Do you need a Certified Financial Advisor?

In today’s world you really don’t have to be an all-rounder or be well versed with everything. The internet is always there for your rescue. But if you come across agendas where the internet also cannot be of great help, there are consultancies for various purposes. These consultancies provide you with an individual who is well versed with an area you might have difficulty with to make it a cake walk for you.

Finance is a tough nut for me that I really cannot avoid in the long run. It is not enough to earn the right amount of money alone but is also very important to plan the right kind of savings all together. Well if you happen to face the same issues, than have you heard of certified financial planner?

As the name suggests a certified financial planner is someone who is well versed with the finance scenario inside out and is certified to guide others with the same. To be more precise, he or she is a financially qualified investment professional who is trained to help individuals and organisations in achieving their financial goals. The goals could be long term or short term. They at times may even help you with defining financial goals for many.

Things that need to be taken into consideration when closing on a financial planner. It is very important to at least go across thoroughly with three financial planners before you zero upon any. The personal also needs to hold his or her set of credentials. If they are able to give you references with respect to their clientele and work profile it is nothing like it.

Since it is a service it surely comes with a bill to be paid, so completely be well aware of the fees that shall be incurred from you for the services you are experiencing from them. And lastly the many features they shall include in the amount of money you shall be paying them.

So next time you fall short of financial knowledge you know whom to refer to.

Read More

5 Tips to Tap a Profitable Day-Trade

Financial instruments are designed to offer monetary gains. One such instrument, which offers substantial amount of financial gain, is stock. Stocks are units of ownership offered by companies to investors. With each share, you own a certain amount of stake in the company.

The movement of share prices is highly driven by speculation, financial news, upcoming deals, and vital information related to company’s whereabouts. Based on this movement, you either end up making a profit or breaking a loss. The people who harness the power of these movements on daily basis are called as day-traders.

Day-traders are individuals who play in share market live for a particular day. If you want to day-trade, then take a look at these 5 tips, which will help you to grab profit by the end of the day.

Tip 1: Get Trained Under Professional

Just because you know how share market works and have punched some profitable deals in the past, you don’t become a day-trader readily. This practice is an art which requires you to learn the hidden aspects of the markets and trade.  Always work under or with a professional before venturing solo into the market.

Tip 2: Hold stocks only for minutes or hours

You do not need to hold stocks till the end of the day, or the next day, in order to make a profit. Move fast and you will certainly explore opportunities.

Tip 3: Don’t jump with the sight of slightest profit

You can profit with stock trades only when you have taken care of brokerage and other expenses. Online share trading in India comes with brokerage fees. Finalize the deal only when all the expenses are covered.

Tip 4: Stick with Your Plan

Do not get influenced with changing numbers or charts. Always stick to your plan to tap assured returns.

Tip 5: Don’t get emotional with Money

Don’t allow your emotions to build up with every trade. Always keep a clear head while trading.

These five tips will surely help you to tap profits in day-trade.

Read More

A Gift For That Kind-of-a-Stranger

Everyone loves receiving gifts and the whole feeling of someone appreciating your efforts you have taken to pick that special item also gives an equally divine pleasure. But what if the gift is to be given to an individual you aren’t much aware of? You really aren’t well versed with any of that individuals attributes to define a perfect gift for the person.

Well worry you not, bringing to you a list of items you can fetch out of any shopping deal to give that kind-of-a stranger.

• Books :

One doesn’t need to be an avid reader to enjoy a good read. There are surely some classics you can pick from the shelf but the latest crop of Indian authors is there with some real engrossing piece of write ups. So pick one and help them to start up their own book shelf if they haven’t started any.

• Flowers :

There is nothing as invigorating as a bunch of fresh flowers. A person of any characteristics will warmly embrace this gift of yours provided he or she is allergic to flowers! This is one of the few best ideas that never fail to create the required magic.

• Photo Frame :

We all love to cherish our own sweet memories. And how about if we can freeze them around us or carry them handy wherever we go. A photo frame quenches all those needs of yours. So go and pick one that catches your fancy.

• Chocolates :

Now there are many who do not really have any affinity for chocolates or at times have their own preferences for them. You can always think of a box of assorted chocolates; milk, dark, Swiss, alcoholic or even dry fruits. There are a lot of variants available in the market. 

• Gift Card :

And after so much of brainstorming you yet aren’t able to decide over anything. Then the latest trend of gift cards can always come for your rescue. It makes it for a real easy option, saves a lot of your time and doesn’t even involve the agenda of choices or dislikes.

Read More

Best Investment Policies for 2014

The new financial year is about to begin and we are already planning how to go about this year with regards to our finances. A list of investment schemes you can channelize your money in.

