In modern investing, transparency is more valuable than zero fees and not all investing app score big on this front, says Ramalingam Kalirajan.
With domestic markets turning choppy, investors are increasingly scouting for opportunities overseas to diversify portfolios and hedge against a weakening rupee.
Rediff explains why the system, not the Budget, is the problem.
'The rise in SIP contributions has created a pool of long-term MF assets that can be pledged for loans.'
Retiring at 50 is not unrealistic. It simply requires: Discipline + Long-Term Vision + Compounding
A significant majority (57%) of India's investment advisors are concentrated in just five metro cities, leading to concerns about financial inclusion and the spread of financial market products beyond urban centres, according to a Business Standard analysis of Sebi data.
The factor fund launch spree by mutual funds (MFs) is moving from the passive to the active space. Two new fund offerings (NFOs) - ICICI Pru Active Momentum Fund and Bandhan Multi-Factor Fund - are currently open for subscription. Sundaram MF's multi-factor fund NFO closed this Wednesday.
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.
Investor confidence in value mutual funds remains robust, with the category witnessing an inflow of Rs 1,556 crore in January, indicating a shift in their focus towards fundamentally strong yet undervalued stocks.
'Existing investors who have not acted so far may consider holding on to these funds with the understanding that the higher returns they expected from them may now take longer to materialise.'
'We are staying away from making forward-looking statements on when we will reach 1 trillion, etc. But growth will be rapid; it's only a matter of time.'
AUM heavyweights SBI, HDFC and ICICI Pru flex muscle, adding Rs 2 trillion+ each.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'Growth for some companies has been hard to come by and this is a smart way to get there.'
Largecap, flexicap, and balanced advantage funds together recorded a net inflow of Rs 9,363 crore in August, representing a 70% increase from the previous month's total.
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.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, contesting from Nemom, Kerala, declares assets exceeding 93 crore, including movable and immovable properties, ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
'Long-term investors seeking sustainable gains from resilient, fundamentally strong companies may go for these funds.'
The combined income of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his wife has doubled to Rs 35.16 crore in 2026, according to his election affidavit. The affidavit details the increase in movable and immovable assets of both Sarma and his wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma.
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.'
Let reason, not emotion, guide your decisions.
India's net oil import bill could rise by $56 billion to $64 billion annually assuming global crude averages $110 to $115 per barrel in FY27.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
Equity mutual funds attracted Rs 39,688 crore in January, driven by sharp inflow in small and midcap schemes, even as market volatilities continued. However, this was 3.5 per cent lower than the net inflow of Rs 41,156 crore registered in December.
'The next phase of India's IPO cycle will be defined by quality, pricing discipline and investor selectivity.'
The performance of banking and information technology (IT) stocks has had a significant impact on the composition of diversified mutual fund (MF) portfolios. Over the past two months, these sectors have become increasingly dominant, now constituting nearly 30 per cent of the total allocation in many diversified MF portfolios.
Companies in the lower mcap deciles have recorded the fastest growth in median mcap.
Sebi is working with other regulators to expand the CAS framework.
The highlight in January, with no surprise, has been flows into gold and silver ETFs.
Value mutual funds have witnessed robust investor interest, garnering Rs 22,757 crore in inflows in 2024, nearly double the amount seen in 2023, fueled by impressive returns generated by the segment. This surge reflects a shift in investor focus towards fundamentally strong yet undervalued stocks.
Ask rediffGURU Reetika Sharma your insurance, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Investors are moving away from the commercial paper (CP) market towards certificates of deposit (CDs), as primary CD issuances and rates on these short-term instruments rise.
Foreign investors pulled out Rs 21,000 crore (around $2.3 billion) from Indian equities over the last four trading sessions amid deteriorating global risk sentiment triggered by the West Asia crisis.
Sebi Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey announced intensified surveillance and technology-driven enforcement to combat pre-investment scams targeting retail investors, who are increasingly being lured by fake trading apps and promises of high returns.
The Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor as part of a money laundering investigation against Reliance Anil Ambani group companies, officials said.
Equity mutual fund (MF) schemes were flush with cash at the start of this month, even as fresh investments shrank in February. As of February 28, equity schemes from the top 20 fund houses held 6.8 per cent of their portfolios in cash, up from 6.1 per cent in January and 5.9 per cent in December 2024, according to a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Nitin Narkhede your mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
'In my entire career, whenever friends, relatives, or associates have sought my counsel, I have told them consistently: Stay away from equities. Buy gold. Place funds in fixed deposits. Acquire some raw land.' 'That is all one genuinely needs to build meaningful, enduring wealth, without the attendant anxiety of equity market participation.'
Equity mutual funds witnessed a record inflow of Rs 41,887 crore in October, marking a surge of over 21 per cent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, fuelled by robust investments in thematic funds. This also marks the 44th consecutive month of net inflow in the equity-oriented funds, highlighting the ever-increasing appeal of mutual funds among investors, data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed on Monday.
Retail investors are moving away from a buy-and-hold approach and towards more informed short-term positioning, recent investment patterns show.
