Planning for your retirement

Retirement Planning - Upload a doc

Read this doc on Scribd: Retirement Planning

Reliance MF Has Announced The Declaration Of Dividend

Reliance Mutual Fund has announced the declaration of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit for Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund- III- Annual Plan -Series I under both retail and institutional plan. The record date is set as 12 May 2008. The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of surplus available under both plans as on record date. The NAV for the scheme under retail plan was Rs. 10.1354 and that of under institutional plan was Rs. 10.1368 as on 5 May 2008. Reliance Fixed Horizon Fund- III- Annual Plan -Series I is a close-ended income fund. The primary investment objective of the scheme is to seek to generate regular returns and growth of capital by investing in a diversified portfolio of central and state government securities and other fixed income/ debt securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the series with the objective of limiting interest rate volatility.

ING MF Plans To Distribute Entire Appreciation In The NAV

ING India Mutual Fund has announced 12 May 2008 as the record date for declaration of dividend under dividend option of ING Fixed Maturity Plan - Series 41. The AMC plans to distribute entire appreciation in the NAV of dividend option from the date of allotment to 12 May 2008 as dividend. The NAV under the scheme is Rs 10.1364 as on 5 May 2008. ING Fixed Maturity Plan - Series 41 is a close -ended scheme offering an investment plan of 92 days maturity, investing in a portfolio of government securities or highly rated corporate bonds maturing close to maturity of the scheme so as to generate returns comparable with alternative fixed-income instruments of similar maturity.

Kotak Launches Sensex ETF

Kotak Mutual is launching Kotak Sensex ETF on May 7, 2008. This exchange traded fund will track BSE Sensitive Index (Sensex) to provide returns before expenses that closely correspond to the total returns of the BSE Sensex. The fund is open for subscription from May 07, 2008 till May 16, 2008. The units would be listed on BSE to provide liquidity through secondary market.

This will be the second ETF on Sensex. The first ETF on Sensex was launched in January 2003 -- ICICI Pru Spice which has closely tracked Sensex and delivered returns as much as the Sensex in the past 5-years but currently has less than Rs 1 crore assets under management.

ETF is an Index fund but they trade on the market like stocks. Kotak Sensex ETF will facilitate exposure to Sensex with a single order. It will also enable trading flexibility by Intra day buying and selling just like any other listed share. The pricing will also be almost live as the intraday indicative price is likely to be closely linked to Sensex.

Index funds have lower cost as they charge lower management fee compared to actively managed funds. Investors will have to pay brokerage in buying and selling these instead of any entry/exit load.

Other Details:

Each unit of the Kotak Sensex ETF will be approximately equal to 1/100th of the value of BSE SENSEX

Entry Load during NFO: For investments < investments =" "> Rs 1 Crore Nil

No entry load shall be charged on “all direct” applications received by AMC i.e., on application forms that are not routed through any distributor / agent / broker and submitted to AMC office or collection centre / investment service centre.

