POLITICAL: The capital market of India is very vulnerable. India has been politically instable in the past but it is a little politically stable now-a-days.the political instability of the country has a very strong impact on the capital market. The share market of India changes as the political changes took place. The BSE Index, SENSEX goes up and down with any kind of small and big political news, like, if there is news that a particular political party has withdrawn its support from the ruling party, and then the capital market will go down with a bang. The capital market of India is too weak and is based on speculations. The political stability of the country is very important for the stability and growth of capital market in India. The political imbalance or balance of the country is the major factor in deciding the capital market of India. The political Continue reading
Investment Management
The Clients of Asset Management Firms
Typically, asset management firms are categorized according to the kind of clients they serve. Clients generally fall into one of three categories: (1) mutual funds (or retail), (2) institutional investors, or (3) high net worth. Some firms specialize in one of the three components, but most participate in all three. Asset management firms usually assemble these three areas as distinct and separate divisions within the company. It is critical that you understand the differences between these client types; job descriptions vary depending on the client type. For instance, a portfolio manager for high-net-worth individuals has an inherently different focus than one representing institutional clients. A marketing professional working for a mutual fund has a vastly different job than one handling pensions for an investment management firm. 1. Mutual Funds Mutual funds are investment vehicles for individual investors who are typically below the status of high net worth (we will discuss Continue reading
Market-Neutral Alternative Funds: Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages of Market-Neutral Alternative Funds One of the vital advantages characteristic of market-neutral alternative funds is the lowest correlation rate compared to other assets. Even though the return pattern would change for the organization over time, it would still have the opportunity to mitigate risks by combining different strategies based on market-neutral alternative funds. Investment options are not being seen as the essential way of creating a fortune in this case because investors do not associate themselves with fortunes. This is usually done to reduce the impact of the broader market on the organization and create a cushion for the company that would protect the lower levels of correlation from increasing drastically. Overall, market-neutral alternative funds are advantageous for correlation rates because they broaden the list of asset classes that are eligible for improvement. A decreased level of volatility is another benefit typical of market-neutral alternative funds. Investment lineups of Continue reading
Bonus Issue of Shares – Meaning, Benefits and Motives
BONUS ISSUE OF SHARES When we invest the share capital in a business, we do so with the expectation of getting back not only our invested capital, but also a proportionate share of the surplus generated from operations, after all the other stakeholders have been paid their dues. Thus, collectively the business owes its shareholders, their invested capital as well as the surplus generated from operations. But in reality, while the business may pay us annual dividends, seldom is this surplus fully distributed away as dividends. Thus, the surplus which is retained in the business is still owed to us. This retained surplus is also reflected as retained earnings or reserves in the Balance sheet of a company. Together, share capital and reserves are known as equity or the net worth of a company. Over a period of time, the retained earnings of a firm Continue reading
Portfolio Diversification with a Number of Securities
The benefits from diversification increase, as more and more securities with less than perfectly positively correlated returns are included in the portfolio. As the number of securities added to a portfolio increases, the standard deviation of the portfolio becomes smaller and smaller. Hence an investor can make the portfolio risk arbitrarily small by including a large number of securities with negative or zero correlation in the portfolio. But in reality, no securities show negative or even zero correlation. Typically, securities show some positive correlation, which is above zero but less than the perfectly positive value (+1). As a result, diversification (that is, adding securities to a portfolio) results in some reduction in total portfolio risk but not in complete elimination of risk. Moreover, the effects of diversification are exhausted fairly rapidly. That is, most of the reduction in portfolio standard deviation occurs by the time the portfolio size increases to Continue reading
Difference Between Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Pension Schemes
Pension is a fund that is built during the working life of the employee and then used to secure the income after retirement. These funds can be operated by employer (occupational pension) who invests over time or alternatively employee can invest in a fund of their choice (private pension scheme). Both of these schemes generate income after retirement. Pension schemes are of two major types: Defined Benefit Scheme Defined Contribution Scheme 1. Defined Benefit Scheme Defined benefit scheme is a type of pension scheme which ensures a particular level of income/benefit after retirement. Most of the cost of the benefit and risk of the investment is borne by the employer however in the contributory define benefit scheme employees also make compulsory contributions. The pension amount is either calculated on the bases of the final salary of the employee or depend upon the average earnings of the employee throughout his employment Continue reading