In Budget 2021, the Government had introduced a tax on interest on employee contribution to EPF over Rs 2.5 lacs in a financial year. The Government rationale was that many HNIs were taking benefit of tax-free interest by contributing heavily to the employee provident fund (EPF) account. Read this Economic Times article for more details. The Government feels it is not right … [Read more...] about EPF Tax: How will your EPF contribution above Rs 2.5 lacs be taxed?
Product Review
Nifty Next 50 index: Large cap or Midcap fund?
Is Nifty Next 50 index a large cap or a midcap index? Going by SEBI classification where top 100 stocks by market capitalization are considered large cap stocks, Nifty Next 50 is a large cap index. However, I believe its performance shares greater similarity with the midcap index (Nifty Midcap 150) than with the large cap index (Nifty 50). Nifty Next 50: Large cap or Mid … [Read more...] about Nifty Next 50 index: Large cap or Midcap fund?
Nifty 50 Value 20 (NV20) Index: Review: Should you invest?
Always good to receive positive feedback from regular readers. Such feedback makes all the writing effort worthwhile. One such reader, Kshitij, wrote an encouraging email from Ludhiana along with an interesting query,” If you can throw some light on NIFTY 50 NV20 index. Surprisingly, its beaten most of the other Large Cap Benchmarks in last 3 yrs. Thought it might be an … [Read more...] about Nifty 50 Value 20 (NV20) Index: Review: Should you invest?
Review: ABSLI Wealth Infinia ULIP: Should you invest?
An investor recently enquired about Aditya Birla Sun Life (ABSLI) Wealth Infinia plan. His bank RM has been pushing this plan aggressively. ABSLI Wealth Infinia plan is a Unit-Linked Insurance plan (ULIP). While I am not very fond of ULIP products, I will share the product review below. I am biased against mixing insurance and investments and do not like purchase … [Read more...] about Review: ABSLI Wealth Infinia ULIP: Should you invest?
HDFC Nifty 50 Equal Weight Index Fund: Review: Should you invest?
HDFC Mutual Fund has launched HDFC Nifty 50 Equal Weight Index Fund. The fund is currently under NFO stage and will soon be available for ongoing subscriptions. Should you invest in HDFC Nifty 50 Equal Weight Index fund? The HDFC fund is a passive fund tracking Nifty 50 Equal Weight Index (Nifty 50 EW). There are a few in the Nifty 50 equal weight index funds in the … [Read more...] about HDFC Nifty 50 Equal Weight Index Fund: Review: Should you invest?
What are Covered Bonds? Should you invest?
You are NOT comfortable with the low interest rates on your bank fixed deposits. Rightly so since you would not have seen such low FD interest rates ever in your life. Low interest rates hurt even more when you rely on interest income to fund your monthly expenses. You are desperately looking for solutions to enhance your income without taking too much risk. You come … [Read more...] about What are Covered Bonds? Should you invest?
LIC Saral Pension Plan (862): A New Immediate Annuity Plan from LIC: Review
Annuity plans are the only investment products from insurance companies that I do not dislike. Annuity products can serve a purpose in your portfolio that no other investment product (mutual funds, stocks, bank fixed deposits) can serve. And what is that purpose that no other product can serve? Ensure/Guarantee an income stream for life. LIC has launched a new … [Read more...] about LIC Saral Pension Plan (862): A New Immediate Annuity Plan from LIC: Review
Health Insurance: A Big Base Plan Vs. A Small Base Plan + Super Top-up plan
The recent Covid-19 crisis tested the adequacy of health insurance covers for many of us. What seemed like robust health cover proved to be inadequate, at least in some cases. The employer cover of Rs 3 lacs and private health plan of Rs 5 lacs seems woefully inadequate now. Doesn’t it? Two questions: What is an adequate health cover then?How do you enhance your health … [Read more...] about Health Insurance: A Big Base Plan Vs. A Small Base Plan + Super Top-up plan
Gold ETFs Vs Sovereign Gold Bonds
Which is the best way of investing in gold? Physical gold, Jewellery, gold ETFs, mutual funds, or Sovereign gold bonds? Let us leave out physical gold and jewellery in this post and focus on financial investments in gold. In this post, let us compare the various features of gold bonds and gold ETFs (and gold mutual funds) and assess which is a better choice. #1 … [Read more...] about Gold ETFs Vs Sovereign Gold Bonds
ETFs vs. Index Funds: Which is better?
Exchanged Traded Funds (ETFs) and index funds are low-cost ways to build a diversified equity portfolio. Both are passive investments. Both try to replicate (and not beat) the performance of a benchmark index. For instance, both Nifty 50 ETF and Nifty 50 index fund will try to replicate the performance of an index fund. This is achieved by holding the constituents in the … [Read more...] about ETFs vs. Index Funds: Which is better?
