Prajna Capital - An Investment Guide

Some good options if you have a high-risk appetite Everybody should start their financial planning as early as possible in life. There are many facets of financial planning. These include inflow and outflow of money, planning for increase in income and expenditures, saving for future needs etc. Keeping track of inflows and outflows of money helps in maintaining financial discipline. People save a percentage of their inflows to cater their future needs - investments. There are many investment instruments available in the market and it's important for investors to understand the various offerings, requirements, and limitations of an instrument, before entering into it. Some of these investment instruments (equity or market based) offer much higher returns than traditional instruments. However, investing in these instruments is risky as they do not guarantee the principal amount. Since the future needs are also variable in nature (some known and others unknown), it is better to ...

An increasingly common and rather disturbing trend in many investments is the absence of a solid 'core' portfolio. In recent times, we have met several investors (most were new to investing in mutual funds) whose investment portfolios were constituted of only thematic and sectoral funds. To further complicate matters, these investments were made in new fund offers launched at a time when markets were surging northwards. Expectedly, such portfolios are in dire straits at present. What is “The core portfolio” By the core portfolio, we are referring to a mix of investment avenues that is capable of delivering an enduring performance across market cycles. For instance, in the mutual funds segment, well-managed diversified equity funds, balanced funds and monthly income plans with proven track records could form the core portfolio. Of course, the investor's risk profile and investment objectives would play a part in determining the core. Once this core is in place, the investor...

The domestic markets remained in a bear grip over the last one year due to the slowdown in the US and major European countries. The key market indices here lost over 50 percent during the last one year. Stocks in real estate, infrastructure and automobile sectors were among the worst hit during the last one year as they lost around 70 to 90 percent from their peaks 12 months ago. The market outlook for the short term still remains negative and investors are advised to exercise caution while investing in equities. According to the current market situation, it looks like the first half of 2009 will remain bad for the markets and things will start improving in the later part of this year. The markets have already factored in much of the bad news and stocks in many sectors are available at attractive valuations. The possibility of further market corrections (10 to 15 percent) from the current levels still exists as more bad news comes from global markets. But analysts rule out a sharp d...