Personal Finance Blog- India V 2.0: January 2008

New ELSS NFOs

Scheme,Category,Open Date,Close Date,Offer Price (Rs)
Lotus India AGILE Tax Fund
Equity - ELSS
Nov 15, 07
Feb 15, 08
10
SBI Tax Advantage Fund - Series 1
Equity - ELSS
Dec 03, 07
Mar 03, 08
10

Views- You can prefer funds like Magnum tax gain, Sundaram tax saver, HDFC Tax Saver or Principal tax saver fund for your tax investments.

Stock market investing and panic

At ideasmoney we have always emphasised on the need for long term investing in equity (> 5 years) and Systematic investing. Moreover we have always suggested to invest only such money in equity which is not required for at least a couple of years.

People who panic are only traders and if you have been investing through vehicles like SIP, you need not worry at all.

There are two more things that one needs to follow

1) Never ever think experts ( analyst) are gods-

Many people tend to follow words of analyst appearing on TV seriously. They know the trend but they are not God's to know the future. Recently a famous analyst wrote a post on the lessons of stock market in their website. It was all words of wisdom but he never uttered those words before crash. He wouldn't have anticipated the crash ( which is not a real crash for investors) either!!!.

2) Don't let headlines rule you.

Media starts writing about bulls and bears the alternate days. They create huge hype on volatility of market. Never get swayed by them too.

Most important is have confidence in time and have realistic expectations {returns on your investment (15-20% pa)}.

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NFO JM Tax Gain Fund

.Nfo Closes On 25th March 2008
An Open Ended Equity Linked Saving Scheme
Minimum Application Amount: 500/-
Asset Allocation: Equity -80%-100%,Debt -0%-20%
Entry Load: 2.25%
Exit Load: Nil
Benchmark: BSE 500 Index

Views- This is for those who are hardcore fans of JM and it's star investor. we suggest investing in existing proven tax funds

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Standard Chartered Small & Midcap Equity Fund -NFO

News-
Issue Open 09-Jan-2008
Issue Close 15-Feb-2008
Scheme Objective
Standard Chartered Small & Midcap Equity (SME) Fund, is a close-ended equity scheme with no assured returns. The investment objective of the Scheme is to seek to generate capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio of equity and equity related instruments.
Equity Diversified
Close-Ended
Entry Load 0.00 %
Exit Load 0.00 %
Exit load: For redemptions or switch out during the specified redemption period, till the maturity of the scheme, the unit holder will have to pay the balance proportionate unamortized initial issue expenses applicable to their investments.

Views-

Stan chart have proven themselves in Premier equity fund. But they don't have a long term track record across market cycles. Small and mid cap funds can give great returns over long term. Small and Mid caps are available at cheap valuations after the recent market downturn. Investors can take up existing small and mid cap funds from market.
This is a close ended fund.so, higher issue expenses can be amortised.Can be a disadvantage to investors. This funds may be for the hardcore stan. chart fans!.

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Fall of stocks

With stocks falling for more than a week and a big fall yesterday, there is great panic.

There is no need to panic if you are a long term investor and have invested systematically in equity with long term goals.

This can also be a time to do prudent cost averaging n your stocks. Volatility is inherent to nature of stock investing and you have to live with it to make your gains.

Is it a good investment?

I get to see a lot of questions in website Q&A, forums, mails in the lines of..."I have invested Rs X in Y MF/ Z shares. is it a good investment??".

The immediate answer that comes to me is "Why did you invest if you were not aware of the consequences??". It is very important to understand where you are investing your money. At least a basic study or understanding is essential before you invest. There is no point going around for reassurance after you make the investment.

With the markets opening giving great returns in 2007 and IPOs also giving decent returns, there is mad rush for making 'Quick money' from the stock markets . People throw in their money without even thinking twice and blame stock markets on a dooms day.

So, understanding where your money goes and understanding the risk associated with your investment is very important before you throw your money in.

One more important thing is understanding the difference between investing and trading. Some people ask.." I have Rs X to spare for 2 months..which stock/ equity MF can I "INVEST" in??...

It's very important to understand that betting in your money for two months in equity is nothing less than gambling.

So always "Understand your investment"and enter for a "Long time horizon" to reap the benefits of stock markets.

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Traffic Signal-- Why SIP investment is powerful

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Ideasmoney ( The Mutual fund Blog- India) is getting increased visitors through search, bookmarks and links.

Thanks to all the readers for making it the fastest growing mutual fund blog

Is it the right time to enter the market

The most frequently asked question these days is " Sensex has crossed 20K , I have never invested in equity and will I get to gain if I enter the market now?. What are the investment options?"

Any day is a good day for a person to enter the market provided he understands that time in the market is more important than timing the market.

An SIP in a equity mutual fund running over a couple of years would be the best way for the retail investor to enter the market.

Always remember to invest only such money which you need not have immediately into stocks/Equity MF. i.e don't ever invest money that you would need in the short term into stocks(unless you are OK to play around with the associated high risks).

Understand Long term is at least 3-5 years and anything less than that can be termed as a short term investment for equity investment.

