Back to Blog

Debunking the 6 Myths of Wealth Management Services in India 

August 30, 2024

In a fast-changing financial landscape, wealth management services have become crucial for investors to help them make more informed and intelligent financial decisions. But they are also filled with some misconceptions, and such myths can create confusion and let investors miss opportunities. In this blog, we’ll be debunking some common myths associated with wealth management services in India. 

Here are some wealth management solution myths and their explanations: 

Myth 1: Only the Ultra-Rich Need to Manage Their Wealth

One of the biggest misconceptions about wealth management services is that it is only for ultra-wealthy or high-net-worth individuals. 

Truth: Wealth management services are oriented toward aiding people across different income levels. Be it a young professional who has just started saving or a family desiring financial stability, wealth management services will render tailored advice and strategies to meet their needs.

Myth 2: Wealth management is no different from investment management

Though many people use the terms ‘wealth management’ and ‘investment management’ collectively, it is not the same thing. 

Truth: While investment management only deals with managing investments to help them grow, the area of wealth management is much broader. It encompasses extensive financial planning, including tax strategies, retirement planning, estate planning, and risk management. 

Myth 3: You Need a Large Portfolio to Benefit from Wealth Management Services

Another common myth is that you need to have a large investment portfolio to derive any value from wealth management services. 

Truth: The truth of the matter is that services related to wealth management are quite scalable. Professional advice will help in the optimization of your investments. It is about having a well-structured plan, not the size of your portfolio.

Myth 4: Wealth Managers Only Recommend Their Products

One of the misconceptions that people have is that a wealth manager will only tell you about their financial products or those affiliated with them. 

Truth: Again, professional wealth managers work for their clients, providing unbiased advice to do what is in your best interest. They look at all the products and solutions available to find the best match for your financial situation and goals. 

Myth 5: Managing your wealth is expensive.

There is a perception that wealth management services are very expensive and only meant for elites.

Truth: Most of the time, the cost of wealth management services gets compensated due to the value they bring to strategic financial planning, risk management, and investment growth.

Myth 6: Wealth Management is a One-Time Activity

The general belief of most people is that once you set up a wealth management plan, it’s a one-time activity.

Truth: Your financial situation, goals, and market conditions may change over time; therefore, periodic reviews must be part of your plan. One has to keep consulting professional wealth managers. 

Conclusion

Such myths about wealth management can be debunked to enable an understanding of how such services would benefit you. It is not for rich elites; rather, it is a tool for serious people who make informed decisions about their financial landscape. 

Back to Blog

Emerging Trends, Features, and Regulations of AIFs in India

August 28, 2024

Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) are privately pooled investment instruments that gather funds from various investors. AIFs in India invest in various non-traditional (that is why the name alternative) assets. These assets include real estate, infrastructure, private equity, venture capital, and commodities, and they may execute complex long-term and short-term strategies. In this blog, we’ll unravel the emerging trends, features, and regulations associated with AIFs in India.

Key Features of AIFs

AIFs involve a broad range of assets and techniques; each method comes with risk profiles, which should be understood before investing. However, they can be characterized by having the following features:

  1.  Portfolio Diversification: AIFs can assist investors in portfolio diversification as they invest in a variety of assets that include real estate, private equity, commodities, and others. This also reduces the exposure to market volatility.
  2. Capability of High Returns: Alternative Funds in India generally invest in those investments that gather high-return opportunities, but the element of risk is also on the higher side. However, AIFs can create higher returns than traditional investment vehicles like mutual funds.
  3. Specific Investment Opportunities: AIFs invest in early-stage companies or start-ups that can expose them to innovative ideas. This is another feature of AIFs in India, as they can provide specialized access to investment opportunities that are not available to a regular investor.

Now let’s have a look at emerging trends in Alternative Investment Funds.

