“Why are the so-called expert investors in India so disinterested in ESG funds?”. A young investor asked me this question at a recent event and it gave me food for thought. It is true that at PrimeInvestor, we are not fans of ESG investing either. We don’t go out of our way to cover ESG funds or ‘green’ bonds and deposits, unless they offer great returns.
At PrimeInvestor, we took an ultra-conservative approach to debt investments during Covid and just after it. But with economic recovery taking root, interest rates rising and credit offtake improving, we believe investors can shoot for higher yields by taking on some credit risk. Perpetual bonds from banks with sound financials are one option, offering good reward for risks taken. We are covering one such bond here.
Ask any new CFA pass-out what drives stock returns in the long run and he’ll likely tell you that is earnings, of course! Equity analysts spend many man (and woman) hours on excel sheets, trying to model the future earnings of companies, to identify stocks to bet on.
But if you look at the journey of multi-bagger stocks over any time period, you’ll find that there’s an X factor apart from earnings that drives multi-bagger returns.
It is the fashion for personal finance gurus and social media influencers to begin their talks by dissing FDs. FDs are dumb investments, they say, before urging you to migrate to equities, or exotic things like options trading or covered bonds.
But the humble fixed deposit can serve a very useful purpose in your portfolio by acting as a source of ready liquidity and acting as a bedrock for your safe money. That’s why we have Prime Deposits, our list of FD recommendations. It is quite possible to generate positive real returns on your FDs through an active strategy. But can an active strategy really go with FDs? Of course! Here’s how you can do it.
A recent Supreme Court ruling about the Employees’ Pension Scheme has put personal finance writers in a tizzy. Most have tried to decipher the complicated ruling. Some have tried to tell eligible employees what they can still do to board the EPS bus if they’ve missed it so far. But after studying the ruling and its implications, we felt you needn’t worry over-much about the EPS if you have missed the bus. There are many other good pension options.
Whenever we recommend SDLs, our readers raise many queries like “Are SDLs safe?” and more about the difficulty of choosing them. In this FAQ, we try and address all of your niggling doubts about SDLs.
With interest rates on fixed income options hitting rock-bottom in recent years, debt investors have been starved for reasonable yields. This is perhaps why the issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) from National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT NCD), offering a yield which is a tad over 8%, is seeing such enthusiastic reception from investors, bond platforms and some advisors too.
Lately, it is not just India’s stock market that has been hopping all over the place like an impatient child. The bond market has been doing it too! India’s 10-year government bond yield, which sets the benchmark for all other debt instruments, climbed vertically from 5.8% in July 2020 to 7.61% in June 2022. But after that, it has been unable to make up its mind on whether to climb higher or pause for breath.
US stock indices have started a fresh bout of declines. This has led smart investors to ask if they should be bargain-hunting US equities at this juncture. The answer depends on where the US economy and earnings are heading.
If you are interested in psychology or behavioural economics, you’d surely have come across the boiling frog syndrome. The theory goes that if you try to dunk a frog in a pot of boiling water, it will immediately jump out. But if you place it in cool water and slowly heat up the pot, the frog will ignore the small changes in temperature and simply boil to death.
When interest rates on bank deposits hit rock-bottom in the last few years, the fixed deposit (FD) programme from Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Corporation (TNPFIC) turned quite a hit. This NBFC owned by the Tamil Nadu Government offers high interest rates of 7-8% on FDs and has a friendly online interface, making it very popular with fixed income seekers and seniors. We have received a number of queries from many of you, about this deposit.
Some folks still have a fatal fascination for ‘better-than-FD’ returns advertised by unregulated entities – whether it is cryptocurrency exchanges offering interest rates of 12-14% on staking one’s crypto holdings, or peer-to-peer lending platforms promising you a 14% return from becoming part of a lending club. Informal entities ranging from unregistered chit funds run to the street corner jeweller tempt you to ‘deposit’ money with them promising high returns.
The purpose of these disclosures is to provide essential information about the Research Services in a manner to assist and enable the prospective client/client in making an informed decision for engaging in Research services before onboarding. History, Present business and Background: PrimeInvestor Financial Research Private Limited is registered with SEBI as Research Analyst with registration no. INH200008653. The Research Analyst got its registration on August 19, 2021 and is engaged in offering research and recommendation services. Terms and conditions of Research Services: The Research Services will be limited to providing independent research recommendation and shall not be involved in any advisory or portfolio allocation services. The Research Analyst never guarantees the returns on the recommendation provided. Investor shall take note that Investment/trading in stocks/Index or other securities is always subject to market risk. Past performance is never a guarantee of same future results. The Research Analyst shall not be responsible for any loss to the Investors. Disciplinary history: There are no pending material litigations or legal proceedings against the Research Analyst. As on date, no penalties / directions have been issued by SEBI under the SEBI Act or Regulations made there under against the Research Analyst relating to Research Analyst services. Details of its associates: No associates. Disclosures with respect to Research and Recommendations Services: The Research Analyst or its directors or any of its officer/employee does not trade in securities which are subject matter of recommendation. There are no actual or potential conflicts of interest arising from any connection to or association with any issuer of products/ securities, including any material information or facts that might compromise its objectivity or independence in the carrying on of Research Analyst services. Such conflict of interest shall be disclosed to the client as and when they arise. Research Analyst or its directors or its employee or its associates have not received any compensation from the company which is subject matter of recommendation. Research Analyst or its directors or its employee or its associates have not managed or co-managed the public offering of any company. Research Analyst or its directors or its employee or its associates have not received any compensation for investment banking or merchant banking of brokerage services from the subject company. Research Analyst or its directors or its employee or its associates have not received any compensation for products or services other than above from the subject company. Research Analyst or its directors or its employee or its associates have not received any compensation or other benefits from the Subject Company or 3rd party in connection with the research report/ recommendation. The subject company was not a client of Research Analyst or its directors or its employee or its associates during twelve months preceding the date of recommendation services provided. Research Analysts or its directors or its employee or its associates has not served as an officer, director or employee of the subject company. Research Analysts has not been engaged in market making activity of the subject company.
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