As you probably know, mutual funds have become extremely popular over the last 20 years. What was once just another obscure financial instrument is now a part of our daily lives. More than 80 million people, or one half of the households in America, invest in mutual funds. That means that, in the United States alone, trillions of dollars are invested in mutual funds. In fact, to many people, investing means buying mutual funds. After all, it's common knowledge that investing in mutual funds is (or at least should be) better than simply letting your cash waste away in a savings account, but, for most people, that's where the understanding of funds ends. It doesn't help that mutual fund salespeople speak a strange language that is interspersed with jargon that many investors don't understand. Originally, mutual funds were heralded as a way for the little guy to get a piece of the market. Instead of spending all your free time buried in the financial pages of the Wall Street Journal, all you had to do was buy a mutual fund and you'd be set on your way to financial freedom. As you might have guessed, it's not that easy. Mutual funds are an excellent idea in theory, but, in reality, they haven't always delivered. Not all mutual funds are created equal, and investing in mutuals isn't as easy as throwing your money at the first salesperson who solicits your business. In this tutorial, we'll explain the basics of mutual funds and hopefully clear up some of the myths around them. You can then decide whether or not they are right for you.
Mutual Funds-What are they?
The Definition A mutual fund is nothing more than a collection of stocks and/or bonds. You can think of a mutual fund as a company that brings together a group of people and invests their money in stocks, bonds, and other securities. Each investor owns shares, which represent a portion of the holdings of the fund. You can make money from a mutual fund in three ways: 1) Income is earned from dividends on stocks and interest on bonds. A fund pays out nearly all of the income it receives over the year to fund owners in the form of a distribution. 2) If the fund sells securities that have increased in price, the fund has a capital gain. Most funds also pass on these gains to investors in a distribution. 3) If fund holdings increase in price but are not sold by the fund manager, the fund's shares increase in price. You can then sell your mutual fund shares for a profit. Funds will also usually give you a choice either to receive a check for distributions or to reinvest the earnings and get more shares.
Advantages of Mutual Funds: • Professional Management - The primary advantage of funds (at least theoretically) is the professional management of your money. Investors purchase funds because they do not have the time or the expertise to manage their own portfolios. A mutual fund is a relatively inexpensive way for a small investor to get a full-time manager to make and monitor investments. • Diversification - By owning shares in a mutual fund instead of owning individual stocks or bonds, your risk is spread out. The idea behind diversification is to invest in a large number of assets so that a loss in any particular investment is minimized by gains in others. In other words, the more stocks and bonds you own, the less any one of them can hurt you (think about Enron). Large mutual funds typically own hundreds of different stocks in many different industries. It wouldn't be possible for an investor to build this kind of a portfolio with a small amount of money. • Economies of Scale - Because a mutual fund buys and sells large amounts of securities at a time, its transaction costs are lower than what an individual would pay for securities transactions. • Liquidity - Just like an individual stock, a mutual fund allows you to request that your shares be converted into cash at any time. • Simplicity - Buying a mutual fund is easy! Pretty well any bank has its own line of mutual funds, and the minimum investment is small. Most companies also have automatic purchase plans whereby as little as $100 can be invested on a monthly basis.
Disadvantages of Mutual Funds: • Professional Management - Did you notice how we qualified the advantage of professional management with the word "theoretically"? Many investors debate whether or not the so-called professionals are any better than you or I at picking stocks. Management is by no means infallible, and, even if the fund loses money, the manager still takes his/her cut. We'll talk about this in detail in a later section. • Costs - Mutual funds don't exist solely to make your life easier - all funds are in it for a profit. The mutual fund industry is masterful at burying costs under layers of jargon. These costs are so complicated that in this tutorial we have devoted an entire section to the subject. • Dilution - It's possible to have too much diversification. Because funds have small holdings in so many different companies, high returns from a few investments often don't make much difference on the overall return. Dilution is also the result of a successful fund getting too big. When money pours into funds that have had strong success, the manager often has trouble finding a good investment for all the new money. • Taxes - When making decisions about your money, fund managers don't consider your personal tax situation. For example, when a fund manager sells a security, a capital-gains tax is triggered, which affects how profitable the individual is from the sale. It might have been more advantageous for the individual to defer the capital gains liability.
