Vidya Bala, Author at PrimeInvestor

Mutual funds & ETFs

What returns should you expect from your debt funds?

The last two years of turmoil in the debt fund space may have left you wondering what returns to expect from debt funds. Will debt funds beat FD? Or would their returns hover somewhere around their yield (yield to maturity) as promised by some? Are double-digit returns possible in debt? Use this analysis to set more realistic expectations from debt funds instead of a vague 8% or 9% return you may have in mind.

Vidya Bala December 16, 2019 12 Comments

Bonds & Deposits

Bharat Bond ETF – facts to know before you invest

The Bharat Bond ETF will open on December 12 and close on the 20th. Most of you would have read about the ETF in the news. PrimeInvestor had briefly covered it last week, where we discussed the emergence of a new class of debt ETF. With all the details about the Bharat Bond ETF now out, let us move to specifics about the Bharat Bond ETF from Edelweiss AMC.

Vidya Bala December 11, 2019 3 Comments

General

The emergence of a new class of ETF in debt

Owning bonds, unless you are well-diversified, has become a super risky proposition since September 2018. Credit risk and drying up of liquidity have proved to be lethal combinations to manage for investors. Now the debt ETF space may receive some life with the soon-to-be launched defined maturity PSU Debt ETF.

Vidya Bala December 2, 2019 7 Comments

Mutual funds & ETFs

Is it time to move from active funds to index funds?

The answer is no. There will definitely be more space for index investing in your portfolio but that doesn’t mean you can ignore active funds. We’ll show you some numbers on Indian active funds’ ability to beat the indices currently.

Vidya Bala November 27, 2019 11 Comments

Mutual funds & ETFs

Vodafone’s impact on your debt funds: Here’s what you should do

Recent developments in the telecom space holds the risk of pushing Vodafone’s debt instruments to junk/default status and a consequent erosion to NAVs of funds that hold the instrument. We tell you what funds are affected, and we recommend an exit on funds that have a significant holding in the instrument and suggest alternatives.

Vidya Bala November 18, 2019 19 Comments

Not all small-caps are destined for glory

General

What you should know about investing in small-cap companies

When you see a houseful of seasoned and budding investors looking for newer opportunities to invest, you are all respect for their efforts to invest

Vidya Bala November 15, 2019 6 Comments

Strategies

What should be your return expectation?

In recent times, you may have read about stories of equity indices or equity mutual funds struggling to deliver double digit returns even over 3 and 5-year periods. If many of you had expectations of say 12% return or a 15% returns these numbers are indeed disappointing.

But here’s a question: how did you form your return expectation? I posed this question to some friends. Their response can broadly be categorized into two: one, they either read or were told that equity markets can deliver 15-20% returns. Two, at some point in the past, some of the stocks they held had delivered this return and it naturally became the ‘best return to expect’.

So, what is the right way to form your returns expectation? How much should you expect from your portfolio? Why is that important?

Vidya Bala November 11, 2019 10 Comments

Strategies

Should you buy and hold mutual funds?

One in three equity funds that have been in the top 2 quartiles for several years in the past have slipped to the bottom 2

Vidya Bala October 31, 2019 17 Comments

General

NRIs – Not all of you should be investing here!

NRIs who approach us for investment options broadly fall under the following categories: one, those who are abroad on an assignment and will come back. Two, those who are settled abroad and do not plan to come back. Three, those who are abroad, have no immediate plans to come back but ‘may’ decide to come back at some point.

Vidya Bala September 21, 2019 11 Comments

General

What financial advice parents should avoid giving

Several of the 50 year-plus investors I know are eager to initiate their millennial children into investing as soon as possible. In their eagerness, they

Vidya Bala September 21, 2019 9 Comments

PrimeInvestor - Articles and Reports

What returns should you expect from your debt funds?

Bharat Bond ETF – facts to know before you invest

The emergence of a new class of ETF in debt

Is it time to move from active funds to index funds?

Vodafone’s impact on your debt funds: Here’s what you should do

What you should know about investing in small-cap companies

What should be your return expectation?

Should you buy and hold mutual funds?

NRIs – Not all of you should be investing here!

What financial advice parents should avoid giving

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