Reliance My Gold Plan: Review, Analysis & Details

This article contains Details Analysis & Investment opinion about Reliance My Gold Plan
Reliance Money/ Reliance Capital, through its Relaince Money Precious Metals company, has come out with another gold based investment scheme. Reliance is a big name trusted by many specially in India and their investment arm is not leaving any possibility to capitalize on that brand name. Reliance already has a lot of gold based schemes, namely Reliance Gold Savings Plan and Reliance Gold ETF, and this is another ariant of the same gold based investment scheme which is now available to small investors.

Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
Another mutual fund house is going to make an entry into the Gold based ETF fund offering. This time it is the Indian brokerage and asset management firm called Motilal Oswal India which is going to launch its mutual fund called the Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF.

In this article, we will analyze how good is this Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF NFO, whether this Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF.

Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF.

What are the NFO dates for Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF?

The NFO period for Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF is from 2nd March 2012 and will close on 16th March 2012. After the NFO period, the regular buying, selling and redemption of gold ETF fund units will start.

What is so unique about this Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF?
Motilal Oswal hae launched many ETF's in the past and all of them have come with a unique feature. See the following details to know about their individual offerings:
- Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares M50 ETF

- Motilal Oswal Most Shares NASDAQ-100 Fund

- Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares M100 ETF-Fund

So what is unique about this Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF - this is the one and only Gold ETF which allows investors an option to actually take physical delivery of gold at the time of redemption of the Gold ETF units. That means, I as a investor of Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF purchase the gold ETF units. Say I hold it for few months and now I want to redeem my ETF units. I have 2 options:
1) I can simple sell back my Gold ETF units and get money back at the effective price of my units
2) I can actually ask for physical gold (i.e. the gold bar) instead of taking the money

This is the only Gold ETF in India which is offering this kind of physical gold delivery and this is what sets it apart.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF?
If not hundred, then nothing less than that are available in terms of Gold ETF's and gold saving funds. Check out the complete list

- All Gold ETF's

- All Gold Saving Funds

What are the risks of investing and trading Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF?
Obviously, you are taking a bet on the gold prices. If the gold prices go down after you invest in this Gold ETF, your investment might suffer a loss. It will not matter whether you have the option of physical gold redemption or money redemption. This risk is borne by the investor.

Another thing is that this Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF requries a minimum investment of Rs. 10000, while other Gold funds and gold saving funds are offering investments for much lower amounts.

Final Thoughts about Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF?
Overall, it is another Gold based ETF. Option of physical gold redemption is good but think about it - why would an investor go for physical gold redemption? Only if he needs the physical gold - say for marriage in the family or similar occassion. And what will he do after getting the physical gold which is in minimum 10 gm gold bar units? He will have to anyways approach the jeweller to convert this gold bar into jewellery.
So overall - option of physical redemtion looks good, but investors need to take a call on its usability as per their own needs.
See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

RiddiSiddhi Bullions (RSBL) will be providing the Gold bars for physical redemption, but the redemption will actually happen with T+5 days settlement cycle in case of physical gold redemption - i.e. one needs to wait for 5 days to actually receive the gold bars. Also note that physical delivery is limited to only 22 cities in India as of now, so rest city investors need to keep this in mind. They should check how the physical gold will be made available to them if they reside in other cities.

This ETF will be listed both on NSE and BSE.

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 10,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

Tax benefit will NOT be available in Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF.

The Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF also claims that it offers discount as compared to gold spot prices. There is no wealth tax for Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares Gold ETF.

Religare Gold Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Religare Gold Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
There comes another so-called "Gold Fund" from a new mutual fund house. Everyone is hopping on Gold for their investments so the mutual fund houses are going on launching Gold funds one after the other in the already over-flooded market. Just search for Gold Fund using the search box on this site and you can see how flooded the market currently is.
In this article, we will analyze how good is this Religare Gold Fund NFO, whether this Religare Gold Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Religare Gold Fund.

Religare Gold Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Religare Gold Fund.

What are the NFO dates for Religare Gold Fund?

The NFO period for Religare Gold Fund is from 15 November and will close on 29 November 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start. This will be a passively managed fund of funds (What's this?) or better to say fund of a single fund.

What is so unique about this Religare Gold Fund?
Nothing - absolutely nothing is unique in this Godl fund. Like any other Gold fund or Gold saving fund already available in the market, the Religare fund managers will collect money from the investors, and invest that into their own Gold based ETF called Religare Gold ETF or Religare Gold Exchange Traded Fund.
The benefit these kind of investments claim to offer is no requirement for a demat account, exposure to gold in small amounts of investments, easy SIP facility and so on. However, if you are reading this article on a computer, that means you are computer savvy and with a good probability you will have a demat account. Anyways, see the next section on why this Religare Gold Fund is not unique.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Religare Gold Fund?
The list is endless. Hardly anything looks different. The recently lauched Axis Gold Fund, then the ICICI Gold Savings Fund, SBI Gold Fund and Reliance Gold Savings Fund (See Review & Details) are the biggest and direct competitor to Religare Gold Fund.
Other than that, there are a lot of Gold based ETF's and Gold based Mutual Funds available:
List of Gold ETF India available for trading on NSE

HDFC has its own ETF: HDFC Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details apart from others like Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF) ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, then SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF NFO Review: SBI Gold Exchange Traded Scheme and so on.

Other Gold Schemes: Quantum Gold Fund

What are the risks of investing and trading Religare Gold Fund?
The benchmark for Religare Gold Fund is the physical price of gold. Since this is a fund of fund, it will be the Religare Gold ETF which is expected to track the gold prices and then those End of the prices will be reflected in the returns of this Religare Godl Fund. Being an End of the Day pricing product, the fund manager will attempt to give similar returns like the tracking gold price but the tracking error will surely creep in.

Final Thoughts about Religare Gold Fund?
Another Fund of Funds in the Gold investment arena, nothing new compared to what other Gold funds or Gold Saving Funds (already available in the market ) are offering. This fund just adds to the list and gives investors more choice of investment in Gold through a new fund house.
See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

Tax benefit will NOT be available in Religare Gold Fund.

Multiple options available for investments:
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout, Reinvestment facilities

Religare Gold Fund Entry Load:
Religare Gold Fund Exit Load: 1% if exit within 1 year ; 2% is exit within 6 months (this is high compared to other gold funds)
NIL beyond 1 year.

SIP or systematic investment plan? Yes. Minimum SIP tenure is 6 months, with minimum SIP amount of Rs. 1000 and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter.
Physical Gold Prices in India will be the benchmark for tracking the performance of Religare Gold Fund

Mr. Nitish Sikand will be the fund manager for Religare Gold Fund

Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
After a long time, we are seeing an ELSS or Equity Linked Savings Scheme NFO coming out. Recent;y, the joint venture between Union Bank of India and KBC asset management came out with their first offering called Union KBC Equity Fund and now this ELSS Tax saver fund will add another product to their portfolio.