Upcoming Trends in AIFs

  1. ESG Investments: Environmental, social, and governance investing has become an important aspect among investors. With the growing popularity of ESG, investors are trying to bring their investments in line with their values.
  2. Technology-Centric Investments: With the fast growth of the technology industry in India, there is growing interest in AIFs focused on investing in technology-oriented companies. These AIFs will allow investors to get exposure to the high growth potential of the technology sector.
  3. Real Estate Investments: After technology, real estate investments have also gained popularity in recent times as investors have shown interest in Indian real estate. market. This is one such category where the returns could be very high, but the associated risks would be high too.
  4. Structured Credit: Structured credit AIFs are getting attention in India as investors seek alternative sources of yield. Such AIFs invest in non-traditional credit instruments, like mezzanine debt, distressed debt, and structured products.
  5. Sector-Specific Investing: AIFs focused on investing in particular sectors like healthcare, education, and infrastructure are fast becoming popular. The AIFs can thereby provide an investor with exposure to the growth potential of such sectors.

Which platform is bringing about the transformation of AIFs in India? Click here to know more. 

Regulations for AIFs:

SEBI has issued regulations to ensure that AIFs work in a very transparent and efficient manner. Some of these regulations include:

  1. SEBI registration: An AIF shall be registered with SEBI before commencing operations in India.
  2. Investment restrictions: These are the restrictions on the amount of investment under an AIF that is required to be invested in certain asset classes.
  3. Disclosure: AIFs are required to make periodic disclosures to SEBI and their investors.
  4. Eligibility and qualification of managers: Eligibility and qualification criteria must be met by the managers of the AIFs.

Conclusion

To conclude, these overall features and investment trends may suggest that AIFs in India have the potential to shine bright as far as the investment landscape is concerned. However, it is advisable to apply due diligence before investing in AIFs.

Back to Blog

Why choose professional mutual fund services to balance your portfolio?

August 26, 2024

Mutual funds are a mix of debt and equity funds. Investors need to analyze and balance their portfolios. This is where professional mutual fund services come into play and make a significant difference. In this blog, we’ll reveal reasons to choose mutual fund solutions to balance investment portfolios.

Understanding Portfolio Rebalancing

Investors need to rebalance their portfolios for various reasons, such as the market value of each asset class changing, their portfolio drifting away from the desired allocation, or an investor’s investment strategy, risk tolerance, or goals changing. Here, mutual fund services play a pivotal role in balancing a portfolio, which is essential for investment strategy.

Reasons To Choose Mutual Fund Solutions For Portfolio Rebalancing

After having an overview of portfolio rebalancing, let’s discover why you should choose professional mutual fund services.

  1. Expertise and Experience: Professional mutual fund managers have years of experience and expertise to provide better solutions. They are equipped with dynamic knowledge of market trends, updates, economic turnarounds, and investment strategies. Fund managers conduct thorough research, which can help them make informed decisions. While managing multiple investments, this type of expertise can be tough for individual investors.
  2. Diversification: Allocating assets is essential to managing risks and optimizing returns. It spreads investment across asset classes. Professional mutual fund managers bring their expertise to diversify investors’s portfolios and create a balance between risks and returns. Mutual fund solutions can help mitigate risk and adjust investment strategies as per the market’s volatility.
  3. Deep Insights: Professional mutual fund managers often have access to various investment opportunities and strategies that are not available or comprehensive to new investors. Mutual fund solutions provide in-depth insights that are crucial to balancing your portfolio.
  4. Peace of Mind: Managing a diversified portfolio requires regular attention and focus. This can be time-consuming and may hamper your peace of mind. Professional mutual fund services can handle the day-to-day management of investments, allowing you to focus on other aspects of life.
  5. Regulatory Compliances: Mutual fund investments follow strict regulatory standards and guidelines. Professional mutual fund services ensure that investments must follow these regulations.

