In simple words, ETF or Exchange traded funds are index funds that trade on stock exchanges like shares. An ETF allows you to buy and sell an entire index like a stock. ETFs provide diversification with a single investment and limited amount of capital and at a small cost. Let’s say you want to take exposure to Nifty 100 benchmark. To be able to do that, you will have to … [Read more...] about PFP Primer: What are ETFs?
What is Side Pocketing in Debt Mutual Funds? How it helps?
Debt mutual funds are not without risk. When a default or a rating downgrade of an underlying security, NAV of the fund takes a hit. Not just that, it poses an additional problem. In such cases, some of the more knowledgeable investors can benefit at the expense of less aware investors. SEBI has come out with a circular to address the issue. What is the issue if there is a … [Read more...] about What is Side Pocketing in Debt Mutual Funds? How it helps?
Retirement Planning: When to purchase an Annuity plan?
The biggest financial risk during retirement is that you may outlive your retirement corpus. You may have planned really well and planned for the corpus to last till the age of 90 but you are fit for another 10 years by the time you turn 90. What do you do then? How will you provide for your basic expenses? Is there a way you can do away with this longevity … [Read more...] about Retirement Planning: When to purchase an Annuity plan?
LIC Jeevan Shanti: A case of mis-selling?
Mis-selling is not just about selling bad products to the consumers. It is also about selling good products the wrong way. In a way, selling any product that is not suitable for the consumer/investor is tantamount is mis-selling. Selling a life insurance plan to an 80-year old who walked into the branch to open up a fixed deposit is mis-selling. Selling regular premium ULIPs … [Read more...] about LIC Jeevan Shanti: A case of mis-selling?
How do you calculate your Mutual Fund Returns: CAGR, IRR or XIRR?
You invest Rs 10,000 on January 1 every year for 20 years. In the first case, you earn a constant 6% p.a. for the first 10 years and 12% for the last 10 years. In the second case, you earn a constant 12% p.a. for the first 10 years and 6% p.a. for the last 10 years. Will you end up with the same corpus in both the cases? After all, Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is the … [Read more...] about How do you calculate your Mutual Fund Returns: CAGR, IRR or XIRR?
NRI Corner: Plan to take a loan abroad to invest or replace a loan in India?
If you are an NRI, you may be able to get a loan at a very low rate of interest in your country of residence? If you have such an option, you may feel tempted to take a low cost loan and invest in India. For instance, let’s say you can borrow at 3% p.a. abroad and invest in India in NRE fixed deposits at 7.5% p.a. Looks a very good deal, isn’t it? Alternatively, if you … [Read more...] about NRI Corner: Plan to take a loan abroad to invest or replace a loan in India?
With NPS almost EEE, should you now invest in NPS?
The tax regime for NPS has gotten better and better over the last few years. In December 2018, the Government has almost given EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) tax status to NPS. Is NPS really EEE? NPS has almost attained EEE (Exempt-Exempt-Exempt) tax status. This is in line with the other popular retirement products such as EPF and PPF. However, there is still some … [Read more...] about With NPS almost EEE, should you now invest in NPS?
Good News: Lumpsum withdrawal from NPS is now exempt from tax
The Government of India has brought about a few important changes to NPS (National Pension Scheme). All the changes are beneficial for the NPS investors. Some of the changes are only for the Central Government Employees while the others apply to all the NPS subscribers. Let’s go through the changes in detail. Change # 1 (Taxation of NPS Maturity proceeds) This change … [Read more...] about Good News: Lumpsum withdrawal from NPS is now exempt from tax
You can now invest online in Government Bonds easily. Should you?
Investing in Government Securities has become simpler. The Reserve Bank of India had notified, in November 2017, that stock exchanges can act as aggregators for retail investor and thus facilitate bidding for Government securities at RBI auctions. Discount broker Zerodha and NSE came out with the online facility to purchase Government bonds recently (late 2018). In this post, … [Read more...] about You can now invest online in Government Bonds easily. Should you?
How to select the Best ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan) for your portfolio?
The topic of this post may seem odd, given what I regularly write about ULIPs. I advocate mutual funds over unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) and for good reasons. I do not deny bias though. I wrote a detailed post comparing mutual funds and ULIPs and showing why I prefer mutual funds over ULIPs, despite ULIPs enjoying far superior tax treatment as compared to mutual … [Read more...] about How to select the Best ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan) for your portfolio?