The Union KBC Mutual Fund House is launching their Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund. In this article, we will analyze how good is this Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund NFO, whether this Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund.

Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund.
What actually is an ELSS or Equity Linked Savings Scheme Fund?
An ELSS is a special mutual fund which invests the money collected from the investors in the equities listed in the stock market like any other mutual fund. However, ELSS comes with the advantage of tax benefit - i.e. the invested amount qualifies for tax deduction under section 80(C) (Section 80C Tax Savings: Complete List of Qualifying Investments) with a sum total limit of 1 Lakh Rs.
Since it is offering tax benefit, it comes with a condition - there is a lock-in period of minimum 3 years for an investor to get tax benefit on the invested amount. For e.g., if I invest Rs. 50,000 in an ELSS and claim tax benefit on that, then I am not supposed to withdraw this money atleast for next 3 years. I can withdraw that money by redeeming the fund units before 3 years, but I will loose out on the claimed tax benefit.
You can find more info on ELSS scheme in the article: Tax saving By Equity Linked Saving Schemes ELSS

What are the NFO dates for Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund? The NFO period for Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund is from 8 November and will close on 9 December 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start, on date 19 Dec 2011.

What is so unique about this Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund?
Nothing special, it's just another ELSS Mutual Fund offering investments in equity market with the advantage of tax benefit on the condition that you stay invested atleast for 3 years. There are lot many other competitor ELSS products already available in the market - like SBI Tax Advantage fund.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund?
Lots and lots are availble, here are a few: Principal Personal Tax Saver Fund (ELSS), then SBI Tax Advantage fund, Reliance Equity Linked Savings Fund and many more

What are the risks of investing and trading Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund?
The benchmark for Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund is the BSE 100 Index. The fund manager will attempt to give similar returns like the tracking index but the tracking error will surely creep in.
By investing in any mutual fund, you are risking your money as per the will and wish and investment decisions of the fund house and fund manager.

Final Thoughts about Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund?
Another ELSS scheme from a relatively new mutual fund house which has just started fund management business. Offering a tax saving ELSS might allow them some more money collection as compared to a normal mutual fund. The timing appears to be a bit early as tax year in India comes to a close in April. My thought is that possibly lauch in January would have given them more capital collection, as that is the time people really start looking for tax saving investments.
See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 500 and in multiples of Rs 500 afterwards.

Tax benefit will be available in Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund, subject to lock in period of 3 years from the date of allotment.

Multiple options available for investments:
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout, Reinvestment facilities

Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund Entry Load: No info available
Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund Exit Load: No info available 1% if exit within 1 year ; 2% is exit within 6 months (this is high compared to other gold funds)
NIL beyond 1 year.

SIP or systematic investment plan? No info available.
BSE 100 Index will be the benchmark for tracking the performance of Union KBC Tax Saver ELSS Fund

HDFC Gold Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about HDFC Gold Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
High on the heals of recently launched Gold funds like ICICI Gold Savings Fund and Axis Gold Fund, another renowned mutual fund house, HDFC Mutual Fund house, has joined the bandwagon of so called Gold Saving Funds and come out with a new fund offer or NFO, for its newly launched fund called HDFC Gold Fund
Looking at the flood of these Gold based Funds coming in the market in the recent times, we've been feeling a bit tired to write about them one after the other :-), but looks like the mutual fund houses are tired in bringing the same products which works in the same way as other similar products from other fund houses, again and again in the market. Who doesnt like to get a share when the entire world is going crazy with gold prices highs (and recent lows). Dollar isn't looking good, Gold looks promising, add some "saving fund" terminology, pitch in for investors to go with small amounts of SIP and there you have a new Gold Based Fund.

The HDFC Mutual Fund House is launching their HDFC Gold Fund. In this article, we will analyze how good is this HDFC Gold Fund NFO, whether this HDFC Gold Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in HDFC Gold Fund.

HDFC Gold Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about HDFC Gold Fund.
What are the NFO dates for HDFC Gold Fund?
The NFO period for HDFC Gold Fund is from 7th October and will close on 21 October 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start, on date still not known by us.

What is so unique about this HDFC Gold Fund?
Nothing special, if you are already aware of exactly the similar products available and being flooded in the market since last many months by various fund houses. The concept is simple - Mutual Fund houses have a product called a "Gold ETF". On top of that, they lauch another product called a "Gold Fund". What then happens is that money invested through this Gold fund is actually routed to Gold ETF. The Gold ETF prices keep moving as per the prices of actual physical gold and hence the returns of this Gold fund also keeps moving. So, in essence, this is actually a Fund of Fund (What's this?). What it means is that this fund will not invest in any Gold companies or Gold stocks diectly, instead it will invest in other fund, Called HDFC Gold ETF or Exchange Traded Fund. It is this ETF which will actually invest in physical gold.
Now, we've written a lot about these so called "Gold Funds" or "Gold Savings Funds".
They offer low amount investments in gold (although this HDFC Gold Fund requires minimum 5000 Rs. investment, other Gold Funds need only Rs. 100). They do not require demat account, etc. SIP requries only 500 Rs. per month and 1500 per quarter for a quarterly SIP.
But they do come with disadvantages like you cannot trade in them on real time basis as this pricing in based on End of the day NAV kind of model. See more articles in next section about competitor products to better understand this gold fund business.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to HDFC Gold Fund?
The list is endless. Hardly anything looks different. The recently lauched Axis Gold Fund, then the ICICI Gold Savings Fund, SBI Gold Fund and Reliance Gold Savings Fund (See Review & Details) are the biggest and direct competitor to HDFC Gold Fund.
Other than that, there are a lot of Gold based ETF's and Gold based Mutual Funds available:
List of Gold ETF India available for trading on NSE

HDFC itself has its own ETF: HDFC Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details apart from others like Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF) ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, then SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF NFO Review: SBI Gold Exchange Traded Scheme and so on.

Other Gold Schemes: Quantum Gold Fund

What are the risks of investing and trading HDFC Gold Fund?
The benchmark for HDFC Gold Fund is the Domestic Price of Gold. By investing in such a fund, you are taking the risk on gold price fluctuations. If the price of gold fluctuates, so will the returns from this fund will change.
Also, since this is fund of (single) fund, the tracking error will surely creep in - although it will be based on end of the day pricing.

