Categories Archives - Page 25 of 61

The search for high interest rates: where to draw the line

General

The search for high interest rates: where to draw the line

Low interest rates and rising inflation are a dilemma for savers. There is a constant conflict between risk and return. As far as the retail investor is concerned, he looks forward to being ‘protected’ by the regulators. Financial literacy does not come easy and ninety percent of us would not know the difference between a fixed deposit and a debenture. And we would be forgiven in thinking that the term ‘secured’ debenture or bond means that every rupee we invest is safe! But where should we draw the line in the search for high interest rates?

R Balakrishnan November 27, 2022 6 Comments

Stock review : An under-researched, niche, small-cap play

Stocks

Stock review : An under-researched, niche, small-cap play

A lot goes into making that piece of gold jewellery you see at your jewellers’. Or even the copper that goes into your two-and four-wheelers. The first step starts with mining these metal and mineral ores. The next is to crush the ore lumps into desired sizes and processing them in mills to extract the metal or mineral. This involves a lot of machinery such as crushers, screens and other mineral processing equipment. In mill equipment, there’s a critical component that protects the equipment to ensure longer life, reduce noise as well as downtime, and improve safety.

Vidya Bala November 24, 2022 5 Comments

Use this passive fund for your large-and-midcap exposure

Recommendations

Use this passive fund for your large-and-midcap exposure

A few weeks ago, we had written in detail the categories in which we think passive funds have become a necessity to keep your portfolio returns stable; even if you hold active funds. We made this call as performance of active funds were becoming relatively more inconsistent, in a few key categories.

Bhavana Acharya November 20, 2022 18 Comments

Bonds & Deposits

An active strategy for fixed deposits

It is the fashion for personal finance gurus and social media influencers to begin their talks by dissing FDs. FDs are dumb investments, they say, before urging you to migrate to equities, or exotic things like options trading or covered bonds.
But the humble fixed deposit can serve a very useful purpose in your portfolio by acting as a source of ready liquidity and acting as a bedrock for your safe money. That’s why we have Prime Deposits, our list of FD recommendations. It is quite possible to generate positive real returns on your FDs through an active strategy. But can an active strategy really go with FDs? Of course! Here’s how you can do it.

Aarati Krishnan November 17, 2022 10 Comments

LIC’s New Pension Plus - can it replace NPS?

Insurance

LIC’s New Pension Plus – can it replace NPS?

In September 2022, LIC launched a new pension product. LIC’s New Pension Plus – LIC’s NPP(plan number: 867) with features similar to NPS. In the case of NPS, the default retirement age is 60. But in the case of LIC’s NPP, you can choose the policy maturity age and this can be as early as 35. So, does the LIC’s NPP score over NPS? Let’s find out!

Bipin Ramachandran November 15, 2022 3 Comments

Technical outlook: Where the Nifty 50 & key sector indices are headed

Markets

Technical outlook: Where the Nifty 50 & key sector indices are headed

In the previous update on the outlook for the Nifty 50, we had mentioned the possibility of the Nifty 50 index stabilising for a while before resuming its uptrend as one of the possible scenarios. This scenario has played out. The breakout above the positive trigger level of 17,500 confirmed the bullish case scenario as well. The third point worth highlighting is that the Nifty 50 index did not breach the bearish trigger level of 16,400 mentioned in the previous posts.

B Krishnakumar November 13, 2022 9 Comments

Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) and the SC verdict

General

Employees’ Pension Scheme and the SC verdict – Your questions answered

A recent Supreme Court ruling about the Employees’ Pension Scheme has put personal finance writers in a tizzy. Most have tried to decipher the complicated ruling. Some have tried to tell eligible employees what they can still do to board the EPS bus if they’ve missed it so far. But after studying the ruling and its implications, we felt you needn’t worry over-much about the EPS if you have missed the bus. There are many other good pension options.

Aarati Krishnan November 10, 2022 21 Comments

Insurance

Critical Illness plan review: Star Critical Illness Multipay Insurance Policy

To secure your finances against health emergencies, Primeinvestor recommends combing a hospitalization plan with a critical illness cover. Our earlier article has discussed ‘What to look for in a critical illness health plan’ in detail. We subsequently shortlisted a few critical illness covers, from which we reviewed Activ Secure Critical Illness Plan by Aditya Birla Health Insurance, Criti Care policy by Bajaj Alianz General Insurance and IFFCO Tokio’s Critical Illness Benefit Policy. Here, we review the Star Critical Illness Multipay Insurance Policy. We think this plan has a good structure without being over-complicated.

Pavithra Jaivant November 6, 2022 2 Comments

Stocks

Should you still bank on banking stocks? Earnings review and more

This earnings season, the standout performers come from the banking sector. While private banks led the revival in earlier quarters, this time around, performance is visible all round – across leading private banks to old private banks and PSU banks.

N V Chandrachoodamani November 3, 2022 5 Comments

Is it time to add passive funds to your portfolio?

Strategies

Is it time to add passive funds to your portfolio?

In any portfolio that features equity funds, the long-running debate is whether one should go for active or passive funds. We, on the other hand, have held that a portfolio can well feature both active and passive funds using each where it does best. Of late, we have also been of the opinion that there are some categories where you should have passive funds if you are to keep returns up – even if you hold outperforming active funds.

Bhavana Acharya November 1, 2022 14 Comments

Stock alert: A sell call on one of our recommendations

Stocks

Stock alert: A sell call on one of our recommendations

There are three reasons why we think investors may be better off looking at other opportunities at present.

Premium article available only to subscribers.

PrimeInvestor Research Team November 1, 2022 No Comments

Bonds & Deposits

Are SDLs safe? And other questions

Whenever we recommend SDLs, our readers raise many queries like “Are SDLs safe?” and more about the difficulty of choosing them. In this FAQ, we try and address all of your niggling doubts about SDLs.

Aarati Krishnan October 30, 2022 18 Comments

PrimeInvestor - Articles and Reports

The search for high interest rates: where to draw the line

Stock review : An under-researched, niche, small-cap play

Use this passive fund for your large-and-midcap exposure

An active strategy for fixed deposits

LIC’s New Pension Plus – can it replace NPS?

Technical outlook: Where the Nifty 50 & key sector indices are headed

Employees’ Pension Scheme and the SC verdict – Your questions answered

Critical Illness plan review: Star Critical Illness Multipay Insurance Policy

Should you still bank on banking stocks? Earnings review and more

Is it time to add passive funds to your portfolio?

Stock alert: A sell call on one of our recommendations

Are SDLs safe? And other questions

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