Hedge mutual funds are a type of mutual fund that is structured as a private limited partnership. They are classified according to the securities they invest in and the tactics they use to manage them. Hedge funds are mainly recognized for their riskier investments, which attract wealthy investors looking for higher returns, and for those who are ready to accept bigger risks.

Hedge fund performance may assist to track the status of your investments, their risks, returns, etc. Continue to the blog to know everything about hedge funds and how you can invest in them.

What Are Hedge Funds?

Hedge funds pool money from investors and invest it in securities or other investments to make a profit out of them. Well, they are not subject to the same regulations as mutual funds. And, as a result, they have more freedom to explore investments and strategies that may raise the risk of losing money. Hedge funds are only available to wealthy investors. Investors can afford the higher fees and risks associated with investing in hedge funds.

Different Types of Hedge Funds in the Market?

Well, a modern investor has a wide range of possibilities from which to pick. In this article, we’ll go over the many options open to you.

• Domestic Hedge Funds: Domestic hedge funds are only available to investors who are taxed in the nation of origin.
• Offshore Hedge Funds: They are funds that are founded outside of your home nation, preferably in a low-tax jurisdiction.
• Funds of Funds: Mutual funds that invest in other hedge mutual funds rather than the specific underlying stocks are known as funds of funds.
• Event-Driven Strategies: Mergers, acquisitions, and bankruptcies are all major corporate events that cause a lot of movement in the stock market. Hedge funds are to profit from such changes. Those events only create volatility and making leveraged bets on this volatility can result in remarkable returns.

Everything You Should Know About Before Investing in a Hedge Fund?

Let us know about some key factors to consider while investing in hedge funds. Have a look.

• First, become a Qualified Investor as per the criteria.
• Read the Prospectus and Other Associated Documentation for a Fund.
• Know how to value a fund’s assets.
• Pose Inquiries and be clear about all the things such as where your money is going, who is managing it, and how to retrieve it, etc.

How to Invest in Hedge Funds?

You must first research funds that are presently accepting new investors to invest in hedge funds. Furthermore, to find suitable hedge funds, take assistance from a financial advisor like a Hedge Fund Manager. Though there are many research tools available online also. After you’ve looked at the fund managers and investment objectives, you’ll need to contact a hedge fund and inquire about minimum investment requirements.

You’ll need to prove that you’re a qualified investor, though there is no centralized accreditation authority or an established approach available. Because each fund uses its methods to determine your standing. For that you have to give proof of your income, debts, assets, and experience through licensed third parties. Any financial institution in that case with which you have accounts, an investment advisor, or an attorney.

Should You Put Your Money in a Hedge Fund?

Hedge funds may be a good method to diversify your portfolio and hedge against market volatility. So if you qualify as an accredited investor and are ready to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars you must invest in hedge funds. You may also take help from a hedge fund manager to know more about it before investing your money into it. For the average person seeking high returns, investing in index funds that track key indexes, is a better option.

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Creating and launching your new small business can be a very exciting moment in one’s life. On the flip side it comes with its share of stresses. One such stress that many new business owners face is caused by finances. Starting a new business often requires a lot of upfront capital. According to one serial entrepreneur, Jay Reeder, who has started all kinds of businesses from software companies to an alpaca farm, “cashflow is the most important factor to growing a healthy business.” One way to alleviate some of the stress and financial burden of starting and maintaining a small business is to have a detailed budget to follow. Continue reading to learn seven proven methods to budget for your business wisely.

Let Your Employees Get Involved

It’s understandable to believe that since you are the owner of the business that you need to do everything yourself. Delegating tasks and involving others in your team is something all great leaders do. When budgeting for your business the same principal applies. Gather all your employees up and go over the budget together as a team. Not only will it provide your employees with a sense of camaraderie and importance it will keep them up to speed with what is happening within the business. Employees need to know this information especially if it could possibly affect them. Furthermore, having a few more sets of eyes on the budget wouldn’t hurt. Someone may point out something you’ve missed or point out an item on the budget that could be eating up too much cashflow. Lastly, it is instrumental that employees are well aware of the companies short and long term financial goals and their roles in responsibilities on the path to reaching that goal.

You Still Need to Pay Yourself

As a business owner it is very easy to get too caught up in the budget. Many are so focused on saving and allocating every penny within the business that they simply forget to pay themselves. While part of this is simply forgetting it is also due to guilt. You may feel guilty paying yourself or feel as though you may be taking too much money for yourself. At the end of the day you are another employee at your company and you have to remember to set money aside for yourself.

Identify and Understand Your Risks

No matter what business venture you pursue there are risks involved. Some risks can be serious enough to financially ruin your business and they need to be mitigated. The most effective method for doing so is to identify and plan for both long and short term risks your company may face. Such risks include changes to healthcare and increased premiums and increases in minimum wage. Being in a location that frequently experiences natural disasters can also put a serious dent in your operations and finances. Knowing what risks your company may face and following a strict budget will allow your business to save money for whatever life may throw at it.