So, SIP your way to wealth.

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How far are you from financial independence?

one close definition of Financial Independence is ability to sustain on one's passive income.i.e. you can afford your day to day life without having to earn money by any need ( by work or business?).

'Financial Independence' should be one of the key goal of each and every investor.( In simple terms..this can be called retirement planning too?).

Starting early, investing regularly and compounding your money is the key to success for financial independence.

To judge how far you are from it ..face a question.

There are a lot of people who thrive only on their regular income. i.e that they cannot manage their day to day business even if their salary/income flows are stopped for even a single month. At least small but steady steps should be taken by each and everyone in moving towards financial independence.

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HDFC joins the infrastructure NFO race

NEWS-

HDFC Mutual Fund has launched HDFC Infrastructure Fund. The NFO period for the Scheme is Jan 08 – Feb 21, 2008.

The investment objective of the Scheme is to seek long term capital appreciation by investing predominantly in equity and equity related securities of companies engaged in or expected to benefit from the growth and development of infrastructure.

Views-

This is a closed ended fund and would be converted to open-ended later on. So, comes with a baggage of excess expense load chargeable to close ended funds. HDFC is no doubt a strong fund house. But investors better look for SIP in open-ended infrastructure schemes

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150 MFs outperform indices

This is definitely a great news for mutual fund investors!!!

http://www.livemint.com/2008/01/06153923/Over-150-MF-schemes-outperform.html

More than 150 equity schemes have outperformed the indices in 2007. Wishing the same would continue to happen here on.

One more infrastructure NFO

There is one another infrastructure fund (NFO) in the offing (2008).

New:-AIG Mutual Fund has launched an open-ended equity scheme AIG Infrastructure and Economic Reform Fund. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate long-term capital appreciation from a diversified portfolio.

The scheme would charge an entry load of 2.25 per cent for investment below Rs 5 crore.
The minimum one-time investment under the regular plan is Rs 5,000 and in multiplies of Re 1 thereafter

Views:- Note , the entry load would not be applicable if you apply directly to the fund house.(know more..No entry load for direct investment- what does it mean for you? ).

It's better to go in for an SIP in a proven infrastructure fund. AIG is relatively a new fund house and we can better wait to see how it performs in the Indian market.

NFO - New Fund Offer

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No entry load for direct investment- what does it mean for you?

ULIPs

Recently read a news item that inflows from ULIPs to stock market could be around $15bn in 2009. Great news that so much money is coming in to the markets . But the sad part is so many investors have taken an uninformed decision of investing in equity through the wrong route.

A significant portion of premium money goes into paying hefty commission to insurance agents and other costs and Insurance is clubbed along with investment to hide all these costs.

I wouldn't only blame the agents. Investors also should try to do a basic analysis before they put across their hard earned money into such costly products. ULIP may definitely give returns but unfortunately not the full return that the investor deserves.

High time IRDA does something like the SEBI, by waiving the unnecessary entry loads.

Read the following articles if you need more insight on ULIPs

The most mis-sold financial product

Do not club insurance and investments

ULIP Vs Mutual Funds

ULIPs are Unit Linked Insurance Policy

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Reliance Natural Resources Fund

News:-
Type : Open-Ended
Investment Objective :
The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate capital appreciation & provide long-term growth opportunities by investing in companies principally engaged in the discovery , development, production, or distribution of natural resources and the secondary objective is to generate consistent returns by investing in debt and money market securities.
Asset Allocation :
Equity and Equity related Securities of companies principally engaged in the discovery, development, production, or distribution of natural resources in - 65% to 100% , Domestic Companies - 65% to 100% , Foreign securities as permitted by SEBI/RBI fromo time to time - 0% to 35% , Debt and Money market securities (including investments in securitised debt)- 0% to 35%
Issue Opens On :
1 Jan 2008
Issue Closes On :
30 Jan 2008
Offer Price :
Rs. 10 per unit plus applicable load during NFO
Minimum Investment Amount :
Rs. 5000.00
Plan Options :
Dividend reinvestment, Dividend payment, Growth
Entry Load :
2.25
Exit Load:
NIL

Views:-

The sector chosen looks very attractive. If you want to diversify into Natural resources, you can opt for this fund. Reliance already has a proven power sector fund. Now the fund house has broadened this power aspect to whole of natural resources.

Given the track record of this fund house, the Fund may end up mopping up huge money...When you apply you may apply directly to the fund house to avoid the entry load.

No entry load for direct investment- what does it mean for you?

If you are making investment in MF ( one time or SIP), if you route your application through a broker..You will be charged entry load.

What should you do

1) You can directly send the form to concerned AMC/ Investor service center.

2) Cancel all your SIPs made through agents and send a fresh form to avoid entry load on further installments.

MF bought through sites like ICICI direct, India info line would also be considered as investment through brokers. You will be charged entry load on these investments.

If you can choose your fund....all you need to do is fill the form and send it to concerned AMC/ Investor service center to save on the entry load.

Happy Investing in 2008.