Category: General

Launching 100moneyactions.com – Personal Finance Action Revolution BEGINS Today

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

Guys – It has been 5 years now spreading personal finance education through writing blog articles, writing books on personal finance, leading workshop in different cities. We started very small and have reached so far only because of your trust and partnership. Every day we (I and Nandish) wake-up with one thought in our mind “How can we help people to live an awesome financial life?”


 
Enroll for 100moneyactions Program NOW >>

It’s time to look at what is exactly happening in your financial life?

I’ve always been fascinated by Socrates’ bold statement that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” The statement holds a lot of value and meaning in it, it has acted like a wake-up call to me. I examine my financial life every year very closely and my personal finance actions.I want you also to examine your financial life and your actions. Look at what is going on in your financial life, How many articles you marked as important but you never found time to read them, How many personal finance actions you have been procrastinating, how many times you told yourself it’s high time I need to get serious as an investor. Get honest with yourself as that is the first requirement to be a part of personal finance action revolution.

You are committed but then why you are not able to take actions?

It is not that you are not committed but as life is dynamic you are always surrounded by multiple responsibilities in life. You play different roles in life and one of the role you play is of an investor. One of the thing we have found to be missing is a STRUCTURE. Yes, to move from point A to Point B you need a structure without that you will not be able to become effective. We have created a wonderful personal finance structure for you that will help you, motivate you and empower you to take actions in your financial life. It will not help you to complete 10, 20 or 50 actions but it will help you to complete 100 money actions in your financial life.

In our experience Personal finance is NOT about knowing things, it is about getting things done !

A lot of people think they need to have a lot of knowledge to take actions in their financial life. Because of this they start to expand their knowledge domain, they start subscribing on different websites and blogs, start to buy different books but eventually due to lack of structure they are not able to take required actions in their financial life. 100 money actions program is about getting things done, it is about expanding your action domain and it is about breaking your habit of procrastination.

What Existing Users are Saying about 100moneyactions.com

100MoneyActions is a real boon for people like me who are charged up and convinced to improve their financial life and take it to next level. Thanks to Jagoinvestor’s prolific pioneers Manish Chauhan and Nandish Desai for launching such a beautiful concept that is filled of actions. I have started recently with this program and I can sense the positivity that it has started to bring in, in my financial life. 100MoneyActions provides an excellent structure that is built on top of one critical thing “ACTION” and not just actions but “CORRECT POWERFUL ACTIONS”.

I believe that if I take all those 100 actions (believe me it is not as easy as you can read it ) my financial life will move from where it is now towards positivity. I believe that 100MoneyActions will bring in structure and actions that is missing in my financial life. And I wish that it will do the same to many more like me! Big thanks to this concept and all the best to the program/concept. I am sure it will be a great success.

Prasad Kulkarni
IT Professional
Pune

 

100 money actions is one of the best thing that has happened to me. This is one program which I am following very religiously over the last 2 weeks. After reading so much on Jagoinvestor blog I used to think that my all fandas related to investment instruments, finance management etc are in place but still I was not sure if I am doing everything right or I am taking enough actions to put the plan on track. This program is helping me in structuring my thoughts, making me aware about the smallest of gaps, consolidating literally everything.

Today I am using the sheets of this program extensively to track the progress of my actions which I am supposed to do within the defined timelines. While your blog and its articles are very informative and in plain English for a layman, this program is a next step to identify, structure and follow the actions which you always want to take. I am so thankful that I came in contact with you guys. Thanks Manish & Nandish. Cheers!

Anuj Gupta
IT Professional, Microsoft
Delhi & NCR

 

What you get on JOINING this ACTION REVOLUTION ?

  • PLEDGE Sheet (Your commitment with yourself)
  • 100 Investigative Questionnaire (GAP Analysis)
  • Well designed ACTION document that helps you to complete 100 actions
  • Ready Reckoner List of Financial Products
  • Simple Structure to complete 100 money actions
  • Supporting Audio Files
  • Personal Finance Tools and templates where required
  • Useful Ebooks, Study material and resources for support

What it takes to be a part of this ACTION REVOLUTION ?

It takes commitment to be a part of this ACTION Revolution. You will have to trust the structure of this program. If you can make a commitment you will complete all 100 actions you can be a part of this revolution. Anything free has no value so it calls for a small financial commitment to be a part of this program.

Visit 100 money actions website and get more idea on how you can be a part of this personal finance action revolution. From the bottom of our heart we invite you to be a part of this ACTION REVOLUTION. Once you complete these 100 actions in your financial life, your financial life will not be the same and THAT IS OUR PROMISE TO YOU.

Now, anything free has no value so we decided to keep a small fee to be a part of this action revolution which is Rs. 1999/- only.( This fee is to generate commitment in you). Don’t let your concerns get in your way, don’t let the conversation of money get in your way as your Financial life is Priceless. Paying Rs 1,999 will not make you bankrupt but not taking actions will surely lead you to bankruptcy

Enroll for 100moneyactions Program NOW >>

PPFAS Enters Mutual Fund Business with “PPFAS Long Term Value Fund”

Posted on by Jagoinvestor
You must have heard the name of Parag Parikh, the veteran who has spend decades in the Indian stock markets. He runs PPFAS (Parag Parikh Financial advisory services) . They have been running PMS scheme for quite a while now, since 1996!. They have been practicing value investing from decades and now they have decided to enter the mutual fund space, not just as another also ran, but with a very clear focus. They want value investing to be the prime focus of investing in equities and have come up with “PPFAS Long Term Value Fund”. SEBI has cleared it and it will launch by next month!