Overestimate Your Expenses

For businesses that operate on a project to project format it is detrimental that you over estimate costs for your budget. We’ve all experienced having an unexpected cost or situation arise during a project that causes the initial budgeted amount to be exceeded. By over budgeting a project or job you can protect your business from unexpected financial burden. Often times such instances can cause a business to go under before it even had a chance to develop.

Anticipate Sales Cycles

It is not uncommon for your business to experience ups and downs throughout the year in regards to sales. Depending on your type of business the majority of sales may come during one or two seasons while the remainder of the year is slow. Effectively planning for those downturns is necessary for keeping your business open. During the slow periods its important to keep costs down and to plan for the next anticipated sales spike. It would also be wise to have money set aside while your busy to ride out the slow cycles to prevent your business from falling apart financially.

Time is Money

You’ve heard that phrase all too often. In life and in business especially that saying holds very true. You need to treat time as a commodity and as if it were money. Not accounting for time and how it may affect your business financially can derail any budget. This is especially important if your employees are paid on an hourly basis. Being mindful of deadlines is equally important. Set realistic completion times to ensure that the job is completed satisfactorily and on time.

Don’t Set It and Forget It

Once you have a budget in place it is important to keep a full court press on it. Many business owners simply forget to revisit their budget after it is initially created. This is a mistake that can financially cripple your business. Just like events and happenings in life constantly change so do events and happenings in business. Its important to be flexible and agile and to constantly monitor your budget. This will ensure that you do not go into the red and out of business. Anticipating what will happen next will keep you on budget and help you adapt to the ever-changing world of business.

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With every investment decision, investors only seek higher returns. Considered as a preferred choice for many, mutual funds offer high returns at a lower risk compared to direct equities. An investment in mutual fund allows investors to avail of the benefit of compounding interest and helps them generate optimum returns in the long term. Additionally, mutual fund investments may be made in the form of a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) and its returns carry tax benefits.

When it comes to determining the performance of a fund, investors are not aware of what to consider. Measuring the short-term performance of the fund may sometimes lead to wrong decisions. Many consider this short-term return as a benchmark and set wrong expectations. Therefore, it is important to assess the fund correctly in order to avoid wrong financial investment decisions.

Ways in which investment returns are calculated

If you want to check your mutual fund performance, you must first understand the different ways in which the returns are calculated.

• Point-to-point return or absolute return

This is the figure that, you arrive at by deducting the final Net Asset Value (NAV) from the initial investment amount. An absolute return does not take into consideration the period for which your money has been invested or the inflation during that period. For instance, if you invested INR 20,000 in 2015 and its current NAV is INR 30,000, then your absolute earning is INR 10,000.

• Annualized returns

Each fund shows returns that are compounded and not absolute. Mutual fund returns compound over a period and the Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) shows the year-on-year growth rate of the investment over a particular duration.

Why absolute returns do not reveal the right picture

Fund managers often ask investors to stay away from considering a point-to-point return. Let us delve deeper to find out why absolute returns should not be considered as a benchmark and may be misleading.

• Reflects an incorrect financial picture

For short-term mutual fund investments of a year or less, absolute returns may show the right results, but in case the investment is for a long-term, this does not hold true.Over a longer period, the fund may not be able to sustain the same or an increased return percentage. For example, if a fund outperforms in a three-year period, you may not be assured that it will perform the same way over a five-year duration. This also does not mean that you will not earn good returns over a longer period. The three-year return could be fueled by a positive market movement and a favorable macro environment. There could be a significantly higher return in a three-year period and an average or below-average return in the five-year duration.

• Performance depends on the type of fund

The performance of the mutual fund depends on the type of fund you are invested in. Equity funds are highly volatile and the returns on the same may vary from one period to another. It is also affected due to the market conditions. CAGR does not account intermittent volatility. The equity fund may have gone up by 40% in the first year and may dip by 25% in another, but the absolute return will not provide correct information about the fund. It might only show the upswing of 40% in a particular year and misguide investors.In fact, most top-performing mutual funds perform well in the first year and then slump in the next two years. Hence, the overall performance may be determined by considering a three-year or a five-year investment period.

In order to gain maximum return from mutual funds, fund managers insist investors remain invested in the long run in order to gain maximum mutual fund returns and to bring down the impact of the market changes to a minimum. Every investor should learn how to interpret the CAGR and understand the implications of three-year or five-year returns on the investment.

The biggest benefit of a mutual fund is the compounding of interest. CAGR is ideal for measuring performance over a longer period whereas absolute returns may only measure the performance for a year.

