Best Tax Saving Fund

Which tax saver fund is now best to invest? Please guide.
Tapse raghunath rao
Choose from well rated five star funds like Magnum Tax Gain, Sundaram Tax Saver, HDFC Tax Saver or Birla Sun Life Tax Relief 96. These funds have been performing well.

At this stage, which fund can give good returns in short term.
Amit
Do not invest in equity mutual funds for a short term. For short term opt for some well rated short term debt funds like Reliance Short Term or TATA Short Term Bond.

Is it beter to invest in NFO or existing mutul funds. Which would you advice.
Dr Krunal
It is always better to invest in existing mutual funds which have a good track record and are well rated. New mutual fund schemes do not have any performance history and hence it is tough to evaluate them. Investing in experienced funds is a better strategy.

I am a new investor & am not aware of any market strategies. Please advise which fund to invest for long term and short term.
If you are a new investor, it is advisable you invest in market via the mutual funds route. Start investing via SIP in some of well rated funds like Sundaram Select Focus, HDFC Equity, Reliance Vision, or HDFC Top 200. For short term you should opt for debt funds like Kotak Flexi Debt or ABN Amro Flexi Debt.

I invested in Birla Sun Life Equity fund and Reliance Diversified Power fund in August 2007. Should I hold or withdraw? Please suggest.
Prashant
Birla Sunlife Equity is a four star rated diversified equity fund which has a good track record. Remain invested in the fund with a long term view.
Reliance Diversified Power is a sectoral fund which has done really well in 2007. Make sure you keep a close watch on its performance as it's a riskier pick.

I want to start mutual fund sip of Rs 10000. Is this time right? It is always the right time to invest in mutual funds if you are investing via SIP. You can divide this amount in 2-3 well rated funds and start investing via SIP with a long term view.

What is future of SBI Magnum Multicap fund?
Magnum Multi Cap is a relatively new fund and has been an average performer till now. It would be better if you invest in some other diversified funds like Reliance Vision or HDFC Equity.

Advice for Kotak Bond Fund & Kotak Opportunities Fund. Both are five star rated funds. Kotak Bond Fund is a debt fund whereas Kotak Opportunities Fund is an equity diversified fund.
Both funds have a good performance history and you can invest in these funds.

I have Rs 1 lakh which I want to invest for a period of eight years. Please suggest.
Devendra
Invest in well diversified equity funds like Sundaram Select Focus, Reliance Vision, HDFC Equity or Birla Frontline Equity. Make sure you invest via the SIP route or spread your investment over time.

I have heard that if I invest Rs 50,000 in Market Plus then I will get Rs 1 crore after 30 years. Is it possible?
Market Plus is a ULIP. If you are expecting Rs 1 crore from Rs 50000 invested for 30 years, you are expecting an annual return of around 20 per cent. Though this is achievable, the high charges associated with a ULIP can hamper the growth.

(by valueresearch)

Dividend in Canara Robeco Equity Tax Saver

Canara Robeco Mutual Fund has declared dividend of 30 % under Canara Robeco Equity Tax Saver Fund. The record date for the same would be March 28, 2008.

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Tata Mid Cap Fund Announces Maiden Dividend

Tata Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 10% (i.e. Rs. 1/- per unit on face value of Rs.10/-per unit) under the dividend option of Tata Mid Cap Fund. The record date for the same would be March 26, 2008.

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Maiden Dividend Under Birla Infrastructure Fund

Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has announced a maiden dividend of 10 % under the dividend option of Birla Infrastructure Fund.

The record date of this dividend would be March 24, 2008.

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40% Dividend in ABN Amro Opportunities

ABN AMRO Mutual Fund has declared a 40 % dividend (i.e. Rs. 4.00 per unit on the face value of Rs. 10/- per unit) under the dividend option of ABN AMRO Opportunities Fund. The record date for the same has been fixed as March 25, 2008.

This is the third dividend payout from the fund. Earlier, it had announced a 25% dividend in March 2006 and a 45% dividend in September 2007.

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400% Dividend in Principal Personal Tax Saver

Principal Mutual Fund has declared a dividend of 400 % (i.e. Rs. 40/- per unit on the face value Rs. 10/- each) under Principal Personal Tax Saver Fund. The record date for the same would be March 25, 2008.

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200 % Dividend under Birla Sunlife Tax Relief 96 Fund

Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund has declared a dividend of 200% (i.e. Rs. 20/- per unit on face value of Rs.10/-per unit) under the dividend option of Birla Sunlife Tax Relief 96 fund. The record date for the same would be March 25, 2008.

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Growing Principle

Rajat Jain is an old hand at fund management. In his 18 years of experience, he has worked in various capacities including fund manager and head of research. Currently he holds charge of two funds-Principal Global Opportunities and Principal Resurgent India Equity. A mechanical engineer by education, he knows the nuts and bolts of the markets well.

