Prudent Money Manager

Long term capital gains (LTCG) tax has been re-introduced in Budget for financial year 2018-19. The Finance Minister has proposed to levy a 10 per cent tax on the capital gains earned above Rs 1 lakh. The cost price reset date is set to 31st January, 2018, and the exemption period is till 31st March 2018. Long-term period defined for equity investments is above one year. During the one-year period it is regarded as short-term capital gains and the tax rate is 15 per cent. While at the outset, thought this looks like a negative development for those people who have been investing into Indian equity markets for their long term financial goals, there are some important points which you need to consider to reduce your LTCG taxes. Important points to remember:       LTCG tax is 10 per cent with no indexation benefit for equity investments.         LTCG exempt is up to Rs 1,00,000: This is a universal annual limit that includes LTCG ea...

In this article, I am covering the recent developments in the space of P2P Lending in India and have explained the recent developments in P2P lending in detail. In the month of January 2018, India's leading peer-to-peer lending companies have come together to form the Association of P2P Lending Platforms. The first-of-its-kind association will act as a representative for its members, as well as the country's P2P lending industry. In addition, the association will work in conjunction with the government and regulatory authorities in matters of compliance, and to further the cause of financial inclusion in the country.  The association will actively work towards creating awareness about online P2P lending in India and promoting its merits as an innovative and high-yield asset class among individual and institutional investors. In line with this aim, the association will enter into strategic partnerships and collaborations with other stakeholders or industry players, org...

With the increase in financial awareness and internet usage in India over past few years, more and more trading is being done online. Many investors are looking for saving their transactional costs. This has given rise to the concept of Discount brokers. Discount brokers offer very competitive brokerage rates as compared to traditional full service brokers. What are Discount Brokers? The discount broking is a concept where a broker charges relatively lower commissions as compared to market norms and attract the existing clients of other firms in the field. They usually offer their services online to keep their costs low. Discount brokers do not charge an annual service fee or maintenance fees which typically cost up to Rs. 300 to Rs. 1000 in case of full service brokers. Discount Brokers in India Discount broking is a very recent trend that started just five years back in 2010. Discount brokers charge a reduced commission and do not provide investments advice. The best k...

Since Indian markets (SENSEX and NIFTY) are making new high every day, suddenly there is enormous interest in investing in direct equity or in equity mutual funds. In this article, I am not going to discuss about the right time to invest or how to invest (through direct route or indirect route using mutual funds), but I will discuss the investment approach followed by famous investor of all the time - Warren Buffett. I believe that, after reading this article, most of the readers will able to make some judgement about the current market scenario and will able to keep aside the noise generated by various day to day news and will able to focus on the investing approach narrated here. Warren Buffett is one of the most successful stock market investors of the past several decades. His entire approach is to focus on the value of the business and its market price. Once Buffett finds a business he understands and feels comfortable with, he acts like a business owner rather than a ...

In this article, I will cover various types of Debt Funds and how these can be useful for your different investment needs. Different Types of Debt Funds Let me discuss different types of Debt Funds and how they address your different financial needs, based on your investment horizon. Long term Debt Funds (Dynamic Bond Funds): These funds invest in Government securities with varying maturities. Since these funds invest in Government securities there is no credit risk. However, they can be susceptible to interest rate risks, depending on their average durations. Over a long investment horizon of 5 years or more, long term debt funds can give higher returns as compared to other types of debt funds. Investor should have at least 2 to 3 years or more as investment horizon for investing in Long Term Debt Funds or Dynamic Bond Funds. Income Funds: Income funds invest in a variety of fixed income securities such as bonds, debentures and government securities, across different mat...