Conclusion

Choosing a professional mutual fund service to balance your portfolio offers many benefits, such as expert knowledge, deep insights, and a diversified portfolio to minimize risks and maximize potential returns. It also helps investors to achieve their financial goals and optimize their investment strategy. Professional mutual fund services can provide the right guidance and support to understand the complexities of the market.

Back to Blog

How can wealth management services enhance your financial future?

August 22, 2024

In today’s tech landscape, wealth management can go beyond investment and planning. On one hand, traditional financial planning builds the foundation, and on the other hand, wealth management services offer a more professional approach to increasing and protecting your financial assets. In this blog, we’ll look deep into why wealth management services are crucial for anyone seeking to enhance their financial future.

How do wealth management services improve your financial future?

Various factors can improve your financial future. Professional wealth managers can help you with everything from creating investment portfolios and crafting tax-saving strategies to expert insights and more. Let’s have a look at them one by one.

  1. Bespoke Solutions: Professional wealth management experts can create diversified portfolios that align with your risk, investment horizon, and financial goals. Wealth management services ensure that everyone achieves their goals without taking too much risk.
  2. Expert Insights: Wealth management experts offer in-depth insights to every investor that are difficult to understand for a regular investor.
  3. Tax-planning: Managing tax is a crucial part of wealth management. Financial experts assist every investor in comprehending the complex landscape of tax management.  
  4. Peace of Mind: Wealth management services can give investors peace of mind, as managing wealth without any professional expertise can be a daunting task. Wealth management services can minimize the stress related to financial complexities.
  5. Transfer Businesses: Wealth management services can help business owners transfer their businesses to the next generation in a professional and orderly manner.

How does technology play a role in wealth management services? Click here to learn. 

Who needs wealth management services?

Wealth management services typically appeal to individuals who have amassed substantial assets and seek professional assistance to manage and increase their wealth. This includes high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and, in some cases, organizations in need of careful financial oversight. However, the appeal of wealth management is expanding as more people realize the importance of expert financial advice in reaching their various financial goals.

Wealth management involves more than just selecting the right stocks or assets; it is a comprehensive approach to managing your financial well-being, aimed at promoting long-term growth and security. It is about recognizing that your financial needs and goals are unique and calling for customized solutions.

Conclusion

Wealth management services offer a comprehensive approach to managing and enhancing your financial future. It provides tailor-made strategies, expert insights, tax efficiency, and stress-free solutions. These services are designed to cover the unique needs and goals of each individual. Wealth management provides the necessary expertise and support, whether you are seeking to secure your retirement, grow your investments, or optimize your tax situation.

Back to Blog

How to invest in alternative investment funds in India?

August 21, 2024

Alternate Investment Funds are popular among high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors. AIFs collect money from these investors and invest in a different set of categories. AIFs in India are managed by experienced fund managers, and individuals invest to diversify their portfolios and earn potentially higher returns than traditional investment vehicles. In this blog, we’ll unravel a few key points on how to invest in AIFs in India, along with their types and benefits.

Understanding AIFs

However, while alternate investment funds offer higher returns than conventional investment instruments, there is also a higher level of risk involved in them. AIFs can be divided into three categories, such as:

  • Category I: These funds invest in start-ups and entry-level small enterprises.
  • Category II: These funds invest in a mix of debt, stock, and other money market instruments.
  • Category III: These funds invest in privately held businesses to increase investor capital.

How to invest in AIFs?

There are many steps to investing in alternative investment funds in India, such as:

  1. Analyze your investment goals: Assess your financial goals, risk tolerance, and investment horizon before investing in AIFs. They are best suited for HNIs and institutional investors due to their high risk and investment nature.
  2. Research: Conduct thorough research on AIFs before investing. Analyze their investment strategies, past performance, management fees, and team. Gain all the insights that can help you make informed decisions.
  3. Consult a counselor: Get in touch with experts or an investment company that has years of experience under the hood.
  4. Understand fee management: Know about management fees, performance fees, and other financial aspects before investing.
  5. SEBI-registered AIF: Choose an AIF that is registered with SEBI. This can give you some peace of mind in terms of regulation and transparency.