PPFAS Mutual Funds

So, I decided to directly catch Rajeev Thakkar , CEO & Fund Manager of PPFAS Mutual Fund to answer few questions for our readers.  This should give us a clear idea of their vision. Those of you, who would really like to invest in equities for a very long term like 10-12 yrs, can place your bets if you find you are interested.

Here are few questions I asked Rajeev Thakkar (he has been managing the PMS for PPFAS since 2003).

1. A lot of investors still do not know about PPFAS . Would you like to share its history?

PPFAS Ltd. our Sponsor, was incorporated in 1992. Prior to that, our Chairman, Mr. Parag Parikh, ran a proprietary organisation from 1979. It was one of the earliest recipients of the Portfolio Management Service (PMS) licence, having secured it in 1995.

Over the years, it has transformed itself from being a stock and fixed income brokerage house to a reputed Portfolio Manager and currently manages over Rs. 300 crores in its flagship scheme. It has now embarked on the next step in asset management by sponsoring PPFAS Mutual Fund.

2. Why PPFAS entered Mutual funds when you already had a successful PMS ?

The main reasons behind this move are –

a) Over the years, the landscape for PMS has become progressively challenging for the investor. A hike in the minimum ticket size and increasingly tedious account opening procedures are two examples.

b) A PMS product is also perceived to be an opaque one – though we can proudly say that we defy this perception by disclosing various key data points on our sponsor’s website [www.ppfas.com].

c) Tax treatment of capital gains in a PMS product has also been a point of contention, subject to various interpretations based on the nature and frequency of the transactions .

On the other hand, a mutual fund is a far more regulated and transparent investment vehicle as compared to a Portfolio Management Scheme. Unlike PMS schemes, a mutual fund scheme’s performance, portfolio etc. is tracked by independent research agencies on a regular basis. This helps an investor in making comparisons and allocating capital accordingly. It scores on the operational front too. For instance, each time a client opts for a PMS scheme he/she has to undergo
tedious and time-consuming Know-Your-Client (KYC) related formalities.

This can be obviated in case of a mutual fund, where one KYC / KRA number is valid across all mutual funds. An investor is also able to deploy smaller amounts of capital in a mutual fund scheme. This is especially helpful when they are testing the waters. This latitude is all the more useful, now that the minimum initial corpus for a PMS account has been raised from Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 25 lakhs.

For fund managers too, a mutual fund is operationally easier to manage as it does not call for segregation of individual accounts, separate order placement etc. Unlike a PMS scheme, a mutual fund scheme is treated as a pass-through vehicle, thereby making it a more tax-efficient vehicle for investors.

3. Can you share why you have come up with just a single equity fund? Won’t you come up with 5-10 funds ?

Yes. In an age of ‘the more the merrier’ we walk alone. Others may launch an array of equity schemes with narrowly focussed objectives, but we believe, this leads to needless duplication and confusion.

PPFAS Long Term Value Fund’s mandate permits it to invest in companies, unfettered by any self-imposed limitations with regard to market capitalisation or geography. We believe that if our investors’ objectives can be met through one scheme there is no need to launch a slew of them. Hence it will be our only offering in the equity segment.

4. What are the top 3 things which you feel will be different with PPFAS LTEF and other equity funds in market? What is the value proposition you are offering?

The top three differences between us and the others is –

  • We will be the first mutual fund to disclose the holdings of key employees of PPFAS Mutual Fund in the scheme.
  • As mentioned above, we will launch only one scheme in the equity segment.
  • On our website (amc.ppfas.com) we have explicitly mentioned the kind of investors, we do not want. I do not know of any other mutual fund which actively discourages the wrong kind of investors from investing in its schemes.

Apart from these, there are a few more differences which have been outlined on our website

5. As It is a new entry in mutual funds, a lot of investors might want to wait and watch for the performance of your NFO. What do you have to say about it?

Sure… We are cognizant of that.

That is why we are not hard-selling our scheme through the mainstream media at this juncture. Also, that is why we have not approached the national distributors / banks. Only a few distributors (currently 20) who believe in our approach have signed up with us.

Many key investors in the PMS scheme of our Sponsor, have agreed to migrate to ‘PPFAS Long Term Value Fund.’ They will form the nucleus of our scheme. Besides these, we have received over 300 expressions of interest from new investors through our website and other sources. Some of them may invest either at the New Fund Offer stage or soon thereafter.

We envisage greater interest among the distributor community after a couple of years, once we have built a track record and are actively tracked by reputed agencies such as Morningstar and Value Research.

6. I am sure a lot of investors might want to invest through DIRECT route now. How can some one invest easily with PPFAS, because right now I suppose you do not have a lot of offices across India or in various cities? 

We are actively promoting the benefits of investing through the Direct Plan, positioning it as a cost-effective mode of investment. Investors can choose between

The online option – via our website

OR

The offline option – Investors can submit the duly filled forms either at our Corporate Office in Fort, Mumbai or at any of the offices of our registrar, CAMS, who will double up as Points of Collection. CAMS has a very good network of offices India-wide.

