Index funds are passive mutual fund schemes that track an equity or debt market index. Unlike actively managed mutual fund schemes, index funds do not aim to beat the market benchmark index. Index funds simply aim to replicate the returns of the index subject to tracking errors. Index funds are very popular in developed...Read More

Asset allocation is spreading your investments over different asset classes, e.g. equity, fixed income, gold, real estate etc. The primary purpose of asset allocation is to balance risk and returns. If you are over-invested in one particular asset class, you may take too much risk or get sub-optimal portfolio returns. Through asset...Read More

When we think of investments, most investors mainly think about equity and fixed income. Gold and silver have huge cultural significance in India. However, gold and silver jewellery or articles are thought of as family heirlooms to be gifted to children or grand children at the time of the wedding or other auspicious occasions or as a...Read More

The recent tax change for non-equity funds may have come as a rude surprise for many mutual fund investors. As per the amendment to the Finance Bill, which came into effect from 1^st April 2023, all capital gains in non-equity funds, whether long term or short term will be taxed as per income tax rate of the...Read More

After retirement the main source of income for most people is from their investments. In India, a relatively small percentage of retired people have other sources of income e.g. pension, rental income etc. You need to have sufficient savings and investments, which generates enough income to meet your regular expenses after retirement...Read More

There has been lot of debate in digital and social media about the pros and cons of old versus new tax regime after the proposed changes in direct taxes in 2023 Budget. Many people are arguing that below the income slab of Rs 15 lakhs or more, the tax rates for different income tax slabs are lower in the new regime...Read More

Most retail investors keep their savings primarily in traditional fixed income investments like Bank Fixed Deposits, Government Small Savings Schemes etc. With the RBI hiking repo rates to 6.25%, the interest rates of Bank FDs and Government Small Savings Schemes have also gone up. However, investors may...Read More

There is relatively less awareness of this debt mutual fund category. Constant duration funds invest in Government bonds and maintain a constant duration of their portfolio of bonds. A debt fund with constant duration of 10 years will maintain the 10 year duration irrespective of interest rate cycles. Before we delve...Read More

Multicap is an equity investment strategy, where the investment is spread across different market capitalization segments. Market capitalization of a stock is the share price of a stocks multiplied by the total number of shares outstanding. Investors use market cap to denote a company’s size. Different market cap segments have...Read More

Tax payers can claim deduction of up to Rs 150,000 from their taxable income by investing in certain eligible schemes specified under Section 80C of Income tax Act. There are several investment options under Section 80C for different needs and risk appetites. Unfortunately many investors look at tax planning, purely from...Read More