Stock market guide | Stocks |Bonds | Money market | Mutual funds

Commodity Funds

Satyam — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:56:18 +0000

Commodity funds invest in different commodities directly or through shares of commodity companies or through commodity futures. These funds can invest in a particular commodity like gold, silver, oil, pulses etc. or have a diversified portfolio of commodities. A true commodity fund is one which invests directly in commodities. Most of the investors actually don’t want [...]

What is a Sector Fund

Satyam — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:13:06 +0000

Sector funds are specialized funds which invest only in specific sectors for eg: Energy, Pharmaceutical, Natural Resources etc. They are risky as they are concentrated and offer little diversification. Usually these funds target emerging sectors which have great growth potential. You see new sector specific funds coming up in the market whenever peers in an emerging [...]

What are Index Funds

Satyam — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:41:31 +0000

Index funds try to copy the performance of a stock market index. The most common index fund tries to track the S&P 500 (US funds) or the NSE Nifty (Indian Funds) by purchasing stocks using the same percentages as the index. Some index funds invest in all of the companies included in an index; other [...]

Money Market Funds

Satyam — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:03:01 +0000

Money market Funds basically invest in money market instruments like Treasury Bills, Certificates of Deposit, Commercial Papers, and Interbank call money market. The tenor of money market instruments varies from 1 day to 1 year and hence they are highly liquid. These are also considered the least risky. Returns are nominal in money market investments. The [...]

Gilt Funds

Satyam — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:52:01 +0000

Gilt funds invest in government issued medium and long term bonds. They can also invest in high rated (Aaa/AAA rating*) corporate bonds. Gilts/Government bonds are not rated. Gilts/Treasury bonds are considered extremely credit worthy because they are backed by the Governments. If a scenario arises where it has to default it will repay the principal [...]

Muhurat Trading 2009

Satyam — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:31:52 +0000

Diwali is celebrated on Ashwayuja Bahula Amaavaasya. Usually it comes in the month of October/November. This day is considered as a precious day for starting a new business and extending an existing business. Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth) Puja is carried out on this day to favor their businesses. Muhurat trading is held on BSE and NSE [...]

Bond Funds or Debt Funds

Satyam — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:06:22 +0000

Bond Funds invest in debt instruments issued by governments, Corporates and other financial institutions. The main objective of bond funds is to have low risk exposure and get steady income. The risks associated with bond funds are interest rate fluctuations, fiscal and monetary policies of the Government. Debt instruments are a better source of predictable return. [...]

Equity Funds – Equity Mutual funds

Satyam — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 09:46:24 +0000

Equity funds basically invest in equity shares of companies. They can invest either through IPO or through secondary market route. They can also invest in unlisted companies i.e. Private Equity subjected to a cap and rules by SEBI. Funds buy stakes in unlisted companies usually at very low prices to maximize their returns whenever these [...]

Closed Ended Funds

Satyam — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:23:53 +0000

In close-ended funds, the number of units issued is fixed. After the initial issue/ IPO, the units are traded on the exchange like any other stock. Investors can buy into these funds in the IPO after which such schemes do not issue new units except in case of bonus issue. Unlike open ended funds the buy/sell [...]

Open Ended Mutual Funds

Satyam — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:33:28 +0000

In open ended funds the units are sold continuously during the life of a scheme. Similarly the unit holders are free to redeem their units at prevailing NAV at any time. Hence number of units/unit holders fluctuates everyday. Units in the open-ended schemes do not have a fixed maturity period. These schemes have variable capitalization. These [...]