Facebook acquiring Opera, Face.com? No, it doesn't make sense

Details, Opinion & Review about Facebook acquiring Opera, Face.com rumors & news
Rumors are floating around about Facebook eyeing Norway based Opera for acquiring the leader in mobile browser. Rumors are also there that the deal could be around 1 billion USD. More rumors are coming up about Facebook attempting to acquire face.com, the Israel based facial-recognition company.
As my honest opinion, none of these acquisitions make sense for facebook.

Already reeling under price pressure - the Facebook stock has tanked to below $29 after the debut. Questions are being raised about the roles of lead managers and advisors about the valuations, especially the last minute hike in the IPO price. Questions are being raised about the 1 billion USD acquisition of instagram.

What is it that facebook is attempting to achieve now with another 2 such big acquisitions?

Facebook Acquition Target: Opera, Face.com? No, it doesn't make sense

Let's look at them one by one:
1) Opera - Norway based browser company, a market leader in mobile browsers.

Why facebook wants it? Why do they really need a browser?
Facebook's platform apparently is not geared up for mobile users, so they look for an existing leader in mobile browser and try to benefit from its lead position.

How will it happen? Nothing is clear. Possibly, facebook will try to customize it or tweak it to have it compatible for facebook access.

Whether it will work? No idea.

What is the competition? It's Everywhere. Right from Google Chrome to other mobile based browsers, there is no guarantee that people will be hooked onto facebook only through this opera browser.

2) Face.com - Israel based face recognition company

Why facebook wants it? Not really sure. Already have instagram on their side for photos. How will face.com help facebook - possibly recognizing the faces? Doesn't make much business sense.
Or are they only after the domain called face.com?

How will the deal benefit facebook - no idea. Don't see any benefit. Possibly, users can search for similar looking human beings? Search for twin siblings if lost? "How much I look like someone else" kind of games?

Instagram deal for facebook was already criticized by many analysts. I agree with them. Now, another of these 2 acquisitions are not going to help - only drain money out as they are at high cost without adding much value.

Let's look at the market sentiment also amid all these rumors and development news
- Facebook Options trading commenced yesterday and the very first day it saw a buildup indicating further fall in the facebook stock price
- The stock has been hammered consistently since its debut, touch intraday lows of below $29
- Questions being raised about the role of investment bankers about the valuations
- Questions being raised about the high cost instagram deal
- Rumors about a third attempt to build facebook smartphone (if true, what all is facebook trying to accomplish?)

It was a good IPO with a momentary good listing, but now Market Mood is low. It doesn't look like this will be a good move by Facebook

Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
A new equity or stock based mutual fund is going to enter the Indian markets. The fund belongs to Taurus mutual fund house and is called the Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund. As the name suggests, this fund will keep its focus in the banking space by investing the money collected from investors in the stocks of companies operating in the BFSI sector i.e. Banking & Financial Services. That would means stocks of banks, NBFC, financial services companies will be in the portfolio.

In this article, we will analyze how good is this Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund NFO, whether this Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund.

Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund.

What are the NFO dates for Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund?
Image sourced as screenshot from official Taurus mutual fund site

The NFO period for Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund is from May 2, 2012 to May 16, 2012. After the NFO period, the regular buying, selling and redemption of fund units will start at a date not yet known.

What is so unique about this Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund?
If this has to be answered in simple terms, this fund does offer something unique in terms of being a mutual fund dedicated to BFSI. A mutual fund which will try to focus on the BFSI sector and invest the money collected from investors in the bank and finance company stocks.
In the past as well, there have been many banking mutual funds :

- Lotus India Banking Fund

- ICICI Prudential Banking & Financial Services Fund

- Sundaram BNP Paribas Financial Services Opportunities Fund

Even few ETF's like:

- Reliance Banking Exchange Traded Fund RBETF

- Bank BeES an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)

and many more.

So, there is lot in the market in the BFSI sector for investing through the various available Bank focussed mutual funds and ETF's.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund?
There are many mutual funds available as listed above. Add it them the list of ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) and Index Funds, the no. will shoot even higher. See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here
However, there can be more similar products offerings from other fund houses as that list is not complete.