Entry Load during continuous offer : Nil

Exit Load Nil

Mutual Funds AUM Report - AUM up by 7.32%

Assets under management (AUM) registered an impressive rise of 7.32% to Rs 5.67 lakh crore in April 2008 compared with Rs 5.28 lakh crore in March 2008. AUM of fund of funds (FoFs) was Rs 3759.02 crore in April 2008. It has been the highest monthly gain in AUM since October 2007.
Of the 33 mutual funds 26 registered a rise in AUM in April 2008 over March 2008 and rest 7 showed a decline in their AUM. There were 17 fund houses with AUM above Rs 10000 crore. Fifteen of them had a net inflow in April 2008 compared with March 2008.
The top three funds witnessing a rise in the AUM included Mirae Mutual Fund (95.18%), Canara Robeco Mutual Fund (30.35%) and AIG Global Investment Group Mutual Fund (21.71%). Reliance Mutual Fund continued its run as the largest fund house with Rs 96386.40 crore of AUM in April 2008 a rise of 5.99% over March 2008. It registered net inflow of Rs 5448.46 crore in April 2008 over March 2008. AUM of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund was at Rs 55708.52 crore in April 2008 a rise of 2.55% in AUM over March 2008 continued to be at the second position.
AUM of UTI Mutual Fund increased by 7.28% whereas AUM of HDFC Mutual Fund increased by 15.63% in April 2008 over March 2008. Occupying the third and fourth slots, AUM of UTI Mutual Fund and HDFC Mutual Fund were Rs 52549.40 crore and Rs 51770.81 crore, respectively. Both the fund houses were in the third and fourth positions in March 2008.
The other top mutual funds, in terms of AUM, were Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (Rs 39489.22 crore), SBI Mutual Fund (Rs 30394.73 crore) and Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (Rs 28631.63 crore) in April 2008. The assets of Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund increased by 9.98% in April 2008 whereas Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund showed an increase of 6.67%.
HDFC Mutual Fund recorded the highest inflow of Rs 6997.65 crore in April 2008 followed by Reliance Mutual Fund with a net inflow of Rs 5448.46 crore. Occupying the third and fourth slots, Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund and UTI Mutual Fund recorded the highest inflow Rs 3583.18 crore and Rs 3566.59 crore, respectively.
Deutsche Mutual Fund recorded the second highest net outflow of Rs 794.77 crore in April 2008, after JM Financial Mutual Fund, which secured its top position with an outflow of Rs 864.86 crore, followed by Benchmark Mutual Fund and ING Vysya Mutual Fund, with a net outflow of Rs 378.42 crore and Rs 138.33 crore, respectively.

New plans of Edelweiss

Edelweiss Capital, a Mumbai based financial services company has received the approval from the market regulator, SEBI, to start its asset management business. As per the press release yesterday, Edelweiss Asset Management Ltd will act as an investment manger for Edelweiss Mutual Fund, whom the registration has been granted. The asset management company plans to launch more than 8-9 products in the mutual fund domain within one year, which will include broad based equity funds, structured funds, arbitrage funds and other innovative fixed income funds and equity funds inline with the requirements of the market. The group company’s businesses include investment banking, insurance brokerage and wealth management.

The Elephant of the Indian mutual fund industry is just away from a marvelous milestone

Reliance Mutual Fund the country’s largest fund house in terms of asset under management is astray by Rs. 4000 crore to strike the miraculous Rupee One Trillion mark. According to the latest figures available on Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), Reliance MF’s average asset under management (AAUM) is Rs. 96,386.40 crores at the end of April, 2008, a 6% growth in AAUM from 90,937.94 crores till March 30. Reliance MF acquires the lion’s share by managing 17% assets of the entire mutual fund industry as per the April month closing data. Reliance MF is continuously stretching the gap with it peers, as since over a year and 3 months the scheme is unbeatably ruling the mutual fund industry. Its closest peer ICICI Prudential MF AAUM stood at Rs 55,708.52 crore. UTI MF stood at the third position with an AAUM of 52,549.40 crores, and HDFC MF which grew 15% ranked fourth in the 34 – member mutual fund industry.

Buffett Says Credit Crisis Ebbs for Wall Street Firms (Update4)

