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Tax changes in mutual funds: How to manage your investments now

Mutual funds & ETFs

Tax changes in mutual funds: How to manage your investments now

Changes in tax rules at the end of a financial year is not something that you routinely expect. And not when it is a sweeping change on taxation in your mutual fund! In this article, we are going to discuss the tax changes in mutual funds in 4 parts:
One, the changes effective April 1, 2023 and the categories impacted
The tax impact for you and what you can do to plan better
What should you do with your existing investments?
How should you plan your fresh investments?

PrimeInvestor Research Team March 27, 2023 38 Comments

Low returns from debt funds? know how to manage this risk

Mutual funds & ETFs

Low returns from debt funds? Know how to manage this risk!

Low returns from debt funds? Know how to manage this risk!
After Silicon Valley Bank revealed large losses on its US bond portfolio that had eaten into its capital, there’s been a lot of social media outrage. Some folks are shocked that banks can make losses on a cast-iron investment such as US treasuries. Others seem to be appalled that Silicon Valley Bank is not alone and that many other global banks are in the same boat. This shows that investors at large have only a vague understanding of what rising interest rates do to bond portfolios.
You have also been bombarding us with questions on how interest rate risks can play out for debt funds, particularly target maturity, constant maturity and gilt funds. We try to address them here.

Aarati Krishnan March 23, 2023 9 Comments

Old vs New Tax regime: Tax Planning for 2023-24

Taxes

Old vs New Tax regime: Tax Planning for 2023-24

If you’re a salaried employee then you’ve probably only recovered from the dilemma of old vs new tax regime and the process of collecting all the bills and proofs of investment to submit to your employer for the financial year that will end on March 31, 2023. So if you’re wondering why we are telling you about tax planning for FY 24 when you’ve only just emerged from under a small mountain of rent receipts and pharmacy bills – it is precisely to avoid the mad scramble that inevitably accompanies tax related deadlines that we advocate planning for taxes from right at the start of the financial year.
This gets even more important with several important changes proposed by Budget 2023 coming into force in FY 24.
In this article we will cover:
the key changes proposed by Budget 2023 that you should be aware of in your tax planning,
what you are giving up under the ‘New Tax regime’’
re-examining the role of ‘tax-saving’ investments in your portfolio and
the all-important question of old vs new tax regime

Pavithra Jaivant March 21, 2023 20 Comments

Stocks

How to pick stocks in 2023

When we published our equity market outlook for 2023, we had mentioned where pockets of opportunity could be found. The correction the market is going through provides fertile grounds for stock picking. So here, we tell you how to pick stocks in 2023, in those pockets that we had noted. We do this using our Stock Screener.

N V Chandrachoodamani March 19, 2023 1 Comment

Debt funds for double indexation and high returns

Mutual funds & ETFs

Debt funds for double indexation and high returns

If there is one thing that has dominated the new fund offer space, and your collective interest, it is target maturity funds. Over the past year, the debt market has dealt with a swift rise in interest rates and we have issued multiple strategies to alert you on opportunities that presented themselves.

Bhavana Acharya March 16, 2023 29 Comments

Prime stock recommendation - a promising play on food security

Stocks

Prime Stock recommendation: A promising play on food security

Recent instances of countries rationing food supplies on import disruptions and grappling with hyper-inflation, have prompted governments the world over to refocus on food security. With limited supply of arable land and water, the key to achieving food security lies in improving crop yields. In India, there’s a crying need to improve yields not only to secure food supplies for the domestic population, but also to cater to global export opportunities for farm products, that are at an inflection point. Companies engaged in crop protection, fertilizer and hybrid seeds are positioned to make the most of these tailwinds.
But if you’re an Indian investor looking to make a long-term bet on this theme, your options aren’t very many. There are about 20 listed companies in the fertilizer space. But the sector makes for a poor investment because of whimsical government policies that hamper growth and profitability. Listed crop protection and seed companies offer superior options. Listed agrochem players offer choices from micro to large players, with differing business models that focus on generic agrochemicals, interm

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PrimeInvestor Research Team March 14, 2023 No Comments

Technical outlook: Can the Nifty 50 slide further?

Markets

Technical outlook: Can the Nifty 50 slide further?

In the past couple of posts on the Nifty 50 outlook, we have been voicing a bearish view for the Nifty 50 index. This has played out as per expectations. The index almost achieved the first target of 17,150-17,200 that was mentioned a couple of posts ago. In the previous update, we had mentioned the possibility of a slide to the 16,700-16,900 zone.
Let us assess if this target is likely to be achieved or not.

B Krishnakumar March 12, 2023 No Comments

Prime stock update: Are we still sweet on this sugar maker?

Stocks

Prime stock update: Are we still sweet on this sugar maker?

In August 2021, we recommended a sugar manufacturer, well placed to play the ethanol opportunity that was set to change the dynamics of the sugar sector in India. 18 months down the line, the ethanol opportunity has played out as we expected and we have more clarity on this front. But at the same time, stock returns for our chosen candidate stand at just ~5% since our ‘BUY’ recommendation even though it rallied over 30% and also fell by almost 20% in the interim. We think, this calls for an update.

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Pavithra Jaivant March 9, 2023 No Comments

Nifty Next 50 - what should you do with your investments?

Mutual funds & ETFs

Nifty Next 50 – what should you do with your investments?

The Nifty Next 50 houses the 50 top companies by market capitalisation, after the Nifty 50. This index caught the limelight over the past month for featuring a handful of the Adani group stocks.

As we had pointed out a couple of weeks ago in our write-up on Adani stocks and index funds, the presence of a few shaky stocks in an index is not reason enough to exit it. But even before the Adani-fuelled upheaval, the Nifty Next 50’s once-outstanding performance was being eroded.

PrimeInvestor Research Team March 7, 2023 33 Comments

4 easy steps to picking good mutual fund schemes

Mutual funds & ETFs

4 easy steps to picking good mutual fund schemes

The top-used product at PrimeInvestor, our MF Review Tool, is good for anyone who wants to know our call on your fund (buy/hold/sell) and the reason for the same. It also helps you pick the funds we have a buy on, if you want to go beyond Prime Funds.
But for those of you who want to see the evidence backed by data or wish to do your own filtering, then Prime MF Screener is the only tool available today in town for you to do this evidence-based investing. If you are a subscriber – well, what’s stopping you from empowering yourself using our MF Screener to pick good mutual fund schemes?

Vidya Bala March 5, 2023 5 Comments

NFO review: IDFC US Treasury Bond 0-1 year Fund of Funds

Mutual funds & ETFs

NFO review: IDFC US Treasury Bond 0-1 year Fund of Funds

US stocks and US equity funds have been quite a hit with Indian investors in recent years. Indians invest in these funds to gain exposure to global businesses (Amazon, Alphabet, Mastercard etc). More importantly, they would like to gain an exposure to the US dollar which has appreciated steadily against the Rupee over the years.
But the risks in owning US equities have become apparent lately, with the Fed on a rate hiking spree and the US economy flirting with a recession. US stock indices have lost 12-15% in one year, while US equity funds have seen losses of 6%-12%. But there has been a sharp rise in yields on US government bonds (treasuries).

Aarati Krishnan March 2, 2023 5 Comments

Stocks

Prime stocks update: An exit call on an insurance stock

In April 2022, we had issued a buy recommendation on a general insurance player, as both the industry and the company itself were emerging from the Covid-driven impact and were poised for growth. Since then, however, the insurance sector has lost market favour as growth has not panned out as expected.

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N V Chandrachoodamani March 1, 2023 No Comments

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