Fixed deposit rates fall; Pickleball spreads: Top personal finance stories

Our newsletter this week has stories on what investors should do as deposit rates fall and why Pickleball is being called the 'people's game'

Banks have begun to respond to the Reserve Bank of India's 50 basis point rate cut by reducing their deposit rates. This will affect the income of conservative investors, particularly senior citizens. In this week's lead story, Sanjay Kumar Singh and Karthik Jerome suggest that while investors should look for instruments that offer better yield, they should not do so at the cost of safety of capital.

 

Namrata Kohli writes about the growing popularity of Pickleball in India. The story highlights its appeal as a fun, inclusive, and accessible sport. Read this article to learn how the game is transforming fitness habits, building communities, and attracting commercial interest.

 

If you are looking for alternatives to bank fixed deposits, consider corporate fixed deposits. However, stick to the larger and well-known names, which are likely to be more resilient in case the credit environment worsens. Look up Paisabazaar.com's table to learn the rates offered by India's top corporates.

 

Mid and smallcap funds were significantly hurt in the recent market correction. As a result, investor interest has shifted towards funds that invest a large portion of their corpus in large cap stocks, including the Flexicap category. If you are looking for a fund from this category, go through Morningstar's review of Franklin Flexicap Fund.

 

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

 

₹3,841 crore: Inflows received by Flexicap funds in May, the highest among equity funds

 

Flexicap funds received the highest inflow among equity fund categories, amounting to Rs 3,841 crore. In these funds, the fund manager has complete freedom to tilt her portfolio towards whichever market cap category she thinks will deliver good returns in the near future. 

 

In the current environment, with mid and small-caps remaining expensive despite a correction, most flexicap fund managers have deployed a larger portion of their portfolios in largecap stocks, which tend to be more resilient in a turbulent environment.

 

When selecting a flexicap fund, do not just go by past returns. Go with a fund manager with a strong track record of performance over at least the past decade. Moreover, the fund manager who fetched those returns should still be there at the helm. Avoid funds with a very high expense ratio or portfolio turnover ratio. Also go with a fund house known to have a strong team of equity analysts.