May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said the global credit crunch has eased for bankers, and the Federal Reserve probably averted more failures by helping to rescue Bear Stearns Cos.
``The worst of the crisis in Wall Street is over,'' Buffett said today on Bloomberg Television. ``In terms of people with individual mortgages, there's a lot of pain left to come.'' Buffett was interviewed before the Omaha, Nebraska-based company's annual meeting, attended by about 31,000 people.
Buffett, the world's richest man according to Forbes magazine, said the Fed acted properly when it arranged a $2.4 billion buyout in March of New York-based Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase & Co. The billionaire said he turned down the opportunity because he lacked enough capital and time to craft a solution. More failures and wider panic may have resulted if the regulators didn't halt the run on Bear Stearns, he said.
``The worry was that there would be contagion; it was a very real worry,'' Buffett said. ``If Bear Stearns had gone, the next day, somebody else would have gone. It could've been a very, very, very chaotic situation.''
Buffett, 77, said he was contacted in March before JPMorgan, the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, agreed to buy Bear Stearns. The person calling him, whom he wouldn't identify, was ``someone responsible'' and wasn't from the Federal Reserve or the Treasury. The call lasted about half an hour, Buffett said.
Too Big for Buffett
``As I understand it, Bear Stearns had $65 billion due on Monday and I didn't have $65 billion,'' Buffett said. ``I couldn't get my mind around that situation in the required time.'' New York-based JPMorgan was the right buyer for Bear Stearns, he added.
Berkshire had about $35 billion in cash as of March 31, according to a regulatory filing yesterday.
JPMorgan agreed in mid-March to acquire Bear Stearns, once the fifth-biggest U.S. securities firm, after customers grew concerned about the company's health and pulled out their money, leaving Bear Stearns short on cash. JPMorgan, which got financial support from the Federal Reserve, raised the purchase price a week later to $10 a share from $2 to mollify Bear Stearns shareholders who said they weren't getting enough.
The 24-company KBW Bank Index has advanced 14 percent since the Bear Stearns bailout was announced in March, and the 11- company Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index has climbed 30 percent.
Credit Losses
In a question-and-answer session at the shareholder meeting, Buffett said that from a risk perspective, some banks got ``too big to manage.''
The world's largest banks and investment firms have recorded more than $300 billion of losses and writedowns tied to mortgages, bonds and loans.
Berkshire's own investment in derivative contracts recovered $500 million to $600 million of lost value since the end of March, Buffett said. The company will make ``significant money'' on the derivatives over the long term, he said at the meeting. Berkshire said yesterday the value of the investments had declined by $1.7 billion in the first quarter. The entire company's quarterly profit plunged 64 percent to $940 million.
Buffett is scheduled to embark on a four-city European trip this month to scout potential acquisitions, including family- owned companies. He has been investing in China, Israel and the U.K. to spur profit growth after saying that U.S. investments meeting his criteria have become scarce.
International Earnings
``Over time we'd like to develop more international earnings,'' Buffett said. ``If it's a $2 billion deal, fine; if it's a $20 billion dollar deal, fine.''
Buffett, who made his first non-U.S. acquisition in 2006, paying $4 billion for 80 percent of Israel-based Iscar Metalworking Cos., said he can't predict the location of the next company Berkshire will acquire.
``They can come from Europe, they can come from the United States, you just never know,'' he said. ``Somebody, someplace is going to have a situation where we fit. They're going to call me; I want to make sure I'm on their radar screen.''
Buffett said during the meeting he'd like to buy businesses in India and China, and that he wanted to acquire one or two non- U.S. companies in the next three years. He is looking as competition forces down insurance rates in the U.S. for Berkshire, which typically gets about half its profit from insurance units including National Indemnity, General Re Corp. and Geico Corp.
The U.S. dollar will keep weakening and Buffett feels ``no need to hedge'' against currency risk when buying large companies outside the U.S., he said.
Landing From Mars
``If I landed from Mars today with a billion of Mars dollars, or whatever they call them on Mars, and I was thinking about where to put my money,'' he said. ``I don't think I'd put the entire billion in U.S. dollars.''
Berkshire Hathaway has spent $4 billion investing in the municipal auction-rate bond market, taking advantage of payouts that topped 10 percent after regular bidders fled the market. Markets were so disrupted, Buffett said, that bonds from the same issue were selling simultaneously from the same broker with yields of 6 percent and 11 percent.
Berkshire has risen about 22 percent in New York Stock Exchange composite trading during the past 12 months and gained about 4,700 percent in 20 years through Dec. 31, about six times more than the Standard & Poor's 500 Index including dividends.
Buffett took shareholder questions for more than five hours on dozens of issues.
Other topics Buffett addressed include:
-- There's ``no guarantee'' Berkshire Hathaway won't be a buyout target after his death, though such a takeover is unlikely.
-- He said he's in good health because of his diet, ``some Wrigley, some Mars, some See's, some Coke.'' Berkshire this week committed $6.5 billion to help finance candy company Mars Inc.'s takeover of Wm. Wrigley Jr., the world's biggest maker of chewing gum. Berkshire owns See's Candies and is the top shareholder of Coca-Cola Co.
-- He doesn't support a push for companies or countries to boycott the Olympics in China based on that country's human rights record.
-- He would buy shares of PetroChina Co. again if they are at a level he considers cheap, Buffett said. Berkshire sold a stake in the company last year.
-- Factories in China have different norms for working conditions than those in the U.S., and he won't ``tell the world how to run'' their businesses.