What are the risks of investing and trading Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund?
There are alwasys risks involved in any kind of investment.
The Taurus Mutual Fund claims that India is going to grow and so will the BFSI sector grow and the story goes on & on. Problems with sector specific funds is that they take the hit when the entire sector goes down.
Another problem with Banking and Fincial services sector is that it is highly sensitive to the interest rate fluctuations as well as global developments. Since the interest rates are directly or indirectly controlled by the government, just a small change leads to big moves in the bank and financial stocks in either direction.
Also, there is a big dependency on global developments. Something happens in a European economy, that has a direct or indirect impact on banks across the globe. So by investing in any such sector specific fund, the investor has to take the sector specific risk.
These inherent risks are to be taken by the investor.

Final Thoughts about Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund?
In summary - Another mutual fund focussed on Banking & Financial Services sector. Offers nothing different or unique except for focus on BFSI which is already offered by other fund available in the market.
Investors can also look for ETF's like the Bank BeES ETF by Benchmark or the Reliance Banking Exchange Traded Fund RBETF.

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 Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund.

There will be 2 plans for investors to choose from:

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

Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund Entry Load: NIL
Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund Exit Load: 1% for exit (repurchase/switch-out/SWP) on or before 1 year from the date of allotment.
NIL beyond 1 year.

Asse Allocation:
Equities and equity related instruments of Banking & Financial Services sector - 80% to 100%
Debt and Money market instruments - 0% to 20%

SIP or systematic investment plan? Yes Available.
Minimum application amount 1000 Rs. for SIP, SWP, STP

The benchmark for Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund will be BSE Bankex Index

Mr. Sadanand Shetty will be the fund manager for Taurus Banking & Financial Services Fund.

IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund: Review, Analysis, Details & Investment Opinion.
A new equity or stock based mutual fund is going to enter the Indian markets. The fund belongs to IDBI mutual fund house and is called the IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund. As the name suggests, this fund will keep its focus on the top 100 stocks as per the market cap, hence this is primarily a large cap focussed fund.

In this article, we will analyze how good is this IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund NFO, whether this IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund offers anything new or unique for the investors and whether the investors should invest in IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund.

IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Let's begin with some basic details about IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund.

What are the NFO dates for IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund?

Image sourced as screenshot from official idbi mutual fund site
The NFO period for IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund is from April 25, 2012 to May 09, 2012. After the NFO period, the regular buying, selling and redemption of fund units will start from May 22, 2012.

What is so unique about this IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund?
If this has to be answered in simple terms, there is nothing unique in this offering. Just another mutual fund which will try to track the performance of the top 100 stocks being traded on NSE. So basically, it is boiling down to being a large cap fund where the fund manager will try to replicate the performance of the "CNX 100 Index" which contains top 100 stocks on NSE. The fund managers will select among those top 100 stocks (but may not be limited to them) and try to generate returns similar to "CNX 100 Index". Obviously the tracking error will come in and after charges the returns will vary for the end investor. So overall, this is another large cap focussed mutual fund by IDBI.
In the past as well, IDBI has come up with many funds as follows:

- IDBI Nifty Index Fund

- IDBI Nifty Junior Index Fund

- IDFC Small Cap Equity Fund

As one can observe, most of the funds from IDFC are market-size specific - either focussing on large caps, mid caps or small cap stock profiles.

What are the other competitor products available in comparison to IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund?
There are literally hundreds of mutual funds available. Add it them the list of ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) and Index Funds, the no. will shoot even higher. See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here
However, there can be more similar products offerings from other fund houses as that list is not complete.

What are the risks of investing and trading IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund?
Basically, any investor who is looking for investing in top 100 market cap stocks of NSE through the mutual fund route can invest in this mutual fund from IDBI. However, the risk is obviously there.
As an investor of thi mutual fund, you will be taking a risk on the performance of this fund which may not necessarily be replicating the top 100 stock index. There is dependency on fund managers stock selection (which is inherent in any mutual fund investment).
Then, the overall stock market risk is always there. What if the stock market collapses during your period of investment in this fund.
These inherent risks are to be taken by the investor.

Final Thoughts about IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund?
Another large cap focussed fund from IDBI adding to the already available large cap mutual funds.
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 IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund.

There will be 2 plans for investors to choose from:

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

IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund Entry Load:
IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund Exit Load: 1% for exit (repurchase/switch-out/SWP) on or before 1 year from the date of allotment.
NIL beyond 1 year.