Final Thoughts about HDFC Gold Fund?
Another Gold Fund or Gold Saving fund offering investments in gold which are similar to the so many different products already available in the market. One can go for investment in this HDFC Gold Fund if they believe that gold prices will continue to rise and trust Axis fund managers to generate accurate returns on gold prices with minimal tracking error.
See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

No tax benefit will be available in HDFC Gold Fund. There is no lock-in period for this Gold Fund i.e. investors can enter and exit anytime they like, but they need to pay exit load charges as mentioned.

Mr. Anil Bamboli will be the fund manager for HDFC Gold Fund.

Only Growth Option is available for HDFC Gold Fund.

HDFC Gold Fund Entry Load: Nil
HDFC Gold Fund Exit Load: 1% if exit within 1 year ; 2% is exit within 6 months (this is high compared to other gold funds)
NIL beyond 1 year.

SIP or systematic investment plan? Yes.
Minimum SIP is Rs. 500 per month and Rs. 1500 per quarter and further in multiples of Rs. 100 per month.

Domestic Price of Gold will be the benchmark for tracking the performance of HDFC Gold Fund

Axis Gold Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Axis Gold Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
Another renowned mutual fund house, Axis Mutual Fund house, has joined the bandwagon of so called Gold Saving Funds and come out with a new fund offer or NFO, for its newly launched fund called Axis Gold Fund

The Axis Mutual Fund House is launching their Axis Gold Fund. In this article, we will analyze how good is this Axis Gold Fund NFO, whether this Axis Gold Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Axis Gold Fund.

Axis Gold Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Axis Gold Fund.
What are the NFO dates for Axis Gold Fund?
The NFO period for Axis Gold Fund is from 30 September and will close on 14 October 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start, on date 28th October 2011.

What is so unique about this Axis Gold Fund?
Investors should undestand this very clearly that this is actually a Fund of Fund (What's this?). What it means is that this fund will not invest in any Gold companies or Gold stocks diectly, instead it will invest in other fund, Called Axis Gold ETF or Exchange Traded Fund. It is this ETF which will actually invest in physical gold.
What this Axis Gold Fund will do is collect money from investors (either one time or multiple times through SIP or Systematic Investment Plan) and invest that money in Axis Gold Exchange Traded Fund - the Gold ETF from Axis MF.
Now, we've written a lot about these so called "Gold Funds" or "Gold Savings Funds".
They offer low amount investments in gold (although this Axis Gold Fund requires minimum 1000 Rs. investment, other Gold Funds need only Rs. 100). They do not require demat account, etc.
But they do come with disadvantages like you cannot trade in them on real time basis as this pricing in based on End of the day NAV kind of model. See more articles in next section about competitor products to better understand this gold fund business.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Axis Gold Fund?
The recently lauched ICICI Gold Savings Fund, SBI Gold Fund and Reliance Gold Savings Fund (See Review & Details) are the biggest and direct competitor to Axis Gold Fund - the two products from Kotak and Reliance Fund houses work in almost the same way.
Other than that, there are a lot of Gold based ETF's and Gold based Mutual Funds available:
List of Gold ETF India available for trading on NSE

Recently, HDFC came out with HDFC Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Then there is the good old Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF)

and ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, then SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF NFO Review: SBI Gold Exchange Traded Scheme

Other Gold Schemes: Quantum Gold Fund

What are the risks of investing and trading Axis Gold Fund?
The benchmark for Axis Gold Fund is the Domestic Price of Gold. By investing in such a fund, you are taking the risk on gold price fluctuations. If the price of gold fluctuates, so will the returns from this fund will change.
Also, since this is fund of (single) fund, the tracking error will surely creep in - although it will be based on end of the day pricing.

Final Thoughts about Axis Gold Fund?
Another Gold Fund or Gold Saving fund offering investments in gold which are similar to the so many different products already available in the market. One can go for investment in this Axis Gold fund if they believe that gold prices will continue to rise and trust Axis fund managers to generate accurate returns on gold prices with minimal tracking error.
See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

No tax benefit will be available in Axis Gold Fund

Mr. Anurag Mittal will be the fund manager for Axis Gold Fund.

Multiple options available for investments in Axis Gold Fund :
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout, Reinvestment facilities

Axis Gold Fund Entry Load: Nil
Axis Gold Fund Exit Load: 1% if exit within 1 year
NIL beyond 1 year.
SIP or systematic investment plan? Yes.
Minimum SIP is Rs. 1,000 and in multiples of Re. 1 per month. However, a minimum SIP of 36 months or 3 years is required.

Domestic Price of Gold will be the benchmark for tracking the performance of Axis Gold Fund

DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
Another renowned mutual fund house, DSP BlackRock, has come out with a new fund offer or NFO, for its newly launched fund called DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund

The DSP BlackRock Mutual Fund House is launching their DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund. In this article, we will analyze how good is this DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund NFO, whether this DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund.

DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund.
What are the NFO dates for DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund?
The NFO period for DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund is from 30 September and will close on 14 October 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start, but the precise date is not known.

What is so unique about this DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund?
Investors should undestand this very clearly that this is actually a Fund of Funds (What's this?). What it means is that this fund will not invest in any companies or stocks diectly, instead it will invest in other fund, Called BlackRock Global Funds-World Agriculture Fund. It is this fund which will invest in stocks/companies in the agriculture sector at a global level.
A related NFO for a Fund of Funds is offered by DSP Merrill Lynch but it is in the energy sector. It is DSP BlackRock World Energy Fund. Another example is Blackrock Absolute Return Strategies Fund

So investors should be aware that they are actually putting their money into the Global Agri fund and that exposes them to the forex currency risk. What if the return of the BlackRock Global Funds-World Agriculture Fund is 25%, but because of currency fluctuations, the net returns you receive comes down to just 12%.
The main idea behind investing in agricultural sector through this fund is that there is imbalance between food supply and demand. And being a basic need, there is a lot of good return opportunity by investing in agriculture sector. All these assumptions are based upon increasing world population needing more food, thereby making good profitable opportunitites for agriculture based businesses and hence the companies in the agri sector which this fund will choose to invest. Ultimately, its the skills of the fund managers to pick the right company for better returns.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund?
There are no agriculture fund details available with FT Times as of now, but there are other commodity funds which may provide some exposure to agri sector in India like Mirae Asset Global Commodity Stock Fund or SBI Magnum COMMA Fund

What are the risks of investing and trading DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund?
The benchmark for DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund Fund is the DAX Global Agribusiness Index. By investing in such a fund, you are taking the risk on forex as explained above.
Also being fund of funds, If the returns from the end fund fluctuates, so will the returns generated from this fund will keep fluctuating in either direction.

