I recently read a Mint article discussing why people fall for unregulated schemes carrying great risk. The story cites the quote – “There is nothing as disturbing to one’s well-being and judgement as to see a friend get rich. Unless it is to see a non-friend get richer,” from the book ‘Manias, Panics and Crashes’ […]
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I recently sold my business and have saved around 50-60 lakh rupees, which I’ve invested in a couple of mutual funds. Before starting my next venture, I plan to take a break. My current lifestyle requires about Rs 50,000 per month. What is the best investment product to generate periodic income until I resume earning […]
India is adapting to the culture of credit cards at a staggering pace. While credit cards may seem like a means to financial freedom and accessibility, in many cases, they can be dangerous for your financial health. My cousin, for instance, is an IT professional living in Bangalore who enjoys a comfortable lifestyle. He has […]
A Power of Attorney is a document between two or more people where a person (the principal) gives another person (their agents) the authority to conduct financial, medical or private matters in the principal’s name. It is a legal document allowing someone else to act on your behalf. It is governed by the provisions of the Power […]
I have capital gains on the sale of equity shares and mutual funds I bought in 2020. Which ITR form should I choose, and where should I report these gains in the ITR? For listed domestic shares and mutual funds, if the holding period exceeds 12 months, the gains are considered long-term. Since the shares […]
Remember that story of the chessboard and rice? A wise man presented a chessboard to a king, asking for one grain of rice on the first square, two grains on the second, four on the third, and so on, doubling the grains on each subsequent square. The king, thinking it was a modest request, agreed. […]
The purpose of life insurance is to replace a person’s earning capacity. Life insurance products have gone through a transition over the period. Once considered a savings and investment avenue, it is now considered risk reduction and protection for the family. We should all be happy that this positive change is happening, and people are […]
If you keep even a casual eye on the markets, you couldn’t have missed the reaction on election results day, June 4, 2024. In fact, that entire week was chaotic in the markets, with significant volatility. At one point, the market dropped nearly 8% on the results day but came full circle, closing flat by […]
Filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) can be challenging, especially for stock market traders involved in different segments such as Futures & Options (F&O), intraday trading, and delivery-based trading. So here’s a step-by-step guide if you want to file the ITR yourself. Step 1: Go to the e-filing portal > File ITR > Select assessment year […]
Since April 2020, India has seen close to 500 Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) IPOs that have raised about ₹12.5k crores. This sounds like a win for the SMEs.
I am 35 years old and married with 2 kids. I have investments in mutual funds and stocks. I mentioned nominees for both of my investments. Should I write a Will separately? I want my children to get the best education in a good school until they are 18, which cannot be compromised if I […]
Could I offset my trading loss with the profits I earned on my long-term stocks and mutual funds holdings? What are the set-off rules for trading loss? Let’s first understand how income from different transactions is classified. F&O trading is classified as a non-speculative business, while intraday trading is treated as a speculative business. Further, […]
Did you see this headline last week? Norinchukin Bank, a Japanese bank, is selling $63B worth of US and European Government Bonds. The reason is that the bank wants to stem losses from low-yielding foreign government bonds it has purchased in the aftermath of Covid. But hey, if they held the bonds until maturity, there […]
While reporting my trading income in the ITR-3 form, should I report the trading turnover scrip-wise or trade-wise? Trading turnover can be calculated in two ways, either trade-wise or scrip-wise. To understand the difference, let us take an example: you make the following trades for companies A and B. Company A Trade 1: Profit of […]
Electric Vehicles (EVs) are becoming mainstream, and seem to be a stable EV ecosystem emerging in India. NSE Indices recently launched the Nifty EV & New Age Automotive Index to track this space. The “New Age” component in the index name is meant to accommodate any new technologies that might come up in the future. […]
I understand that I must file an ITR 3 income tax return as I have trading income. However, while filing the form, I must choose whether I am eligible to maintain accounts and whether I am obligated to get an audit done. How do I know if this applies to me? You are liable to […]
India is one of the top countries with the largest diaspora residing in nations like the UAE, the US, and Saudi Arabia. We all have that one friend or a relative living abroad who regularly sends money back to India for family maintenance, investments, medical care, education, and more. Such inward remittance is governed by […]
The paper Da, Zhi and Zhang, Xiao, Same-Weekday Momentum (SSRN) first came out on March 14, 2024 and has raked up quite a bit of interest since then. The authors present an effect where if you formed momentum portfolios by weekday, you end up with better returns than traditional momentum. For example, to build Monday’s […]
An abandoned village is one where no one lives. Throughout history, people have abandoned their villages for various reasons—the threat of wild animals, flooding, dam-building, forest fires, wars, etc. Today, Japan probably has the highest number of abandoned villages. The most frequently cited reason I found on the internet is Japan’s declining population. As older […]
Recently, a Zerodha Varsity reader came up with an interesting question about direct vs. regular mutual funds. He understands that the return on a direct fund is higher, so buying a direct fund makes sense. But he also feels that one can accumulate more mutual fund units in a regular fund, given that the NAV […]
I have a salary income. I incurred capital gains because I sold some mutual fund units in FY 23-24. I trade once in a while (not a regular trader). I have neither gains nor losses from my trading activity. What ITR form should I use? Individuals with salary and capital gains income are required to […]
Did you know that a hormone in the human body dictates almost every decision we make in our lives, especially our investing and trading decisions? It’s called dopamine. Dopamine influences financial decisions by enhancing the perceived value of potential rewards, motivating individuals to take risks for higher gains. It also reinforces past successful financial behaviors, […]
Imagine you are on a flight, and suddenly, the plane hits turbulence. If you’re not familiar with flying and don’t understand why turbulence occurs, you might panic, thinking the plane is in serious trouble. But if you know that turbulence is common and that airplanes are designed to withstand it, you’re more likely to stay […]
I vividly remember, in early 2014, Nithin and I discussed how difficult it was for an investor to learn about the capital markets in India. At that point, there was hardly any learning material available online. Content was fragmented, scattered across several sources, and there was nothing specific to the Indian markets. To learn a […]
Debt funds are usually considered to carry lesser risk than equity funds. In fact, many believe that funds cannot give negative returns simply because they invest in debt instruments. However, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and credit risk are all real risks carried by debt funds. The presence of risk indicates the possibility of a […]
