The odd super performer does not increase your wealth, great asset allocation does.
rediffGURU Jinal Mehta answers readers' financial planning and health insurance queries
As and when the equity markets run up substantially, book profits in your equity holdings and move this money towards debt instruments
If you spread your investments and get exposure to many asset classes, then that is called diversification. Asset allocation is the process of allocating your money to different investments. And they offer tremendous advantages, says Rishi Piparaiya.
Do not keep a large portion of your long-term portfolio in FDs.
'If equities perform well in a year, withdraw money from equities. If the equity market is down, shift withdrawal to the debt portion.'
'.. if you do not want to take the asset allocation call.'' 'This category of funds can offer optimum risk-adjusted returns.'
Dwaipayan Bose on how index funds play a key role in the diversification of portfolios and help manage risks
A retirement fund can be helpful for all age groups, but ideally one should start investing early to beat market swings and gain from compounding.
Equity mutual fund (MF) schemes have raked in Rs 46,200 crore in net lump-sum inflows in the past six months (ended February 2024), almost thrice the inflow in the previous six-month period.
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.
Retail investors now own a larger share of smallcap companies than they did a year ago, thanks to their conviction in mutual fund (MF) schemes focused on this segment. Data from Capitaline shows that MFs' average holding in the National Stock Exchange Nifty Smallcap 250 Index stood at 9 per cent at the end of the October-December quarter of 2023-24 (FY24), up from 7.76 per cent in the same quarter of 2022-23.
Net inflows into two of the 'lower risk' equity funds - largecaps and flexicaps - outpaced the flows into smallcap funds during January 2024 for the first time in 17 months. This is an indication that investors may now be shifting to the relatively safer largecap stocks after a sharp run up in the mid and smallcap spaces. Net inflows into large and flexicap funds were at Rs 3,730 crore last month against Rs 3,260 crore by smallcap schemes.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
The change in debt fund taxation is seen as boosting the demand for hybrid funds. It is no surprise then that asset management companies (AMCs) have launched a raft of new products in the multi-asset category. However, they seem to be divided on the asset mix and approach. The multi-asset space, which provides fund houses ample scope to innovate, has seen five launches in as many months.
Find out whether the fund is equity, debt, or hybrid oriented. 'Understand the portfolio composition and whether it suits your risk appetite and horizon.'
Following the sharp run in markets, valuations across the board have become elevated. The National Stock Exchange Nifty50 Index now trades at a 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 24.3 times, 18 per cent higher than this year's low of 20.5 times. The valuation expansion in the broader markets has been sharper.
Analysts remain bullish on the road ahead for the equity markets, but warn against volatility on account of domestic and global cues. The upcoming Lok Sabha elections back home and the interest rate trajectory of the US Federal Reserve, they said, will be the two most important factors that the markets will keep a tab on. That apart, the valuation of the Indian markets, they feel, will also be eyed in context of how global peers are performing.
We do not realise is that many a times we are investing to "only" save tax, when a lot more can be accomplished with the same amount of money. Here we discuss how this is possible.
'Exposure to small and midcap stocks exceeded desired levels in many portfolios, prompting rebalancing.'
Ulhas Joshi, Head -- Sales, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Riding the wave of the equity market, the mutual fund (MF) industry experienced double-digit growth in Samvat 2079, concluding the Hindu calendar year close to the Rs 50 trillion assets under management milestone. After a subdued 6 per cent growth in Samvat 2078, the industry's assets surged over 18 per cent last year to Rs 46.7 trillion. Industry players anticipate that Samvat 2080 will also be a fruitful year for the asset management industry, given the strong inflows from retail investors, particularly through the systematic investment plan route.
Among index funds, the most popular products are funds tracking the Nifty 50 and Sensex, says Dwaipayan Bose, and explains the finer points of selecting the right index mutual fund.
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.
'Midcap and smallcap indices are trading in the expensive zone.'
Those who cannot bear significant downturns (as much as 40 per cent) or have a short horizon should exit entirely.
rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers your mutual fund queries.
If investing in Bitcoin, adopt a three to five-year horizon and invest systematically to gain from its volatility.
'Investors should focus on largecap funds, flexicap funds, business cycle funds, or hybrid-category funds.'
rediffGURU Ulhas Joshi answers readers' mutual fund queries
rediffGURU and financial planning expert Colonel Sanjeev Govila will answer your personal finance-related questions.
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.
'...which is possible through flexicap and multicap funds.' 'The latter has a better balance between large, mid and smallcap stocks.'
Following alterations in the tax structure, mutual fund (MF) schemes that invest in overseas securities have experienced a sharp decline in inflows. In the first five months of 2023-24 (FY24), international MF schemes have received an average monthly gross inflow of only Rs 270 crore, compared to Rs 490 crore during the same period in the previous year. This decline persists despite nearly all fund houses opening subscriptions for such schemes, with higher redemptions creating headroom for fresh investments.
rediffGURU Ramalingam Kalirajan answers your personal finance queries.
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.
rediffGURU and financial planning expert Colonel Sanjeev Govila (retd) answers your personal finance-related questions.
You can build your own retirement savings portfolio by investing in equity, hybrid and/or debt funds. Alternatively, you can also invest in retirement funds which provide asset allocation solutions for different investment needs and risk appetites, says Dwaipayan Bose
If you are overweight on fixed-income instruments, go for ELSS, and vice versa.
Anamika Pareek answers five most frequently asked questions about investing in silver ETFs
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