Final Thoughts about DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund?
Another fund of fund which is focussed on the Agriculture sector. A good option for investors who believe that this fund of funds will enable them to get good returns besides the forex risk and global exposure risk.
See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

No tax benefit will be available in DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund

Mr. Mehul Jani will be the fund manager for DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund.

Multiple options available for investments in DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund :
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout, Reinvestment facilities

DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund Entry Load: Nil
DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund Exit Load: 1% if exit within 1 year
NIL beyond 1 year.
SIP or systematic investment plan? No specific details available

DAX Global Agribusiness Index will be the benchmark for tracking the performance of DSP BlackRock World Agriculture Fund

IIFL Nifty ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about IIFL Nifty ETF: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion. We've been giving a lot of advice about investing in ETF or Exchange Traded Funds. Here is an Example of Nifty based ETF.
Adding to the list of existing Nifty based ETF's, the

India Infoline Asset Management Company Ltd (IIFL AMC) has come out with its own Nifty based ETF called the IIFL Nifty ETF

The IIFL Mutual Fund House is launching their IIFL Nifty ETF. In this article, we will analyze how good is this IIFL Nifty ETF NFO, whether this IIFL Nifty ETF offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in

IIFL Nifty ETF.

IIFL Nifty ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about IIFL Nifty ETF.

What are the NFO dates for IIFL Nifty ETF? The NFO period for IIFL Nifty ETF is from 28 September and will close on 12 October 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start, but the precise date is not known.

What is so unique about this IIFL Nifty ETF? All funds- whether they are ETF or Mutual Funds have a cost attached to it - it can be in the form of fund management charges, fund adminsitration charges and so on. What appears to be unique about this IIFL Nifty ETF is that it claims to be the lowest on cost structure for fund management. As per the details available, this IIFL Nifty ETF will have only 0.25% fees and expenses for fund management charges - claimed to be the lowest in the MF industry. Other than that this is another Nifty based Exchange Traded Fund or ETF with the usual ETF benefits of low cost, precise tracking of the underlying index with minimal tracking error, benefit of intra day price movements to take advantage of trading on an index with the flexibility of stock trading and so on. See all advantages here Advantages of Nifty based ETF

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to IIFL Nifty ETF? Apart from that, there are many other Nifty or Sensex based ETF's or Index funds which are available for investments as well as intraday trading for betting your money on the movements of Nifty and Sensex: 1. Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund
2. Sahara Sensex ETF
3. Quantum Index Fund (Nifty) ETF
4. Nifty Benchmark ETF
5. Birla SunLife Nifty ETF
6. Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares M50 ETF and many more

What are the risks of investing and trading IIFL Nifty ETF? The benchmark for IIFL Nifty ETF Fund is the S&P Nifty 50 Index. By investing in such a fund, you are taking the risk on overall Indian Markets, as included the 50 shares of Nifty 50. If the Nifty fluctuates, so will the returns generated from this fund will keep fluctuating in either direction. But overall, the index based index funds and ETF's are learnt to have outperformed the rest of the mutual funds in better probability.

Final Thoughts about IIFL Nifty ETF? Another Nifty based ETF adding to the list of Nifty (and Sensex) based index funds and ETFs already available in the Indian markets. You can look for investing in this if you believe the Nifty index will generate better returns and this ETF will closely match the performance of Nifty, with minimal tracking error.

See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit

Minimum investment Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

No tax benefit will be available in IIFL Nifty ETF

Mr. Manish Bandi will be the fund manager for IIFL Nifty ETF

ICICI Gold Savings Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion. Gold, Silver, Precious metals are appearing to be the most sought after commodities. With the high volatility in the USD exchagne rates as well as that in the crude oil prices, the investors, traders as well as the big institutions like the central banks of the world are running for gold to be in their reserves. Right from common man to big central banks, everyone has been dancing to the tunes of Gold investments, and so the prices have gold have shot up the roof in last 5 years. However, one must not forget what happened in last 2 days. Gold prices have tanked down with the biggest intra day fall again raising the speculation that is going on in gold and silver.
India, being one of the biggest consumers of gold, has a big festive season ahead and asset management companies are trying to attract the investors to get into gold products with an assurance that gold prices have given good returns in the past so investors must invest in gold products. Already, there were lot of gold products in the market, the most recent one was SBI Gold Fund and now ICICI Prudential MF AMC has come out with so called

ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund. I still have objection to the use of word "Savings" because there is no guarantee of positive returns, but that's something the investors should note and be careful about.
The ICICI Mutual Fund House is launching their ICICI Gold Savings Fund. In this article, we will analyze how good is this ICICI Gold Savings Fund NFO, whether this ICICI Gold Savings Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in

ICICI Gold Savings Fund.

ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about ICICI Gold Savings Fund.

What are the NFO dates for ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund? The NFO period for ICICI Gold Savings Fund is currently open and will close on 4 October 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start, but the precise date is not known.

What is so unique about this ICICI Gold Savings Fund? Investors and traders would know that there is a Gold ETF already available in the market from ICICI MF, it is

ICICI Prudential Gold Exchange Traded Fund (IPru Gold ETF). What this

ICICI Gold Savings Fund will do is collect money from investors (either one time or multiple times through SIP or Systematic Investment Plan) and invest that money in ICICI Prudential Gold Exchange Traded Fund - the Gold ETF from ICICI MF.
So, this new Gold Fund from ICICI will work exactly the way the Reliance Gold Savings Fund (See Review & Details), SBI Gold Fund and Kotak Gold Savings Fund works. They too pool in money from investors, and invest in their own respective Gold ETF's.
In my honest opinion, I dont see any special benefits of such Gold Funds or Gold Savings Funds - (SBI has been good atleast not to use the word SAVINGS in their product, which I was not happy about with Reliance, Kotak and now with ICICI). My take is that it is much easier for investors to directly invest in Gold ETF's rather than going through the Fund route.
However, there are a few advantages of these so called Gold (Savings) Fund. They allow you to invest in small amounts. You dont need to worry about the intra-day high low prices of Gold ETF or similar products with intra day trading. One does not need to have demat account which is mandatory in case of Gold ETF.
At the same time, the above advantages come with disadvantages - you cannot benefit from intra-day price movements (but is that required? you are inevsting in this gold fund for long term saving purpose), you pay fund management charges (you pay brokerage to broker for Gold ETF trading) and son on.
Although the investment objective of the ICICI Gold Savings Fund is to generate returns similar to ICICI Gold ETF, I wonder what actually this fund is going to really do instead of just being a channel to route investor's money into their own Gold ETF.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to ICICI Gold Savings Fund? The recently lauched SBI Gold Fund and Reliance Gold Savings Fund (See Review & Details) are the biggest and direct competitor to ICICI Gold Savings Fund - the two products from Kotak and Reliance Fund houses work in almost the same way.
Other than that, there are a lot of Gold based ETF's and Gold based Mutual Funds available: List of Gold ETF India available for trading on NSE Recently, HDFC came out with HDFC Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details
Then there is the good old Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF)
and ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, then SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF NFO Review: SBI Gold Exchange Traded Scheme
Other Gold Schemes: Quantum Gold Fund
Want to know how Gold prices have performed historically, see Gold ETF: Historical Performace of Gold ETF


What are the risks of investing and trading ICICI Gold Savings Fund? The benchmark for this Gold Savings Fund from ICICI is the domestic prices of gold. By investing in such a fund, you are taking the risk on overall Gold price movements. If the Gold prices start going down after you invest in this fund, so will the price of ICICI Gold ETF and hence this ICICI Gold Savings Fund investments values will also go down.

