Margins for full year in 27-28% range and will improve going forward: Max Life Insurance MD
Prashant Tripathy, MD & CEO, Max Life Insurance, says: “We finished our year last year at a little over 31% margin and ever since this year began, I have been saying that this kind of margin for Max Life Insurance will be unsustainable and the guidance that we have given to the market for the full year is between 27% to 28%. Where we are right now is as per plan, it was supposed to be compressed. ”

Kotak bank’s insurance stake sale to Zurich group a signature Uday Kotak deal
Uday Kotak, the promoter of India’s fourth-largest private bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, is known to drive a hard bargain, having spent years in the investment banking and stock broking business.

Demand letters for Rs 1,974 crore issued to higher pension applicants under EPS
New Delhi: A total of 32,591 demand letters have been issued with the cumulative demand raised of Rs 1,974 crore till October 12 from the applicants who opted for higher pension under the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS). The progress of applications for higher pension, which have totalled to around 17.49 lakh, was discussed in the latest meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) held on October 31.

Baroda BNP Paribas Small Cap Fund NFO collects Rs 1,103 crore
The new fund offer (NFO) of Baroda BNP Paribas Small Cap Fund has collected Rs 1,103 crore during the NFO period. The NFO of Baroda BNP Paribas Small Cap Fund was open for subscription between 6 and 20 October.This is the 7th NFO by Baroda BNP Paribas Mutual Fund since the formation of the merged entity in March 2022.

HDFC Hybrid Debt: A safe bet for volatile markets
The markets have been in a corrective mode over the past month or so as a result of several global events such as the US Treasury yield spiking to record levels, Israel-Hamas tensions in West Asia and the selling spree of foreign investors. From an asset allocation perspective, the high yields on bonds domestically and volatile equities may be a good time to consider hybrid funds. Conservative hybrid funds would be suitable for low-risk investors looking to play it safe in the markets, yet being able to get reasonable returns that beat inflation. These funds can be useful additions for important financial goals that are 3-5 years away that cannot be risked with permanent loss of capital.

Amfi directs mutual funds to show only 10-year benchmark returns in ads
The Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) has made it mandatory for mutual funds to display only the benchmark 10-year compounded annual rolling returns prescribed by it for fund categories in related pamphlets and advertisements.

Old Bridge Mutual Fund files draft document for Focused Equity Fund
Old Bridge Mutual Fund has filed a draft document for Old Bridge Focused Equity Fund. The scheme will be an open-ended mutual fund scheme investing in maximum 30 stocks.

ICICI Prudential Multi-Asset Fund completes 21 years; offers SIP return of 17.5%
ICICI Prudential Multi-Asset Fund has completed 21 years. The scheme manages an AUM of Rs 24,060.99 crore, which accounts for nearly 57% of the total AUM in the multi asset allocation category, a press release said.

HDFC Top 100 Fund: Rs 10,000 SIP since inception turns into Rs 6.88 crore!
HDFC Top 100 Fund, an open-ended equity scheme predominantly investing in large-cap stocks, has successfully completed 27 years of operation in 2023. Over the past 27 years, the Fund has delivered a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 19%. 

HDFC MF, ICICI Pru MF equity schemes deliver strong returns over 27, 21 yrs
HDFC Top 100 Fund, an open-ended equity scheme investing largely in large-cap stocks, has completed 27 years of operation. The fund has delivered Compound Annual Growth Rate of 19 per cent. A SIP of ₹10,000 invested systematically on the first business day of every month (total investment ₹32.40 lakh) in HDFC Top 100 Fund would have grown to ₹6.88 crore by September 29.

DSP Mutual Fund launches Gold ETF: All you need to know
A Gold ETF is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that aims to track the domestic physical gold price. They are passive investment instruments that are based on gold prices and invest in gold bullion.
 

Nine equity mutual funds offer over 30% in three years

Around nine equity mutual funds gave over 30% in three years. ETMutualFunds calculated daily rolling returns of 204 equity schemes that have completed three years.

SKG Assets and Holdings launches SKG India Value Fund; details here
SKG Assets & Holdings, a financial services company, recently launched the SKG India Value Fund. This marks SKG’s strategic shift towards asset management, placing a strong emphasis on serving the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector.

Floating Rate Savings Bonds: With rates at peak, it’s not the right time to lock into RBI bonds
While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the interest rate of Floating Rate Savings Bonds (FRSBs) to 8.1% (October 30, 2023 to April 29, 2024) and has also enabled subscription through its Retail Direct Portal, a web-based platform for investing in government securities, risk-averse investors should note that such bonds are more attractive in a rising interest rate environment.

Investors lap up 50-year bond; Insurers, pension funds line up to grab a share
The government’s auction of the first 50-year bond evoked a strong demand from investors on Friday as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received bids worth Rs 40,200 crore (4x) for these ultra-long bonds, against the notified amount of Rs 10,000 crore.

India's first 50-year bond fully sold on growing insurer demand
India’s auction of the debut 50-year bond met with firm demand Friday, underscoring growing interest from insurance and pension funds for ultra-long papers.

10-year US Treasury yields hit 5-week lows as jobs gains disappoint
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields fell to five-week lows on Friday and two-year yields were the lowest since early September after data showed that U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in October.

Maiden auction of 50-year G-Sec receives enthusiastic investor response
The maiden auction of the 50-year Government Security (G-Sec) on Friday saw enthusiastic bidding from investors, especially insurance companies and pension funds. Prior to the aforementioned auction, the longest tenor paper that the Government had issued was of 40-year duration. That the demand for the 50-year paper (maturing in 2073) was robust is underscored by the fact that investors placed 216 competitive bids aggregating Rs 40,200 crore against the notified amount of ₹10,000 crore at the auction.