked pieces in our regulations - investment advisor regulations, research analyst regulations, the fact that we don't have algorithmic (algo)-related regulations, what brokers are permitted to do, and what is incidental advice.
'Have a long way to go even as a small finance bank, both in terms of size, and in terms of fulfilling our aspirations for financial inclusion.'
If a retail investor wants exposure to a healthcare ETF, it should be a part of his satellite portfolio, suggests Sanjay Kumar Singh.
'To achieve a corpus of Rs 10 crores in the coming years, I would suggest you increase your SIP, advises Nikunj Saraf, vice president, Choice Wealth.
Since the start of this financial year (FY24), the stock of Aurobindo Pharma has been one of the top pharma gainers, enhancing investor wealth by over 68 per cent, with a third of those gains coming in the last three months. The stock is riding on multiple triggers given its investments in the production-linked incentive or PLI scheme, biosimilars, injectables and vaccines, which should drive revenues and profits over the medium term. Better than expected performance after the June quarter results led to a revision of earnings estimates for FY24 and FY25.
The improving outlook for the power sector has caught the interest of dividend yield funds. In the first four months of the current financial year (2023-24, or FY24), five of the six largest dividend yield funds have shown a notable increase in their exposure to stocks within the power sector. Some have even introduced new stocks to their portfolios.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries reported a 34 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) jump in net profit to Rs 2,654.6 crore in Q4FY24.
The impact of currency depreciation can also be mitigated by holding a portion of your investment portfolio in dollar-denominated assets.
Corporate India is starting to step up its capital expenditure plans amid government incentives and signs of rising demand, company executives and analysts have indicated. This coincides with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently citing a double-digit growth in private capital expenditure. Healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, along with increasing capacity utilisation and improving business sentiment, are contributing to a favourable environment for sustained growth in private sector investments, the RBI said in its policy last week.
Anil Rego, CEO, Right Horizons, answers your personal income tax queries.
In a bid to enhance its equity exposure and earn higher returns for its nearly 65 million subscribers, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is considering reinvesting 50 per cent of its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) redemption proceeds back into equity. Sources close to the development said a proposal regarding this was discussed in the investment committee (IC) meeting in October last year, and the recommendation has been sent to the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of the EPFO for its approval. The next CBT meeting is scheduled to be held on Saturday.
State-owned Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency's (Ireda's) chairman and managing director Pradip Kumar Das has announced that the company has requested the government to allow it to carry out a follow-on public offer (FPO) as it will need further equity infusion to maintain the pace of growth. The FPO would aim to raise between Rs 4,000 crore and Rs 5,000 crore. Ireda, which provides funding assistance and other services to renewable energy and energy efficiency/conservation projects and is 75 per cent owned by the government of India, has requested the Union Finance Ministry to be included under Section 54EC of the Income Tax Act, which will help reduce borrowing costs.
It is advisable to avoid a fund until it develops a track record.
Compared to equity funds, debt funds are lower risk profile and are usually suitable for investors for very short term.
rediffGURU Kirtan A Shah answers your personal finance queries.
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