Final Thoughts about ICICI Gold Savings Fund? Nothing special, just another gold based fund adding to the long list of Gold based funds already available in the Indian markets. If you are reading this article, that means you are aware about the computer and demat and things like that (no paper based application), so my advise will be to directly invest in ICICI Gold ETF (or any other Gold ETF) instead of this fund. Let the ICICI Gold Savings Fund be for those who dont want to get into the hassles of demat and such things or for those who are really looking for very small SIP investments like Rs. 100 and so on.
See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.
No tax benefit will be available in ICICI Gold Savings Fund
Mr. Chaitanya Pande will be the fund manager for ICICI Gold Savings Fund.
Multiple options available for investments in ICICI Gold Savings Fund :
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout, Reinvestment facilities
ICICI Gold Savings Fund Entry Load: Nil
ICICI Gold Savings Fund Exit Load: 2% if exit within 1 year - this is much higher compared to what SBI Godl Fund and Reliance Gold Savings Fund is charging (they have it at 1%)
NIL beyond 1 year.
SIP or systematic investment plan? Yes with minimum 1000 Rs. - That's again much higher minimum SIP amount requried. Reliance and SBI are offering minimum SIP at 100 Rs.

Domestic Price of physical gold will be the benchmark for tracking the performance of ICICI Gold Savings Fund

SBI Gold Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about SBI Gold Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
Gold, Gold, Gold - The world is going crazy with the Gold prices shooting up the roof with every single passing day. In India, several Gold Based products and ETF's are already available for investments and trading, yet many fund houses are coming with Gold based products to catch in this hike in gold prices. With Festive season ahead followed by marriage season, the gold demand in India is set to increase further.
The SBI Mutual Fund House is launching their SBI Gold Fund. In this article, we will analyze how good is this SBI Gold Fund NFO, whether this SBI Gold Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in SBI Gold Fund.

SBI Gold Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about SBI Gold Fund.
What are the NFO dates for SBI Gold Fund?
The NFO period for SBI Gold Fund is currently open (from 22 August 2011) and will close on 5 September 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start, but the precise date is not known.

What is so unique about this SBI Gold Fund?
Investors and traders would know that there is a Gold ETF already available in the market from SBI MF, it is SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF . What this SBI Gold Fund will do is collect money from investors (either one time or multiple times through SIP or Systematic Investment Plan) and invest that money in SBI GETS - the Gold ETF from SBI MF.
So, this new Gold Fund from SBI will work exactly the way the Reliance Gold Savings Fund (See Review & Details) and Kotak Gold Savings Fund works. They too pool in money from investors, and invest in their own respective Gold ETF's.
In my honest opinion, I dont see any special benefits of such Gold Funds or Gold Savings Funds - (SBI has been good atleast not to use the word SAVINGS in their product, which I was not happy about with Reliance and Kotak). My take is that it is much easier for investors to directly invest in Gold ETF's rather than going through the Fund route.
The only advantage I see here is that the minimum investment amount is Rs. 100 and no demat account is required - and this might be the USP's for these Gold Funds or Gold "Saving" Funds - their target customers are those who are not (demat) computer savvy, do not understand demat-and all and are happy with investing small sums of money through paper applications.
Although the investment objective of the SBI Gold Fund is to generate returns similar to SBI Gold ETF, I wonder what actually this fund is going to really do instead of just being a channel to route investor's money into their own Gold ETF.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to SBI Gold Fund?
The recently lauched Reliance Gold Savings Fund (See Review & Details) is the biggest and direct competitor to SBI Gold Fund - the two products from Kotak and Reliance Fund houses work in almost the same way.
Other than that, there are a lot of Gold based ETF's and Gold based Mutual Funds available:
List of Gold ETF India available for trading on NSE

Recently, HDFC came out with HDFC Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Then there is the good old Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF)

and ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, then SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF NFO Review: SBI Gold Exchange Traded Scheme

Other Gold Schemes Currently Open: Quantum Gold Fund

If you are interested in looking at how Gold prices have performed historically, see Gold ETF: Historical Performace of Gold ETF

What are the risks of investing and trading SBI Gold Fund?
By investing in such a fund, you are taking the risk on overall Gold prices. If the Gold prices start going down, so will the price of SBI GETS Gold ETF and hence this SBI Gold Fund investments will suffer.

Final Thoughts about SBI Gold Fund?
Nothing special, just another fun adding to the long list of Gold based funds already available in the Indian markets. If you are reading this article, that means you are aware about the computer and demat and things like that (no paper based application), so my advise will be to directly invest in SBI GETS ETF instead of this fund. Let the SBI Gold Fund be for those who dont want to get into the hassles of demat and such things or for those who are really looking for very small SIP investments like Rs. 100 and so on.

See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

No tax benefit will be available in SBI Gold Fund

Mr. Raviprakash Sharma will be the fund manager for SBI Gold Fund.

Multiple options available for investments in SBI Gold Fund :
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout, Reinvestment facilities

SBI Gold Fund Entry Load: Nil
SBI Gold Fund Exit Load: 1% if exit within 1 year, NIL afterwards.
SIP or systematic investment plan? Yes with minimum 100 Rs. - that's what they are betting on.

Price of physical gold will be the benchmark for tracking the performance of SBI Gold Fund

Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
The Edelweiss Mutual Fund House is launching their Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund which will be a new entry in the mutual fund space from the brokerage house of Edelweiss. Edelweiss has been in news for their growth and expansion plans, which are expected to be beyond the usual trading and brokerage business, and the lauch of this Midcap based Mutual fund is a step in that directions.
In this article, we will analyze how good is this Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund NFO, whether this Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund.

Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund.
What are the NFO dates for Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund?
The NFO period for Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund is currently open (from 4th August 2011) and will close on 18th August 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and redemption of fund units will start, but the precise date is not known.
What is so unique about this Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund?
We've covered a lot about Mutual Funds and ETF's in detail with examples of returns calculations in our articles like Example of Nifty based ETF. However, please note that this is NOT an ETF, it a normal mutual fund which will be based upon the End of the day NAV pricing for mutual fund units.
This new Mutual Fund from Edelweiss is expected to work the same way as any other mutual fund - Collect money from investors, pool it together, purchase shares from mid-cap sector belonging in the midcap range of top 101-300 stock and attempt to generate the returns.

So in essence, there is nothing very unique about this Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund. Just another mid-cap based mutual fund in the Indian Stock market giving more choices to the investors to bet their money on the mid-cap sector (as well as on the stock picking skills of the Edelweiss fund manager)

The asset allocation for Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund will be as follows:
80% to 100% will be invested in the Equities in the mid cap company stocks of top 101 to 300 companies by market capitalization.
Rest 0-20% will be in debt and money market instruments for unit redemption and creation purposes.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund?
As mentioned above, there are lots of other mid cap funds available in India for investment. Here are a few Standard Chartered Small and Mid cap Equity Fund, an ETF in midcap space Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares M100 ETF-Fund, IDBI Nifty Junior Index Fund, etc.

We also have a comparative article on the performance of the Mid cap sector v/s large cap sector with some calculations, as explained in this article: Large Cap ETF v/s Mid Cap

The Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund will track the standard benchmark index BSE Mid-Cap Index for tracking its performance.

What are the risks of investing and trading Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund?
By investing in such a fund, you are taking the risk on overall midcap market. If the midcap sector collapses, then so will be the fate of your investments in this fund.
Along with that, you are also taking the risk on the performance of your fund manager. If the fund manager is not able to replicate the stocks in the same proportion as that of underlying index, your returns might suffer (it might perform better than benchmark also, although a rare case)
You are also taking the tracking error risk. Since not 100% of your money will get invested in this fund (only 80%-100%), the tracking error comes in.

Final Thoughts about Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund?
Nothing special, just another midcap based fund adding to the long list of midcap funds already available in the Indian markets.

See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

No tax benefit will be available in Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund

Mr. Paul Parampreet and Nandik Mallik will be the fund manager for Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund.

Multiple options available for investments in Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund :
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout, Reinvestment facilities

Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund Entry Load: Nil
Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund Exit Load: 1% if exit within 1 year, NIL afterwards.
SIP or systematic investment plan? No concrete info, but expected to be avaialble post NFO period.
No tax benefit will be available in Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund
BSE Mid-Cap Index will be the benchmark index for tracking the performance of Edelweiss Select Midcap Fund

Birla SunLife Nifty ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Birla SunLife Nifty ETF: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
The Birla SunLife Mutual Fund House is launching their Birla SunLife Nifty ETF. Interestingly, there seems to be a lot of Nifty based Exchange Traded Funds now being launched by the various fund houses. Recently, it was the Religare Nifty ETF (See Details) which was launched by Relgare, and even biral Sunlife had come out with its Gold based ETF called Birla Sun Life Gold ETF. So ETF's or Exchange Traded Funds seems to be the flavour of the season and Birla Sunlife has jumped on the bandwagon to get a piece of cake.

In this article, we will analyze how good is this Birla SunLife Nifty ETF NFO, whether this Birla SunLife Nifty ETF offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Birla SunLife Nifty ETF.

Birla SunLife Nifty ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Birla SunLife Nifty ETF.
What are the NFO dates for Birla SunLife Nifty ETF?
The NFO period for Birla SunLife Nifty ETF is currently open and will close on 18th July 2011. After the NFO period, the regular buying and selling of fund units will start, but the precise date is not known.

What is so unique about this Birla SunLife Nifty ETF?
We've covered a lot about ETF's in detail with examples of returns calculations in our articles like Example of Nifty based ETF.
This new ETF from Birla Sunlife is expected to work the same way. Collect money from investors, pool it together, purchase Nifty based shares in the same proportion as they are listed in Nifty index and attempt to generate the returns similar to Nifty.
However, there comes a tracking error, which essentially means that the returns generated by fund manager of Nifty ETF may not be exact replica of the returns generated by Nifty Index, due to many trading activities and buying/selling/redemption of units by individuals.
So in essence, there is nothing very unique about this Birla SunLife Nifty ETF if you compare it to other Nifty based ETF's. Instead, investors are now spoilt for choice in the Nifty based ETF space as there are lot of them available.

The asset allocation for Birla SunLife Nifty ETF will be as follows:
95% to 100% will be invested in the nifty based securitites
Rest 0-5% will be in debt and money market instruments for unit redemption and creation purposes.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Birla SunLife Nifty ETF?
As mentioned above, there are lots of other Nifty based Exchange Traded Funds available in the market which are similar to this Birla SunLife Nifty ETF
The Birla SunLife Nifty ETF will track the standard benchmark index S&P CNX Nifty Index for tracking its performance.

What are the risks of investing and trading Birla SunLife Nifty ETF?
By investing in any index based ETF, you are taking the risk on overall market. If the overall Indian stock market (represented by Nifty & Sensex) collapses, then so will be the fate of your investments in this fund.
Along with that, you are also taking the risk on the performance of your fund manager. If the fund manager is not able to replicate the stocks in the same proportion as that of Nifty index, your returns might suffer (it might perform better than Nifty also, although a rare case)
You are also taking the tracking error risk. Since not 100% of your money will get invested in this fund (only 95%-100%), the tracking error comes in.

Final Thoughts about Birla SunLife Nifty ETF?
Another good option for trading the overall Nifty Index. Being an ETF it will give you the benefit of Intraday price movements and benefit from them as a trader, if you can. As a long term investor, you can buy and hold it without much of recurring expenses.
The brokerage charges would apply only on transactions.

See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit
Minimum investment Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

No tax benefit will be available in Birla SunLife Nifty ETF

Mr. Satyabrata Mohanty will be the fund manager for Birla SunLife Nifty ETF

Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Opinion.
The Religare Mutual Fund House is all set to enter the ETF space in india with the launch of their Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund. This appears to be the first ETF by the Religare Mutual Fund house. Although in the past, there have been other mutual funds from Religare (like Religare Business Leaders Fund).

In this article, we will analyze how good is this Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund NFO, whether this Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund.

Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund.
What are the NFO dates for Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund?
The NFO period for Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund is from 23 May 2011 and will close on 06 June 2011.

