The coronavirus pandemic has impacted every sector of the economy that can have consequences that are long-term and difficult to get rid of. The after-effects of the pandemic are expected to linger in the future too. In this situation, it is important to see the resilience of our economy and how fast it can recover from the impact of the pandemic across sectors. The growth forecast of the economic sectors has to be relooked because of the advent of the Covid-19 second wave. India’s current financial year’s growth forecast is 9.3% as Covid-19 slowdowns the economic recovery and builds the risk of long-term effects. 

While Ind-Ra revised the GDP growth forecast-FY22 to 10.1% that was 10.4% earlier. The revision was made assuming that the second wave of coronavirus will subside in the mid-May of 2021. As per Ind-Ra, the GDP’s demand-side or expenditure of government final consumption and private final consumption is expected to reach 11.0% and 11.8% respectively in the Financial Year 2022. 

Similarly, the earlier forecast of SBI growth is revised downwards. The revised projection of SBI FY22 stands at 14.3% nominal GDP and 10.4% real GDP. 

It is extremely essential to understand what must be done by the SIP Mutual Funds in the present scenario. The pace of regular investments made by investors in SIP Plans has been greatly affected. People have been holding up their investment in SIP India that has resulted in lower returns for many investors. In general, the economic situation of a country is a cyclical outcome that depends on its resilience to bounce back after every dip. A country’s resilience is expected to be higher if the following tips are taken into consideration:

• Demographic- The risk-taking ability of the younger population of a country is greater as they have lesser responsibilities. Therefore, younger people must start investing in SIP Mutual Fund for higher returns in the long run.
• FDI inflows- the UN report stated that India accounted for the inward FDI inflows of 77% in the year 2019 in South-West and South Asia (51 out of 67 Billion UD). 
• Digitalization- The Information and Communications Technology or ICT receives the majority of FDI inflows. The Jan-Dhan Aadhar Mobile has also increased financial inclusion in the country. 
• Reform Agenda- India can accelerate reforms.

India is considered as the top resilient country in the entire South-West and South Asia as per the UN report. Therefore, a downturn of economic growth must be taken as a chance to invest more as the country has the ability of resilience.  

You can use the following SIP Investment tips or rules to benefit the most:

• You must be careful in making investments in times of economic crisis. The best way to avoid losses is by periodically updating your portfolio. To enjoy higher returns in the Systematic Investment Plan, you must stay disciplined and patient.  
• You must always link a goal to your SIP Investment India policy so that it keeps you going and focused on one goal at a time. You must calculate the amount required to be invested and the time to attain the financial goal with the help of the SIP India calculator. You can calculate the amount of money you need to invest regularly to get higher returns on the SIP Mutual Funds. It is necessary to hold on to your investments and remember that SIP Plans have a longer tenure. Therefore, the economy of the country will balance out in the future. 

When you stay invested in SIP Mutual fund, the market identifies you ensuring continue and sufficient cash flow to its fund manager. It is wise to stay invested when the market is going through correction even if one avoids investing fresh cash. The second wave of the deadly virus has put a lot of pressure on the citizens to have a higher emergency burden for emergency medical needs. The investor interest is low and is expected to recover when the covid-19 cases start to come down. The Large & Mid Cap, Mid Cap and Large Cap witnessed significant flows. Many investors have been holding back their investments anticipating the market correction. The SIP Investment India is considered the most popular investment plan in times of covid-19 crisis because of its ability to give higher returns in the longer term. There are many different types of SIP Plans available offering different set of benefits and risks. Therefore, investors must determine their goals and then choose the correct Systematic Investment Plan as per their requirement. A few mutual fund houses have also begun offering insurance covers or group term insurance with the SIP Plan viewing the current scenario. The beneficiaries of the term insurance are investors aged between 18-51 years. SIP investors can avail these insurance covers without having to undergo any medical examination. 

On Your Terms: How A Term Plan Helps Your Family

 

It is said that you cannot predict the future, but you can do everything in your power to lessen its impact. When the unthinkable happens, your family members can be left scrambling to gather money even for simple expenses. The absence of your income should not become a death knell for your loved ones – prevent this situation by investing in term insurance online.

