'Indian investors have always been debt-heavy but with growing financial awareness they are getting comfortable with equities.'
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).
SIPs should be entered for 12 months at a time, and then renewed. You should use the renewal as an opportunity to review the portfolio. SIPs are a great way to invest in our view. if the environment is volatile, then SIPs are probably the best way for most investors, says mutual fund expert Rahul Goel.
rediffGURU Jinal Mehta answers readers' financial planning and health insurance queries
'Investors may have made money in mid and smallcaps due to market momentum, but now they need to focus on fundamentals.'
Follow these simple steps if you want to create a solid retirement corpus and retire young, says Anamika Pareek.
Mid-cap and small-cap mutual fund schemes have continued to attract strong investor interest, garnering nearly Rs 30,350 crore in inflows during the April-September period of the current financial year, driven by impressive returns delivered by these segments. In comparison, the cumulative inflow into mid-cap and small-cap funds stood at Rs 32,924 crore during the same period last year, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
A buoyant equity market, coupled with an improved performance of mutual funds (MFs) on the returns chart, has heightened retail investors' appetite for equities. In the past few months, equity MF schemes have seen a surge in fresh investments through both lump sum (one-time investments) and systematic investment plan (SIP) routes. During the August-September 2023 period, equity MF schemes recorded net lump sum investments of Rs 35,270 crore, compared to just Rs 5,550 crore in the previous three months, according to data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi).
Given gains in equity prices, it is not surprising that the earnings of asset management companies (AMCs) are growing quicker. The earnings momentum looks set to continue. Good fund performances have thus led to AMC earnings upgrades although valuations are high. Recent market performance and net flow trends have led to earnings upgrades by between 3-8 per cent for FY25-27.
Apart from the emotional value attached to buying gold, the yellow metal offers protection against inflation, interest rate spikes, currency and geopolitical risks, says Anamika Pareek.
Returns of liquid funds are meant only for the short term and don't help investors create wealth over the long term, as equity funds do.
Adopting overly aggressive strategies without considering risk could lead to significant losses during the next downturn.
rediffGURU Vivek Lala answers your income tax and personal finance queries.
When an investor opts for a systematic investment plan (SIP) in mutual funds, the purpose is to average the cost of buying a bouquet of stocks, inculcate discipline and not having to worry about daily market fluctuations.
Zakir Hussain was the maestro of tabla, percussionist, composer and even actor -- a legend who was India's very own and yet belonged to the world. Hussain died from 'idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis', a lung disease, in a San Francisco hospital early Monday. He was 73.
Investors with a long-term horizon and high-risk appetite seeking capital appreciation can consider investing in ELSS.
'Investors with foreign currency-denominated goals, such as foreign education or foreign travel, should go for US equity funds.'
MNC funds invest in companies where foreign promoters have more than 50 per cent shareholding.
'Value index funds are most appropriate for long-term investors who can withstand deeper drawdowns.'
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.
'If individual stocks start falling 25% to 30% or more, then I doubt how many of them will be able to withstand that (kind of selloff). That is when you'll see panic coming in.'
Newport Net deploys Hughes Soft SIP tech
'JD-U wants to emerge as the single largest party in Bihar after the next assembly polls by contesting more seats than the BJP.'
'Debt mutual funds are a good option now because interest rates are coming down.' 'Retail investors must put a majority portion of your money in short-term debt funds (1 to 3 years) and only a small portion in actively managed dynamic funds.'
rediffGURU Jinal Mehta answers readers' financial planning and health insurance queries
A list of lesser-travelled destinations in India that you must explore this year!
'If you invest in a rush at the last moment, you could compromise on selecting the best tax-saving options.'
rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers your mutual fund queries.
rediffGURU Kirtan A Shah answers your personal finance queries.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers readers' mutual fund queries
Investors need to carefully assess country-specific risks. 'This is especially true of a market that is less transparent than the US.'
With a stellar record of 398 runs, featuring two centuries and two fifties in just six appearances, can Agarwal return to the Indian team?
Smallcap mutual funds recorded net outflows for the first time in 30 months in March as investors pulled out money after the markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), warned against "froth" in the mid and smallcap space. Active equity mutual fund (MF) schemes raked in Rs 22,600 crore in March. The March inflow is 16 per cent lower than the two-year high inflow of Rs 26,860 crore in February, shows data from the Association of MFs in India (Amfi).
The mutual fund industry's assets under management (AUM) have likely breached the Rs 50 trillion mark following a rally in domestic equities this month. The industry's average AUM stood at almost Rs 48 trillion at the end of October. In November, the Nifty50 index has gained about 4 per cent so far, while smallcap and midcap indices have rallied close to 8 per cent.
'If their allocation to certain segments have become high due to strong returns over the past three-four years, they should rebalance their portfolios and bring them in line with their long-term asset allocation.'
'The political situation in the country will depend on the electoral outcome in Maharashtra.'
Celebs who will inspire you to embrace the golden hour but also teach you a trick or two on how to capture that perfect Kodak moment.
