Month: February 2018
I have often seen people planning to Invest in bank Fixed Deposits rather than Equity related Mutual Funds inspite of the growing Indian Economy and rising stock market. Though the times are changing and people have started looking at Equity Investment schemes, but still its only the minority of people savings going into the equity market.
Indians are skeptic about investing in Equities. Reason behind so is lack of knowledge and general awareness of the benefits. One needs to understand that stock markets are the best way to benefit from a country which economy GDP is growing over 8.5% year on year. Stock market basically resembles a Nation’s financial condition which of India is going to get better n better.
Indian Money Is Way Too Conservative
Fact figures suggests that 48% of total American savings goes for investing in schemes related to equities. On the other hand the fact figure for Indian savings money routed to equities stands at a merely small total of just 2%. No wonder, both the Indian Government and leading Indian Stock Exchanges are always keen to generate interest and awareness within the common people indicating towards the benefit of investing in equities for the long term.
Its the lack of Financial Education which keeps Indian savings money away from the Equities, since they are not ever formally introduced to financial planning and Investing. Majority of people believes that small investors cannot earn money from stock market, which absolutely is just a myth and nothing more.
Indian Investors still prefers the traditional way of Investment like Fixed Deposits. In fact Fixed Deposits are so famous and traditional that, during daughters marriage, father often gifts Fixed Deposits!
What Is A Bank Fixed Deposit?
A fixed-income debt security issued by banks. A Fixed Deposit is like loaning the bank your money and in return, they pay you interest which is currently between 8-9.5% p.a.
At this interest rates your money will double approx in 7-8 years. Too less, too late? Read on
Why You Should Not Be Investing In Fixed Deposits?
The most unusual characteristic of a fixed deposit is that the funds cannot be withdrawn for a specified period of time which is usually 3 years since deposit for any reason.
Changes in the going interest rate may also rise to a point above and beyond the interest rate applied to existing deposits done with the banks. This means account holders are actually earning less interest with fixed deposits than with other types of products.
What is a Mutual Fund?
A Mutual Fund is a investment scheme maintained and run by professional fund managers working under the name of a Financial Institute or a Fund House. Money is being collected from different and many investors and then collectively put in a pool account from where the fund managers makes Buy and Sell trades according to there own group research and investment objectives.
Dalal Street people prefers you thinking that what they do with your money is some rocket science and you are absolutely not the right person to take your own financial decision so that they keep earning fat commissions for themselves you being entrusting them your hard earned money.
Though its a different case that of course you can also invest your money yourself with little bit of research and with the help of expert Indian stock advisory services like Winfromus which generates higher returns than the different Mutual Fund schemes.
But never the less, there are some real good fund managers out there too, doing what they are best at and most of the good names has been successfully generating 13-15% Compounded Annual Growth Returns (CAGR) since the past 5-6 years.
CAGR Projection over the next 3 years from Indian Stock Markets
Conservative projection suggests that the Indian markets can deliver CAGR of 15-18% over the next 3 years and optimistic like me expects 20% CAGR over the next 3 years with the right selected stocks and sectors.
20% CAGR is not just a dream, but it is also fundamentally backed by growing GDP, country’s financial condition and over all economical and business development which is on course and expected to grow at a descent pace.
Fixed Deposits Returns are Guaranteed, Mutual Funds Are Not – What about my money safety?
Well, for a matter of fact nobody can guarantee you returns while investing in equity via any possible way, since it involves risk. But theres a way to cut the risk virtually to Zero levels and still get benefited the most. The secret is Systematic Investment Planning (SIP).
Systematic Investment allows you to stay invested without worrying to time the markets or about the volatility we see in stock market. In fact SIP works out best when markets are volatile. The funda of systematic investing works on a simple formula invented by world’s most genius ever Albert Einstein – Power of Compounding.
While SIP, rupee cost averaging and compounding of returns/interest earned on principle over a period of time compounds together and puts significant impact on wealth creation over the long run and stock market being a cyclical asset, it is very likely that you will see a higher end where you may take profits and then go conservative.