What is so unique about this Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund?
In my honest opinion, there is nothing much unique about this Nifty based ETF from Religare, as compared to other Nifty based ETF's already available. This is just another Exchange Traded fund which will invest the money collected from investors into the stocks which constitute the Nifty index in the same proportion of the index constituents.

The asset allocation will be as follows:
95% to 100% will be in Indian equities in proportion of the index constituents
Rest 0-5% will be in debt and money market instruments for unit redemption and creation purposes.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund?
There are lots of other ETF's available in the market which are similar to this Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund.
There are many other Nifty based ETF (like ETF- Exchange traded fund -Benchmark Funds; Motilal Oswal MOSt Shares M50 ETF) and quite a lot of Nifty based index Funds (like Quantum Index Fund (QIF ETF) & Reliance Index Fund-Nifty Plan).

The Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund will track the benchmark S&P Nifty 50 index for tracking its performance.

What are the risks of investing and trading Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund?
Being an ETF, it comes with the advantage of real time trading and price fluctuations which can be beneficial for traders as well as investors. On the risk side, it is the same story as with an other ETF - the investors take the risk of overall market falldown and hence the value of the ETF units going down.

Final Thoughts about Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund?
Just another ETF based on Nifty.
When it comes to ETF's, I dont advise investors to go through the NFO route, rather buy them directly on the exchanges once the NFO period is over and regular trading starts. Although withe zero entry load and zero exit load, investing through this NFO will be beneficial so as to save on brokerage charges during the buying leg, but the investor need to check this with the fund house.
However, if you apply through NFO, then you will have to apply with the minimum application amount.

See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit plus the premium, during NFO period
Minimum investment Rs 10,000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

No tax benefit will be available in Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund

Mr. Pranav Gokhale will be the fund manager for Religare Nifty ETF Exchange Traded Fund.

Sundaram Equity Plus Fund-NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Sundaram Equity Plus Fund NFO: Review, Analysis, Details & Opinion.
It was recently that the Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund house came out with its Gold based ETF or Gold Exchange Traded Fund: Birla Sun Life Gold ETF-NFO (See Details), followed by Quantum Gold Savings Fund NFO. Here is another gold based or better to say gold mixed fund from the Sundaram Mutual Fund house called the Sundaram Equity Plus Fund

In this article, we will analyze how good is this Sundaram Equity Plus Fund NFO, whether this Sundaram Equity Plus Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Sundaram Equity Plus Fund.

Sundaram Equity Plus Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Sundaram Equity Plus Fund.
So in a nutsheel, what this Sundaram Equity Plus Fund will do is collect money from investors and put it in Equities as well as Gold. So its a fund where you get a mixed exposure to equities as well as gold. The reason being advertised by Sundaram Equity Plus Fund is that along with equities, gold too is expected to give good returns hence one should go for a mix of the two. The ad also carries some punchlines like "you believe equities will give good returns, while your wife thinks that gold will be better for investment, and hence the Sundaram Equity Plus Fund".
So if you also are in a similar situation :) and trust that Sundaram Equity Plus Fund managers will be able to generate good returns for your money, then this is the fund for you.
What are the NFO dates for Sundaram Equity Plus Fund?
The NFO period for Sundaram Equity Plus Fund is frm 4 May 2011 and will close on 16 May 2011.

What is so unique about this Sundaram Equity Plus Fund?
First and foremost, this fund offers a mix of gold and equities and that's what makes it unique.
It is stated that upto 35% of the money will be invested in Gold based ETF, so that means your invested money will get quite a good exposure to gold.
And that what the word "PLUS" in the name of this fund mean, plus indicates Gold as an additional invested asset, it does not indicate that returns will always be plus or poistive.
On the equities side, the fund claims to keep it exposure to large cap Indian equities and will have around 65% exposure to equities.

Asset Allocation will be as follows:
Equities: 65% to 85%
Gold ETF: 15% to 35%
Debt instruments: 0% to 20%

No tax benefit will be available in Sundaram Equity Plus Fund.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Sundaram Equity Plus Fund?
We aren't aware of any Gold and Equity based mutual funds currently avaialble in the market.
However, one can go for a mix bag on his own by selecting a equity based mutual fund and gold ETF. There is a lot of choice for Gold based ETF's as there are a lot of Gold based ETF's and Gold based Mutual Funds available:
Here is the List of Gold ETF India available for trading on NSE

Other Gold ETF's include: HDFC Gold ETF: Review Analysis & Details Then there is the Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF) and ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, then SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF NFO Review: SBI Gold Exchange Traded Scheme

What are the risks of investing and trading Sundaram Equity Plus Fund?
First and foremost, you are giving your money to fund managers who will be investing it as per their thought. You run the risk of the fund managers not able to keep up the returns in positive territory.
Second, there is a asset category risk. What if equities or stock market falls? What if Gold prices fall?
Although gold prices (along with silver) have been shooting up and up in the recent times, there is no guarantee that it will continue to do so in future as well.
If you are interested in looking at how Gold prices have performed historically, see Gold ETF: Historical Performace of Gold ETF

Final Thoughts about Sundaram Equity Plus Fund?
A good fund for investors who trust the Sundaram fund managers and their investment skills and also believe that both equities and gold will generate positive returns.
This fund provides a good mix of investment in gold and stock market for people who want a mix of both.

During NFO period each unit cost Rs. 10 per unit during NFO period
Minimum investment Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 afterwards.

Multiple options available for investments in Sundaram Equity Plus Fund :
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout, Reinvestment facilities

Sundaram Equity Plus Fund Entry Load: Nil
Sundaram Equity Plus Fund Exit Load: 1% if exit within 1 year, NIL afterwards.
SIP or systematic investment plan? No info available about that.
No tax benefit will be available in Sundaram Equity Plus Fund

Quantum Gold Savings Fund-NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Quantum Gold Savings Fund NFO: Review, Analysis, Details & Opinion.
It was recently that the Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund house came out with its Gold based ETF or Gold Exchange Traded Fund: Birla Sun Life Gold ETF-NFO (See Details) and now there seems to be a race among the mutual fund houses to launch Gold based mutual funds, EETF's and Savings Funds. So here is one from the Quantum Mutual Fund house called the Quantum Gold Savings Fund

In this article, we will analyze how good is this Quantum Gold Savings Fund NFO, whether this Quantum Gold Savings Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Quantum Gold Savings Fund.

Quantum Gold Savings Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Quantum Gold Savings Fund.
First thing that you need to understand is that this is NOT a mutual fund, rather it's a fund of fund, or better to say "fund of single fund". Sounds Confusing? But that's what it is.
Basically, what this Quantum Gold Savings Fund will do is take money from individual investors and invest that money in their own Gold based ETF called the Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF - QGF). Hence, your invested money will ultimately reach the Gold ETF by Quantum Fund house.
What are the NFO dates for Quantum Gold Savings Fund?
The NFO period for Quantum Gold Savings Fund is currently open and will close on 12 May 2011.

