Long term investing into equity can be done in two ways – one is via systematic investment planning of mutual funds and another is via direct trading by an individual investor. The former is a safe and boring way to invest money in the stock market while the latter involves direct involvement by the investorRead More
What are Sovereign Debt Credit Rating ?
Yesterday, India’s sovereign debt credit rating was downgraded by rating agency Standard & Poor. At the back of that, I wanted to do a basic article on what a it is, what it represents and should investors on the ground be a worried lot. Will this rating affect your financial planning and should you takeRead More
Aviva Young Scholar Advantage Child Plan
Aviva’s Young Scholar Advantage child plan is a Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP). Can it serve the purpose of meeting the financial planning goals of your child ? Or are you buying because Sachin Tendulkar is branding the product ? Whatever might be your situation, it might be worthwhile to read about Aviva’s child planRead More
It’s Time for Long Term Debt in Portfolio
The RBI Monetary policy of 2012-2013 sounded the onset of rate cuts in India and with that came the certainty that interest rates will reverse in the future. What impact does this have to your overall financial planning ? The stock market is still gyrating like a loose tick tock clock in 2012; real estateRead More
What are Prepaid Gift Cards ?
In India, gifting is a wide spread phenomenon. You give gifts on birthdays, when a child is born and on other less happy occasions like marriages as well. Buying physical gifts from malls and kirana stores is most common; some parents and grand parents have upped the ante by gifting life insurance policies especially from LIC.Read More
Understanding RBI Monetary Policy
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken everyone by surprise in its annual monetary policy for 2012-2013. Between March 2010 and October 2011, the RBI had hiked policy rates 13 times and everyone was baying for a slash but not to the extent it came. The latest cut signals the fact that RBI isRead More