There are so many people out there who don't have enough saved or aren't aware of just how much they should be saving. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways you can catch up in time to enjoy the Wealth you deserve. Don't delay!
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Inflation Vs Growth
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
How to Select Shares to Buy?
Sunday, May 16, 2021
Why is market going up in Covid scenario ?
Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Hybrid Funds is it good to invest?
Introduction to Best Hybrid Funds
Hybrid funds, as the name suggests, invest across both equity and debt securities to constitute a diversified portfolio. Investing in these funds is a better way of diversifying your portfolio rather than separately investing in several individual securities.
Hybrid funds are further classified into equity-oriented hybrid and debt-oriented hybrid funds depending on their equity exposure. If equity exposure is more than 65%, then it is said to an equity-oriented hybrid fund. If not, it is a debt-oriented fund.
Who Should Invest in Hybrid Funds?
Investing in hybrid funds is suitable for those who are willing to take some risk in exchange for the potential to earn much higher returns than debt funds. Anybody looking to diversify their portfolio should consider investing in these funds.
If you are not willing to assume higher levels of risk and are looking to gain exposure to a portfolio dominated by debt securities, then you may invest in debt-oriented hybrid funds. The exposure of these funds towards equity is on the lower side, generally less than 35%. These funds are relatively stable than equity funds and may provide higher returns than debt funds.
If you are looking to gain exposure to an equity-oriented portfolio having some exposure toward debt securities, then you may consider investing in hybrid funds. The debt exposure of these funds is restricted to under 35%. This gives you the benefit of diversification and the presence of debt securities mitigates market volatility to some extent.
Risks Associated With Hybrid Funds
Generally, hybrid funds are regarded as a higher level of risk as compared to a debt fund but lower as compared to an equity fund. The fund manager strives to balance the risk-reward ratio by modifying the composition of the fund’s portfolio by following the prevailing market trend.
Hybrid funds carry all the risks that come associated with both equity and debt securities. These funds carry credit risk, interest rate risk, market risk, liquidity risk, concentration risk and volatility risk. All hybrid fund investors automatically assume all these risks on gaining exposure to a hybrid fund.
Things to Consider Before Investing in a Hybrid Fund
You have to consider the following points before investing in a hybrid fund:
Risk profile You need to assess your risk profile and choose to invest in that hybrid fund whose risk levels are matching yours. Investment horizon If your investment horizon is shorter than five years, then you may consider investing in a debt-oriented hybrid fund. If it is longer than five years, then you may choose to invest in an equity-oriented hybrid fund. Equity-oriented portfolios require longer tenures to mitigate market volatility to a greater extent. The type of hybrid fund Since the rate of taxation of capital gains offered by hybrid funds depends on their type, you should essentially be aware of the type of hybrid fund you are choosing to invest in. This helps in planning your taxes better.
Advantages of Investing in Hybrid Funds
The following are some of the advantages of investing in hybrid funds:
- As these funds invest across both equity and debt securities, it naturally gives you the benefit of diversification.
- The fund manager modified the composition of the portfolio depending on the market conditions. He tries to reap the best out of both equity and debt segments.
- These funds are known to provide higher returns than a debt fund while carrying lower levels of risk.
- First-time equity investors may consider getting started by investing in a hybrid fund. This gives them a controlled exposure to equities.
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
What is BITCOIN? A simple explanation.
Let me try to explain using an example of prison currency.
Prisoners need a proxy for currency as they are not allowed to possess cash. So how do they “pay” for laundry service, hygiene products, protection, a haircut, a book, chocolate or even alcohol? The medium of exchange must be durable, uniform and have a wide acceptance. That is how Ramen noodles and canned fish became prison currency. But cigarettes are top of the pecking order.
Notebooks are kept. Prisoner X will note down how many cigarettes he owes Prisoner Y, and Prisoner Y will make note of what Prisoner X owes him. That book documents all the transactions. The ledgers are draw in an identical fashion. So all books have the same template. To prevent fake entries, a third individual is selected as a witness. He signs the entry made in the books of Prisoner X and Prisoner Y.
Cigarettes / instant noodles / canned fish are bitcoin.
Notebooks are ledgers.
The similar format in the notebooks is blockchain.
Is bitcoin money?
There are 3 functions of money:
- Money is a store of value. It can be used as a means of saving and allocating capital. It holds its value over time, despite inflation slowly eroding the purchasing power of money.
- Money is a unit of account. It can measure value in transactions. It can be used to record debts and make calculations. It is divisible and countable. It can account for profits, losses, income, expenses, debt and wealth.
- Money is a medium of exchange. It is accepted as a method of payment. When you go to the store, you can be confident that the cashier will accept your money, and not demand your shoes as a barter exchange.
Though increasing in popularity, bitcoin is not universally accepted as a unit of account and a means of payment. Far from it. Countries can even ban it. As billionaire Mark Cuban said: Bitcoin would have to be so easy to use it’s a no-brainer. It would have to be completely friction-free and understandable by everybody first. So easy, in fact, that grandma could do it”.
Is bitcoin like gold?
Gold and bitcoin are both speculative; their prices are not determined by cash flow, revenue, earnings, interest payments or dividends. Though bitcoin is sometimes referred to as “new gold”, the similarity ends there. Since gold exists in the physical realm it has to be stored someplace. It is universally acknowledged and humanity has a long history with it. While gold is classified as a commodity, cryptocurrency has eluded categorisation.
