This Valentine - Tie the Love Knot without affecting your pocket

Wedding is the most expensive affair India, and it is something that everyone has to spend on, in their lives. On wedding you don’t come to know how money flies, one finds it difficult to keep a track of money during this festive moment.  Speaking of wedding, how we can miss gold, in every Indian wedding making gold ornaments is a must! But as we know the increase in inflation rate has raised the standard of living and in return the weddings have become all the more expensive. Hence, an effective financial planning like mutual funds schemes are required whether you are planning your own or your child’s marriage.

When you are doing financial planning there are few points you should keep in mind. First thing is to identify is when the marriage is taking place, in other words, how much time do you have in hand and accordingly your spending will be decided. Similarly, this way, there are several steps involved in planning an effective financial structure (click on the link below, to know them in detail). The early you plan, the more effective your plan will be.

Coming back to gold the most important thing in a wedding according to Indian customs, hear from  Rajesh and Mithali, a married couple is talking about their upcoming daughter’s marriage, the role that gold plays and tips of how to come up with a good financial plan. According to them, discipline is the key, to carry on with your financial goal irrespective of ups and downs.

In India, parents are suppose to spend on their child’s wedding, however, to avoid any on the spot financial crises and to live your dream, saving for your own wedding is the best thing you can do. Read the case study of Sanjay Shah, a bachelor who manages to save a lump sum of money for his wedding.

There is much more you can learn this Valentine about money and saving up for your love. Just read the article: http://bit.ly/xA6C3q

Everything about Mutual Fund

Investing in Financial market is easy and cost-effective through Mutual Funds. The concept of Mutual Fund was introduced in India back in 1963 with the initiative of Government of India and RBI. Initially, there was not so much of buzz, however, after few years in 1987 Mutual Fund made news all over India. But it was between March 2003 and March 2011 when the industry annual growth rate increased at 31.25%.

There are several benefits of investing in Mutual Funds apart from liquidity, tax benefit, affordability and professional management, Mutual Fund is the best way to get maximum return on your earned money. SIP is a very effective way to invest in equities in a systematic manner.

There are several types of Mutual Funds that one can opt for:

1.       By Structure:

a.       Open Ended Scheme:

In this the company raises money from shareholders and invests them in a group of assets.

b.      Close Ended Scheme:

These are the funds that can be bought or sold during NFO (New Fund Offer) period.

c.       Interval Schemes:

It is a combination of Open Ended and Close Ended Schemes.

2.       By Nature:

a.       Equity Funds:

The fund invest maximum amount of their money in equities.

b.      Debt Fund:

This is for those who look out for low risk and stable income. These funds invest money in debt instruments and hence are suitable to those who are looking out for stability.

c.       Balanced Funds:

Under this, the fund buys a combination of short-term bonds, preferred stocks, common stock and bonds.

Any new investor, looking out to invest in equities can choose from mutual funds or individual stocks. However, it is advisable to know the difference between the both before making a decision.

Later, one you have understood the basic of Mutual Fund and its various types, you ought to take advice of a financial expert and start investing for a better and secured future. 

For more information on Mutual Fund products and offering, kindly click here: http://www.utimf.com/Contact-US/Pages/default.aspx

 

Why delay?

It’s always better to start investment in an early age to ensure long term benefits of the same. This is also because people can afford to take a high risk at an early age and they have long time duration to explore new fund policies and plans. The very first step towards your investment is to take help from an advisor or a good financial planner. 

Another very important point to take note of is that you need to decide and know how much to save. This can be decided on basis of your earnings and it is usually advisable to save around 10% of your income every month towards investment plans. Once you start saving, you will have a total of more than 30 – 35 years to save your money. After so many years of saving you can consider entering into mutual fund equity or go for a safe and better option that is SIP. There are various reasons why SIP is a preferred option is because it gives you the power of compounding. In SIP, you can put a certain amount every month.

When you are young and just started working, you tend to spend a large amount of money in a short time. The feeling of independence is something you have never experienced before and hence you spend a lot. However, it is only at this stage when you have to keep in mind that the earlier you begin to save, the better is it for your future. The simple way to achieve this objective is by opening a SIP. A SIP is putting aside a fixed amount of money every month and your plan is revised every now and then to make it more effective.