7. What is your outlook for next 10-20 yrs for equity markets? I am asking you this, because you have come up with a equity fund, saying that it’s a long term fund.

While our scheme stresses on the long-term it does not necessarily mean that we have any strong view on the state of the overall stock market. Our premise is that investment-worthy stocks will be available irrespective of index levels and we prefer to concentrate on that aspect, rather than crystal-gaze.

Having said that, we obviously believe that equities form an important constituent in the portfolios of most investors now and over the coming decades and as a corollary, you could infer that we are positive on the future prospects of equities in general.

8. Anything else you would like to tell our readers?

Just like the boilerplate which states ‘Read the offer document carefully before investing’ we urge investors to read the contents of our website carefully and then decide whether you would like to invest with us or not.

While we cannot guarantee you any returns owing to the volatility inherent in equities, we will manage your money prudently, based on the time-tested principles of value investing, and play a role in helping you achieve your long-term financial goals. We are here for the long-term and our journey is just beginning. You could join us if you believe in our method of money management.

Scheme Information Document – PPFAS Long Term Value Fund

Here is the Scheme Information document of PPFAS Long Term Value Fund attached below.

Conclusion

While there are tons of AMCs in India, most of them focus on too many funds. PPFAS mutual funds seem to be very focused on what they believe in and seem to be on the path to evolve as a fund house that’ll be known for value investing. In a recent interview with firstport, Mr. Parag Parikh is sharing how they are themselves going to put their own money into the fund, so that there is inherent accountability and committment.

About 29 years ago, I started off as a broker and we were the first brokers to have a research department. That was the competitive edge which I wanted to get the institutional business, because that was cornered by about 12-13 brokers. As far as broking was concerned, we always believed money management is a profession rather than a business. When it is a profession, you do what is good for the client. But when it turns into a business, you do what the business demands.

Unfortunately, in mutual funds today you have this mad craze for getting assets under management. You have marketing teams, distributors. You pay them anything to get the money. From our MF’s point of view, we were professionals and we will keep it that way and run the MF as professionals. That’s the idea.

Ultimately, when you invest in our fund, what are you looking at? Returns. That is where we want to be game-changers. Secondly, what is your commitment to a fund? Today, me, Rajeev (Thakkar, CEO of PPFAS AMC) and all our senior people are going to make our own equity investments through the fund. We have to believe in what we’re doing. Whatever equity investments we have in the market, we’d rather put that in the fund.

Are you going to invest in PPFAS mutual funds ? Anyone !

Launching our 3rd book “11 principles to achieve Financial Freedom” – By Nandish Desai

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

We are extremely delighted to share the news about the launch of our 3rd book – “11 principles to achieve financial freedom”, which is written by Nandish Desai and published by CNBC18. I consider this book as a masterpiece work by Nandish, which presents a totally new dimension to investors on how to think about financial freedom and how to step by step improve their mindset and thinking beyond the traditional thinking and ideologies when it comes to money.

When Nandish started writing the book, we brainstormed many times as we wanted to make sure the book becomes a gem of the lifetime. I read the book at every stage and re-read it 3-4 times after it was completed (as part of proof reading and to check things are fine) and every time I personally got so much learning and value out of it. I think every investor who will not read this book will loose some thing amazing in his life.

11 Principles to Achieve Financial Freedom - Personal Finance Book by Nandish Desai
Pre order Book

What is the Book all about – “Forward” from me

The best way to give you an idea about what this book is all about, I am putting the “Forward” section which is written by me specially for the book. It will clearly give you the understanding of what this book is all about.

Right now, what you are holding in your hands is not just a book, but years of effort and creation. Nandish and I started our career making financial plans and somewhere we started to realize that many investors’ financial life was changing after having a financial plan in their life. After a lot of research, we concluded that a financial plan was just one part of the process and other elements were required to live an awesome financial life. This book is about those elements that we have discovered over time.

We challenged the traditional financial planning process a few years ago and that is how our financial coaching program came into existence. This book is based on our financial coaching program that we have conducted with over 100 people spread across the globe.

With this book, we invite each investor to look beyond financial products and returns, and look at wealth creation as a game. Most investors make investments out of compulsion and out of need; the core message of this book is to see wealth creation as a project and will teach you how to fall in love with the process of wealth creation.
There are books that follow the trend and there are some books that set the trend. This book falls in the latter category; it is here to set the trend in the personal finance world.

Discovering who you are as an investor

Most investors are in search of solutions and answers; this book is not about getting answers, but about discovering who you are as an investor and gaining insights on how you can connect with your true wealth.
Nandish has written this book after working with hundreds of people. I am sure this book has the power to change your financial life; to some it will act as a wake up call, to some it will help them discover who they are as an investor, to some it will help them add different dimensions to their financial life.

While I was going through the initial draft of this book, I was convinced that this book would be a game changer not only for investors but also for financial planners. This book is simple and yet powerful and it will leave a deep impact on you as an investor.

There is a lot of hype around the words “personal finance” and “money” out in the world. While you are reading, this book will teach you to fall in love with the process of wealth creation.

Working with a Financial Coach

The narrator of this book is Sam, an IT professional based in Mumbai, who shares his experience of working with a financial coach. This book is not a story but it has conversations between Sam who is a lost, confused and directionless investor and his financial coach. They both meet and Sam participates in a program called the “90 Day Money Game.” The coach invites Sam to work with him for the next 90 days. The money game has 11 exciting levels that span the next 90 days.