Different types of Mutual Funds:
It's important to understand that each mutual fund has different risks and rewards. In general, the higher the potential return, the higher the risk of loss. Although some funds are less risky than others, all funds have some level of risk - it's never possible to diversify away all risk. This is a fact for all investments. Each fund has a predetermined investment objective that tailors the fund's assets, regions of investments and investment strategies. At the fundamental level, there are three varieties of mutual funds: 1) Equity funds (stocks) 2) Fixed-income funds (bonds) 3) Money market funds All mutual funds are variations of these three asset classes. For example, while equity funds that invest in fast-growing companies are known as growth funds, equity funds that invest only in companies of the same sector or region are known as specialty funds. Let's go over the many different flavors of funds. We'll start with the safest and then work through to the more risky. Money Market Funds The money market consists of short-term debt instruments, mostly Treasury bills. This is a safe place to park your money. You won't get great returns, but you won't have to worry about losing your principal. A typical return is twice the amount you would earn in a regular checking/savings account and a little less than the average certificate of deposit (CD). Bond/Income Funds Income funds are named appropriately: their purpose is to provide current income on a steady basis. When referring to mutual funds, the terms "fixed-income," "bond," and "income" are synonymous. These terms denote funds that invest primarily in government and corporate debt. While fund holdings may appreciate in value, the primary objective of these funds is to provide a steady cashflow to investors. As such, the audience for these funds consists of conservative investors and retirees. Bond funds are likely to pay higher returns than certificates of deposit and money market investments, but bond funds aren't without risk. Because there are many different types of bonds, bond funds can vary dramatically depending on where they invest. For example, a fund specializing in high-yield junk bonds is much more risky than a fund that invests in government securities. Furthermore, nearly all bond funds are subject to interest rate risk, which means that if rates go up the value of the fund goes down. Balanced Funds The objective of these funds is to provide a balanced mixture of safety, income and capital appreciation. The strategy of balanced funds is to invest in a combination of fixed income and equities. A typical balanced fund might have a weighting of 60% equity and 40% fixed income. The weighting might also be restricted to a specified maximum or minimum for each asset class. A similar type of fund is known as an asset allocation fund. Objectives are similar to those of a balanced fund, but these kinds of funds typically do not have to hold a specified percentage of any asset class. The portfolio manager is therefore given freedom to switch the ratio of asset classes as the economy moves through the business cycle. Equity Funds Funds that invest in stocks represent the largest category of mutual funds. Generally, the investment objective of this class of funds is long-term capital growth with some income. There are, however, many different types of equity funds because there are many different types of equities.
The idea is to classify funds based on both the size of the companies invested in and the investment style of the manager. The term value refers to a style of investing that looks for high quality companies that are out of favor with the market. These companies are characterized by low P/E and price-to-book ratios and high dividend yields. The opposite of value is growth, which refers to companies that have had (and are expected to continue to have) strong growth in earnings, sales and cash flow. A compromise between value and growth is blend, which simply refers to companies that are neither value nor growth stocks and are classified as being somewhere in the middle. For example, a mutual fund that invests in large-cap companies that are in strong financial shape but have recently seen their share prices fall would be placed in the upper left quadrant of the style box (large and value). The opposite of this would be a fund that invests in startup technology companies with excellent growth prospects. Such a mutual fund would reside in the bottom right quadrant (small and growth). Global/International Funds An international fund (or foreign fund) invests only outside your home country. Global funds invest anywhere around the world, including your home country. It's tough to classify these funds as either riskier or safer than domestic investments. They do tend to be more volatile and have unique country and/or political risks. But, on the flip side, they can, as part of a well-balanced portfolio, actually reduce risk by increasing diversification. Although the world's economies are becoming more inter-related, it is likely that another economy somewhere is outperforming the economy of your home country. Specialty Funds This classification of mutual funds is more of an all-encompassing category that consists of funds that have proved to be popular but don't necessarily belong to the categories we've described so far. This type of mutual fund forgoes broad diversification to concentrate on a certain segment of the economy. Sector funds are targeted at specific sectors of the economy such as financial, technology, health, etc. Sector funds are extremely volatile. There is a greater possibility of big gains, but you have to accept that your sector may tank. Regional funds make it easier to focus on a specific area of the world. This may mean focusing on a region (say South India) or an individual country (for example, only Brazil). An advantage of these funds is that they make it easier to buy stock in foreign countries, which is otherwise difficult and expensive. Just like for sector funds, you have to accept the high risk of loss, which occurs if the region goes into a bad recession. Socially-responsible funds (or ethical funds) invest only in companies that meet the criteria of certain guidelines or beliefs. Most socially responsible funds don't invest in industries such as tobacco, alcoholic beverages, weapons or nuclear power. The idea is to get a competitive performance while still maintaining a healthy conscience. Index Funds The last but certainly not the least important are index funds. This type of mutual fund replicates the performance of a broad market index such as the "Nifty" based. An investor in an index fund figures that most managers can't beat the market. An index fund merely replicates the market return and benefits investors in the form of low fees.