Let’s list the ways in which a term insurance plan benefits your family in your absence:

• To meet household expenses. The most important expense head every month is household expenditure. It includes paying utility bills, buying groceries, travel, allotting money for incremental expenses, buying medicines and supplies, etc. These are compulsory costs that must be paid every month – and which can cause problems if there is no income to fall back on. But the term insurance policy money can pay these expenses quite comfortably.
• To pay for children’s education. Another big expense head is your children’s education. Your income finances the rising cost of education every year – but what happens when your income stops? Your savings might be able to keep the expenses going for just a few months. In your absence, your spouse may have to take tough decisions about your children’s future expenses, including choosing a different course of study that costs less. This is not necessary if you buy an online term plan to pay for your children’s education.
• To repay loans. At a time when living costs are high and inflation makes everything expensive, it becomes necessary to borrow a series of loans to buy necessary things. These loans might include home loan, personal loan, credit card loan and car loan. Your monthly salary or business income repays the EMIs on these loans, but these same loans can torment your loved ones in your absence. Creditors will come asking for the unpaid loan amount, and your family members may have to make the repayments by selling off certain assets. But if you buy the best term insurance plan and choose a high coverage amount, the policy money can repay these loans in the future.
• To finance your parents’ household. Your parents may retire in a few years, and they may have a savings fund of their own at the moment. They may even have a few investments to their name. However, living costs keep rising all the time, and their savings may not be sufficient to meet their future needs. They might even need an emergency medical procedure in the future. The benefits of your online term plan can extend to your parents as well.
• To offer spousal support. The responsibility of your household and all its members falls squarely on the shoulders of your spouse when you are absent. Your spouse may have an income, but it can become difficult for them to maintain the same lifestyle that the family is accustomed to with a single income. At such a time, the term insurance policy can provide spousal support and let them run the house comfortably.

Ulips And Why They Make The Most Sense In Your Portfolio

As a new investor, you may want to try options that are low on risk but high on returns. The Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) is one such option, which is recommended for all investors wishing to build a balanced portfolio.

What is a ULIP plan?

A ULIP policy is an insurance product. It divides your payment towards it into two: One part pays the premium towards the policy, and the other is invested in high grade securities. The money keeps growing over a long period of time and creates a big corpus for the future. Since it is a life insurance product, it also helps your loved ones in your absence.

Why should I invest in a ULIP?

There are several reasons why you should invest in the best ULIP plan, such as:

* Suits all kinds of investors: The ULIP is aimed at all investors, whatever their appetite for risk. You can choose the securities you wish to invest in, which gives you flexibility to influence its outcome, and hence the outcome of your portfolio. If you are risk-averse, you can opt for balanced funds that divide your investment between equity and debt funds. If you have a higher risk appetite, you can choose equities which grow faster in a good market and lower risk over a longer time.

* There are no hidden charges: The ULIP policy does not have any hidden charges, as mandated by the IRDAI. As an investor, you are bound to pay processing charges and broker fees, and these are listed every time you make the next premium payment without any omissions. Thus, you know exactly what you are paying vis-à-vis the account performance. Besides, you get tax benefits on the ULIP premiums paid every year under Sec 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

* Allows switching between funds as per market trends: Very few investment options in India offer the flexibility that ULIPs do. ULIP policies have few equals in terms of being able to switch between funds in the middle of the investment. If the market slows down, you can switch from debt to equity funds to minimise risk on the overall investment. Your investment manager can advise you on when to switch by monitoring the market closely. Most fund houses and insurers allow one free switch between funds every year, so you don’t lose any money on processing or switching charges. You get more opportunity to affect these switches on extending the ULIP term over 10 years to increase the corpus size.

* Grows money by compounding: You are free to exit the ULIP after the lock-in period of five years is over. By this time, you will have accumulated more money in the ULIP than you would by saving your money in a bank account or creating an FD. This happens with the power of compounding. However, it is advisable to stay the course and remain invested in the policy till it matures.

 

Managing investments successfully throughout the pandemic- Your guide

 From checking your mutual fund NAV in India to tracking investments made in equity mutual funds or debt funds, there are several aspects towards successfully managing your investments during a nationwide pandemic. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a total lockdown throughout the country. All companies excepting entities in essential services have employees majorly working out of home while mutual fund firms are also functioning with minimal manpower at offices. The Association of Mutual Funds has also notified the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sometime earlier that daily operations may be impacted at some levels. Yet, mutual fund houses are also striving to ensure seamless facilities for customers amidst these challenging times.