Do you know how much money can be made on investment of just Rs 10,000/- per month at a CAGR of 20%? I have done the maths, here’s the result –
* Rs 10k/month Invested for 5 years at 20% CAGR to become 10 lacs
* Rs 10k/month Invested for 10 years at 20% CAGR to become 35 lacs
* Rs 10k/month Invested for 15 years at 20% CAGR to become 95 lacs
* Rs 10k/month Invested for 20 years at 20% CAGR to become 2.4 crore
Eventually In 25 years 10000/month @ 20% CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) to become 6.1 crores and in 30 years 10000/month @ 20% CAGR to become a whopping 15 crores. The longer you invest, the higher would get your returns.
Think Mature, Aim Higher, Plan and Set A Goal…
Fixed Deposits cannot generate the kind of returns stock markets will and theres no doubt about it. If you are young and want to Invest and grow your money big, equities are the way to go. Don’t be skeptic and look at the brighter side of investing in Stock Market, you don’t get such money making opportunity in a lifetime.
Returns of fixed deposits may not even beat Inflation rates, then whats the use of saving money in them and allowing money to sit idle to generate lesser returns on investment when a simple SIP in equities can do a better performance for your money? Think about it..
Happy Investing!!
April 15 is the official deadline to file tax returns and pay taxes in the US every year; and though aware of this deadline, many people fail to do so. While some people put off the filing work for no reason, few others dont find the time to gather all their tax documents. No matter what the reason, failing to file the tax return forms within April 15 results in hefty penalties, which keep on accumulating one above the other until the dues are paid off; unless a provision for tax extension is filed. For the benefit of taxpayers of US, the IRS allows a provision for extending the deadline to file tax returns up to 6 months, called IRS tax extension and all it takes is filing the tax extension form 4868 within April 15 and getting it approved. Not only it extends the deadline to file a tax return, but also avoids all sorts of penalties associated with late filing. So without further ado, lets discuss the simple, five step methodology to understand how to file for a tax extension.
1. Understanding Tax Extension
The first and foremost thing to do before knowing how to file for a tax extension is to understand what are its features. An extension essentially extends the time to file a tax return but doesnt extend the deadline for paying your taxes. April 15 shall remain to be the last date to pay all your tax dues and more importantly, April 15 is also the last date to file for a tax extension.
2. Reviewing the Need for Extension
Most people make the unnecessary move of learning how to file for a tax extension without even reviewing the need for an extension in their case. If you have all the documents ready, your accountant available at your service and no financial complications to pay the taxes, there is absolutely no need to buy extra time. It just becomes an excuse to procrastinate and delay filing further and further.
3. Form 4868 and 7004
In order to file for an extension, you need to fill the form 4868 for individual purpose and form 7004 for business. These forms are available both in paper form and online, the latter being the most preferred one. You can download and print the form for free from the IRS website or even take the help of an e-file provider website who also offer an online tax calculator.
4. Filling the Form
Though you know how to file for a tax extension, your form could get rejected by simple entry errors or incorrect information. So fill out the form carefully by providing valid information; and your name, contact information and social security number are the only documents you would need to fill out the form. Once done, you can track the status of your submitted form and get an email confirmation from the IRS on its reception.
5. Filing Tax Returns
Getting an extension of 6 months shouldnt be an excuse to delay filing tax returns. Once you get an approval, gather all the documents you would need, consult your accountant if there is one and ensure you take every aspect into consideration such as tax deposits, tax refunds, due amount etc. to file a tax return that helps your financial interests.
These 5 points are explained in brief and give an outline the process of filing. To know more about how to file for a tax extension, do your research or take the help of an e-file provider website which will not only help you file the extension form but also offers features like online tax calculators and advisory services.
Variable universal life insurance is a life insurance policy that is available from World Financial Group, and is a very wise investment for your future. Unlike universal health insurance, a variable universal life insurance policy involves investments that are made on your behalf in stocks. Even though many individuals feel that this type of policy is more rigid and risky, brokers that invest the policy funds for World Financial Group, take every care with the assets they are trusted with. Because of the many restrictions and investment that is made into each of the variable universal life insurance policies with World Financial Group, it is a very important and good investment to make for your own future and that of your family.
Some of the things that you need to understand about this type of policy include the premiums, benefits and investments that are made. A premium payment schedule is set up from the beginning and must be adhered to over the entire life of the policy. Benefits of the insurance policy can be two to three times the monetary value that you would realize with a traditional life insurance policy. Because the money paid into the policy is invested, there is a a lot more room for growth of the policy. At the same time, the investments are made can also fail, so just like playing the market there are risks involved. If you are comfortable with these risks though, the investment can be very profitable.