Sam is a confused investor full of fear with a pessimistic view about his financial life before meeting his coach. But with each passing level, as his financial coach teaches Sam, his life starts changing as he implements the elements of living a great financial life and incorporates changes in his thinking and attitude towards various things. As Sam starts experiencing a big shift in his financial life, he starts to experience a new level of enthusiasm, positivity and motivation. With each passing level, Sam identifies why his financial life was a mess and how his whole life offers great possibilities.

The book teaches that an upgrade is always available in life. At the end of the 90 Day Money Game program, Sam is now a totally new Sam. He calls this his journey from Sam 1.0 to Sam 2.0.

If you also feel that you need direction, motivation and some exciting new ideas in your financial life and you want to move towards financial freedom, this book is for you. Nandish is an amazing financial coach in real life who has worked with hundreds of investors and changed their lives. Now it’s your turn!

11 levels inside the book

The book is beautifully written where the coach takes a person called Sam through 11 levels, each of which fuels a new thought inside the investor mind and opens up his thinking level in a totally new direction. Here are those 11 levels (chapter names), may be you get some idea about them by name of the chapters.


[table]

Level 1 Laying a strong foundation
Level 2 Creating new relationship with money
Level 3 Investigation begins
Level 4 The game changers
Level 5 Don’t set goals, set yourself
Level 6 Create system to create wealth
Level 7 Mastering game of financial freedom
Level 8 Active income vs. passive income
Level 9 How wealth is created
Level 10 How to increase your income
Level 11 Make each year your best financial year

[/table]

A small taste of the book content

Let me share with you 1-2 pages content from the book middle chapter, so that you can get a taste of the book

Personal finance is a level 3 promise

My coach said that 90 Day Money Game is all about making and keeping promises. Personal finance is not about gathering knowledge; it is a game of promises and actions.He taught me three levels of promises, which helped me immensely. Let me share what he taught me. He asked me to close my eyes and asked me three questions.

How good you are at keeping your professional promises?

I replied, “I am extremely good at keeping my professional promises.”

How good you are at keeping your personal promises? (With family and friends)

I replied, “I am not that great at keeping my personal promises. I keep them at times and break them at times.”

And how good you are with promises that you make with your own self?

I replied, “I am very bad in this area. I have a series of broken promises.” This question made me feel very guilty as I could see many such broken promises in my life.

He then asked me to open my eyes. He wrote on a white board


[table]

Level One  Professional promises  You keep them always
Level Two  Promises made to family members  You keep them at times
Level Three  Promises made with self  You break them all the time

[/table]

Professional promises: He said, “Sam you are good at keeping your professional promises, when a new task is assigned in your professional life, you really make sure that you give your best. Your colleagues see you as a committed person. You feel so proud when your company and its people see you as a committed person. You really do whatever it takes to fulfill your professional work commitments. At times you become a warrior, you work extra hours, take your work home but you make sure that the promises are kept.”

Promises made to family members: He asked me whether I had broken promises with my family members. My answer was “yes.” I could see that I have not taken my personal promises seriously the way I was with my professional promises. I could see the GAP between both levels.

Promises with self: This really came as a shock to me as he asked me how many broken promises I have with my own self. I could not even count them, as they were so many. I could see myself as a master killer when it comes to breaking promises with self. Every day I used to make a promise of waking up early and going for a morning jog but never went.

3 levels of promises

My coach said, “You are good with your professional commitments, you are ok with your family or personal commitments and you are the worst when it comes to making and keeping promises with self.”

Going for exercise every day and personal finance actions falls in third category where as an investor you need to make promises with yourself and then complete them. At a family get together or in any business conference no one will ever ask you whether you are consistent with your investments or not. No one will ever ask you whether you are paying your premiums or making your investments on time or not.

I got a very important lesson that quality of my financial life depends on how many promises I make and keep with myself.

He said, “Every time you have a broken promise, you are going away from your cheese.”

This was a big lesson for me, which I wrote in my wealth journal.

Learning – Personal finance is all about making and keeping promises

Want to join Action Revolution ?

For those who are promising themselves that they will take some actions in their financial life, we are coming up with an amazing action oriented program which we are calling as “Action Revolution”, launching on 1st May – Be on our email list to get the first chance to register for it. CLICK HERE

This book is 3rd one from jagoinvestor team . We have also published 2 other books . You can look at our books page to get all information about the 3 books.

Pay Rs 50,000 or buy this book

Nandish has worked with over 100+ coaching clients (we offer a program called financial coaching at Rs 50,000 at the moment). This is the best way to get exposed to what is it to work with a financial coach personally. So I would say, you should not even think for a moment and grab this book asap.

Is filing FIR compulsory for issuing duplicate passbook in PSU Banks?

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

Ayush lost his SBI bank account passbook and faced some issues from SBI bank, which I thought should be shared with others . Here is what happened with him. Read it directly from him (through our jagoinvestor forum)

Hello everyone. I recently lost my SBI savings account passbook unfortunately somewhere in my home. When i approached the branch, they said i need to file an FIR in the nearest Police Station. They said without it they will not issue me a duplicate passbook. When i went to the Police Station, after making me wait for an hour, officers were asking me for a bribe to file an FIR. : ) They were also asking for my complete account and other personal details. I hesitated to disclose any personal details to anyone. I thought i should avoid having an argument with them. So i came back home without filing an FIR. Isn’t it too much to ask for, for just issuing a simple duplicate passbook?

