Raising money for a second home can be easier, and there are tax benefits too.

Being property-wise

Business Standard

Until recently, retail investors could participate in mutual funds through a systematic investment plan (SIP). But if they wanted to invest in commodities through this route, there was no choice. However, National Spot Exchange (NSE) has launched e-series, where retail investors can invest in several commodities through the SIP route.

Catch the commodity cycle through SIPs

A double accident life insurance policy provides for the payment of an additional amount equal to the sum assured, in case of death of the policyholder due to an accident. The death claim under the double accident benefit, thus, becomes twice the normal sum insured. Such a cover is provided either as an optional rider or as an inbuilt benefit.

Life insurance: Deepak Sood

Bringing down the income tax slab is a boon for them, but anomalies regarding health insurance benefits remain.

It's high on savings, low on cover

Is a strategy based on investing in stocks favoured by foreign institutional investors advisable? Most stocks mentioned in the article were B-group ones.

Investing: Paras Adenwala

With less than a month left to close their books for FY11 accounting, banks are further hiking interest rates to mobilise deposits in order to ramp up their balance sheets.

BoI, Allahabad Bank raise deposit rates

Industry was awaiting clarity on funds mobilised through exit and entry loads.

MFs can use pre-ban load balance

Precious metal coins may attract capital gains tax.

Collectibles losing shine

Managing your money is always a tricky prospect. There are too many variables &mdash; domestic and sometimes, international as well &mdash; which impact the finances. But for a regular investor, certain ground rules remain, and no matter how volatile or stable an economy is at a given time, these should be followed.

Be your own money manager

Krishna Kumar Karwa, managing director, Emkay Global Financial Services, tells Masoom Gupte that retail investors must keep their expectations of returns from the markets reasonable.

Q&A: Krishna Kumar Karwa, MD, Emkay Global Financial Services

Explaining your financial transactions becomes easier if you opt for cheque payments.

The taxman keeps watch

When asked to choose an investment avenue, most people opt for the one promising the highest returns in the shortest time frame. But, returns need not be the only solution to investment. One needs a more practical approach to investing or managing finances. By running behind the highest returns, other important factors get ignored. Let us look at some of these.

Returns aren't all

Life insurance companies launch many new schemes every year. Therefore, when they launch a scheme, the buzz created by their advertisements convince investors that they can&rsquo;t afford to miss this opportunity. And more often than not, they tend to buy the policy without knowing the details.

Investing via insurance plans?

Banks may offer high interest rates in the 9-10 per cent range on your fixed deposits (FDs), but rising inflation rate (at an average 9.35 per cent in the current financial year), means the real returns on them are much lower. Fortunately, not all investment options are impacted by rising inflation. Investors should consider inflation and its impact before making investments.

Inflation-proof investing

Mr Mehta is a careful investor. He believes in doing his homework before committing any of his hard-earned money. A month before, he had decided to invest Rs 3 lakh in good-quality mutual funds (MFs). Consequently, he started looking up the available performance ranking of various funds, to figure the best bets. A month later, he's still at it, without having come to any conclusion.

Choosing your mutual fund wisely

The new base rate is 8.7 per cent and the BPLR has been revised to 17.25%.

HDFC Bank raises its base rate by 50 bps, BPLR by 75

Try prepaying annually as foreclosing your loan comes at a cost.

The cost of closure

With Tuesday (March 15) being the last day for paying the advance tax, e-filing could come to your aid. Software professional, Ashwin Kumaran, is planning to do the same. &ldquo;My tax liability is Rs 50,000 for the assessment year. I just have a day left and I am not sure if my cheque will get cleared on the last day,&rdquo; says Kumaran.

On last day, e-filing may come to the rescue

My Public Provident Fund (PPF) investments are managed by my agent. He has given a combined challan, mentioning another person&rsquo;s name, as documentary evidence of the investments. However, the accountant in my office is not accepting it. Also, my passbook is with my agent who is currently out of town. He will return after 10 days (post the last date of submission with the accounts department). My PPF account is held with a nationalised bank.

Taxation: Homi Mistry

More and more fund houses are adopting the feeder fund model to attract investments in gold ETFs.

Expensive option for passive gold investors

I am a freelance copywriter. My income is quite erratic. Although I use bulk payments to start fixed deposits (FDs), I am forced to break these during lean periods.

Financial Planning: Gaurav Mashruwala

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.

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