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More power to women
DSP Blackrock Mutual Fund is looking to make things better for women. It has partnered with an NGO, Parinaam Foundation, to organise workshops to train women from the low-income sections to plan and manage their finances.
The workshop will be held under the ‘Diksha Financial Literacy Programme’ at 24 locations across the country.
It will train women in areas such as maintaining a financial record of income and expenditure, and various saving methods. It will also educate them on ways to keep borrowings under control. This will likely benefit 1,000 women.
All fall down
Even as the total assets managed by the Indian mutual fund industry scaled a new high in January 2014, the total folios declined 7 per cent during the April 2013-February 2014 period. This was largely on account of a 10 per cent fall in equity and ETF folios. With benchmark indices scaling new highs, equity investors seem to be taking some profits off the table.
However, currently, debt instruments appear to be the most preferred investment vehicle for investors. During the past 10 months, there has been a 10 per cent rise in total debt folios. With interest rates currently closer to peak levels, attractive yields and likely price gains in the event of rate cuts have made debt funds an attractive investment option.
Likewise, balanced funds, which promise to offer the best of both equity and debt, have seen a good jump in the number of folios.
Buy from the President
The country’s first central public sector ETF will be launched by Goldman Sachs next week. The fund will invest in the equity of 10 state-owned enterprises that constitute the CPSE Index, constructed by NSE subsidiary India Index Products and Services Ltd. As of February 28, 2014, ONGC had the highest weight of 26.4 per cent in the Index, followed by GAIL and Coal India, with 19 and 18 per cent, respectively.
The index will be reviewed every quarter. The CPSE ETF, at any given point, cannot invest more than 25 per cent in one stock. The fund will buy these stocks directly from the President of India, the seller, represented through different Departments and Ministries, at a discounted rate. Goldman Sachs will, in turn, create and allot units of the scheme to unit-holders.
The Goldman Sachs CPSE ETF is open for subscription for three days from Wednesday, March 19.
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