I also have accounts with HDFC and ICICI Bank, one for expenses and the other one for savings and investments. In HDFC Bank, they issue the passbook on the same day in case of loss of passbook. You just have to give a written application to them and its done within few minutes. Now i am thinking of leaving the SBI account dormant after leaving the balance to zero. It is so much of a headache. : ) I only opened the savings account with SBI because they have the best network of ATMs in the country. Is filing FIR in Police Station compulsory for issuing a duplicate passbook?

Is FIR really required to claim the duplicate Passbook Copy ?

The answer is NO .

There is no requirement like that . As soon as I read Ayush question on our forum, I was very clear that SBI employees whom he contacted just didn’t wanted to work and wanted to have an easy day in office, so they misguided him by telling that he needs to have a policy FIR for this, which actually worked ! and Ayush was back to home frustrated, promising himself that enough is enough and he does not want to SBI bank account at all. I feel SBI needs to seriously work on its employees and train them on “Customer Handling” .

Procedure to get the duplicate passbook from bank

The process is as simple as anything . Pattu (very active on our forum) shares 

I have lost my SBI passbook twice and got it replaced. There is no such rule. These days they have our photo and signature stored in the computer. So if the account holder turns up and gives a request for new passbook they will have to comply.

Even Naveen shares his parents experience 

Let me share my exp with SBH , where both my parents have sb accounts. My father needs passbook entries because he is not comfortable with debit card transactions and not having much knowledge about internet etc… He kept both passbooks at some location and couldn’t recollect where they are. Later, i have been to SBH branch and paid a challan paying slip( below 50 I remember 3yrs back) for both the accounts and submitted receipts to clerk, where i have been told to come at 4 pm later on the same day with both my mom and dad passport size photos…

Passbooks are ready and photos are pasted and stamped with bank seal and submitted to me on the evening itself. I felt happy for the service bcos my parents cant travel long to do this by themselves..

Give them RTI shock !

I had explained earliar how you can use RTI against PSU banks to get any kind of information and that’s exactly I suggested him. I suspect that SBI guy who told him that was not in the mood to work that day and just wants to tell you things which will make sure his work decreases.  I would say go to the SBI bank branch and tell that officer that you filed a RTI and put his officer name and asked them that what this officer is telling me is really required or not and RTI reply said that – There is no requirement like that . Demand him to meet bank manager and confirm it.

Finally what happened ?

After we all helped this guy on forum, he went back to bank branch and applied all that we told him. This time it worked and here is what happened –

 I went again to the branch and this time the same lady officer who was persistent for filing an FIR said that it is not compulsory. I was amazed by her reply. I also felt angry that i have to make two trips to the bank for this. The lady officer said, i have to talk to the Branch Manager in this regard and if he agrees, she will issue me the duplicate passbook. So i waited for another 1 hour since the Branch Manager was not in his room. When he didn’t came for another 15 minutes, i left for home. So i have to make another trip to the bank. This time i will directly talk to the Branch Manager and if he doesn’t agrees i am done with the bank. I will leave the account dormant after leaving the balance to zero. So much for issuing a simple passbook. : )

What do you think about this incident ? Do you feel PSU banks exploit customers ? Any personal cases ?

Budget 2013 highlights – Not much for investors this time

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

Budget 2013 was much awaited, however it did not excite investors as there was nothing much for them. It was a flopshow for investors considering they had high expectations from finance minister. Here is a quick summary for things which you should know

Budget 2013 highlights

1. No Change in Tax Slabs

There was no change in tax slabs . Finance Minister said that the changes happened just last year and it was not possible for any increase this year. I could clearly see the discomfort in his voice when he said that. So no tax till Rs 2 lacs , 10% tax between 2-5 lacs, 20% between 5-10 lacs and 30% tax for above 10 lacs.

2. Rs 2,000 credit back for lower income group 1.8 crore taxpayers to benefit.

While there is no change in slabs, A Rs 2,000 credit back will be given to income tax payers in lower income group of Rs 2-5 lacs. I assume that you will pay Rs 2,000 less than your actual tax due to this. You can call it as a discount of Rs 2,000 in tax payment this time 🙂 .

3. Inflation Linked Bonds to be introduced

They are going to introduce something called as Inflation Linked Bonds, which will help you save your money in instruments which will match the returns with inflation . A lot of investors look at something on this kind, What do you feel ?

4. Claim upto Rs 2.5 lacs as tax exemption if home loan less than Rs 25 lacs in 2013-14

If you are planning to take a home loan of less than Rs 25 lacs, you can claim an extra deduction of Rs 1 lac in interest, over and above the 1.5 lacs, but only for year 2013-14 , not in all years. And this is applicable on fresh home loans, not on existing loans.

5. Service tax to be levied on AC restaurants of all kinds

Earlier, service tax was applicable for those AC restaurants which served liquor, but now service tax is applicable on all kind of AC restaurants, So your next eating out is going to be more costly!

6. 1% TDS on Real Estate Sale of Rs 50 lacs

For any Real estate transaction (other than Agricultural land) , the seller has to pay the TDS of 1% on the transaction amount if its more than 50 lacs. So if you sell a flat worth Rs 80 lacs, you will have to pay a TDS of 80,000.