Mutual Funds-Conclusion:
Buying and Selling You can buy some mutual funds (no-load) by contacting the fund companies directly. Other funds are sold through brokers, banks, financial planners, or insurance agents. If you buy through a third party there is a good chance they'll hit you with a sales charge (load).
That being said, more and more funds can be purchased through no-transaction fee programs that offer funds of many companies. Sometimes referred to as a "fund supermarket," this service lets you consolidate your holdings and record keeping, and it still allows you to buy funds without sales charges from many different companies. Popular examples are Schwab's OneSource, Vanguard's FundAccess, and Fidelity's FundsNetwork. Many large brokerages have similar offerings. Selling a fund is as easy as purchasing one. All mutual funds will redeem (buy back) your shares on any business day. In the United States, companies must send you the payment within seven days. The Value of Your Fund Net asset value (NAV), which is a fund's assets minus liabilities, is the value of a mutual fund. NAV per share is the value of one share in the mutual fund, and it is the number that is quoted in newspapers. You can basically just think of NAV per share as the price of a mutual fund. It fluctuates everyday as fund holdings and shares outstanding change. When you buy shares, you pay the current NAV per share plus any sales front-end load. When you sell your shares, the fund will pay you NAV less any back-end load.
Finding Funds
There are many websites on the Internet to find a Mutual Fund for you at your requirements. Also, "AMFI" - Association of Mutual Funds of India is a nice site to check ur Funds NAV or search for a Mutual Fund. Click here to go to "AMFI". Also, there are many sites like "Moneycontrol", "Valueresearchonline" where you can get more information about all the Funds existing.
I thank "Investopedia-A Forbe's Company" for the information I have got by searching their site. You can also visit their site for clearing any doubts.
Google launched the first beta version of its Web browser "Chrome"on Tuesday after two years of development. Only the Microsoft Windows version has been released. With this the monopoly of Microsoft's Internet Explorer may probably come to an end. I started using it from the day it was launched and I found it really smooth and nice. No improper shut downs of the browser window, as it happens very often in Internet Explorer. To enhance the performance they have chosen "Webkit" as their engine.Chrome’s downloads bar and downloads tracking window makes it much easier to gauge and monitor downloads. You can move your mouse over a link and see the URL in a translucent status bar in the lower left-hand corner (which fades out once you move the mouse away from a link), whereas in IE, you should write down the URL link which appears at the bottom of the window. Since, its still in a beta version and new features may pop up inits final version, we can expect some thing nice for all our Internet lovers.Cheers-Google.
Just try it...all of you and post comments here. I am posting a link to download the browser. Click here.
Feel proud to be an Indian
I found an interesting topic which makes us, we Indians feel PROUD. So, I want to share it with all. Please click below to read it and say proudly "Vandemataram"
This is India
When are you going to die?
Do you want to know when you will die? Leave behind reliability and with brave heart just go to
http://www.deathclock.com/
Dont feel or break into tears if the clock shows today...;)
Do you want to know what you were in last life?
Guys & Gals...just try this one...leave behind the reliabilty and try...its fun to read about you....
http://www.thebigview.com/pastlife/
Zipy launched a new MP4 player. The Golfinho play MP3 files, WMA, WAV, OGG, AVI, MPEG4, JPEG, GIF and BMP, will have FM radio. recording and integrated speakers. In addition will also have the opportunity to connect with Bluetooth 2.0. For this reason, you’ll be able to answer calls through your player. To view complete article and full information please visit :
PC Hardware/ Device Driver problems?
Remeberance is the nature and forgetting is the habit of a humanbeing. So, at some or other stage everybody will feel the pressure of searching CD/DVD containing drivers when you format your PC or install a new device. But its not that tough these days...thanks to the Internet. Today, you have the option of downloading required drivers for your PC or new device from the Internet. Here are a few sites from the Internet to download required drivers. Thanks to the site owners.All the Best...
http://www.driverskit.com/
http://www.driverstock.com/
http://driverzone.com/
http://mrdriver.com/
Adobe Captivate - Digital creation made easier
Any one inetersted in making websites,Simulations,training modules might have already heard and used Adobe Captivate. It was previously known as Macromedia Captivate.The latest version is Adobe Captivate3. From the previous version, Adobe Captivate2, some interesting changes have been made. But those who know and have used Adobe Captivate2, nothing differs in using Adobe Captivate3. So, for those who dont know or never used Adobe Captivate, here I am giving you all a link where you can see demos created in flash and quicktime and really get benefited. You might not become a proffessional but you well become well aquainted with the Software.