What is bitcoin?
- Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, the most popular being bitcoin.
- A cryptocurrency is created and held electronically. Call it digital currency or virtual money. It can be used to buy goods and services online.
- Cryptocurrencies are powered by blockchain --- a decentralized technology that manages and records transactions spread across many computers. Each "block" contains many transactions. Blocks are "chained" together linearly. Blocks are like a page in a physical ledger signed with maths (cryptography).
- Cryptocurrency uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions.
- Bitcoin was introduced to the world via a whitepaper authored under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The creator’s gender, race, nationality, or whether it is an individual or a group, remains a tantalizing mystery.
It is NOT dependent on central banks that control money supply.
It does NOT flow through the traditional banking system.
It is NOT controlled by a monetary agency, institution or country.
It is NOT paper money like the rupee, dollar, euro or yen.
It is NOT backed by gold or central banks or monetary authorities or countries; it is backed by code.
What is the difference between a large cap equity fund and an equity focused fund? Which one is a better option for investment?
What is the difference between a large cap equity fund and an equity focused fund? Which one is a better option for investment?
Large-cap Funds:
These are equity funds that invest a minimum of 80% in large-cap companies.
These funds invest primarily in larger & more established companies.
These are in the lowest-risk category amongst equity funds as larger companies tend to have less volatile earnings and stock price volatility than smaller companies.
Large-cap equity funds are suitable for Conservative Investors who wish to invest in equity but are not comfortable with the higher stock price volatility associated with smaller companies.
Equity Focused Funds:
Focused funds take more concentrated exposures in stocks, as compared to the diversified approach more common to mutual funds. Focused funds typically follow a multi-cap approach.
These funds offer higher risk-return than diversified funds.
This fund category essentially includes the top ideas of the fund management team and can outperform or underperform more diversified funds based on how well the investment teams call pans out in the markets.
Focused funds are suitable for Aggressive Investors seeking higher returns on their portfolios, who are comfortable with the potential higher volatility of more concentrated portfolios.
The best investment option depends on your investment profile and financial goals. One must evaluate their risk appetite before investing. The return that an investor can expect from his investments is therefore typically dependent on the level of risk that the investor is willing to assume and the investment horizon.
How to Build Your Emergency Fund
Experts say's one should having three to six months’ worth of expenses available for emergencies. That’s a pretty wide range; knowing which end of the range to target depends on several factors.
Saving three to four months’ worth of expenses might be enough if:
- You’re relatively healthy
- You don’t have much debt
- You live in a low cost-of-living area
- You rent and your car (if you have one) is reliable
- You could easily find a job if you lose your current one
- You don’t have kids or dependents (including furry ones) relying on your income
- Your job is very stable
- You have a partner or other family you can rely on for financial assistance
Saving closer to six months’ worth of expenses is recommended if:
- You live in a high cost-of-living area
- It’d be hard for you to find a job if you lose your current one
- You own your own home (especially if you have an older home)
- Your job isn’t very stable (you’re a seasonal worker, gig worker, or an artist)
- You have children, a stay-at-home spouse, pets, and/or other dependents you support
- You have a medical condition, or do high-risk activities (like rock climbing or BASE jumping)
- You lack a financial support network
Saving a year’s worth of living expenses is ideal if:
- You have a high income
- You have a niche position or specialized job that might require relocation or take extra time to replace
- You are the sole provider to multiple dependents
- You are retired or are nearing retirement
A lot of people will be a blend of these. But if you see more potential for risks in your life, consider saving more versus less.
How to Build Your Emergency Fund
Calculate how much your emergency fund should have and take steps to fund it.
- Set a savings goal: Determine how many months of expenses to save, between three and six months, based on your personal circumstances and risk factors.
- Calculate one month’s worth of expenses: When calculating expenses, only tally up things you’d still pay for in an emergency, like rent, groceries, and bills. Leave out optional expenditures like travel and dinners out.
- Calculate the amount of your savings goal: Multiply your monthly expenses by the number of months you want to save. For example, if you want to save four months’ expenses and one month’s expenses are 20000 your target is an 80000 emergency fund (20000 x 4).
- Automate your savings: If you automate your savings, you’re more likely to succeed. Decide how much you can afford to save each month, then set up automatic deposits into your savings account from your checking account after you get paid.
- Capitalize on savings opportunities: If you come across other money, such as a tax refund, side hustle income deposit it in your emergency fund to reach your goal sooner.
Don’t get flustered if your goal seems difficult to reach. Just remember that you don’t need it all immediately, or even next year. It’s better to think of your emergency savings fund as an ongoing process, like your retirement savings account. Then, once you do reach it, you’ll have extra money each month to put toward other goals.
What is the benefit of staying invested in the long term?
Invest for long term – an advice routinely given by many Mutual Funds distributer like me, This is especially true in case of certain Mutua...
-
Let me try to explain using an example of prison currency . Prisoners need a proxy for currency as they are not allowed to possess cash. ...
-
Today, I'll share with you when the time is right. I always love to own Diversified Equity Mutual Funds instead of investing di...
-
Being smart with your fund picks When making a buy or sell decision on a fund, it is essential to look beyond returns. When it ...