PrimeInvestor - Articles and Reports

EPF changes
General
Aarati Krishnan

Confused about recent EPF changes? Here’s what you need to know

If there’s one thing that governments love to do with their annual Budgets, it is to confuse ordinary folk with rule changes that have plenty of the fine print. This time, the change that has set off a confusing debate has been the budget proposal to limit the tax breaks on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the favourite retirement savings vehicle for many salary-earners. So, what changed for EPF subscribers in the 2021 Budget? Has the government now relaxed those provisions in the Finance Bill? What is the government trying to do to the EPF overall and should you be looking at alternatives to it? We answer these questions and many more here.

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buy gold
Gold
Aarati Krishnan

Gold’s in a bear market – What to do now

A cocktail of factors – from the rollout of the Covid vaccine across the world, to optimism about economic recovery to a spiking of US bond yields – has had a dampening effect on gold, pushing it into an official bear market. (A bear market is roughly defined by a 20% decline in any asset from its peak).

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US Yield
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

What you should do about the US bond yield spike

Suddenly everyone’s talking about US bond yields surging. I see that the 10-year US government security is up by some 0.02 % to 1.57%. Why is this such a big deal?
While yesterday’s move isn’t big, what’s big is the US 10-year Treasury’s 43 basis point rise in the last one month. This means that, a month ago, investors in long term bonds issued by the US government were getting 1.13% by way of interest and now they’re getting 1.57%. That’s a 40% jump in returns from an asset that is regarded as one of the safest parking grounds for money in the world.

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bank fd
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

9 things to look before you choose your bank FD

With the economy looking up and interest rates likely to rise again, safety-seeking investors may like
to shop around for bank deposits offering attractive rates. But as we had explained in an earlier
article, given the way deposit insurance works in India, it simply isn’t worth it to take risks with your
bank deposits for slightly higher rates. (Read this to know why https://staging.primeinvestor.in/why-bank-
fixed-deposits-can-be-high-risk-too/)
But identifying a sound bank has become infinitely tougher post-Covid. Borrowers are just coming
out of a loan moratorium and banks are prevented from reporting their true bad loan picture due to
a Supreme Court standstill. If bad loan provisions get out of hand, some currently profitable banks
can turn loss-making or face capital shortfalls.

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loss-making stocks
Stocks
Aarati Krishnan

How to deal with loss-making stocks in your portfolio

When building a long-term equity portfolio, one common mistake that many of us make is to watch over our profit-making stocks with tender love and care, while orphaning our loss-making stocks. This, over time, leads to our portfolios featuring a few big winners but carrying a long tail of loser stocks that are down 80 or 90% from their buy price.

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PFC bonds
Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

Do PFC bonds make the cut? Which series to buy?

With bank deposit rates plumbing the depths, fixed income investors are hard-pressed to find investment options that can deliver better returns without big risks. Power Finance Corporation’s (PFC) retail offer of secured non-convertible debentures (NCDs) appears well-timed to capitalise on this need. But should you bite the bait? If yes, which of the 7 bond options is worth a look? An analysis.

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Bonds & Deposits
Aarati Krishnan

Outlook 2021: Debt & Gold

Forecasting is a tricky business and 2020 showed how Black Swans flying at you out of nowhere can make you look foolish. But looking back at the debt outlook and strategy we recommended a year ago, we’re glad we erred on the side of caution.

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book profits
Markets
Aarati Krishnan

Five ways to book profits on your stock portfolio

With Indian stock markets at an all-time high valuation despite uncertainty about the shape of earnings recovery, it is not surprising that many investors want to take some money off the table ahead of New Year. There could be three legitimate reasons for you to sell some of your equity holdings.

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time to buy gold
Gold
Aarati Krishnan

Is it time to buy gold?

Is it time to buy gold? Does the recent correction in gold prices provide an opportunity to accumulate? Aarati Krishnan analyses.

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