When it comes to finding a financial advisor in Sydney there are four important benefits that everyone should understand.
Benefit 1: Mental and physical freedom
From family obligations to personal commitments to work commitments there just does not seem to be ample time in the day to get all the tasks completed. Depending on your individual lifestyle, you may or may not get the additional time to think for your future, organize and monitor your financial happenings with confidence. Working with a trusted financial advisor in Sydney gives you a course of action and gives you time to free up for enjoying activities that can add spice in your life.
Benefit 2: Simplification
The financial services in Sydney are filled with complicated investment products, theories and concepts. Knowing what should be considered for an individual situation along with what should be neglected is a difficult task. There is less or say no information available to investors now a days, and the foremost important challenge is searching through all the irrelevant and unnecessary information to use the small amount of information that you may require. Working with a trusted and reputed professional can give the benefit of saving your time of searching the internet, reading the articles, and trying to locate the answer on your own from the series of sources available. By hiring the planner you can save both your time and energy to focus on other important tasks in your life. Your financial advisor can also assist you understand the risks and complications you are taking with your hard money and how they can cause impact your financial security.
Benefit 3: Financial planner helps in giving you use unknown and known investments
When for the first time you start investing, you can utilize managed funds or individual stocks. But time and time, as your finance increases, you may notice that some of the attributes of these investments may not favor your individual situation and needs.
By working with a reputed firm, you may also get access to many additional investments for instance alternative investments. Such investments can help further to diversify your portfolio and will provide additional individual benefits within your current situation and risk tolerance as well as investment strategy.
Benefit 4: Keeping Score
One important challenge that you may be dealing with is maintaining score. Knowing how your investments are doing on a regular basis and by determining your progress in relation to your objectives and evaluate that performance against benchmarks can be both time evolving and confusing.
Working with a professional can help to simplify this process. Not only this, this would be perfect for your financial planner to keep record of all money entrusted to an individual over the lifetime of your relationship. In this manner, you can know over time, whether value of your money is being created or destroyed. So, without wasting any further time you can hire the best.
Each of us like to do something different on our special days then why not choose to donate for special occasion? There are innumerable occasions we celebrate during the year. Be it birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, festivals, success parties and the list goes on. During these times we spend lavishly because we are capable of spending so much but would it hurt our pockets if we decide to spend some amount from our budget for the benefit of the underserved children? Hope not!
Donation for special occasion does not mean one has to contribute lump sum of money to a non-profit organisation in India or abroad. It is the intent and the potential behind the donation that counts. For example: if a donor donates Rs. 750 for special occasion towards The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a non-profit organisation in India implementing the mid-day meal scheme, then the donor is actually taking care of a child’s school lunch for one whole year. How? The operational and administrative efficiency of Akshaya Patra allows the NGO to provide one wholesome meal per day to a child at a cost of just Rs. 750 for one whole year. This non-profit organisation in India has been implementing the mid-day meal scheme since 2000. Today, it serves freshly cooked nutritious mid-day meals to 1.4 million children across the entire country, every day.
As a transparency and accountability policy, this non-profit organisation in India regularly publishes its Annual Report for each financial year. Along with reporting the achievements, developments and plans for the next year, it religiously publishes all its audited financial statements and reports for its stakeholders. It accounts all the grants, subsidies and donations it has received to implement the mid-day meal scheme and how the fund was utilised. In the financial year 2013-14, Akshaya Patra’s programme-wise break-up of cost is, 84% for the mid-day meal programme, 12% for programme management and 4 % for fund raising and communications. Among various communication awards, Akshaya Patra has become the first NGO to have been inducted to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s (ICAI) Hall of Fame as a result of being the recipient of the Gold Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting for five consecutive years – a true testimony to the Foundation’s transparent model of operation.
The beneficiaries of this non-profit organisation in India are young hearts studying in Government schools. They are children who cross all barriers to come to school because of their strong determination to change the future. The success stories will introduce you to children from across India who despite all odds has their dreams and aspirations just like any other child growing up amidst comforts. When you choose to donate for special occasion, you are actually acting upon to change one or more of these lives.
Donate for special occasion. The significance of charity will certainly give a new meaning to your celebration.