Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Types of Mutual Fund Investments

Mutual Fund India Facts - Four Rules for a Profitable Investment Portfolio

Mutual funds are presently available with investment objective of almost all asset classes. You have basically three kinds of mutual funds, i.e., equity funds, income (debt) fund, and liquid funds.

Equity funds are best for long-term investment with high-risk profile. This type is sub divided on two bases, one is capitalization basis, i.e., large cap, mid cap, small cap and now a new category micro cap. Another basis is sector exposure, i.e. diversified, which invests in almost all sectors, and definitely exposure is different.

For opportunity fund investing, invest predominantly in 3 to 8 sectors as per market return, then try to benefit from market prospective, then comes sector fund definitely investing in one sector.

Now comes income funds and these are also subdivided in long-term debt funds investing in long-term debt instrument, short-term debt funds, and fixed maturity debt funds.

Then comes liquid funds and these are for investing in very short maturity debt instrument, short lending, overnight lending, etc. and these are no risk funds.

One mix kind of fund type is also popular and that is balanced fund where we invest in all three-asset classes, i.e., balanced funds, pension plan, child care funds and MIP are a type of balanced funds with different exposure.

We presently see some more kind of funds, i.e., commodity funds and gold funds and in future more commodity will come in this space.

Reality fund presently is for high net worth people, derivative funds (use of hedging instruments), etc.

Least but not last, for an investor in my views, the most important is your financial plan, risk appetite, asset allocation first, and then investment.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

LIC Housing Finance Vs ICICI Home Loan Comparison 2011

Whether you are a resident Indian or an NRI, whether you are a businessman or a salaried employee, whether you want to get a home loan for buying a home, construction of home, repair or renovation, or purchase of plot, there are several home loan financing companies in India that are providing home loans at discounted interest rates but before choosing the best bank, always consider stability, security, best interest rates, easy documentation, easy loan recoverability and for all this, LIC Housing Finance is the best home loan provider in India. I guarantee that you will get best out of best from a public sector bank rather than a private player.

I have taken a home loan from ICIC bank and I know how difficult it is for us to maintain a good relationship with this bank.

Five advantages of taking a home loan for rent payers

Friday, January 7, 2011

Student Loans in India. FAQ on Education Loan India

Getting a student loan in India and US

Do banks have the right to comment on the academic performance of students seeking loans?

As per a supreme court judgment, banks don't have any right to comment on the merit (academic performance) of the students. If a student has secured admission from a recognized university, that is the eligibility to get the loan (not the history of his academic performance). Banks should not say something like "You have only 55% in your UG - We will not sanction the loan"

Facts About Student Loans in India

What amount do they quote in sanction letter?
This varies from bank-to-bank. At some places, they would give a detailed letter stating everything in a tabulated form, the amount applied for, the margin, etc. etc. You can talk to the bank officer directly about this.

Step By Step Student Loan Process For Pursuing Higher Education

How much amount do I have to show for getting a loan?
If the university has asked for the proof of funding, then you would have to show it for the total duration of your course.

Will they wait for me till that time?
If they have accepted you already, then they will, but then again, only for a reasonable period of time. Whatever be it, they will inform you as and when they take any decision regarding your application.

A Complete Guide to Student Loans in India

I think Bank wound not accept the EMAIL copy of Acceptance letter?
They would, if that is the only copy you've received. Talk to the bank officer regarding this.

From which forum or website it would be better to present acceptance letter to the bank?
Ask the university to provide this on their official letterhead.

Problems Associated With Getting Student Loans In India

Will this certificate work for securing the admissions?
Yes.

Should it be safe to show the account statements to bank?
See sudden jumps in account balance is not appreciated. In such cases, it becomes apparent that the amount is only there for showing during visa application and it might put strong doubts in the visa officer's mind that the amount may not be available for the whole duration of your study program. So, you should apply for a loan of higher amount to be on the safer side.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

How to cancel credit card?

How to cancel ICICI Bank Credit Card?

The above is a link to an article I have just written on how to cancel a credit card. Here is have mentioned what to do when the credit card company has not provided any provision for cancellation of credit cards and keeps on deducting money from your savings account on a nonstop basis such that all your salary starts getting in paying credit card debt.