Looking to read about the key things to remember in AIFs? Click here to learn. 

Benefits of Investing in Alternative Investment Funds

Here are a few benefits to investing in AIFs:

  1. Diversification: AIFs in India offer diversification through various asset classes and investment strategies that traditional investments do not offer. This can help in mitigating risk and potentially maximizing returns.  
  2. Potentially higher returns: AIFs aim to deliver higher returns than mutual funds. Their unique strategies and investments in high-growth sectors make them a preferable choice for HNIs.  
  3. Unique opportunities: AIFs invest in SMEs that have the potential to grow. These investment opportunities are only available in AIFs.
  4. Professional management: AIFs are managed by professional experts and fund managers who have expertise in the relevant field. They can provide a good level of service that is hard to achieve individually.

Conclusion

Alternative Investment Funds can be a good investment tool for HNIs who are looking to diversify their portfolio. They provide unique investment opportunities that traditional investments, like mutual funds, do not offer. Managed by experts, AIFs can be an attractive choice of investments, but it is always a good idea to do thorough research before investing or taking an expert’s advice.

Back to Blog

Plan your golden years with the National Pension System 

July 29, 2024

Most of us plan for tomorrow. Whether we work in the office or do household chores, planning is essential to our daily routine. How do we plan our retirement? Here NPS or The National Pension System, will come into the picture.

The National Pension System: Overview

As mentioned above, it is initiated by the central government to provide social security to individuals. It is a pension scheme that is open to all employees from the public, private, and organized sectors, although people from the armed forces are not allowed to invest in this pension scheme. The main aim of this scheme is to encourage people to invest and plan for their golden years. They need to invest in this pension account at regular intervals during their working years. After retirement, they can take out a certain amount of the corpus, and the rest will be used to get a monthly pension.

Earlier, this pension scheme was only available to central government employees, but PFRDA has made it accessible to all Indian citizens voluntarily.  

Characteristics of the National Pension System

Here are some of the main characteristics of the NPS:

  • Flexible Scheme: A subscriber can continue to save for his/her retirement even if the job changes.
  • Diverse Scheme: NPS invests in a mix of equities, corporate bonds, government securities, and AIFs. It gives subscribers an advantage in allocating assets according to their investment goals or risks.
  • Fund Management: Contributions towards NPS are managed by pension fund managers. It has a more professional fund management system.
  • Low-cost Scheme: Any Indian citizen can start investing in NPS with a minimum of ₹500. It makes one an attractive low-cost retirement planning scheme.
  • Potential for high returns: NPS provides market-linked returns and can provide higher returns than any traditional scheme such as FD or PPF.
  • Nominee facility: In the event of any tragedy, the subscriber’s nominee will receive the accumulated corpus. This is another feature of this retirement plan.
  • Regulated Scheme: NPS is regulated by PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority). It maintains the transparency of the NPS and also protects the interests of subscribers.

Are you wondering how to start investing in NPS? Click here.

Benefits of the National Pension System

NPS offers many benefits, such as market-linked returns, tax advantages, and pension benefits. Let’s look at them briefly.

  • Tax benefits: Contributions towards NPS receive tax benefits of ₹1.5 lakh under Section 80(C) of the Income Tax Act and there is another additional benefit of ₹50,000 under Section 80CCD 1(B). Upon retirement, a subscriber will receive a tax-free 60% of the accumulated corpus.
  • Pension Benefits: The subscriber will receive 60% of his/her accumulated corpus, and the rest 40% must be used to buy an annuity, which provides regular pension income.
  • Track performance: The subscribers will receive regular account statements, which will help them track their investments and returns.
  • Market-linked returns: NPS has the potential to give subscribers better returns on investment as it provides market-linked returns.