You can consider rebalancing your portfolio. Check out newer fund options including overseas mutual funds or international mutual funds if you wish to hedge against future expenses like global travel or higher education of children. Allocating a smaller portion of the portfolio towards international investments may help you enhance the quality of your portfolio while enabling you to benefit from positive market developments in fast-growing countries which have relatively shaken off the pandemic. However, consult financial advisors before making any such move as per experts. You can also try hybrid funds which may help in optimizing risks greatly. If you are investing in mutual funds via SIPs and do not wish to stretch a lot in the present situation, then you should know that everything will steadily get back on track in the near future.

People desirous of redemptions, new investments, switches or changes related to the account or profile, should keep a tab on the operational component of mutual funds. If digital platforms have been used, a majority of activities may be executed without any hindrances like before. However, people still conducting transactions physically may have to tackle a few temporary issues. Delays may be there in publishing the mutual fund NAV in India. Several fund houses have intimated investors with a view towards emailing transactions to them for processing as well. Many mutual fund houses have come out with mobile apps and internal digital platforms for investments and other online services.

You should look out for all such facilities offered by your mutual fund company. Investors may contact distributors for advice on proper digital platforms for meeting requirements of services and transactions. They may also initiate mutual fund transactions on investors’ behalf post approval of transactions via web-links through e-mails and SMS-es. The markets offer ample scope for investors to deploy funds in a suitably diversified portfolio of highly liquid, fundamentally solid and reputed entities.

Debt redemptions are comparatively more for fixed-income funds as per industry experts and managers. Year-end considerations may be stimulating these developments. You should also highlight liquidity above all else. Investors, if they have lower liquidity in their portfolios, should consider redeeming funds while building the necessary liquidity, irrespective of market circumstances. At the same time, if investors have ample cash in hand, they may consider fresh investment allocations while preparing to tackle some more volatility in the near future. You may consider sticking to your long-term investments unless your require funds urgently as per industry experts.

Emerging trends in Dubai furniture

 Dubai is the apple of the eye for the UAE business and commercial sector and with good reason too! After all, Dubai is one of the biggest and most favored global cities for businesses and leading companies in almost all industries. It has steadily transformed into one of the most evolved and cosmopolitan cities, thanks to its diverse population comprising of locals and expats from all parts of the world. Dubai is also the gateway to not only the Middle East for global entities but also the Asian region. Its strategic proximity to major global markets has made Dubai the preferred destination for top brands and products which are making major splashes worldwide. Furniture is no exception.

Dubai’s homegrown furniture brands have already started transforming themselves while several globally acclaimed products and styles have come to rule the roost as well. This change is quite visible when you visit any furniture store in Dubai and customers now appreciate it when there are diverse choices for every category across furniture shops in Dubai. Also, there has been a major change in the way people are buying furniture these days.

The usual definition of a furniture shop has changed drastically. People are now opting to purchase furniture online from leading platforms. They are citing convenience, greater diversity of choice and easy comparisons and attractive online deals and discounts as major factors. Furniture items are readily delivered to customers’ doorsteps with installation support and easy returns offered as well. On that note, here’s taking a look at some of the biggest emerging trends in the Dubai furniture industry.

1. Wall art- Framed wall art has become a major trend throughout the Dubai home furniture market. More and more buyers are now opting to choose abstract and often solid patterned wall art pieces with painstaking and careful framing. They are going with wall art pieces for various spaces in their home and it need not always be a costly affair as well. Opting for the right wall art is something that will definitely add a special touch to any Dubai home without a shred of doubt.
2. Chandeliers- You can glam up your living room or even your bedroom with a suitably chosen chandelier. Chandeliers are statement pieces without a doubt. These lighting fixtures impart old world glamour into the home while taking care of lighting and functionality requirements at the same time. More people are now opting for chandeliers in Dubai. This has become something of a rapidly emerging trend in today’s times.
3. Classy bed linen- People are also emphasizing upon bed linen and other accessories even while they choose to buy bed online and other bedroom furniture items. Buyers are more open towards experimenting with abstract and elegant hues and patterns for their bed linen. They are realizing the importance of frequently doing up the bedroom with evolving and attractive bed linen. This has become a trend across Dubai in its own right.

These are some of the emerging trends which are clearly dominating Dubai’s home furniture market at present.

Tax saving gets a lot easier with this plan

 

The growing popularity of equity linked saving scheme in India or ELSS, as the acronym goes, indicates its considerable benefits for regular investors. ELSS is a great choice for investments since it gives rather generous tax benefits. ELSS tax saving funds are funds linked to equities in the market which deploy a major portion of the fund corpus towards buying equities or equity-linked instruments. They are known as tax saving ELSS mutual funds since they offer tax exemptions from your annual taxable income based upon deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.