Asse Allocation:
Equities and equity related instruments of constituents of the CNX 100 Index - 70% to 100%
Debt and Money market instruments - 0% to 30%

SIP or systematic investment plan? Yes Available.
Monthly SIP Option: Rs. 500 and in multiples of Re. 1/- thereafter, per month, for atleast 12 months or Rs. 1000 and in multiples of Re. 1/- thereafter, per month, for a minimum period of six months.

Quarterly SIP Option: Rs. 1500 and in multiples of Re. 1/- thereafter, per quarter, for a minimum period of four quarters.

The benchmark for IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund will be CNX 100 Index

Mr. V. Balasubramanian will be the fund manager for IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund.

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.

MCX IPO Grey Market Premium Price Information & Details

In our earlier post MCX IPO: Review Analysis & Details of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) IPO, we had covered the basic details and review analysis of the much awaited MCX IPO - the first such IPO listing in India where a stock exchange is going to list its share for trading in Indian Stock Markets.

In this article, we will cover details of Grey Market Premium for the MCX IPO. Please note that these details are as available from the various news items through print and TV media business news channels and is not a verified or confirmed information. MCX IPO is much awaited IPO by many investors as it is one of the first stock exchanges to list its shares for trading. Usually, exchanges earn their income from the transactional fees, subscription fees, licence fee for index, etc. and considered to be safe. However, no returns are guaranteed - it all depends upon the time and randomness and investors need to keep the risks in mind. Image sourced from official MCX Exchange website
Now, coming back to the Grey Market Premium Prices for the MCX IPO:

Grey Market Premium Prices for MCX IPO

As reported by a leading business news channel, the MCX IPO has once again opened the Grey market Trading in the Indian Stock market business. Although it is not known to be legal, but this business continues. As per the news available, the MCX IPO is currently trading at a premium in the range of Rs. 270 to Rs. 320 per share.
Now this IPO premium is really high as compared to the price band of the MCX Rs. 860 to Rs. 1032. Even at the higher end of the price band of Rs. 1032, the Grey market premium of average Rs. 300 means a 30%.
Market reports say that this grey market premium will increase further as the IPO opens for subscription and listing day approaches.

What does this Grey market price premium for MCX IPO mean?
The grey market involves unofficial buying and selling of shares a few days before the actual listing of the IPO on the stock exchanges. Since this activity starts few days before the actual listing of the shares, the extra premium is considered to be profitable to the traders. However, once the stocks list, the premium gradually or rapidly disappears, as the case may be depending upon the market perception of the stock valuation.

Is the return guaranteed if an upcoming IPO is having a grey market premium like that reported for MCX IPO
NO- nothing is guaranteed. Just because some upcoming IPO is quoted to be trading at a premium in the grey market, it does not mean that it will definitely be profitable to the investors. Remember the fate of Anil Ambani's ADAG group's Reliance Power IPO: What went wrong? - that was also trading at a big premium in grey market, but things went wrong on the listing day itself. Check the above article for more details.

What is the final opinion about investing in MCX IPO?
Irrespective of whatever is going on in the so called grey market, stock exchanges investments in form of buying its listed shares is good in the long run.
As listed in detail in our review of MCX IPO article MCX IPO: Review Analysis & Details of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) IPO, this IPO will be a good bet for long term hold. See the above article for more details.

IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund NFO: Review Analysis & Details

Details about IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund
IDBI Mutual Fund house has come out with a Bond Fund and its NFO is currently open. In this article, we will explore this IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund and see whether this Bond fund from IDBI is any useful to investors and which class of investors does this IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund suit.
Let's begin with some basic details of IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund:

What actually is this IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund?
IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund is a fund launched by IDBI mutual fund house and like any other mutual fund this fund will also collect money from investors and invest in certain financial instruments with an aim to generate good returns.
Since this is a Bond fund, the money collected will be invested in Bonds and similar other Debt based and money market instruments. Hence, the returns from this fund will not be that volatile as like those from equity or stock based mutual funds, but this fund claims to be less risky compared to the equity mutual funds.
Traditionally, Indian investors go for stock based mutual fund, but lately debt based mutual funds are also gathering good customer interest hence this fund may find a good interest in the market.
Also, we have observed a good long period of high interest rates where returns from debt instruments have been better than equity markets. So that is what the fund managers of this IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund are trying to capitalize upon.

Being a Bond or Debt fund, are returns guaranteed from this IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund?
No, nothing is guaranteed. No bond fund or debt fund would ever (or can guarantee) any returns or capital protection and same is true for this IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund also.
Investors should not live under the impression that bond funds are risk free or come with any kind of guaranteed returns.

