Aarati Krishnan, Author at PrimeInvestor

Mutual funds & ETFs

Should funds ration your investments?

As the stock indices defy gravity to soar past earlier highs, AMCs are back to using a time-tested ploy to manage their flows – rationing your investments.

Mirae Asset has just drastically slashed the monthly SIPs it will allow into its Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund from Rs 25000 to Rs 2500 from November 6. SIPs and STPs registered earlier will be allowed to continue, but new registrations will need to be capped at Rs 2500. The scheme had already put a stop to all lumpsum investments from October 2016 and capped its SIPs at Rs 25000 a month in November 2017. This is a rare instance of a large and mid-cap equity fund regulating inflows, but such rationing is a common practise with small-cap funds.

Aarati Krishnan November 19, 2020 13 Comments

NPS

How NPS works for Central Government employees

While the National Pension System (NPS) has been opened up to all Indian citizens of late, employees who work with the Central government service have been contributing to NPS as their default pension scheme since January 1, 2004. The features and tax rules of the NPS as they apply to Central government employees are quite different from those for ordinary folks.

Aarati Krishnan November 12, 2020 2 Comments

NPS

What is NPS Tier II and how to use it

Our previous articles had many of you asking about the less-known NPS Tier II account. Does the Tier II account offer the same tax breaks as Tier I? If not, should one open it at all? Here’s all you may like to know about the NPS Tier II account and how you can make the most of it.

Aarati Krishnan November 5, 2020 36 Comments

Bonds & Deposits

Why bank fixed deposits can be high risk too

If you decide to park a portion of your deposit portfolio in riskier bank fixed deposit options after fully calculating the risks that can play out, that’s certainly a valid decision. But before you take that call, it is important to know how bank failures actually play out in India.

Aarati Krishnan October 29, 2020 43 Comments

Bonds & Deposits

Quarterly review of Prime Deposits: No time for risk-taking

Covid or no Covid, stock markets in the last six months have been quite kind to equity investors. But debt investors have had no such luck. Even though India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has been in pause mode since June after slashing its repo rate from 5.4% to 4% in the preceding eight months, the returns that savers get on their bank and corporate FDs, bonds and debt funds have continued to plumb new depths.

Aarati Krishnan October 22, 2020 13 Comments

General

Should you invest in international funds?

These days, investors in India have an increasing number of options for investing internationally (global funds, feeder funds, overseas indices, and even direct stocks!). So, it’s not surprising that a lot of you are beginning to wonder if you need to add international exposure to your portfolio. Let’s see if it is necessary to diversify into international markets. And if yes, should it be through stocks or mutual funds.

Aarati Krishnan October 15, 2020 14 Comments

NPS

How is NPS taxed?

NPS Taxation rules change as often as the weather and are infinitely complicated. Here’s an attempt to demystify them.

Aarati Krishnan October 6, 2020 41 Comments

Stocks

Should you subscribe to the UTI AMC IPO?

The Initial Public Offer (IPO) of UTI AMC is hitting the markets today and will close on October 1. This offer of 3.89 crore shares to the public is made up entirely of sale of shares by UTI’s key shareholders – SBI, LIC and Bank of Baroda. In addition, T Rowe Price International Ltd, a long-standing global investor in UTI and PNB a sponsor, are also selling a small part of their holdings. UTI AMC will not receive any capital infusion from these divestments.

Aarati Krishnan September 28, 2020 15 Comments

NPS

Which asset class to choose in NPS

When investing towards long-term goals such as retirement, your final returns are decided more by your asset allocation than by your choice of products or fund managers. That’s why one of the most important decisions you’ll make on your NPS account is this one – in what proportion you’ll divide your annual contributions between equities, bonds and the rest.

Aarati Krishnan September 24, 2020 64 Comments

Markets

How to (and not to) play the small cap opportunity

SEBI’s new circular dictating a minimum mid-cap and small-cap stock allocation has left investors in multicap funds scratching their heads. But there’s another set of investors who are thrilled with this move. These are the folks who are already invested in smallcap stocks in their direct equity portfolios or owning smallcap equity funds.

Aarati Krishnan September 13, 2020 18 Comments

Insurance

Prime Review: LIC Jeevan Akshay VII

LIC has launched Jeevan Akshay VII – the latest version of its popular immediate annuity plan. So should retirees looking for regular income go for it? Here’s an analysis of its pros and cons.

Aarati Krishnan August 27, 2020 25 Comments

Gold

Buffet’s buying gold mining stocks, should you?

The 62% return on domestic gold prices (and gold ETFs) since the end of 2018 has left many Indian investors who are invested in equity and debt mutual funds with a let-down feeling.

Aarati Krishnan August 20, 2020 12 Comments

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