How does Principal Global Opportunities Fund work?
The fund was launched in April 2004. It was the first fund to offer an opportunity to Indian investors to invest outside India. At that time the regulations permitted a very restricted investment universe. So our list was very limiting. But that changed in August 2006 when the regulations were liberalised. Then we repositioned the fund as a feeder fund that feeds into Principals Emerging Markets Fund. Principal manages over $6 billion in emerging market equity assets.

What is the Emerging Markets Fund investing strategy?
Principal group uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis in its stock picking. They are bottom-up stock selectors. The fund takes no cash calls.

The benchmark is MSCI Emerging Markets. Principal Global Investors, which is managing the emerging markets fund, do not take major calls on either a sector or a country. They are bottom up stock selectors. As part of risk control, they take controlled exposures to individual stocks, countries and sectors vis-à-vis the benchmark. They will have limited divergence vis-à-vis the benchmark. But within that, they will go for the best stocks in respective countries or sectors. They will pick the best stocks in a sector across countries.

So despite controlled sector and country calls, the coverage ratio of the fund is 35-40 per cent. This translates into around 60 per cent of the stocks adding alpha. So it is a very stock specific strategy. No country or sector call, but rather stock calls. So, in a manner of speaking, they may not hit many home runs, but hit multiple singles i.e. they take multiple small bets rather than few big bets.

Does it have any India allocation?
No. It is an offshore fund, i.e. the fund is fully invested in the Principal Emerging Markets Fund.

Other than your tax saving fund which has done very well recently, why have your equity funds not done too well?
Our equity funds have done well. In the last two years the performance of our equity funds has been very strong and they are among top quartile in different categories.

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Fidelity announces dividends in two schemes

MUMBAI: Fidelity Fund Management has announced dividends in the Fidelity Equity Fund and the Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund.

The dividend in the Fidelity Equity Fund is Rs 2.50 per unit (Face Value of Rs 10 per unit) and the maiden dividend in the Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund is Rs 1.50 per unit (Face Value of Rs.10 per unit), both subject to availability of distributable surplus.

All investors registered in the Dividend Option of the two funds as on March 13, 2008 will be entitled to this dividend, which will be tax-free in the hands of the investors.

Pursuant to payment of dividend, the Net Asset Value per unit of the dividend options of the respective schemes will fall to the extent of the payment and statutory levy (if applicable). Under the dividend reinvestment option, the dividend declared will be re-invested at the ex-dividend NAV.

Fidelity Fund Management Private Limited is the Indian arm of Fidelity International Limited, one of the world's leading global investment management companies with operations in 23 countries.

(by economic times)

20% Dividend in Kotak Opportunities Fund

Kotak Mutual Fund announced a 20% dividend (Rs 2.00 per unit on a face value of Rs 10), under the dividend option of Kotak Opportunities Fund. The record date of the same has been fixed as March 14, 2008.

This would be the seventh dividend by the fund since its launch and second in this year. The last dividend was of 60% being paid in January, 2008.

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How Many Schemes?

I would like to invest Rs 20,000 in a SIP every month. Should I invest the amount in one scheme or in four different schemes?
-Rushi D. Vaidya

Ideally, you should diversify your investments between a few funds (the actual number depends entirely on the amount you are investing). This strategy ensures that your portfolio is not dependent on the performance of one single fund. However, one needs to avoid over-diversification as that would achieve nothing. For Rs 20,000 per month, it would be wise to opt for a maximum of three funds (assuming these are your only mutual fund investments). Consider well rated large- and mid-cap funds and a balanced fund. The latter would provide the debt component and reduce the portfolio's downside risk.

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Annual dividend in Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund

Franklin Templeton Investments has announced a 30% dividend under the dividend plan of Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund.

The record date fore the dividend payouts is March 12, 2008.

Extension of New Offer Period of Mirae Asset India Opportunities Fund

Mirae Asset Mutual Fund has extended the offer period of Mirae Asset India Opportunities Fund from March 10, 2008 to March 11, 2008.

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Introduction of Growth Plan Under Birla Sun Life Tax Relief'96

Effective March 6, 2008 Birla Mutual Fund has announced the introduction of a growth plan and renamed the existing plan as dividend option of Birla Sun Life Tax Relief '96. The investment amount is Rs. 500 for both the options.

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Dividend Announced in HDFC Equity and HDFC Taxsaver

HDFC Mutual Fund has announced a 55% dividend under the dividend plan of HDFC Equity Fund and an 80% dividend under the dividend plan of HDFC Taxsaver.

The record date fore both the dividend payouts is March 7, 2008.

(by value research)