Note – Advisory regarding Investor Awareness Dear Reader I am reaching out to you today, with an important message: It has been brought to my notice that there a few entities using similar sounding names (with the word ‘Stable’) to sell their financial products and services. Please be informed that I am not associated with any of them in any manner. Also, many unscrupulous persons/entities operating through Indian and International mobile numbers, and via social media platforms like WhatsApp Groups, Telegram Channels, etc. may falsely claim to be associated with me (Dev Ashish) or the name ‘St ..read more

I was recently quoted in Economic Times WEALTH (8-14 February 2024) in the Q&A section where a panel of experts answers readers’ questions related to various aspects of their personal finances. The exact question and the answer – Here is the text version of the query and the reply – Q – I am 44 years old. Below are my current corpus numbers: Equity and mutual funds : Rs.3.75 crore NPS: Rs 30 Lakh Flat worth Rs 25 lakh Fixed income instruments (Bank accounts, FDs):  Rs. 40 Lakh Overall current corpus :  Rs. 4.7 crore My monthly expenses are Rs 1.7 lakh. I have my own house for s ..read more

I was recently quoted in Economic Times WEALTH (8-14 February 2024) in the Q&A section where a panel of experts answers readers’ questions related to various aspects of their personal finances. The exact question and the answer – Here is the text version of the query and the reply – Q – I am 44 years old. Below are my current corpus numbers: Equity and mutual funds : Rs.3.75 crore NPS: Rs 30 Lakh Flat worth Rs 25 lakh Fixed income instruments (Bank accounts, FDs):  Rs. 40 Lakh Overall current corpus :  Rs. 4.7 crore My monthly expenses are Rs 1.7 lakh. I have my own house for s ..read more

Unless you are an ultra-conservative person, just keeping the money in cash or bank deposits will never help you beat inflation. You have to invest in assets/instruments that have the potential to generate good returns and beat inflation consistently in the long run. And all such investments are NOT risk-free. All of them carry some degree of risk. So proper investing is not about avoiding risks at all. It is about managing the dose of risk that you take. And if for some reason your approach to investing feels like playing in a casino or gambling, then you need to take a pause and rethink. You ..read more

I was recently quoted in Economic Times WEALTH (11-17 March 2024) in the Q&A section where a panel of experts answers readers’ questions related to various aspects of their personal finances. The exact question is given below – Here is the article page where the query is answered: Here is the text version of the query and the reply – Q – I am 57 years old working in an MNC. I have about Rs 3 cr in MFs, gold bonds & shares. I have accumulated gratuity and PF of Rs 1.5 crore and PPF corpus worth Rs 70 lakh. I have Tata AIA and Max ULIPs worth Rs 30 lakh and a Bajaj Allianz term policy ..read more

Those who understand the concept of Bitcoin would also know about Halving evenings. The next Halving event is expected around 17th April 2024, when the BTC block reward will decrease (half) from the current 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC for the next four years until mid-2028. Note – This article is for informational purposes only and is about the concept of Bitcoin Halving and how it historically influenced price dynamics. It is not a recommendation or investment advice. Photo by Traxer on Unsplash So, what exactly is a Halving Event? The concept of Halving (blow rewards) is a feature built into the ..read more

LIC has introduced new Non-Linked, Non-Participating endowment plan named LIC Amritbaal (Plan 874) on 17-Feb-2024. The policy UIN for LIC Amritbaal is UIN: 512N365V01. The policy is intended for parents who want to accumulate adequate corpus to meet the higher education and other future needs of their children. Here are the key highlights of the newly launched policy: Minimum Age at Entry is 0 years (30 days completed). Maximum Age at Entry is 13 years (last birthday). Minimum Age at maturity is 18 years (last birthday) Maximum Age at maturity is 25 years (last birthday) Short Premium paymen ..read more

I recently happened to attend a meetup with friends this festival season. An interesting topic that came up was about generating some side-income. One of the friends who works in technology sector told us that he had sufficient free time at hand and hence was considering between the two options of freelancing and trading to generate extra income. This comparison got everyone’s attention. Everyone knows a skill or two which can be used to generate some extra money. And many people have heard stories about how some people make extra money in stock markets via regular trading. So which option is ..read more

The EPFO has INCREASED the EPF interest rate (Employees Provident Fund). The rates have been increased to 8.25% for FY2023-24. The rates earlier were 8.15% in FY 2022-23. So the answer to your questions about What is current EPF interest rate? is 8.25%. Once the new EPF interest rate is officially notified in the government gazette, EPFO is expected to credit the interest amount into the subscribers’ accounts. For a historical perspective and how EPF interest rates have changed over the years, do check historical EPF interest rates (since 1952-53). When compared to other debt instruments, EPF ..read more

Before January 10, 2023, investors could only invest in Bitcoin directly through different exchanges. But now, there are two choices: direct investment and using Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). The US regulatory authority (SEC) has now given its approval for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that directly invest in Bitcoin, marking a significant development in the US financial market. Just like ETFs in India, which track indices such as Sensex or Nifty or commodities like silver or gold, spot bitcoin ETFs will trade on conventional exchanges in the US, mirroring the price/value of Bitcoin. Th ..read more