A Demat scam from the early 2000’s
I read about an IPO scams from the early 2000’s. This was a time before KYC norms were in place, requirement for identity proof, address proofs, were all still being formalized. Here is what I can piece together. Step 1: Create multiple bank accounts. One enterprising...
Mental accounting
This post expands further on the conversation in the video about keeping money in different boxes, or buckets. Like us, many financial planners recommend that you have a) an emergency fund of upto 6 months of expenses; b) a school fund for your children; c) a savings...
Revisiting the BRICS
The topic on diversification mentions the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as places that Western money once moved toward. It was nearly 18 years ago and the chart below reproduces the performance of exchange-traded funds (ETF) that were created to make equity...
Of Real Estate, India and elsewhere.
Indian real estate investment has made so many people so wealthy in urban and rural India over the years, that any criticism of its rewards are met with disbelief. This post is a follow up to the conversations in the video. The focus is not what this investment has...
Orphaned life insurance policies
The video and deep dives on life insurance talk about the aggressive manner in which life insurance policies are marketed. Typically, over 50% of all life insurance policies are sold by about 2 million agents, with the rest directly sold by the banks. There are over 2...
GN Bajpai’s Book
A book released in 2018 titled “A Game Changer’s Memoir,” recounts the events that occurred at SEBI during the tenure of its Chairman, GN Bajpai during 2002-2005. Most of you are never going to read it, it is after all a story of how pro-active and effective the...
YES BANK-PART III: Why I don’t give financial advice
On a Friday after market close and before the long weekend at the end of April 2019, comes an earnings pre-announcement from YESBANK. This is the “kitchen-sink” announcement that I thought had happened a quarter ago. The new CEO is cleaning house, wants a fresh slate....
Gold savings scheme or scam?
Indians have always had an appetite for gold as a popular investment avenue. It is widely trusted as a safe way to store wealth. Clinching on this opportunity, Jewellers and financial intermediaries alike, periodically create innovative schemes and products to cater...
Yield Curve Inversion - Mar 22, 2019
Whenever I introduce yield curves in the classroom, it has become a habit to say something like “equities are for sissies, bonds are where the big girls play!”. Even an e-mail service that I have less and less time to read, echoed this sentiment today with, “it’s like...
A $5 Billion Currency Swap Is RBI’s Answer to India’s Cash Needs
The ripple effects of the Reserve Bank of India’s unusual move to use foreign-exchange swaps to ease a liquidity deficit at banks ahead of national elections were felt across local currency, stocks and bond markets on Thursday. Sovereign bonds fell as traders...
Embassy Office REIT-IPO
Not wanting to repeat the HDFC IPO non-participation, I propose a new one to Dad in early 2019. This one is a REIT, a real-estate investment trust, the first of its kind, more like a bond, These are vehicles which pay 9+% in returns, backed by rental income from a...
Risk-free, guaranteed returns from Fixed Deposits
Fixed deposits (FD), also known as term deposits, continue to remain a popular investment instrument among investors because of their guaranteed returns. NEW DELHI: Fixed deposits (FD), also known as term deposits, continue to remain a popular investment...
Opinion | Regulatory sandbox: A roadmap and use-cases
Opinion | Regulatory sandbox: A roadmap and use-cases The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 heralded a new era in the regulation of the financial industry not only in the US but also in India. Today, the industry is known for its innovations that are changing the...
To beat rising interest rates, tight liquidity, housing finance firms take the ECB route
Raise loans of Rs. 16,500 crore in FY19 after the RBI rationalised ECB policy last year Amid rising interest rates and tight liquidity in the domestic market, housing finance companies (HFCs) are turning to external commercial borrowings (ECB) to bridge the funding...
A high-risk, high-reward game
Promoter lending by MFs need not be banned for debt funds, but the exposures need to be in high risk schemes The Indian bond market, which has been behaving like a cat on a hot tin roof since the IL&FS default last year, has been given a new reason for...
Why are Indian IT stocks at all-time highs?
Comfortable with recent trading successes, I find myself marveling at the current lofty valuations of TCS, Wipro, Infosys, HCLs. They are well-run, professional companies, cash-rich, but earnings for this sector peaked years ago, their growth rates are in the low...
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