7. RGESS first time investors income limit increased to 12 lacs

Earlier, RGESS scheme was only available to those investors whose taxable income is below 10 lacs, but now its increased to 12 lacs. Anyways, I feel RGESS is too complicated.

8. Reduction of STT on Derivatives , ETF’s and Mutual Funds

Trading in Equity, buying ETF’s and mutual funds would be a little cheaper. STT has been reduced in equity futures to 0.01%. MF redemptions from 0.25% to 0.001%. ETF purchases from 0.1% to 0.001% . So you can expect a minor reduction in your costs.

9.  Dividend Distribution Tax on Debt Mutual Funds Hiked to 25%

Earlier only money market debt funds and liquid funds had a DDT of 25% , and rest other kind of non-equity funds had a DDT of 12.5% only, but now its going to be 25% DDT for all kind of debt mutual funds. So, if you have invested in MIP with dividend option, their will be more DDT paid on dividends by AMC and your NAV will down more than earlier . More on Deepak Shenoy’s Blog

10.  Mobiles, High end SUV car’s are expensive

Due to increase in excise duty. you can expect mobile phones, set top boxes and high end SUV car to be more expensive.

What do you think about this budget ?

What do you think about this budget? Did you expect a lot of things from this budget? Apart from these there are lot of other updates as well, but I think these 10 points are enough to know for investors and one more thing . Direct Tax Code (DTC) seems to be taking shape and might be there next year 🙂

Sheconomy – The Wise Women Investor (TV Show by DSP BlackRock)

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

DSP Blackrock Mutual Funds have started a Women Financial Literacy called – Sheconomy , which is a TV initiative under their Winvestor program in association with CNBC TV 18. The aim of the initiative is to guide independent women to adopt wealth creation strategies by answering their queries on personal finance and helps them become informed investors.

Sheconomy - A women financial literacy Initiative

The show launched on 12th Jan 2013 with a panel discussion featuring a prominent matrimonial lawyer and a female psychologist who passionately believe that women must take care of their own finances. This is followed by seven episodes with various clusters of women such as homemakers, women entrepreneurs, working women, young mothers, senior citizens, fresh graduates and even a special episode with men and women talking to our Winvisors who answer queries and provide investment advice. The last episode would also be a panel discussion with some prominent women who passionately believe in the idea, share their views and experiences and talk about why they feel women need to be in charge of their own financial future.

The show airs every Saturday at 6 pm and is repeated at 4 pm on Sunday on CNBC TV 18. All the women investors should watch these shows if they want to learn more about personal finance and managing money. We feel women investors can greatly inspire other women investors. Three episodes are already aired, if you have missed them, you can watch them below .

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Below are the names and schedule of all the 7 episodes of the Sheconomy initiative.

Episode Structure

Name of Show Show Timings Importance
Homemakers 19th Jan’13, Saturday at 6 p.m. A homemaker plays an equally important role in her husband’s financial success as well as her own. Though this cluster of women don’t typically take up jobs, investing the money their husbands allocate to them for personal expenditure could prove to be of great help in time of need.
Women Entrepreneurs 26th Jan’13, Saturday at 6 p.m Apart from all the investments which other women do, this cluster of women has another investment priority in their life ‘Their business’. It becomes imperative for them to invest in instruments that is not only safe but also provide the quickest returns so that money earned could be deployed into their business from time to time. Investments needs of women belonging to this cluster tend to be more dynamic than the rest
Working Women (Unmarried/ married) 2nd Feb’13, Saturday at 6 p.m. Women in this cluster have the highest disposable income and the least responsibilities hence providing ample scope and capital for planning investments. The married women of today has come of age from being the typical housewife, in fact getting married is the beginning of various responsibilities that a woman needs to share  with her better half at all times- Planning a baby, Bigger house, Better lifestyle, Retirement plan, monthly family budgeting, aging in laws and parents. There is an entire menu to choose from.
Young Mothers 9th Feb’13, Saturday at 6 p.m. Mothering calls for the best in women. With this emotion in mind a lot of young mothers have various aspirations for their kids; these aspirations come at price which one needs to be prepared for well in advance. A good investment made from the beginning can help young mothers to provide their children the best and fulfill all their dreams, even if you are a single parent.
Senior Citizens 16th Feb’13, Saturday at 6 p.m The life expectancy of women is higher than men So, the amount of retirement savings for women should also be higher. Statistics show that, on an average, women live 5 years longer than men, earn 25 percent less during their life time and work 11 years less in their careers and not many women are even aware enough of all of this. All these factors put together make this cluster of women extremely important to address when it comes to financial planning.
On ground forum with Men Date yet to be finalized A forum with the modern man on why he should encourage and empower the women in his life to take their own financial decisions. An educative forum for men that will teach them the upsides of their women being financial independent.
Fresh College graduates/ post graduates Date yet to be finalized Catch them young and make them grow a quote completely apt for youngsters who are about to plunge into their first corporate job. The need to understand basic money management skills such as living within a budget and handling credit and debt can lead to a solid financial foundation that in turn can lead to a lifetime of financial success.


What do you feel about these kind of initiatives ? We have also done a women centric 2 video series for our wealth members, incase you are already a member you can watch the series here .

