Vidya Bala, Author at PrimeInvestor

Prime Fund recommendation: A fund to play the small cap pick up

Mid and small-cap funds form a part of a long-term portfolio to boost overall portfolio returns. But there are times when these market-cap segments underperform for various reasons. The small-cap index spent much of nearly two years languishing behind the Nifty 50. This is now changing, serving up a good opportunity to focus on the small-cap segment.

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Vidya Bala June 1, 2023 No Comments

SEBI sees through AMCs’ games - How the new MF proposals will impact you

Mutual funds & ETFs

SEBI sees through AMCs’ games – How the new MF proposals will impact you

Last week, we made a quiet note about SEBI’s consultation paper on mutual funds in the PrimeInvestor Community. A consultation paper solicits opinion from the public on proposals mooted by the regulator, along with rationale for such proposals. Do note that these are proposals and have not been implemented.

Vidya Bala May 23, 2023 6 Comments

Prime fund recommendation - a beaten down sector to pick up now

Mutual funds & ETFs

Prime Fund Recommendation: A beaten-down sector to pick up now

Getting into a sector when the going is rough can pay off as kinks get ironed out and prospects look up. The complexity of this sector, along with other factors, has led to steep underperformance against the Nifty 50. But with more clarity now emerging on sustainable growth from here as well as a shift in the contours of the sector, this may be an opportune time to build up exposure to this beaten-down sector.

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Vidya Bala May 9, 2023 No Comments

Stock alert: Narratives and numbers - what to do with Infosys?

Stocks

Stock alert: Narratives and numbers – what to do with Infosys?

A 14% fall in INFOSYS (INFY) in just a week is not something that you expect, especially when the index itself fell under 1% over the same period. But then, when markets are disappointed, they don’t cry, they rage.

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Vidya Bala April 20, 2023 No Comments

4 easy steps to picking good mutual fund schemes

Mutual funds & ETFs

4 easy steps to picking good mutual fund schemes

The top-used product at PrimeInvestor, our MF Review Tool, is good for anyone who wants to know our call on your fund (buy/hold/sell) and the reason for the same. It also helps you pick the funds we have a buy on, if you want to go beyond Prime Funds.
But for those of you who want to see the evidence backed by data or wish to do your own filtering, then Prime MF Screener is the only tool available today in town for you to do this evidence-based investing. If you are a subscriber – well, what’s stopping you from empowering yourself using our MF Screener to pick good mutual fund schemes?

Vidya Bala March 5, 2023 3 Comments

Prime recommendation: Commodity and the rise of the old economy

Recommendations

Prime Recommendation: Commodity and the rise of the old economy

In March 2021, our call on the commodities fund we added panned out well. But we decided to issue a book profit call in June 2022, as we wanted to preserve some of the profits given the cool off that was visible then in commodity prices.
And as anticipated, commodities cooled off a fair bit globally. Triggered by inflation-driven rate hikes and recession fears, pre-emptive physical destocking (reducing inventories anticipating higher cost of holding inventories) resulted in lower prices. The traded Goldman Sachs Commodity index graph below will tell you that our call was largely in line with this index’s move.

Vidya Bala February 28, 2023 13 Comments

Is the Budget 2023 disincentivizing savings?

Taxes

Is the Budget 2023 disincentivizing savings?

The trending narrative post the Budget 2023 proposal is that the Budget is disincentivizing savings. The argument goes like this: if the Budget is nudging individuals to move to the New Tax Regime, it likely means that it may eventually phase out many of the deductions available under the Old Tax Regime. Tax incentive is a major consideration for Indians to save.

Vidya Bala February 5, 2023 9 Comments

Mutual funds & ETFs

How many funds should I invest in?

How many funds to invest in is a question that both new investors and the seasoned ones are confronted with. I have seen portfolios with

Vidya Bala January 20, 2023 35 Comments

A new approach to gauge market mood - The Nifty VMI tool

Markets

A new approach to gauge market mood – The Nifty VMI tool

“Is this a good time to invest in the market?” This is a question that many of you ask us when you want to deploy additional money. Gauging market mood is never easy and this is often done mostly by short-term traders. When investing for the long term, we typically tell you that it is best to invest in phases and avoid trying to time the market. Investing in phases (or call it SIP) and holding for the long term can help contain downsides and it is a proven strategy.

Vidya Bala January 12, 2023 28 Comments

General

2023 – The year of the DIY investor

Wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2023 from all of us at PrimeInvestor!
The first month of 2023 marks the completion of three years for us at PrimeInvestor. Thank you all for coming along with us on this journey! We couldn’t have entered the investment marketplace at a better time, and here’s why!

Vidya Bala January 1, 2023 27 Comments

Stock review : An under-researched, niche, small-cap play

Stocks

Stock review : An under-researched, niche, small-cap play

A lot goes into making that piece of gold jewellery you see at your jewellers’. Or even the copper that goes into your two-and four-wheelers. The first step starts with mining these metal and mineral ores. The next is to crush the ore lumps into desired sizes and processing them in mills to extract the metal or mineral. This involves a lot of machinery such as crushers, screens and other mineral processing equipment. In mill equipment, there’s a critical component that protects the equipment to ensure longer life, reduce noise as well as downtime, and improve safety.

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Vidya Bala November 24, 2022 No Comments

How to review your mutual fund portfolio

Strategies

How to review your mutual fund portfolio

When answering the question of ‘How to review your mutual fund portfolio’, some of the frequently asked questions that we receive from you are as follows :
“My fund is underperforming. Should I sell it or not?”.
“How to go about selling a fund – in one shot or in a staggered manner?”
“How long should I hold an underperformer?

Vidya Bala November 22, 2022 4 Comments

Prime Fund recommendation: A fund to play the small cap pick up

SEBI sees through AMCs’ games – How the new MF proposals will impact you

Prime Fund Recommendation: A beaten-down sector to pick up now

Stock alert: Narratives and numbers – what to do with Infosys?

4 easy steps to picking good mutual fund schemes

Prime Recommendation: Commodity and the rise of the old economy

Is the Budget 2023 disincentivizing savings?

How many funds should I invest in?

A new approach to gauge market mood – The Nifty VMI tool

2023 – The year of the DIY investor

Stock review : An under-researched, niche, small-cap play

How to review your mutual fund portfolio

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