Just try it....enjoy...
http://www.vtc.com/products/Adobe-Captivate-2-tutorials.htm
Tutorial Author:
James Gonzalez
Have you ever imagined what other countries Postal Departments Logo's look like?What our Indian Postal Department Logo looks like?I will try to present you some of the Countries Postal Department Logos. I will keep updating them as soon as I find them. For now.....just see and enjoy. Other countries Postal Logos, which I got are attached in 'Flickr' album. Please visit here to view complete list.
As all were expecting, at last Indian Government started to make a serious note on the Departments which were incurring losses and was not in a position to shut them off. In this process, age old ICON, Indian Postal Department is also under the process of making a turn over, to surprise all "A total Turnover" including its Logo,Slogan and many more.Indian postal department has appointed O&M to devise a new logo and slogan, while McKinsey has been appointed to suggest revamp measures for India Postal dept. Termed Project Arrow, the initiatives involves turnaround of 500 post offices in two phases.The department is in the process of collating the National Address Database as part of the 11th Five Year Plan. Says S Samant, chief general manager for Business Development at the Department of Posts, “In this data we will not only have the person who is living in the house, what is the profession he is following and what is his age group. These are things our postman observes everyday. It’s for our internal purpose and we would also like to have a geo positioning of the data so that it will be an ideal repository for any kind of access”Like Google Earth the data will actually map the house you stay in. It would take a minimum of three years to collate this data. With a budget of Rs5 crore allocated this year, the database will re-direct mail when addresses change. ”It’s for our internal purpose and we would also like to have a geo positioning of the data so that it will be an ideal repository for any kind of access,” says Samant. Though there are no plans to make money out of this database at the moment, India Post is not altogether ruling out this possibility either.
Source : www.livemint.com
A messenger post system was introduced by Qutb-ud-din Aybak. This was expanded into the dak chowkis, a horse and foot runner service, by Alauddin Khilji in 1296. This was reformed completely during Sher Shah Suri (1540s) who constructed the 4,800-km Grand Trunk Road from Bengal to Peshawar. According to the Tarikh-i-Sher-Shahi by Abbas Khan Sherwani, the postal service Diwan-i-Insa employed nearly 3,400 people to man 1,700 horse-relay stations at "serais", which also served as post offices. Two clerks (tarikh nawis) served at each sarai and the post was carried by mewras, members of a lower cast tribe. This system was largely retained during Mughal rule.
The British East India Company established post offices in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata from 1764-1766, each serving the Bombay, Madras and Calcutta presidencies. During Warren Hastings' governorship, postal service was made available to the general public. A letter would cost 2 annas (one-eighth of a Rupee) for distances up to 100 miles. Payments would be done through copper tokensp; a letter was hand stamped "post paid" if it was paid for, else it was stamped "post unpaid" or "bearing".
In 1839, North West Province Circle was formed and since then, new Postal Circles were formed as needed. In December 1860 Punjab Circle, in 1861 Burma Circle, in 1866 Central Province Circle and in 1869 Sind Circle were formed. By 1880 circles had been formed in Oudh (1870), Rajputana (1871), Assam (1873), Bihar (1877), Eastern Bengal (1878) and Central India (1879). Afterwards, the creation of new circles was accompanied by the merging of some circles. By 1914, there were only 7 Postal Circles — Bengal & Assam, Bihar & Orissa, Bombay (including Sind), Burma, Central, Madras, Punjab & NWF and U.P.
The usage of the stamps began on 1 July 1852 in Scinde/Sindh district, with the use of an embossed pattern on paper or wax. The shape was circular, with "SCINDE DISTRICT DAWK" around the rim, leading to the common name "Scinde Dawk". 1854 was the year of the first issue for all of India. The stamps were issued by the British East India Company, which first printed a 1/2a vermilion in April but never sold it to the public, then put four values (1/2a, 1a, 2a, 4a) on sale in October. All were designed and printed in Calcutta, featuring the usual profile of Queen Victoria. A new set of stamps, with the queen in an oval vignette inside a rectangular frame, and inscribed "EAST INDIA POSTAGE", was printed by De La Rue in England (who produced all the subsequent issues of British India) and made available in 1855. These continued in use until after the British government took over administration of India in 1858, and from 1865 were printed on paper watermarked with an elephant head.
