Prajna Capital - An Investment Guide

Instead of waiting till March to make tax-saving investments, take advantage of the attractive prices in the stock markets now Only two things, they say, are certain - death and taxes. Oddly, both topics are usually avoided in polite society. The annual ritual of year-end investing to save on taxes is almost five months away. So why bring up this dreadful talk about taxes now? It's not March already, by any chance, is it? No, don't bother to look at your calendar. It's only November. But there are attractive investment opportunities available today, if you plan to look at tax-saving equity options - equity-linked savings schemes ( ELSS ) or unit-linked insurance plans ( ULIPs ). The recent drop in equity markets has brought stock valuations down to compelling levels. Mutual fund NAVs have plunged, some by as much as 50 percent over the past three months. While this is obviously unfortunate for existing investors, it's extremely good news for those who are evaluating ...

The volatility in markets only underscores the need for taking a financial planning decision based on sound risk as well as time horizon considerations OVER the last six months, the Indian equity market has seen a huge fall after a long period of spectacular returns. The fall in the equity market indices on one hand, and poor returns in fixed income funds due to rise in interest rates on the other, have led to some confusion among investors. The concerns plaguing the markets are partly global and partly cyclical in nature. The cyclical issues could lead to a temporary slowdown in the pace of growth, but the long-term uptrend will prevail as India is in the midst of a long investment-led growth phase supported by high domestic savings rates and very favourable demographics. While the long-term picture warrants considerable optimism on equities, investors have been concerned about falling value of their past savings, and confused as to where to put their incremental savings. ULIPs (...