Furthermore, there are various types of mutual funds schemes– Growth Funds, Value Funds, Opportunities Fund, Contra Funds and Dividend Yield Fund. These are product labels for mutual funds. Each mutual fund is beneficial in its own way and you can opt for the one suitable for your product.

In addition, it is during the month of January – February when many people rush to invest in small schemes in order to claim tax rebate. However, this practice is not correct; to save more tax you need to invest for many years. This is called Lock-in clause.

To read the whole article, kindly click here: http://bit.ly/WhyDelay  

Fixed Maturity Plan

What is FMP? 

Fixed Maturity Plans (FMP Mutual Funds) are the vogue in the mutual fund - New Fund Offers (NFO) market.  Not too long time ago the return on FMP in the new fund offers had virtually disappeared. Few years ago, after the breakdown in FMP mutual funds, fixed maturity plans had been despised by high individuals (HNIs), retail and institutional investors in India.Today, New Fixed Maturity Plans have been introduced which have received a great response from institutional, corporate and retail investors. 

So where do Fixed Maturity Plans invest in?

Fixed Maturity Plans, more popularly known by their acronym “FMP” are debt funds, that invest in Government securities and company debt. That means that fixed maturity plans,typically have no equity component, unless you invest in a FMP that chooses to have a limited equity component

And are Fixed Maturity Plans close-ended mutual funds?

Yes, apart from investing in debt, fixed maturity plans belong to the breed of close-ended funds. Again for the MBA pack, close ended funds mean that fixed maturity plans have a definite end date

Being close ended funds, fixed maturity plans offer flexibility to their fund managers and let them plan on their exact investments even at the IPO stage. As a result, even investors can know in advance about the approximate yields they can get by investing in these FMPs at the IPO stage.

 

This month, UTI Mutual Funds has introduced many FMP Plans! To know more, kindly click here > http://www.utimf.com/Funds/debtfunds/Pages/UTI-FMP-Quarterly-Series-Feb-2012-QFMP-0212-i.aspx

Reference: http://www.fixedmaturityplans.com/whatare-fixedmaturityplans-fmps

Enter Equities or Not?

Thinking whether it’s the right time to enter equities or not? Well, we have the answer for you - ‘Brace for another choppy ride given the uncertainties in global economy, but long-term players can look to invest in equities and equity MFs at current low valuations’
 
In our ‘‘A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned” hear from Major General ‘A.K. Shori’ taking about how the habit of saving is not new but where to put the money with better and secure returns is the main concern.
 
Our Guruspeak this week is business head, Citi At Work, Investment and Banking Products, Citi India – Arjun Chowdhry, a section you don’t want to miss! Also, know how Indexation allows investors save tax on returns from FMPs.
 
To read the article, kindly click here: http://www.indiainvestkaro.com/toi_pdf/TOIM_2012_1_31_15.pdf

Why SIP?

The UTI Systematic Investment Plan is a unique plan that allows you to fulfil all your dreams efficiently. With salient benefits and features, the UTI SIP becomes a wise choice for investments. An investor can make regular investments and follow a disciplined approach towards investing in UTI MF schemes. He can also peruse the Systematic Investment Plan according to pre-opted schedules.

Take a look at all that you can do with UTI SIP:

Build your future.

    To meet the more exhaustive expenses of your life like marriages, education or a house, you need to start investing early. Save a small amount every month/quarter with SIP and look forward to a bright future.

Relax and accumulate wealth.

    With SIP, you don’t need to invest a huge sum of money i.e. you can start with an amount as little as Rs. 500. Gradually, you can accumulate wealth over the long-term.

Reduce risks.

    For efficient participation in this volatile market, SIP helps you average out your cost by generating superior returns in the long run. It reduces the risk associated with lump sum investments.

Enjoy the convenience.

    Set yourself free from cumbersome paperwork. Just identify the amount and scheme that you wish to invest in and then choose from options like Auto Debit/ECS. The amount will automatically get debited on a date of your choice. You can also give monthly/quarterly post-dated cheques for the amount you wish to invest.

Build your investment at regular intervals.

    With SIP, you can invest a pre-determined amount of money in chosen schemes at the applicable NAV based Sale Price on each transaction date. Each transaction will fetch you additional units that will be added to your investment accounts.

Ref: http://www.utimf.com/learningcentre/Pages/all-about-sip.aspx