Credit Cards vs Debits Cards

Do you know that you can do online shopping using International Debit Cards which work just like credit cards for doing transactions, online or offline and also have their own merits over credit cards which I have discussed in the article: Bank Cards - Understanding Credit Cards vs Debits Cards

Paying Off Major Credit Card Debt

If you using credit cards on a frequent basis and not making the payments on time and every month late fees and interest charges are accumulating on your credit account, then you are close to falling in a credit card debt trap. Now read via this link Paying Off Major Credit Card Debt

that why I always say to not use credit cards and instead use cash or debit cards for shopping or any other transactions.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Lack of Planning is the Most Common Financial Mistake

Whenever you feel that you are not able to make a financial decision at the right time or whenever you have failed achieving your goals, always try to go back in the past and think, whether you had any good plans for personal finances? I am telling you that lack of planning is the most common financial mistake a man makes. Whether you are investor, a stock marketer, a businessman, a serviceman or anything, planning your personal finances including savings, investments, retirement, etc. is the best way to achieve healthy personal finances. Now read more about how to not do these financial mistakes:

Lack of Planning is the Most Common Financial Mistake

Step Up Risks for Investors - Where Are You

This article explains 7 step up risks for investors that you need to know to avoid become a prey of debt monster. I have written this topic today for the Money Grows on Hubs Contest.

Step Up Risks for Investors - Where Are You

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Where do banks fit in?


For the system to work, the sole creator of money must be the sovereign state. The fiat (or creation) of money by the banks could not be permitted, period. This is a byproduct of the fact they are within the economic ecosystem and there for in the creation of money the sole purpose of the bank (to the banker) is only to make a profit and in so doing removing money from the available purchasing power in the form of interest on bank fiat money. If bank fiats are allowed, the banks can and will inflate or deflate the unit of account as best fits their goal of profit independent of the financial needs and realities of the country. Another way of view this is that an artificially created money market bearing little to no relation to the cost of the service provided by the bank is represented by interest in its current form.

Now, banks could loan money. However they would be required to do so only with money deposited for that purpose which thus could not be fiat money but had already been in existence previous to the loan. That is to say, for loans in particular, they would be required to have 100% reserve. At the same time, banks would be required to keep money intended for commercial exchange during that financial period entirely separate from money intended for loaning. So what does the consumer pay for/how does the banker earn a living? The consumer pays for check/exchange and safekeeping; however, they would earn interest on money deposited specifically for investment purposes.

Thus removing from the hands of the bankers the ability to manipulate the money supply of the country is to their own gain. The Federal Reserve Bank is not a public bank. It is a private bank, owned by bankers for bankers. Ordinary citizens cannot make deposits or withdrawals from this bank but governments and banks can. The fact that banks can currently create money with a loan by the creation of the credit/debt gap it produces can effect inflation and deflation which seems counter to the “constitutional provision giving Congress the sole right to coin and regulate the value of money”. If banks were required to lend only money which was backed by 100% deposits for the purpose of investments, the creation of money by banks would stop.

Suddenly if you put banking in a different setting, think about Flexcar. The idea is that if everyone owns a car, they spend a lot of time sitting around doing nothing but using up resources because of all the parking spaces. Flexcar rents out cars at those times when people are not using them, while they are parked. If we all did this there would be less of a need for cars and parking spaces. There is a distinction between a “car” and “use of a car”. Banks do something similar. They rent out “reserves”, the kind of money the central bank makes, to give us “use of reserves”, which is what we commonly call money. What you are proposing is that there will be no difference between reserves and use of reserves. Is this what you mean?

It would be very hard to enforce. I created a few “use of pencil” out of a single spare pencil yesterday.

All that about the Federal Reserve Bank is true. We split the monetary authority from the fiscal authority (congress). It has resulted in lower inflation than in places where the two are closely tied like in the UK. The way that works with the congressional right is that the constitution says “coin”. The US Treasury still makes the coins; the Fed takes care of the rest.

Bank Cards - Understanding Credit Cards vs Debits Cards