Conclusion

The National Pension System can be an attractive option to plan your retirement. From providing market-linked returns to flexibility and affordability, NPS has become one of the preferred choices for retirement plans. 

Back to Blog

Can the NPS calculator benefit you? Explained!

July 25, 2024

You must have used any kind of calculator to analyze your savings. What about your retirement? Here the NPS calculator comes into the picture to calculate your accumulated corpus after your retirement. It gives you an idea of how much you need to invest monthly to receive a certain amount you are looking for after retirement. In this blog, we’ll explain the benefits of the NPS calculator and how to use it.

What is the National Pension System?

The National Pension System also known as the National Pension Scheme, was introduced by the government of India for those individuals who were looking to create a corpus for their golden years. Any Indian resident between the ages of 18 to 70 years can invest in NPS. It offers market-linked returns and has the potential to provide higher returns in comparison to conventional investment options. NPS also provides various tax benefits.  

How does the NPS calculator benefit you?

The NPS pension calculator can help you in many ways. Here are a few of them:

  1. It helps you to determine the final corpus after you retire.
  2. Upon retirement you are entitled to get 60% of your accumulated corpus which is exempt from tax and the remaining 40% must be invested in annuities to receive pension. NPS calculator shows both amounts to give you an idea of how much of your money will be exempted from tax.
  3. Manual calculation is a difficult task to do.  NPS pension calculator will automate every task and help you to make better decisions.
  4. It shows how much amount you need to invest monthly to receive the desired amount after retirement.

Step to calculate returns through the NPS calculator

You can follow the simple steps to use the NPS pension calculator

  • Step 1 – First, insert the amount you want to invest per month. The more you invest today the more you allow yourself to accumulate more corpus.
  • Step 2 – Now, you can enter your current age.
  • Step 3 – After that, enter the expected rate of return. And the results will be soon displayed.

Looking to analyze your future savings? Use the NPS calculator by clicking here

Things to avoid using the NPS calculator

  1.  Avoid entering unrealistic investments. It is good that you are looking to invest but don’t put in unrealistic amounts, add an amount according to your budget.
  2. Don’t exceed the rate of returns. The rate of return may vary from time to time, don’t put a low or higher expected rate of return.
  3. Use a calculator from an authentic website or app. There can be many calculators that may lead you to some unauthorized websites.

Conclusion

Using an NPS calculator is not a difficult task, you just need to put numbers according to your budget and investment goals. Try using an NPS calculator that is from the authentic website or PoP. The NPS calculator shows the expected accumulated corpus that can be a motivational step to start your NPS journey.

Back to Blog

How to plan your retirement and taxes with NPS? 

July 23, 2024

The National Pension System commonly known as the National Pension Scheme is a voluntary retirement program for many individuals. NPS comes with various tax benefits. In this blog, we’ll explore the same. But first, understand NPS briefly. 

The National Pension System – A Brief 

As mentioned above, NPS is a voluntary retirement saving scheme for public and private sector employees. It gives an advantage to build a retirement corpus and financially secure their future. Any Indian citizen between the ages of 18 and 70 can invest in NPS with a small amount of ₹500. There are a few benefits of investing in the National Pension System and those are: – 

  1. It is regulated by PFRDA (Public Fund Regulatory and Development Authority), a government entity that oversees the transparency of the scheme. 
  2. It offers potentially higher returns than any traditional retirement saving scheme such as Fixed Deposit (FD) or Public Provident Fund (PPF). 
  3. It invests in equities, corporate bonds, government securities, and AIFs, providing a diverse opportunity to the investors. 
  4.  It allows investors to choose portfolio allocation between auto or active mode. Auto choice allocates an investor portfolio according to his/her age. On the other hand, active choice enables investors to allocate portfolios as per their choice.
  5. Any Indian citizen can invest in NPS from anywhere in the country.  

