| Diversified Equity Schemes |
1-Mth |
ELSS Schemes |
1-Mth |
Balanced Schemes |
1-Mth |
| Bharti AXA Equity (G) |
9.16% |
Bharti AXA Tax Adv. (G) |
8.74% |
Sundaram Balanced (G) |
7.30% |
| UTI Master Value (D) |
8.85% |
Chola Tax Saver (D) |
8.12% |
Tata Balanced (G) |
6.10% |
| Mirae Asset India Opp (G) |
8.85% |
HSBC Tax Saver (G) |
8.01% |
HDFC Prudence (G) |
5.84% |
(1-Mth returns as on November 30, 2009)
(Source: Crisil Fund Analyser)
Tax-Planning
With the tax-planning season at its peak, investors would do well to finalise their tax-saving investments at the earliest. This is especially important since tax-planning forms a part of the investor's broader financial planning exercise and investments made for the former can go a long way in helping investors achieve their financial goals.
Among the various tax-saving instruments, Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) is one of the popular investment avenues. It is a high risk-high return investment proposition. As indicated in the table above, Bharti AXA Tax Advantage was the top gainer in the month of November 2009. However, while making investment decisions, investors should look at the performance of the funds over a long-term period; compare the funds with its peers on various parameters like risk, return, and portfolio concentration.
To know about which ELSS to invest in, subscribe to FundSelect, a weekly mutual fund report based on fundamental research.
Monthly top gainers: Open-ended debt funds
| Long-term Debt Schemes |
1-Mth |
Monthly Income Plans |
1-Mth |
Long-Term Gilt Schemes |
1-Mth |
| Chola Triple Ace |
1.90% |
Tata MIP Plus (G) |
2.52% |
UTI G-Sec (G) |
1.88% |
| Escorts Income (G) |
1.72% |
HSBC MIP (G) |
2.43% |
HDFC Gilt LTP (G) |
1.52% |
| ICICI Pru. Income (G) |
1.70% |
Reliance MIP(G) |
2.40% |
Mirae Asset Gilt (G) |
1.44% |
(1-Mth returns as on November 30, 2009)
(Source: Crisil Fund Analyser)
News and Views:
India's GDP: India's GDP grew by 7.9% in the second quarter (July - September) of the fiscal year 2010. This strong growth has been due to increased government spending, low interest rates, robust investments, among other factors. We believe that this strong growth may cause inflationary pressures, which might trigger the RBI to tighten interest rates soon.
Dubai's Debt Crisis: Dubai World's announcement asking for a standstill on the repayment of USD 59 billion worth of debt till May 2010, sent shock waves through stock markets all over the world. However, it is expected that Dubai will draw support from Abu Dhabi, which is UAE's wealthiest member and oil producer. In our opinion, Dubai is not a cause of worry for the Indian investor, as he is relatively unexposed to Dubai. Dubai World is a collection of international companies; some of the brand names are DP World, Nakheel, Drydocks World, etc.
Mutual Fund Trading Platforms: On November 30, the National Stock Exchange launched its Mutual Fund Service System (MFSS). Following its footsteps, Bombay Stock Exchange launched its mutual fund trading platform named BSE StAR MF (Bombay Stock Exchange Platform for Allotment and Redemption of Mutual Fund units) on December 4. Through these trading platforms, investors can place subscriptions, redeem their units, hold units in demat form and place orders in a physical mode. We believe that this new trading platform will make transacting in mutual funds very convenient and encouraging for investors.