mutual funds

NFO review: IDFC US Treasury Bond 0-1 year Fund of Funds

US stocks and US equity funds have been quite a hit with Indian investors in recent years. Indians invest in these funds to gain exposure to global businesses (Amazon, Alphabet, Mastercard etc). More importantly, they would like to gain an exposure to the US dollar which has appreciated steadily against the Rupee over the years.
But the risks in owning US equities have become apparent lately, with the Fed on a rate hiking spree and the US economy flirting with a recession. US stock indices have lost 12-15% in one year, while US equity funds have seen losses of 6%-12%. But there has been a sharp rise in yields on US government bonds (treasuries).

NFO review: IDFC US Treasury Bond 0-1 year Fund of Funds Read More ยป

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 indexโ€™s move.

Prime Recommendation: Commodity and the rise of the old economy Read More ยป

Build your own portfolio with PrimeInvestorโ€™s super tool

PrimeInvestorโ€™s super new tool, Build your own portfolioย is a simple and powerful solution for your need to customise your portfolio the way you wish to, but without choosing the wrong funds nor going wrong on allocation! It guides you into designing a portfolio for yourself using Prime Funds, based on your inputs. Hereโ€™s more.

Build your own portfolio with PrimeInvestorโ€™s super tool Read More ยป

5 reasons to avoid PSU ETFs

The list of top performing equity funds for the past year features a couple of unusual entries. With a return of 18-21 per cent, CPSE ETF (managed by Nippon India Mutual Fund for the government of India) and the Bharat 22 ETF (managed by ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund) are top rankers among equity funds.
This has many investors asking if they should add these passive funds to their portfolio. The portfolios of CPSE and Bharat 22 ETFs are made up of the PSU oil, energy and financial giants which are the flavour of the season. These ETFsโ€™ costs are ultra-low because they are used as divestment vehicles. Both ETFs would also seem to be โ€˜value buysโ€™ if you go by their ultra-cheap valuations. The CPSE ETF trades at a portfolio PE of 7 times and Bharat 22 ETF at about 11 times. This is a fraction of the current Nifty50 PE at over 21 times.
But does this make them worth betting on? There are five good reasons for long-term stock investors to steer clear of these ETFs.

5 reasons to avoid PSU ETFs Read More ยป

Quarterly Review: Prime Portfolios performance review & quarter changes

Prime Portfolios are a set of 19 unique portfolios that meet over 30 different investor timeframes and needs. Prime Portfolios are listed under Ready-to-use-portfolios in the Recommendations dropdown. These portfolios primarily use mutual funds, but where there are better-suited products such as deposits or government schemes, the portfolios include those as well.

We review these portfolios every quarter and make changes to remove underperformers or to include any new investment opportunity or product that may come by. At the end of each year, we review the performance of key portfolios, in addition to discussing the changes we make.

Quarterly Review: Prime Portfolios performance review & quarter changes Read More ยป

Quarterly review: Changes to recommendations in Prime Funds & Prime ETFs

Prime Funds is our list of recommendations in equity, debt, and hybrid mutual funds that are worth investing in. Prime Funds narrows down your choices from the thousands of funds that there are, into a concise list of funds that span different styles. Prime Funds are selected based on performance, portfolios, and investment strategies.

In this quarterโ€™s review, we have added to equity funds to play themes that are ripe and made changes to the hybrid recommendations to include better return options. We have made minimal changes to our debt fund recommendations.

Quarterly review: Changes to recommendations in Prime Funds & Prime ETFs Read More ยป

Why you shouldnโ€™t fall for ESG pitches

โ€œWhy are the so-called expert investors in India so disinterested in ESG funds?โ€. 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 donโ€™t go out of our way to cover ESG funds or โ€˜greenโ€™ bonds and deposits, unless they offer great returns.ย 

Why you shouldnโ€™t fall for ESG pitches Read More ยป

ULIP vs. Mutual Fund โ€“ where should you invest?

As far as investment products go, ULIPs (short for Unit Linked Insurance Products) have the reputation of being the โ€˜bad boysโ€™. While investor wariness toward ULIPs in their earlier avatar was justified, they have evolved since their pre-2010 days following changes made by IRDAI. However, ULIPs have still not entirely managed to shake off their reputation. In this article, we pit the present day ULIP vs. mutual funds – and compare them on parameters such as their function, how they invest your money, liquidity, expenses and tax treatment and see how they stack up.

ULIP vs. Mutual Fund โ€“ where should you invest? Read More ยป

Debt fund strategies for the current rate scenario

The Reserve Bankโ€™s monetary policy on Wednesday served up another repo rate hike of 35 basis points, adding to the 190 basis points through this year. That takes the repo rate to 6.25% from the Covid low of 4%. The key driving factor behind the rapid rate hikes โ€“ that of inflation โ€“ still remains. The RBI has clearly spelt its commitment to bringing inflation within the target range, even in its latest monetary policy.
In this light, debt fund strategies you have now, to make the most of the current scenario, can be decided based on what you want:

Debt fund strategies for the current rate scenario Read More ยป

Use this passive fund for your large-and-midcap exposure

A few weeks ago, we had written in detail the categories in which we think passive funds have become a necessity to keep your portfolio returns stable; even if you hold active funds. We made this call as performance of active funds were becoming relatively more inconsistent, in a few key categories.

Use this passive fund for your large-and-midcap exposure Read More ยป

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