Jagoinvestor Workshop in Mumbai – 10th Mar (Sunday)

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

We are conducting our next workshop in Mumbai on 10th Mar 2013 (Sunday). We call the workshop as “Design your financial life” . The whole idea of the workshop is to go beyond the numbers and products and talk about the real issues which can take your financial life to next level. In this workshop you will spend an entire day enhancing your thinking level and exploring the full potential of your financial life. There will be lot of interactions, some exercises and powerful conversations which will give your financial life a new shape. We have conducted same workshops in Pune, Bangalore and Lavasa till date and will be doing it in other cities soon. Below are some of the past participants testimonials

Register for the Workshop in Mumbai – 10th Mar

City Mumbai
Date 10th Mar, 2013
Where Hotel Tunga International, Andheri (East), Mumbai
Fees Rs 3,500
Registration Link Click Here
Go to Workshop Page Click Here

Note : Registration will stop before 1 week


View Larger Map

We are going to have only 1 event in each city each year. So if you wanted to attend these workshops, this is the best time to register for it. There are limited seats and huge demand from Mumbai readers for this workshop, so book your seats as soon as possible. We want to encourage financial literacy among women and for that reason, we have also discounted the pricing for couples. We really want husband and wife to attend the event together, which will make sure they are both clear about their financial life and how they need to design it in future. We have kept the tickets pricing in such a way that its affordable to most of the people. The event is at Hotel Tunga International, which is at Andheri East and being Sunday it would not be much issue travelling.

We really want these event to be your event and not just a jagoinvestor event. Its an opportunity to spend a full day dedicated to your financial life. We really encourage people to take those 10 hours for out of 1 full year and just focus on how you want to shape your financial life for future. There will be lot of sharing’s , conversations on money and some exercise’s which will really help you get a deep insights in the area of personal finance.It might be the case that you are interested in this workshop but not registering right now , in that case just let us know that you are interested and still thinking.

My Second Book – “How to be your own Financial Planner in 10 Steps”

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

I am happy to share this news with you all, that my 2nd book is going to release in next few weeks, whose title is “How to be Your Own Financial Planner in 10 Steps” . The book is published by CNBC 18. The book is now ready for pre-order, so you can order it now, it will be delivered to you as soon as it hits the stores which will happen in just few more days.

How to be your own Financial Planner in 10 - Financial Planning Book in India
Pre order Book

About the Book

By the time you complete this book, your financial life will have taken new shape!. You will have worked on 10 different areas of your financial life, in the same way a certified financial planner works with you. The book has the ability to guide you on how to plan the 10 most important areas of your financial life. There are two types of investors in India, those who plan their financial life and those who plan nothing and just let their financial live move with the flow. The second group is extremely large, and this book is targeted at this group.

Many investors who are DIY (Do It Yourself) investors can use this book to plan their financial life and be their own financial planners at some basic level. The book has the 3 elements of education, planning and action items all packed into one. Written for the common person, in simple language, the book deals with the most important financial worries and questions.

What are you waiting for ?

Anyone who feels that he can do his own financial planning and with a little support and direction he/she can plan his financial life, then one should buy this book. There are 10 chapters which cover 10 different areas of your financial life and helps you understand those areas, what you need to do about it, how you should mess it up and guides you to plan it out in simple and easy language. Each chapter has action oriented exercise at the end of each chapter, so while you go through each chapter, you will keep on making your action item list and finally complete things. I would say grab the book today, because this is the best it can be. If you need external support, you can always go for our online financial advisory services.

UPDATE – First Book Name is Changed

I have one more news to share. My first book “Jagoinvestor – Change your relationship with money” was a great success. However we are changing its name to “16 personal finance principles every investor should know” to make sure that the name of the book reflects what the book is all about. The book content is exactly same, just the name is changed now. So its now in new avatar.

16 personal finance principles every investor should know Financial Planning Book in India - Personal Finance Book in India
Pre order Book

Thanks for your love and support, because of this awesome community, it was possible to give shape to these 2 books. While the first book is more on the principles of personal finance which every investor should know, the second book is all about planning and taking action. I would be waiting for your reviews about the book.

10 Things to Complete before you become NRI

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

Are you leaving India in next few months or planning to move abroad sometime in future? Then you should be clear with a few points you should complete before you become an NRI. A lot of NRI readers come up with various issues they face, because they never thought about completing few tasks which could have saved them from lots of worries and paperwork. Lets look at 10 things which a person should complete before he/she becomes a NRI (Non resident Indian)

10 things to complete before your become an NRI

10 things to complete before you become NRI and Leave India

1. Take a Term Insurance

One of the big issues NRI’s face is taking a term plan through a Indian insurance company. It’s always a good idea to take a term plan and then leave the country, otherwise later it gets really tough to get a term plan, for which you will have to visit India and also it also gets quite difficult to opt for online term plan.

So before you become a NRI (Non Resident Indian) , complete this step. The premiums you will pay will be lower.

2. Take Health Insurance

Just like term plans, it’s tough to get health insurance once you become a NRI. After becoming a NRI, you will have to visit India for  health checkups and there is more documentation and hassles in the process. Health Insurance is something, you should take anyways , so why wait? Just take it anyway.

3. Open PPF Account

NRIs cant open a fresh PPF account, so before you become a NRI and leave India, open a PPF account. You can open PPF account in ICICI bank, SBI bank or at the Post office. NRI’s can always invest money in their existing PPF account which was already opened by them before leaving India.