Keeping ELSS in portfolio will be a wise move since these funds deploy investments throughout multiple geographies and cover several companies varying form small cap entities to mid cap and even large cap entities. This enables diversification of your portfolio over a period of time. The schemes come with a mandatory 3-year lock-in period and you can only redeem your units post the expiration of this duration. The funds have risks since they are exposed towards equity markets and their innate volatilities although they have the possibility of garnering superior returns over the long haul. You can lower risks of volatility in the market by deploying SIPs (systematic investment plans) for investing in ELSS schemes. You can always invest a lump sum amount in ELSS schemes but this will be riskier. Most investors prefer investing smaller amounts every month or periodically by way of SIPs while it gets them good tax benefits in turn.

Ensure that your ELSS plan is diversified throughout various business sectors and market capitalization levels. There are two types of funds, namely Growth Funds where long-term creation of wealth is the objective and investors realize the full value at the time when they redeem their units and there is also the Dividend Payout option where you either get dividends which are tax-free or reinvest dividends wholly as new investments.

An equity linked saving scheme in India is a better option since you get deductions up to Rs. 1.5 lakh upon investments in the same under Section 80C. In spite of the new tax rules, i.e. taxes upon LTCG (long-term capital gains) from ELSS options, the funds are one of the best options for saving on taxes. They have the potential of superior long-term returns while covering your entire spectrum of Section 80C deductions simultaneously. They offer the highest returns after taxes as compared to all other Section 80C choices including ULIPs and PPF (Public Provident Funds). Historically, these plans have ensured close to 12% over the last decade and even higher.

The lock-in period is also low compared to EPF, PPF and NSC which have minimum 5-15 years as their lock-in periods. You can also easily shift to another fund if you are dissatisfied with the performance of your current ELSS fund. Long-term capital gains are also exempted till Rs. 1 lakh and the dividends that you get will be tax-free in your hands. You can keep investing after the expiration of the three-year lock-in period. It is thus important to bust wrongful ELSS myths about saving taxes and start off with a plan that is more suited towards your specific needs and requirements.

 

 

Diversified equity funds- How you can use them

 

Diversified equity funds in India strive to diversify their investments in entities throughout a vast range of market sectors, irrespective of size or market capitalization, i.e. large cap, mid cap or small cap companies. The sectors mostly include the likes of banking and financial services, pharmaceuticals, FMCG, IT, power and utilities, engineering, real estate, automobiles and so on. These diversified funds are slightly different from other types of equity mutual funds India. They aim at enabling long-term capital appreciation through diversified investing styles throughout the stock market.

Along with deploying investments in various sectors for lowering risks, they ensure good returns even during economically volatile periods. These funds are not regular equity fund investment options. They help in covering long-term objectives such as the weddings/higher education of kids, retirement and so on. These funds are offered by several mutual fund and insurance companies, other funds and ULIPs alike. Investors can profit from the economic upliftment of the company that they have chosen to invest in. Whenever any company achieves financial progress, a specific percentage of the gains will automatically be passed onto investors.

Diversified equity funds in India- Types and more

Diversified funds in this space are classified into various types:

• Small Cap Diversified Funds- They offer higher returns while being suitable for younger investors below the age of 35. They are ideal for those with high risk tolerance and should be managed well.
• Mid Cap Diversified Funds- These funds invest in entities with market capitalization hovering between Rs. 4,000 and 20,000 crore. The risk quotient is slightly lower as compared to small cap diversified funds. The returns are higher in the long haul.
• Large Cap Diversified Funds- They invest in companies with minimum market capitalization of Rs. 20,000 crore and upwards. Investors buy shares/stocks of leading blue chip entities with the Nifty as their benchmark index in this case. Investments in top global names ensure comparatively lower risks while getting decent returns over a sustained time period.

Diversified equity funds in India have several advantages. They are ideal for varied market capitalization levels and business sectors alike. While large cap and mid cap funds invest in particular market capitalizations, multi cap funds deploy investments throughout diverse market capitalizations. Investing in various market capitalizations and entities throughout varying sectors will help investors lower risks considerably. The risk quotient is certainly present but you can manage them better.

Your investments will be managed by professional fund managers and they will help you stay on track with your financial objectives. The expense ratio is deducted from the NAV and is a small charge that will allow you to tap into their expertise and judgment. Diversity in share prices is another major advantage. This makes it a good option for first-timers and beginners, looking to gain more market exposure. It also suits people with comparatively lower tolerance for risks.