The National Pension Scheme Tax Benefits 

  1. NPS Tax benefit under section 80C of the Income Tax Act – Any subscriber can claim a tax benefit of ₹1.5 lakh under this section. 
  2. NPS tax benefit under section 80CCD 1(B) of the Income Tax Act – Any Tier I subscriber will get an additional tax benefit of ₹50,000 under this act.
  3. EEE tax exemption – While investing in NPS, when a subscriber is retired then his/her 60% of accumulated corpus will come under the EEE (Exempt Exempt Exempt) tax category. It means he/she doesn’t have to pay any tax on the collected corpus.
     

Are you looking for ways to invest in NPS online? Click here

Types of NPS account 

There are two types of NPS accounts, Tier 1 and Tier 2 accounts. While Tier I account offers various tax-saving benefits, on the other hand, Tier II account does not come with any tax benefits. Tier II is a savings account and you can only open it after activating the Tier I account. 

Conclusion 

To conclude, NPS can be an important instrument that can provide you with a financial safeguard during your retirement years. Additionally, it comes with various tax-saving benefits under Income Tax Section 80 (C) and 80 CCD 1(B). To enjoy your retirement years tomorrow and save your taxes today, NPS can be an attractive retirement plan to choose from. 

Back to Blog

Benefits of FinTech in Wealth Management -Explained

July 19, 2024

Fintech has transformed many sectors within the financial industry and wealth management in recent years. Fintech is rapidly influencing people to manage their private wealth. And not only this it also guides them to invest and grow their assets. The incorporation of technology in wealth management has provided various benefits such as increasing efficiency, flexibility, personalization, and security.

In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of fintech in the private wealth management domain.

Benefits of Fintech in Wealth Management

Fintech is bringing a revolution in conventional practices, making them more secure, accessible, and transparent. Here are a few benefits of Fintech in wealth management.

  • Increase in Accessibility: It increases the accessibility of financial services by minimizing barriers set up by traditional brokers such as high account minimums, limited to certain geographic areas, and face-to-face interactions. For instance, robo-advisors are easy to manage through user-friendly mobile apps or websites. Moreover, they are cost-effective.
  • Personalization: Fintech solutions use sophisticated algorithms and vast datasets to provide tailored product recommendations and portfolio allocations based on each investor’s financial goals, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs. Contextual nudges and notifications improve user engagement by personalizing the experience. When it comes to FinTech in the wealth management ecosystem, these technologies offer investors a significant opportunity to leverage the power of data for more informed decision-making.
  • Cost Savings:  Many of the solutions in wealth management in FinTech are partially or highly automated, covering entire process chains in operations, portfolio management, trading executions, and advisory services for clients. This cuts down the number of expensive human advisors and structures that are required to assist the numerous users. In addition, the use of web/mobile delivery models reduces distribution costs.
  • Enhanced User Experience: Many leading fintech apps have well-functioning and attractive user interfaces. This makes user experiences way ahead thanks to the flexible online account opening, hassle-free chatbot advisory, combined financial data, and real-time interaction with customer representatives.
  • Improved Security: On the other hand, biometric login authentication, mandatory multi-factor authorization, end-to- end encryption, distributed ledger technology, central and advanced data monitoring system and well-established cybersecurity make fintech way more safer for data and financial frauds. Security is higher compared to the general systems that are being offered in the market.
  • Higher Efficiency: Optimizing wealth management processes through automation and AI-powered enhancements rapidly increases operational efficiency. This leads to a reduction in errors, quicker processing of transactions, fewer information inquiries, and rapid response to clients’ queries without hampering the cost.
  • Improved Risk Management: Fintech apps use predictive analytics and data science techniques to evaluate and mitigate risk better. This factor is essential to find out the complexities of the products.

Conclusion 

Integration of fintech into wealth management has brought about several advantages that are changing the whole industry. By enhancing accessibility, increasing personalization, improving efficiency, and providing better user experience, fintech is making private wealth management more inclusive, efficient, and secure. Fintech certainly is opening doors to a brighter future for wealth management.