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Stock Markets are full of experts. There is fundamental analysis and there is technical analysis. And then there are a plethora of technical indicators and charts. Armed with so much firepower of data and analysis a trader sets out to trade. His indicators tell him to enter a trade at Rs. 1130. It is a day trade. Same indicators tell him to exit at Rs. 1137. The exit is done. The lot size was 750. A profit of 5250 taken. A good trade. Only minutes later, there is another surge in price and stock keeps moving up and ends 4% higher at the end of day at Rs. 1175. The trade which could have given you Rs. 45 was exited after taking Rs. 7 only. This is what happens with most traders. Sorry, this is not true. What actually happens is that if the stock fell by Rs. 40, the trader will book a loss of Rs. 40 but while booking profit, it will be booked at 3–7 Rupees. Sounds familiar. It happens to everyone. Still we do not learn. After wiping out the initi...

It’s scary to start Investing, I remember the day i started with a few thousand bucks, It felt like I am about to jump of the cliff. As soon as I bought the First Stock, i couldn’t stop staring at its price ticker for the next few days, constantly praying that it doesn’t fall and hoping that it rises miraculously, neither of that happened as the stock traded sideways for the next few days. But for all this to begin, you need to have a Trading & Demat account. It is important to choose it carefully, because the brokerage and maintenance charges will eat into your profits. So let’s discuss the options available with you 3 in 1 Accounts A combination of Savings, Trading & Demat Account offered by banks Pros Convenience of Fund transfer, as funds come in and go out from your savings account seamlessly and you don’t need to manually Transfer funds to your broker when you want to  buy a stock. Single point of contact - You don’t need to visit an additional broke...

Why should one invest in the stock market? Actually, there are several reasons to do so. Investing in stocks can provide impressive returns, and these gains can help investors successfully overcome inflation. There is a significant wealth of information on this particular market, which can help individual investors to make better-informed decisions. In addition, numerous investment vehicles provide exposure to this market, offering investors many ways to get involved. Finally, there are many inexpensive ways to obtain exposure to this stock market, so investors don’t have to spend a prohibitive amount of fees. COMPETITIVE RETURNS Historically, stocks have provided the highest long-term results of any asset class, as the BSE SENSEX produced an average annual return of more than 15 % between 1980 and 2016. In comparison, the three-month Treasury Bill generated an average annual return of 3.46% and the 10-year Treasury Bond returned 5.18%. One great way to illustrate the di...

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so says an old proverb. In the world of equity markets, every public company starts its journey with an IPO. It is through an IPO that a private company “goes public”, i.e. it transforms into a public company. Hence, if you are interested in investing, then understanding what the term IPO means would certainly be very valuable. Public Company Vs Private Company and The Definition of an IPO Before we look at what an IPO is, let us quickly understand the difference between private and public companies. In general, a public company is one that is listed on a stock exchange, i.e. its shares are traded openly on a stock exchange. Most companies start their life as a private company, i.e. as a company that is not listed on any stock exchange. Typically, a few people – the founders of the company – get together to start a firm. After this, some shares of the company may be sold to other individuals or firms through private ...

This article will focus on answering a common question. What will make you more money – trading or investing? Trading can be quite similar to investing at certain points. For example, a trader may hold a security for the same amount of time as an investor. Therefore, to avoid confusion, I will refer to the extremes. In this article by trader I mean someone who places trades on securities like shares or currencies for very short periods of time. This could be for as little as a few seconds or minutes. And by investor I am referring to someone who is willing to make an investment and hold it for a very long period of time. The investment could be held for a lifetime, although a period of five to ten years is more common. The trader focuses on profiting from short-term price movements, and cares little about the fundamentals of what they are trading. The investor, on the other hand, focuses on the fundamentals and long-term viability of their investments. Warren Buffett i...