To invest in top-performing mutual funds, investors must use user-friendly tools like the Angel Wealth mobile application. It offers customized recommendations for your financial goals. It runs an ARQ investment engine, which has no human intervention and is powered by advanced algorithms. So download the Angel Wealth mobile app today and streamline your investments.

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The National Pension System (NPS) is a defined contribution retirement plan offered by the government. The plan is regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

Subscribers must avail their Tier 1 NPS accounts with one of the PFRDA-appointed Point of Presence (POP). The contributions may be invested in 3 asset classes’ viz. equities, government securities, and corporate bonds. These funds are managed by professional fund managers designated by the regulator.

NPS is compulsory for government employees except the armed forces. The plan is optional for the private sector personnel. An increasing number of private sector employees are choosing NPS to take advantage of the various tax benefits available under the Income Tax (IT) Act.

Here is how government employees may choose fund managers

Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN)

Applicants are updated about their PRAN application status through an email or SMS. This number is unique for each subscriber, which makes the NPS account completely portable. The applicants may check the status with the POP or the regulator’s website in case the PRAN card is not received.

Choosing the fund manager

Government employees did not have the liberty of choosing their fund manager as available under the All Citizen Model. The state or the central government had the responsibility of choosing the fund managers. However, recently, PFRDA announced that public sector employees will now be at par and may choose their preferred fund manager to handletheir NPS contributions.

Being able to choose their preferred fund manager provides the subscribers an opportunity to assume higher risks and enjoy better NPS interest rate. The returns on NPS contributions depend on the percentage that is invested in the different asset classes. Therefore, by investing the maximum permissible amount (50% of the total annual contribution) in equities offers investors the chance to earn higher returns.

Changing the fund manager

The private sector personnel also have the option of changing the fund manager in case they are unsatisfied with the services. The proposed modification by the regulator also makes the option of changing the fund manager available for the government employees.

Opportunity to earn higher returns

The public sector employer matches the annual contribution made by the employees to the NPS. Having the option to choose their preferred fund manager allows the subscribers to take advantage of investing more in equities, which may potentially increase their returns.

The NPS corpus may be withdrawn on maturity. Investors may withdraw 60% of this amount as a lump sum. The balance must be compulsorily converted to an annuity plan. Subscribers may use a pension plan calculator to estimate the potential returns on their investments.

The revised norms for government subscribers make NPS beneficial for the investors. They may now choose the fund manager and the investment breakdown to maximize their returns.However, the existing system of the government choosing the fund manager will also continue for those subscribers who do not want to make their own choice.

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The National Pension System (NPS) is a voluntary defined contribution plan for retirement income. Individuals aged between 18 and 60 years can open a Tier I and Tier II account. They need to contribute a minimum amount of INR 6,000 per annum to the Tier I NPS account.

The contribution is invested among different asset classes, such as government bonds, corporate bonds, and equities. Contributors can indicate their investment choice to maximize their returns on investments.

Although the NPS was launched in 2009, it did not gain much popularity initially. Individuals shied away from investing in the NPS because of its complexity and a general lack of clarity related to their contributions.

However, in the previous year’s Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took a huge step towards increasing the popularity of this tax saving investments plan. He made contributions of up to INR 50,000 tax deductible under the section 80 CCD (1B) of the Income Tax Act. This deduction was over and above the existing benefit available for investments up to INR 1.5 lakhs under the section 80 CCE. This offers individuals a total tax deduction benefit of INR 2 lakhs under sections 80 CCD (1) and 80 CCD (1B).

As a result, an increased number of investors started investing in the National Pension System. Assets under management for the NPS crossed INR 1 lakh crores for the first time since the launch of this tax saving scheme.

Working of the NPS

Individual subscribers

They can open their NPS accounts with any of the “Point of Presence (POP)” appointed by the regulatory authority, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). They need to fill and submit the Common Subscriber Registration Form (CRSF) to the POP along with KYC documents and initial contribution. On successfully opening an account, users receive a Welcome Kit comprising the Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN) card and other related documentation. The PRAN is unique for each subscriber and portable, giving you flexibility even if you change your job or location.

Tier I is the pension account while Tier II is the investment account. Withdrawals from Tier I accounts are limited and help to create the retirement corpus. Tier II is a voluntary investment facility and the amounts from this account can be withdrawn without any limitations.

Corporate subscribers

The corporate model for this tax saving scheme was made available from December 2011. It was customized to suit the requirements of different companies and employees. The NPS is an option offered for providing additional retirement benefits to the personnel, and can be made mandatory by the companies for their employees.

Companies can join this tax saving investments scheme through the POP. Employers who contribute to this pension plan on behalf of their employees also receive tax advantages, which make it attractive for them. Companies can claim such benefits for an amount that is up to 10% of the employees’ salaries (basic + dearness allowance) through deduction as business expenses.

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