Households should moderate large discretionary expenses for the time being.
'They should prioritise essential spending. They should maintain an emergency fund covering 6 to 12 months of expenses.'
A fall in the Nifty 50 to around 19,000 is not impossible, but that would likely require nuclear options to be exercised.
In modern investing, transparency is more valuable than zero fees and not all investing app score big on this front, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'Except for extremely conservative investors, others can consider allocating 10 to 20 per cent of their portfolio to small caps.'
'The next phase of India's IPO cycle will be defined by quality, pricing discipline and investor selectivity.'
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
While investors would focus on the results and guidance for the third quarter of financial year 2025-26 (Q3FY26) in the normal course of business, the US-Israeli attack on Iran and the latter's retaliation at Gulf allies of the US has forced them to weigh the consequences of the event.
'Oil is still well below its all-time highs, and the world is gradually running out of known reserves.'
Investors with a 6 to 12 month horizon may consider them. They should align their holding period with the fund's maturity profile and prefer schemes with a lower expense ratio.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
From a modest salary to Rs 1 crore, here's Ramalingam Kalirajan's smart compounding blueprint for young earners
Their assets under management (AUM) rose from Rs 1.04 trillion (January 31, 2025) to Rs 1.75 trillion (January 31, 2026), an increase of 68.3 per cent.
Ask rediffGURU and PF and MF expert Janak Patel your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Leading stock exchange BSE on Monday cautioned investors to remain vigilant against deepfake video of its CEO giving stock recommendations and investment advice on social media platforms. The exchange emphasised that the video is unauthorised and fraudulent, and its officials are not permitted to provide any stock tips.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
Strong performance in the beauty and personal care (BPC) segment, margin gains, and expectations of a breakeven in the fashion business lifted sentiment for FSN E-Commerce Ventures (Nykaa). The consumer technology platform's stock rose 7.5 per cent on Friday, extending gains over the past week to more than 17 per cent. Most brokerages have upgraded the stock following its third-quarter (October-December/Q3) performance and higher profit expectations ahead.
'The problem is not just slower growth, but also the quality of growth.'
With the worst in terms of pricing pressures behind Tata Steel, its outlook is expected to improve. Europe has seen hot rolled coil prices rise this January after the European Union's (EU's) carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) kicked in and further price improvements may be on the cards once import quotas come into play in June.
Zero-coupon bonds suit investors with long-term goals such as retirement or education planning.
The recent correction suggests that while precious metals hedge geopolitical tension and inflation, they are not immune to sharp short-term corrections and profit-booking.
Most first-time investors may be better served by diversified options such as flexicap or multi-cap funds, which already hold pharma and healthcare stocks.
New investors should enter gradually and with a long horizon. 'Staggered investment through systematic purchase plans is advisable rather than lump-sum buying.'
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Is the parabolic rise in silver running out of steam or just getting started? Ramalingam Kalirajan offers his take on if you should invest in silver now?
'There is a challenge in repositioning yourself, maybe reinventing yourself.'
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
'Multi-asset funds have cornered 30 per cent of hybrid fund inflows in 2025, reflecting a growing preference for diversified portfolios that combine equity, debt and commodities.'
Ambareesh Baliga's quick take on the markets after the increase in STT on futures and options trading...
Overlap refers to the same stocks appearing across fund portfolios.
Sometimes, the most powerful Budgets whisper and the wisest investors listen, notes Ramalingam Kalirajan.
NPS Vatsalya offers a disciplined investment avenue that parents can use to create intergenerational wealth by contributing even small sums.
Taxpayers should consider ITR-U if they omitted income, wrongly claimed deductions or exemptions, or made reporting errors that led to a shortfall in tax payment.
'People become guided by emotions, fear of missing out, and greed. They tend to invest in booming sectors that may prove exceptionally expensive.' 'Typically, that represents the peak, and subsequently, they lose substantially.'
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
Flexicap fund performance depends heavily on the fund manager's decisions.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
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