There are two types of debt-based passive funds in India. (1) Target Maturity Funds, which would buy and hold an index portfolio and hold it until maturity, thereby reducing interest rate risk at the time of withdrawal. The credit risk in funds is also relatively low as they typically invest in gilts and state development…
Continue reading →This is an index fund screener based on tracking error and returns difference wrt benchmarks (aka tracking difference). The screener will help users evaluate how efficiently an index fund has tracked its underlying benchmark. It will also help a understand how tracking a midcap index or the Nifty 100, 500 is quite different from tracking…
Continue reading →Over the past few weeks, several readers have asked us if this is a good time to buy gilt funds, corporate bond funds, or long-duration debt funds as the interest rate cycle appears to have peaked and is all set to move down — a discussion. When RBI starts decreasing the overnight rate, gradually, the…
Continue reading →Many organisations part of the EPFO are abuzz with discussions and calculations on higher EPS pensions following the Supreme Court’s verdict. Many have even provided deadlines to employees currently in service to opt for a higher EPS pension by transferring a significant portion of their EPF corpus to the EPS. However, at the time of…
Continue reading →This is an ETF screener based on tracking errors and tracking differences (ETF return minus index return). The screener will help users evaluate how efficiently an ETF has tracked its underlying benchmark. The tracking error is the ETF’s standard deviation minus index monthly return differences. The lower the tracking error, the more efficient the ETF…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “My question is about the significance of ELSS funds in the future due to the new tax regime. Can we continue investing in these funds?” Budget 2023 has made the new tax regime the default scheme with an option to continue using the old scheme. The new regime has significant tax cuts…
Continue reading →We have received many questions on the tax slabs for senior citizens in the revised new tax regime from 1st April 2023. The answer is quite simple! The new tax regime does not distinguish among individuals, senior citizens, super senior citizens and HUFs. All of them get taxed at the same rate! The new tax…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “I am 32 years old, an IT employee, and recently we had a new baby boy. I wanted to thank you first for your continuous financial lessons, which have changed my thoughts on personal finance. I have one crore term insurance and 10 lakh medical insurance and below MF investments.” “PPFAS Tax…
Continue reading →A reader asks, ” I am 45 years old with a corpus of around 2.5cr distributed across equity (MFs + stocks) and fixed assets (Bank Savings+Debt Funds+SGB+EPF). I worked for a niche media industry and lost my job in 2020 when Covid hit.” “With few opportunities locally, finding suitable positions has been difficult, especially with…
Continue reading →Budget 2023 has made the new tax regime the default scheme with an option to continue using the old scheme. The new regime has significant tax cuts with no tax on income of up to Rs 7 lakhs (net taxable). To appreciate the gravity of these changes, let us consider an example using the New Tax…
Continue reading →The freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener (Feb 2023) is now available. Use it to screen for consistently performing equity mutual funds. You can screen based on fund category & benchmark and spot mutual funds with a higher return than a benchmark at a lower risk. Inside, you get discounted links to our robo advisory…
Continue reading →Budge 2023 has proposed to remove the double tax deduction benefit associated with home loan interest. We all know that the interest component of a home loan can be claimed as a deduction up to a maximum of Rs. two lakhs under section 24. When the property is sold, the entire interest component, whether claimed…
Continue reading →In this article, we address the concerns of many readers who want to know if they should exit Nifty Next 50 index funds or ETFs because of the looming Adani crisis. As of Jan 31st 2023, the Nifty Next 50 holds three Adani stocks. Adani Green Energy Ltd. 1.73% Adani Transmission Ltd. 2% Adani Total…
Continue reading →In response to our recent article – Tax deductions available in the New Tax Regime from 1st April 2023 – a reader wants to know if the employer contributions made to the EPF are taxable in the new tax regime from 1st April 2023. Employer contributions to the EPF are not part of an employee’s salary….
Continue reading →This article explains how to calculate the revised EPS pension assuming the contribution is 8.33% of their basic + DA. After the recent supreme court ruling on the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS), EPFO subscribers, as of 1st Sep 2014, can retrospectively contribute 8.33% of their basic + DA to the EPS via a deduction from…
Continue reading →