What is so unique about this Quantum Gold Savings Fund?
I dont see anything special about this Quantum Gold Savings Fund. What is the point in creating another fund product in the name of "Savings Fund" when the invested money is to be put in another ETF run by the same fund house?
This being an EOD product, the NAV amounts will be calculated End of the day, while if you directly invest in the Quantum Gold ETF, you can attempt to benefit from the intraday price movements as the ETF tracks the prices of gold all throughout the trading day.
Anyways, on the positive side, this has a low minimum application amount of just Rs. 500, so makes good for small investors who may like to put only small amounts of money in gold in a periodic fashion. But again, why cant the same be done directly in the Gold based ETF?
I also have objections to the name "Savings Fund" - this will track the price of gold. They may go up and might asa well go down. There is no guarantee of assured returns like those offered by regular bank "savings accounts" - like 3.5% interest assured. So why call it a "Savings Fund"?
Anyways, market works in its own ways.

Mr. Chirag Mehta will be the fund manager for this Gold Savings Fund.

The Quantum Gold Savings Fund will be listed on both NSE and BSE post the NFO period.

No tax benefit will be available in Quantum Gold Savings Fund.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Quantum Gold Savings Fund?
The two direct competitor products already available in the market are from Reliance and Kotak. Reliance Gold Savings Fund and Quantum Gold Savings Fund-NFO - they work exactly the same way of this Quantum Gold Savings Fund, so investors might like to check them as well.
Other than that, there is a lot of choice for Gold based ETF's as there are a lot of Gold based ETF's and Gold based Mutual Funds available:
Here is the List of Gold ETF India available for trading on NSE

Recently, HDFC came out with HDFC Gold ETF: Review Analysis & Details

Then there is the Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF) which is from the same Quantum mutual fund house and ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, then SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF NFO Review: SBI Gold Exchange Traded Scheme

What are the risks of investing and trading Quantum Gold Savings Fund?
Since this is directly tracking the prices of Gold in the domestic Indian market, the investor will have to take the risk of decline in the Gold prices. Dont get fooled by the word "Savings fund" as there is no assured returns. By Savings Fund, it is meant that you put your saved money in the fund, but your returns will be subject to market prices of gold which may go up or down. Although gold prices (along with silver) have been shooting up and up in the recent times, there is no guarantee that it will continue to do so in future as well.

To udnerstand this, the best way is to look for historical gold prices. If you are interested in looking at how Gold prices have performed historically, see Gold ETF: Historical Performace of Gold ETF

Another risk comes in from the tracking error. Remember, the fund manager doesn't invest all your money in gold. Only around 95% is invested in gold, while rest is kept in debt instruments and cash holding, so as to take care of creation of new units as per the demand and redemption requests. Hence, there may not be a tick by tick correlation between the Quantum Gold Savings Fund prices and the actual godl prices and hence comes the tracking error.

Final Thoughts about Quantum Gold Savings Fund?
Nothing special - this is just another gold based (savings) fund in India where already many gold etf's are existing.

Quantum Gold Savings Fund Entry Load: Nil
Quantum Gold Savings Fund Exit Load: 1.5% if exit within 1 year, NIL afterwards.
SIP or systematic investment plan is also available.
No tax benefit will be available in Quantum Gold Savings Fund

Birla Sun Life Gold ETF-NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Birla Sun Life Gold ETF NFO: Review, Analysis, Details & Opinion.
High on the heels of the other fund houses, the Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund house has also joined the bandwagon and launched its Gold based ETF or Gold Exchange Traded Fund

In this article, we will analyse how good is this Birla Sun Life Gold ETF NFO, whether this Birla Sun Life Gold ETF offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Birla Sun Life Gold ETF.

Birla Sun Life Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Birla Sun Life Gold ETF.

What are the NFO dates for Birla Sun Life Gold ETF?
The NFO period for Birla Sun Life Gold ETF will open on April 25th, 2011 and will close on 9 May 2011.
What is so unique about this Birla Sun Life Gold ETF?
This is another Gold based ETF which is being lauched in the Indian Mutual Fund and ETF market. The Birla Sun Life Gold ETF will track the performance and prices of physical gold in the domestic gold market. Being an ETF or Exchange Traded Fund, this will also given short term traders a good opportunity to trade the tick by tick price movements and benefit.
Anyways, there appears nothing unique about this Birla Sun Life Gold ETF as compared to other Gold based ETF's which are already there in the market.

The minimum application amount for Birla Sun Life Gold ETF is Rs. 6,000 and afterwards in multiples of Rs. 2,000 thereafter.
The face value for each unit of ETF will be Rs. 10.

Mr. Satyabrata Mohanty will be the fund manager for this Gold ETF.

The Birla Sun Life Gold ETF will be listed on both NSE and BSE post the NFO period.

No tax benefit will be available in Birla Sun Life Gold ETF.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Birla Sun Life Gold ETF?
There is a lot of choice for Gold based ETF's as there are a lot of Gold based ETF's and Gold based Mutual Funds available:
Here is the List of Gold ETF India available for trading on NSE

Recently, HDFC came out with HDFC Gold ETF NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Then there is the good old Quantum Gold Fund (Gold ETF)

and ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, then SBI GETS-SBI Gold ETF NFO Review: SBI Gold Exchange Traded Scheme

Then there is the recently lauched Reliance Gold Savings Fund and Kotak Gold Savings Fund

What are the risks of investing and trading Birla Sun Life Gold ETF?
Since this is directly tracking the prices of Gold in the domestic Indian market, the investor will have to take the risk of decline in the Gold prices. Although gold prices (along with silver) have been shooting up and up in the recent times, there is no guarantee that it will continue to do so in future as well.

To udnerstand this, the best way is to look for historical gold prices. If you are interested in looking at how Gold prices have performed historically, see Gold ETF: Historical Performace of Gold ETF

Another risk comes in from the tracking error. Remember, the fund manager doesn't invest all your money in gold. Only around 95% is invested in gold, while rest is kept in debt instruments and cash holding, so as to take care of creation of new units as per the demand and redemption requests. Hence, there may not be a tick by tick correlation between the Birla Sun Life Gold ETF prices and the actual godl prices and hence comes the tracking error.

Other Gold Schemes Currently Open: Quantum Gold Savings Fund

Final Thoughts about Birla Sun Life Gold ETF?
Nothing special - this is just another gold based ETF in India where already many gold etf's are existing