Harshad Mehta, Ketan Parekh or 2G, the last three decades have seen scams that have hurt the stock market badly. Besides, there have been long, listless periods, when one has been left guessing the direction of the markets. Tania Kishore Jaleel talks to three veteran investors, who, having braved the bad times, give their advice to retail investors.

Invest in companies with low debt

Business Standard

Onus of paying the home loan is on the buyer.

Buying under-construction property can be serious trouble

There is no limit to the number of policies, but most insurers follow underwriting guidelines that restrict the total sum assured, depending on your age and annual income, to avoid anti-selection. Therefore, it is important to disclose details of earlier policies and annual income, when applying for a new policy.

Life Insurance: V Philip

Non-filing of returns extended to taxpayers who have not booked gains on equities.

Returns relief for capital gains

Filing can be done in a local civil court and Cibil records data for at least 10 years.

When you become bankrupt

India's largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank, has raised deposit rates by 25-75 basis points in select term deposits. The rate increase is effective from July 22, the bank said on its website. For deposits below Rs 15 lakh, the bank would offer 6.25 per cent for maturity of 46-60 days, 6.5 per cent for maturity of 61-90 days, and 9.25 per cent for maturity of 390 days. ICICI Bank had increased its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) and base rate by 25 basis points each this month.

ICICI Bank raises deposit rates by 25-75 basis points

Both are important. But a good fund manager is more important.

Fund house or fund manager?

The successive increases in policy rates by the Reserve Bank of India have necessitated changes in investors&rsquo; portfolios. Some ideas on how one should go about those.

Policy pressure on portfolio 

Fixed maturity plans (FMPs), out of favour in the last few years, are back in the news. Reason: Their assets under management &ndash; Rs 1.2 lakh crore &ndash; are at a three-year high. And, with interest rates on the rise, returns from these instruments will continue to improve.

Hold it for entire tenure

Advantages of special-offer schemes may go, so check the fine print and decide if you want to lock money now at higher rates.

Make hay while the Sun shines

I am a convert. When the entry load ban was introduced by C B Bhave, the then chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), I was thrilled. Having heard stories of how distributors had sold 125-150 mutual fund (MF) schemes to hapless investors, I felt this move was it.

Ignore the noise around entry load

Only those who opted for hybrid loans in the past couple of years will remain unaffected.

Be ready for costlier loans

My daughter is getting married in November. I want to get her jewellery insured.

General Insurance: Bhargav Dasgupta

These are meant for students travelling abroad for further studies. Universities abroad mandate that a student must be insured. While some universities (like in Canada and New Zealand) include insurance charges in the tuition fee, others (like in UK and US) accept insurance bought in the home country. The latter, however, must approve the coverage amount. Companies like Tata AIG General Insurance, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and ICICI Lombard offer insurance, mostly for those between 16 and 35 years of age. Policies offered by the latter are accepted in US universities. Student plans either cover or do not cover the Americas.

What are student insurance plans?

Banks are in a hurry to increase their lending rates after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday raised the repo rate, at which it lends to banks, by 50 basis points to eight per cent. Deposits rates are also set to go up but at a slower pace compared to lending rates, bankers said.

Rates for lending, deposit all set to increase

Consider prepaying or shifting but do the homework, as it makes sense or not, depending on where you&rsquo;ve reached on the tenure.

Sould you shift in a rising rate regime?

Both are equally important. Health insurance covers unforeseen medical expenses in hospitals within the country.

Life insurance: Deepak Sood

The very objective of insurance is to refund loss. If the loss is not refunded quickly, it leads to a financial crisis. Taking advantage of this, the insurance companies force the insured into accepting whatever amount is offered. Even if the insured takes a legal recourse for the due amount of the claim, insurance companies refuse to budge. Such refusal, with the object of coercing, is an unfair practice, as held by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

Witholding of sanctioned amount by insurance companies 

HDFC is expected to raise rates by 25-50 basis points, since it kept its lending rates unchanged since May.

Housing Fin firms gear up to raise lending rates

Helps in applying for a loan, travelling abroad.

File I-T returns in spite of relief

For an investment maturing after March next year, remember the coming tax code differs significantly from the current one.

DTC shocker for FMPs

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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