I, 25, am an engineer. My monthly income is Rs 20,300. I want to invest.

Financial Planning: Malhar Majumder

Business Standard

Motor and health insurance may become expensive with the government suggesting that insurers should raise premiums to cover their losses.

Motor, health insurance may cost more

Press Trust of India

In 2009, most investors favoured the five-year secured non-convertible debentures (NCDs) of Tata Capital, a non-banking finance company (NBFC) of Tata Sons. Pune resident Ketan Gandhi was no different. He invested Rs 10,000 to cash in on the 12 per cent returns the company, the only one then, was giving on its annual interest payout option.

Tata Capital'sg NCDs: Bank on the surety of returns

Wealthy investors aren&rsquo;t clamoring for a piece of Facebook Inc&rsquo;s initial public offering (IPO) because some own the stock through private transactions while others shy away from risky technology deals, according to advisers.

Wealthy investors shy away from Facebook public offering

After a long lull, there are some offerings in the primary market, albeit of a different sort, for you to participate. For instance, you can now own a part of an exchange (Multi-Commodity Exchange's initial public offering) and also in a small and medium enterprise (SME) &mdash;BCB Finance.

Wade in SME waters with care

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is quite clear about a chartered accountant's role and possibly, therefore, the mandate: Exclude him from the ambit of regulations for investment advisors. However, Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) India isn't nodding in agreement.

Well-versed in taxes, not necessarily investments

Time-share holiday schemes mushroomed some years ago. Many of these are run in a dubious manner. Monies are pocketed, but resorts are not developed. Resort Condominium International (RCI, a holiday-exchange network) promises a beneficial holiday-exchange scheme among many affiliated resorts, which appears an attractive proposition. However, when the consumer actually tries it, does he realise he has been taken for a grand ride.

Be careful with holiday exchange programmes

I applied for two tax-free bond issues. However, the allotment was not satisfactory.

Investing: Rishi Nathany

The market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India on Thursday modified the guidelines governing the recently-introduced mechanism for sale by promoters through the stock exchange mechanism. According to the modification, the indicative price provided by the stock exchanges should reflect volume-weighted average price of all the bids that have exhausted the quantity offered. Earlier, it was mandated to provide indicative price only during the last half an hour of the duration of the offer for sale.

New norms for promoter sales

We all are busy fending for our daily lives and are consistenly insecure about the future, children&rsquo;s future and so on. As a result, many forget to pursue any other interest or dream. Very few people actually want to live it up their dreams. There may be many reasons for it, like too many responsibilities or not enough cash to satisfy their aspirations. But there is a need to ensure that &lsquo;all work and no play does not make Jack and his family a dull family&rsquo;.

Need to fund discretionary goals?

When we plan to buy a house, most of us buy it on borrowed capital or loan. The option is to use your own funds if you have enough savings or have saved specifically for this goal. But, you may ask which of the two is better. While that is a difficult question to answer, it would largely depend on four variables.

Take a loan, don&#39;t drain savings

India's largest lender, the State Bank of India (SBI), on Monday announced 25-100-basis point (bps) reduction in interest rates charged on educational loans.

SBI cuts rates on study loans 

When Mayur Shah, director of Ernst &amp; Young, filed income tax returns for a client, even when the extended grace period of two years was over, the client asked him the logic for it. Typically, if you forget to file taxes for an assessment year, you have the next two years to do so (called the grace period). Say, you missed filing returns for 2008-09, you will get time till March 31, 2010, and, after that, another extension till March 31, 2011, where the grace period ends.

Getting your tax act right

With March-end approaching fast, employees would be hotly anticipating their annual increments. Even though expectations &mdash; in terms of increments &mdash; may not be great, most would be betting on 'something' rather than 'nothing'.

Did you get a salary hike?

With the financial year about to end, most investors will be reflecting on their investment plans. If you don't find yourself any closer to your financial goals, it is imperative that you evaluate your investment decisions.

Is your investment approach the most apt?

I bought a unit-linked insurance plan (Ulip) last year around January.

Life Insurance: Deepak Sood

Both these options can be exercised by an investor to invest in any asset class. However, I think you are referring to investment in equity mutual funds. You are correct in your statement that a lump sum investment enables one to invest a larger amount for a longer period of time. However, what if the time you chose to make that lumpsum investment was near a cyclical market peak, as seen in January 2008, or a bottom as seen in October 2008? In the first case, you may still be sitting on a loss, whereas in the latter you may be enjoying huge profits. On the other hand, had you invested in equity mutual funds through SIP, you would probably be somewhere in between.

Are you eco-friendly or a staunch believer in Islamic laws and look to mirror these beliefs in your stock portfolio? There&rsquo;s good news for you. The stock exchanges now have indices catering specifically to your investment philosophies. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) launched Greenex, or Green Index, which will calibrate the performances of companies in terms of carbon emissions. The choice of firms is made on the basis of their greenhouse emissions in the last four financial years.

Investing with ethics  

Investors wanting to save for the long term and bag tax benefits through equities may find one option less under the Direct Taxes Code (DTC). Equity-linked savings schemes (ELSSs), which attracted a lot of investor interest, have been excluded from Section 80C.

Hop on to the ELSS wagon

Rising interest rates and an 'overheated market' are stabilising residential property prices in some key pockets, but a steep correction is unlikely. 


Rising rate, oversupply to temper realty prices

Tier-III cities &amp; SEZs to impact commercial space demand in metros.


Information technology ventures discover new geographies

Personal Finance: Read about the smart strategies for Personal Finance Planning, Investing, Insurance, banking, budgeting, loans Tax Planning, retirement and insurance. Browse Business Standard to learn more on Personal Finance.

Personal Finance: Investing, Planning, Retirement, Loans, & Insurance | Business Standard

Read about the smart strategies for Personal Finance Planning, Investing, Insurance, banking, budgeting, loans Tax Planning, retirement and insurance. Browse Business Standard to learn more on Personal Finance.

Page 845 - Personal Finance

Financial Planning: Malhar Majumder

Motor, health insurance may cost more

Tata Capital'sg NCDs: Bank on the surety of returns

Wealthy investors shy away from Facebook public offering

Wade in SME waters with care

Well-versed in taxes, not necessarily investments

Be careful with holiday exchange programmes

Investing: Rishi Nathany

New norms for promoter sales

Need to fund discretionary goals?

Take a loan, don't drain savings

SBI cuts rates on study loans

Getting your tax act right

Did you get a salary hike?

Is your investment approach the most apt?

Life Insurance: Deepak Sood

Investing: Rishi Nathany

Investing with ethics

Hop on to the ELSS wagon

Rising rate, oversupply to temper realty prices