GOVERNANCE AND ORGANIZATION
The postal service comes under the Department of Posts which is a part of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology under the Government of India. The apex body of the department is the Postal Service Board. The board consists of a chairman and three members. The three members hold the portfolios of Operations & Marketing , Development and Personnel. The Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor to the Board is also a permanent invitee to the Board.
Postal operations at the post office encompass the entire gamut of the basic postal services which interalia include: (i) Sale of stamps and stationery (ii) Booking of registered articles (iii) Booking of insured articles (iv) Booking of value payable articles (v) Remittance of money through money orders and postal orders (vi) Booking of Parcels
Traditionally, these services were being provided at manually operated counters. Considering the vital need for providing the benefit of technology to the customers, the counter operations are now being progressively computerised to provide a greater range of service to the customer from a single window leading to services being more responsive, and error free.
Click below to Calculate Postage for your self before entering the counter of a Post office :
Postage Calculator
Due to increasing competition in the World, Postal Department in India is also striving hard to stand up in the amidst of heavy competition and create a unique recognition for itself. In this journey, Indian Postal Department has introduced many other products for its customers and has suceeded to a major part. Some of them are :
Mutual Funds Marketing
Westren Union Money Services
e-Post
iMO
Business Post
Media Post
Direct Post
Logistic Post
For many more details and services you can please visit India Post Website.
For various types of Forms used in the Post Office, please click here to go to Forms.
POSTAL LIFE INSURANCE
Postal
Life Insurance was started in 1884 as a welfare measure for the employees of Posts & Telegraphs Department under Government of India dispatch No. 299 dated 18-10-1882 to the Secretary of State. Due to popularity of its schemes, various departments of Central and State Governments were extended its benefits. Now Postal Life Insurance is open for employees of all Central and State Government Departments, Nationalized Banks, Public Sector Undertakings, Financial Institutions, Local Bodies like Municipalities and Zilla Parishads, Educational Institutions aided by the Government etc.
Postal Life Insurance Schemes
Endowment Assurance(Santosh)
Whole Life Assurance(Suraksha)
Convertable Whole Life Assurance(Suvidha)
Anticipated Endowment Assurance(Sumangal)
Joint Life Endowment Assurance(Yugal Suraksha)
Children Policy
For further details please click here
Pincode enables quick reach to the Destination. Pincode consists of 6 digits. There are 8 PIN regions in the country. The first digit indicates one of the regions. The first 2 digits together indicate the sub region or one of the postal circles. The first 3 digits together indicate a sorting / revenue district. The last 3 digits refer to the delivery Post Office.
First 2 Digits of PIN Postal Circle
11 Delhi
12 and 13 Haryana
14 to 16 Punjab
17 Himachal Pradesh
18 to 19 Jammu & Kashmir
20 to 28 Uttar Pradesh
30 to 34 Rajasthan
36 to 39 Gujarat
40 to 44 Maharastra
45 to 49 Madhya Pradesh
50 to 53 Andhra Pradesh
56 to 59 Karnataka
60 to 64 Tamil Nadu
67 to 69 Kerala
70 to 74 West Bengal
75 to 77 Orissa
78 Assam
79 North Eastern India
80 to 85 Bihar
To search Pincode of any place, please click here
PHILATELY
Philately is a delightful hobby that sharpens and satisfies your aesthetic tastes. While expanding your knowledge of and interaction with the world you live in, you get to know interesting details of politics, history, prominent personalities, national and international events, geography, flora and fauna, agriculture, science, monuments, soldiers, warriors, scientists, arms and ammunition, modes of transport etc. This process of learning becomes more delightful through visuals and brief write-ups. In addition, philately cultivates a meticulous and focused attention to detail. It also helps you to make friends across boundaries and age limits.
Click here for further details on Stamps, Philately and opening of Philatelic Accounts.
Also, hereunder I am mentioning some of the countries Postal Website addresses for your information. Please find time to visit them and learn atleast a bit about them.
USA
Britain
Pakistan
Srilanka
Newzealand
.........thank you one & all for your patience in reading this. I really thank all the contributors of the above information, which I searched and downloaded from the Internet. Mail your comments to me
N.Nagamahesh, Accountant, Anantapur D.O