Warren Buffett is an investment guru and one of the richest and most respected businessmen in the world. He was born on August 30,1930, in Omaha, Nebraska. Investing by age 11, Buffett was running a small business at 13. Buffett later started the firm Buffett Partnership in Omaha, with huge success.  He was ranked as the world’s wealthiest person in 2008 and as the third wealthiest in 2015. In 2012 Time named Buffett one of the world’s most influential people. Well, the truth is that there is no secret formula or ingredient to success. In order to achieve it, we need to follow the steps of those that are already there and here a selection of 10 Life Lessons from Warren Buffetf’s quotes to learn a lot from. #1. Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing. – Warren Buffett We lose a lot of opportunities in our lives because of fear. Fear of taking risks and indulge ourselves into something bigger than us. Learn to set the table, before you sit. Plan each and every asp...

Systematic investment plan (SIP), systematic transfer plan (STP) and systematic withdrawal plan (SWP) are methods of systematic investing and withdrawal in mutual funds but many investors seem to be still unaware of the latter two. What is an SIP? An Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is an option where you invest a fixed amount in a mutual fund scheme at regular intervals. For example, you can invest 1,000 in a mutual fund every month. It is a disciplined investment plan and helps reduces vulnerability to market fluctuations. SIP investments can help you reach your financial goals by taking advantage of rupee cost averaging, and growing your investments with compounding benefits. With mutual funds, your account will be automatically debited on the requested date to purchase the units of the required fund. What is a Systematic Transfer Plan (STP) Normally, one uses a STP when there is a lump sum to invest like when you have earned a substantial bonus but don’t want to...

Let us understand all the tax components for investing in equities (stocks or equity mutual funds) for the longer-term. 1. LTCG in Simple Terms We have a new tax for LTCG. It stands for Long-Term Capital Gains. Any investment in the equity market (stocks or equity mutual funds) for more than one year had no tax liability on returns prior to 31st January 2018 as they were classifieds as long-term capital gains. From Feb 1st, 2018, we have a 10% tax on the returns. The gains weren’t taxed until 31st Jan 2018. So any gains made till 31st Jan 2018 are still tax-free. So the tax calculation isn’t based on the purchase price but price as on 31st Jan 2018 and gains thereafter. Let us understand this with an example from my open portfolio. Any equity investment prior to 31st Jan 2017 which was termed as long-term capital gains as on 31st Jan 2018. So the investment in Pidilite Industries was in September 2016. So in September 2017, it became long-term investment and any ga...

The recent fall in stock markets had investors buzzing. The terms “correction” and “bear market” were being flung around as freely as beer at Oktoberfest. The burning question on everyone's minds? "Should we view this sudden drop in global market performance as a correction; or is there a bear market on the horizon?" As value investors, we are not easily shaken by hype and media. We take a calm approach and turn to the facts to guide us, most especially when it seems like everyone else is in a frenzy. So let’s do that now and look at what distinguishes a correction from a bear market. Breaking Down a Bear Market 1. What is a bear market? A bear market is typically characterised by a downturn of 20% or more, lasting at least sixty days, in any broad equity index such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq. 2. How is a bear market triggered? Generally speaking, a bear market is triggered when investors lose faith in the market ...

This is definitely the most important thing one wants to know the day they listen to the term, stock markets. For most of the people, it is like a casino, where people come to lose money and go broke. THIS IS NOT THE TRUTH. IN FACT THIS IS TOTAL BULLSHIT. Yes, most people blow up their account and go bankrupt but it all happens not because stock market is a casino but because people don't have the required skills, knowledge, understanding and strategies to play this game of stock markets. Imagine the day when you came to know about the game called "CRICKET" and the same day you decided that you will face Brett Lee straight away. You can expect what probably will happen! Right? IT IS NEVER YOUR BROKER FAULT People do the same thing in stock markets, the come to know about stock markets from someone and they think they have found a gold mine. Rather than spending time about learning what actually is a stock market people tend to play the game, without...