In 2024, despite the momentum in financialisation, the Nifty Bank index has underperformed, rising only 7% compared to the Nifty 50’s impressive 15.6% gain. This gap signals investor hesitation, with key banking stocks hovering around critical levels in both the public and private sectors. However, many banks maintain solid fundamentals and have the potential to … Read more
However, with most IPOs getting oversubscribed, securing an allotment has become increasingly challenging. To boost their chances, some investors are turning to IPO loan financing—a strategy that allows them to bid for a higher number of shares than their available capital would typically permit. Read this | Why you should approach the SME IPO market … Read more
Fixed-income investments such as fixed deposit (FD) interest, bond interest, and debt mutual funds are typically taxed at the marginal rate (slab rate). The 2023 budget had abolished the benefit of long-term capital gains tax or LTCG for debt mutual funds. However, there’s a notable exception in the tax system for certain bond transactions. If … Read more
Asian stocks resumed gains after an early bout of selling, in a sign that investors are still assessing the market’s outlook after the recent wild swings in global assets. Japanese shares pared losses at the open, led by a rebound in financial firms. South Korea’s benchmark also rose, after a report that a version of … Read more
The Union budget for 2024-25 has proposed several changes in the capital gains tax structure, some of which are surprising moves that the mutual fund industry and the wider market community were not prepared for. One of the most significant was the hike in long-term capital gains tax from 10% to 12.5%. The budget’s proposal … Read more
Although buying inflation-protected bonds to protect against inflation does not seem unreasonable, it would have been a spectacularly unprofitable move during the latest bout of inflation. One hundred dollars put into inflation-protected Treasuries in December 2021, when investors first saw American core inflation reach 5%, would have been worth just $88 a year later. Even … Read more
Apps cherry-pick funds that performed well in the past to paint a rosy picture. There are about 1,500 schemes available at an investor’s disposal at any point. The easiest way for these fintech apps to avoid confusing investors with too many options is to throw them a list of best-performing funds. However, experts caution against … Read more
Samir Arora, the founder and fund manager of Helios Capital, expects the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to secure a comfortable majority, and present a market-friendly budget focused on economic reforms in its next term. “So, we continue to be bullish,” he said in an interview. However, in the event of any … Read more
Many investors are already aware of the differences between active and passive funds. And if they are active on social media like X (formerly Twitter), they would also know how often the fans of both sides collide in futile keyboard battles. It is still early days in India for passive funds, but without doubt, there … Read more
Investors need to open a demat account with a Depository Participant (DP), which acts as a bridge between an investor and a depository. There are two major share depositories in India: NSDL (National Securities Depositories Limited) and CDSL (Central Depositories Services Limited). Both are registered with the government and incorporated by market regulator SEBI. They … Read more