4. Convert your Saving bank account into NRO account

A lot of people leave India only to realize later, that they need to open a NRO account in India, and then get into the whole process. Rather than doing it later, why not convert your existing saving bank account into NRO account just before leaving India?  NRIs can deposit all the Indian income into their NRO account and also make payments like EMI payments, and other kind of investments from their NRO account. All it takes is 2 photographs, and a copy of your passport and visa.

5. Connect your Loan Account with your banking account for online payment

A lot of people who become NRI (Non Resident Indian), have a home loan running, for which they have to still pay EMI’s . At times, they want to prepay home loan as fast as possible, because they earn more money outside India. But then the issue is – how to make prepayment when they are outside India? The best option here, is to connect your home loan account with your bank account, so that you can make prepayment to your home loan using NEFT transfer.  Its a good idea to do this before your leave India and try some prepayment just to make sure it works. It might happen that you might need to visit the bank for this, so better complete this before you leave India.

6. Prepare a Power of Attorney 

There can be many things which require your presence in India after you have become an NRI, like if you want to make any real estate transaction or want to operate your bank account etc. It’s always a good idea to have a bit of foresight  and see if you might want to prepare a power of attorney. Power of attorney is a legal way of giving power to someone to act on your behalf. Just choose some trusted family person or a friend. You can also make a power of attorney which expires at some stipulated time.

7. Make your mutual funds accounts online

A lot of people still want to transact in mutual funds after they become NRI, but they have no easy way out at that time. It’s always a great idea to make sure that you open a online account for mutual fund investing while you are in India. For this, you can open a online account with Jagoinvestor team and have all your transaction online

8. Open a NRE account 

If you want to invest your earnings into India and want to get it back in the foreign country (repatriation) , then you would need a NRE account. You can not deposit the local money like interest from FD, rental income etc into the NRE account. So if you have this kind of requirement, then better open a NRE account. The Fixed Deposits rates on NRE accounts are quite attractive in Indian Banks.

9. Sell your shares and open a new NRI demat account

Once you become an NRI, you will not be able to sell off your existing demat account shares which you bought before becoming a NRI. You can open & operate a NRI demat account. So before you become an NRI, a good idea is to sell off the existing shares and take back the money or the another option is to open a NRI demat account and transfer your existing stocks to this new account.

10. Update your KYC 

There are different processes for residents and NRIs for various kind of financial products. Like, if you become an NRI and want to do something with banks, mutual funds, life insurance policies (traditional or ULIPs), you will first have to update your KYC and only then can you do something. So its always a good idea to update your KYC, before you become an NRI. This will save you with lots of hassles.

Conclusion

If you follow these 10 things before you become an NRI, you will have a really peaceful time abroad and will not have to get involved into the mess of completing the things, most NRIs miss. While you might be excited to go abroad, better not miss out on these points.

Are you planning to leave India and become NRI Soon ?

Women and Money- Lets JOIN HANDS to empower and encourage women investors

Posted on by Jagoinvestor

Do you know that only 1% of world wealth is owned by women , while women constitute 40% of the global workforce ? – World Bank . This is a little disturbing fact, and question now is, when women are working so much, giving a lot, have equal capability, then why they have so much less owned on their name ? When it comes to the area of money, Men are so much involved in personal finance, but women are not and that creates a big imbalance. Here is a small example to show how women suffers in her financial life because of this imbalance in understanding and knowledge of money

women and money personal finance in india

We at jagoinvestor want to start our 2013 with a vision of increasing financial literacy among women in India and we are looking at how we can reach 1 million women and teach them importance of financial literacy in their life. Now how is this related to you ? When we say “women” here, it also includes your wife, sister, mother, daughters and if you want to increase your financial life quality, you need to make sure that they learn about money. 2 years back, when I wrote about women and their personal finance knowledge, it was shocking to learn that 84% of educated, urban women dont have any knowledge or very minimal understanding of personal finance concepts.

Lets see why Women are not interested in personal finance matters

  • From decades and generations, it has been dominated by men and only men, women are not even consulted or informed ever
  • Women feel that their income is secondary to men, hence whats the use of managing it
  • Women are so involved with children, cooking and other household work , that they don’t get time
  • Women feel personal finance is complex and do not like numbers

But what happens when Men is not around ?

The best way to make you imagine what happens to women life if she does not have any idea about managing money is to ask you to imagine about your own case, Just imagine in your absence  what is going to be the scene ? You have never encouraged women at your home to learn about money , neither they took any interest, but someday they might have to take charge and that day it will be very frustrating experience for them. We are trying to do some work in the area of financial literacy for Women and once we create something useful for women investors, we would like to share it with you all, so that women at your home can use it and take the first step towards financial literacy, but we need some help from you on this.

We have created a small survey which needs inputs by women, we want to know what they feel about this subject, how much ready are they and what is stopping them to learn about money. If you are a women reader of this blog, please fill up the survey. However if you are a male reader, we need your support, please ask your wife, mother, sister and daughter to take up the survey and spend 5 min on this, tell them they have to do it for you and their future. Just carry your laptop to them and insist them to spend 5 minutes and complete the survey. And if they complete take them out for dinner on our behalf (Bill paid by you of course) … Following is the survey questions

Direct link to the survey

And Happy New year to all the readers !