2014 have begun and we are on our verge to wrap the financial year and begin a fresh new chapter into our own account books. The plans have already begun and for the once who are yet pondering over how the investments should be channelized here is a list of policies you can invest in.

For 2014 in India the best investment schemes mainly comprises of PP Funds, Fix Deposits, Insurance Investments, NSC and Mutual Funds. There are some high end options as well one can make their investment in such as Real Estate, Stock and Equity investment, Gold & Silver investment and NRO fund investment.

Public Provident Funds

PPF is a good option for securing your money for future use. The major reason to opt for this scheme is for the returns it comes with especially for people who fall under the 30% tax bracket. The rate of interest for the returns is as good as 9%. However the investment tenure can be as lengthy as 15 years. But then the good returns with no major risk involved the high tenure can be overlooked upon.

Fixed Deposits

It is probably amongst the most favourite investment avenue in India. The major reason being a reasonable amount of returns with the money locked in safely. The tenure of an FD ranges from 15 days to 10 years. The rate of interest differ from the financial organisation you opt for however on an average a non-senior citizen can acquaint a rate of interest up to 10%. The rate of interest is a little higher for people who are above 60 years of age. The best part about this plan is one doesn’t need to worry about the investment made until the date of maturity. 

Insurance Policy

The best feature of this avenue is that they make you avail of profits that are completely risk free. There are a variety of types that provide different kinds of coverage. There are many insurance houses you can opt for to make the necessary purchases.

Mutual Fund

If you desire to enter the stock market but aren’t really ready to risk your investments with the fluctuations that happen in the market than mutual funds is the best option one can consider. If you create a diverse portfolio comprising of limited investments it can help you generate high returns. It also helps in reducing the risk factor and avoids complete loss with your investments.

National Saving Certificate (NSC)

With tenure of six years and the ease of Government subsidies it happens to be one of the favourite investment plans of people in India. A nominal amount of Rs 100 is even enough to get started with NSC. The rate of interest for NSC is 8% which is calculated twice in a year.

Investment in Gold & Silver

In 2014 opt for silver than gold the reason for it being the appreciation in gold returns is that in parallel with the rupee appreciation. However for the once who cannot think beyond gold for an investment should opt for about 5% to 10%.

Real Estate

It has always been the hot option for many investors. But the ever escalating price of property rates has even made it tough for the rich to give it a shot. It is therefore advisable to not venture in to real estates in the year 2014.

So get set and begin your financial year on a good note.

Read More

How important is the latest NAV to your Investment?

Known to reduce the amount that an investor gets the fees that investors have to pay play a very important role in the amount of returns that are received. This may include different charges such as transaction fees, sales charges, account fees, etc.

Investing in mutual funds is known to be the most common form of investment that is made in the stock market.

Some of the different types of fees and expenses that are involved in the same include:

1) Sales charges

There may be a sales charge which is imposed when either purchasing or selling different securities/units of a share of a particular fund. There are different types of sales charges which may include front-end load or initial sales charge (ISC), back-end load or deferred sales charge (DSC), low load or low sales charge (LSC) or even no load.

2) Transaction fees such as switch fees or short-term trading fees.

3) Account fees such as registered plan fees or minimum account balance fees.

4) Fund expenses such as the fees or expenses that a fund contributes to be deducted from the fund’s assets before the returns are calculated or even published.

This may also include management fees, operating expenses (or even fixed administration fees), trailing commissions such as those paid from management fees, trading costs or even incentive fees.

    

Management fees as well as operating expenses (MER): All of the operating expenses or management fees are known to contribute to a fund’s management expense ratio, which is also known as MER. This can range from 1% to 3%.  These fees are known to include overseeing the fund, the hiring a portfolio manager to make the investment decisions and hiring of other company/companies to assist in the administration of the fund.

The operating expenses include expenses such as legal fees, audit fees, bookkeeping and administrative fees, audit fees and marketing costs.

These funds all have a net asset value (NAV) which refers to the market value of the fund’s holding without adding the liabilities of the fund (net liabilities). This value is computed at the end of the day. There are certain funds which are known to compute their NAV’s more than once time per day.  Their turnover rate is known to be an indication of the ‘volume’ of the particular funds securities trading. It is easy to find out the latest NAV online from the website of a particular financial company. There are plenty of trading portals which are also available online where people can perform their different trading activities.

There are many different advantages of investing in different types of mutual funds. Some of the different advantages include increased diversification, daily liquidity, professional investment management, ability to participate in investments which are available only to larger investors, convenience and service and ease of comparison.

When investing in these types of funds there is a tremendous amount of flexibility as well as funds to choose from. Some of these may include equity funds, balanced mutual funds and bond funds. 

Read More