What are the NFO dates for IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund?
The IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund is open from 31 January 2012 to 14 February 2012 for its NFO period

IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund Review Analysis & Details

What will be the benchmark index for tracking returns of IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund?
CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index will be used for tracking performance of IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund

What are the other investment details of IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund?

Minimum investment in IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund is Rs. 5000 and in multiples of Re. 1 thereafter.

Multiple options available for investments:
Growth Option
Dividend Option - Payout will be quarterly or annual (as per the availability)

Face value will be Rs. 10

Mr. Gautam Kaul will be the fund manager

Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) for IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund?
SIP is available for IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund:
If you go for monthly option for a minimum 12 months, then Rs. 500 minimum per month and multiples of Re. 1 above that.
For 6 months, Rs. 1000 minimum per month and multiples of Re. 1 above that.

For Quarterly Option, Rs 1500 minimum per quarter and multiples of Re. 1 above that, for minimum 4 quarters

What are the entry load and exit load charges for IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund
Entry Load NIL
Exit load NIL

Is there any tax saving or tax benefit available in IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund
No, there will be no tax saving or tax benefit

See List of All Mutual Fund and NFO Articles here

Final Thoughts about IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund
A good option for investors who are willing to look for some exposure to the debt instruments and money market securities. However, please note that the returns are not guaranteed, nor is the capital protected with any guarantee. Bond funds do come with their own set of risks (although they are less volatile compared to equity fund.
IDBI Dynamic Bond Fund

Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund: Save Tax by investing in Fidelity ELSS

This article contains details & information about Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund (Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund ELSS). Also covered is the review, analysis, details and opinion about investing in Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund
Its time the financial year is ending in India and individual tax payers, expecially the salary class, are worried about tax savings. Before the Direct Tax Code or DTC gets implemented about which there are concerns that it might take away the tax savings offered by ELSS, investors might have this last chance for getting tax benefits for investing in an Equity based mutual fund.

What actually is the Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund?
Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund is a mutual fund from the world renowned Fidelity mutual fund house. Like any other mutual fund, this fund too collects money from the common investors and invests it in equity/stocks with an aim to generate returns.
It is categorized as an ELSS or Equity Linked Saving Scheme, which gives investors a tax benefit as well.

Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund Details

What is unique about Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund?
Apart from being a equity based mutual fund, this fund also offers tax savings under the ELSS scheme under section 80(C) of Income tax act i.e. any investments made in this scheme (for the entire cap of 1 Lakh Rs. under section 80(C)) will be exempted from taxes.
See related: Complete List of Qualifying investments under section 80C and Tax Savings details for Section 80C

What are the other details about Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund
The fund has been around since 2006. Since it offers tax savings, it comes with a lock-in period of 3 years i.e. investors investing into this fund for tax saving purpose cannot withdraw their money for 3 years.

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

Minimum purchase amount:Rs. 500 per application.

Mr. Sandeep Kothari is the fund manager.

What is the benchmark index for Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund
Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund tracks the BSE 200 index and is an actively managed fund

Is the SIP facility available in Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund?
Yes, SIP or Systematic investment Plan is available.
For SIP: Rs. 3,000 (minimum single investment of Rs. 500 and in multiples of Rs. 500 thereafter, minimum 6 instalments).

What are the entry load and exit load charges for Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund
Entry Load NIL
Exit load NIL

What are the other competitor products to Fidelity Tax Advantage Fund
Tax Saving Investment Funds:
Lots and lots are availble, here are a few:

- Principal Personal Tax Saver Fund (ELSS),

- SBI Tax Advantage fund

- Reliance Equity Linked Savings Fund and many more

- SBI Magnum Taxgain

If you are looking for tax saving investments on the debt side, then there are these long term infrastructure bonds plus tax saving bond issues by various other government organizations

- IRFC Tax Free Bonds

- NHAI Tax Free Bonds issue

- HUDCO Tax Free Bonds

Then there are several infrastructure bonds issues currently open which will provide you tax savings like
1) IDFC Infrastructure Bonds for Tax Saving

2) L&T Infra Bonds for Tax Saving

3) SREI Infra Bonds for Tax Saving

Investors looking for tax savings have a lot of choice for investments in various financial instruments. One can take a call about which tax saving investment to choose based upon his own capital availability, tax bracket and risk appetite.