As a Non Resident Indian (NRI) are you are planning to invest in mutual funds? The question that you are probably asking is:
Now see, if you are a US or Canada based NRI, most of the mutual funds in India will not accept investments from you. But that is slowly changing.
Few mutual fund houses currently accept investments from US and Canada based NRIs. These are:
Cricket occupies the national psyche like no other game. The T20 World Cup has recently ended. But the fact is we are yet to get over the what we witnessed – nail biting chases and last ball wins that were beyond imagination.
The saying in cricket is –
No match is over till the last ball is bowled.
How true. That’s cricket for you. Ever so unpredictable.
Now, what I was wondering is if there are a few lessons from this wonderful game of cricket that can be applied to investing as well.
Yes, that’s right. Cricket and Investing!
I have found crucial investing lessons that cricket has to offer. Let’s see if you can identify with them too.
Here we go!
Cricket is played in various forms – T20, 1 day or a 5-day test match. Player selection, on-field strategies and tactics change based on which game you are on.
The date today is March 30, 2016. Normally, it is expected that by this time the tax savings for the year would be done and over.
However, the reality is very different. Based on the emails and comments I have received, it seems that some of us are still far from it, desperately searching for “last-minute tax saving tips”.
In this desperate attempt to “do something“, wrong investment products are being invested into which can make your portfolio suffer for a very long time.
Why wrong? Because they are not understood. The ultimate goal that will be served by those investments is not considered. There is only one thing driving the decision now – save tax.
Read more: 15 point checklist to save taxes smartly
Here is an example. Manish, a Chartered Accountant, works in the taxation department of an MNC. It is a well paying job. Though working for a few years now, he has not been able to save any money so far, for various reasons. This year he decided to put some money to work. He told his father about it who got him to meet his insurance agent.
I was visiting the post office the other day to enquire about the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme.
The friendly person at the desk mentioned that since the rate is going to be revised lower from April 1, 2016 there has been a huge inflow recently into the scheme.
I agreed with him and said “Of course, everyone wants to lock in at the higher rate.”
“Not just that even Kisan Vikas Patra or KVP has witnessed a huge surge in investments, to the tune of several crores.”, he mentioned with a delight.
I was curious and asked why would that be? Kisan Vikas Patra was not even an option I considered for investments.
“Simple na, it doubles your investment in just 100 months. Who wouldn’t go for a thing that offers 12% assured returns.”
Now I was taken aback. 12% assured returns on Kisan Vikas Patra? This is not what I know? Or is this a new form of KVP that has been introduced.
In case you do not know about Saina Nehwal, she is an ace badminton player, former World no. 1, currently no. 2. She has represented and won for India in several tournaments and won the first Olympic medal for India as well. She is a sportsperson par excellence.
Recently, she gave an interview to Economic Times on her investment preferences and style. Here is a link to that interview.
I was shocked and devastated to read it.
Well, you might say it is none of my business as to how she invests money and probably you are right. But when the same is published in a national newspaper with wide reach and influence, I do tend to get worried.
My first worry starts at the sub text of the headline that says “Saina Nehwal advises savers to put their valued income in LIC or FDs as she finds these two are best options and are also hassle-free.”
Her personal investment style has been made to sound like a gospel for the general public. It is not.
Moreover, her investment style comes across as unthought of and random. I wonder who her investment advisor is!
I am taking up two big points she mentioned in the interview and help you (and hopefully her, if she reads this) see the truth.
(This report on Sundaram Select midcap fund originally appeared on the Unovest Blog.)
Ask any seasoned investor and he would agree that the potential available with midcaps (as they grow and turn themselves bigger) could be huge. However, midcap stocks can be very volatile.
For those investors who would want the exposure to midcaps but not take the pain of looking at individual stocks, they can invest through midcap funds and make them a part of their long term portfolio.
Midcap funds would mimic the behaviour of midcap stocks as they ultimately invest in them. They can take you on a real topsy-turvy ride. Thus, it is important to select the right fund for your portfolio.
There are several midcap funds out there in the market. It sometimes becomes real difficult to pick one over the other.
Yes, performance is what you would look at but in my view one needs to go real deep – beyond just the performance numbers – and see which fund fits in his/her portfolio and financial goals.
We will make an attempt today with one of the funds.
In this report, we cover one of the oldest funds from the midcap space – Sundaram Select Midcap.
As mentioned, we will attempt to go beyond the performance and understand the fundamental nature of the fund and evaluate how well it has done with respect to its mandate – things that you should look at before making it a part of your portfolio.
Let’s get started.