Irdai proposes changes in listing requirements of insurance companies
The suggestion is made based on recommendations from the Regulation Review Committee (RRC) that consolidated existing regulation into IRDAI (Registration, Capital Structure, Transfer of Shares and Amalgamation of Indian Insurance Companies) Regulations, 2024. The recommendations are expected to help enhance ease of doing business while ensuring protection of customer interests.

'Needed to fill gaps in internal systems...': Nirmala Sitharaman explains how LIC was prepared for IPO
Admitting the lack of professionalism in the functioning of public sector undertakings in the '90s, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that she worked hard to fill gaps in the internal systems of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) before the launch of its initial public offering (IPO), reported NDTV. 

ESAF Small Finance Bank joins with Edelweiss Tokio Life to offer life insurance products
Kochi: Taking a substantial step to enrich the array of financial solutions for customers, ESAF Small Finance Bank has officially declared a bancassurance collaboration with Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance.

HDFC Life launches brand campaign
HDFC Life’s brand campaign encourages parents to believe in their children’s abilities and proactively plan for their future.

Why the size of medical cover is a non-starter
The size of insurance cover is pretty straightforward in most insurances — car, home, term or general. In term covers, for instance, the cover should be equal to 20x your annual income or upwards, and revisited based on liabilities.

Financial literacy key to solving insurance complaint issues, says Shilpa Arora of Insurance Samadhan
Policyholders must identify their financial standing first and then proceed to assess their coverage needs, especially what they deem adequate to meet their future financial obligations. For this to be effective, they must understand the purpose of insurance and the merit of different coverages, says Shilpa Arora, Co-founder & COO, Insurance Samadhan.

Over two-thirds of demat accounts are without nominations: Sebi
New Delhi: An alarming 9.8 crore (72.48%) out of 13.6 crore demat accounts in single holding are missing nomination details, according to a consultation paper released by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), on Friday.

Sebi mulls removing 1% security deposit for IPOs and rights issue

At present, an issuer has to deposit one per cent of the issue size with the designated stock exchange. This security deposit is refundable or is forfeited, depending on the cases specified by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Quant funds: Mastering the market with math
Quantitative strategies that rely on mathematical models and algorithms to make investment decisions have gained immense popularity in the West. That trend is also picking up in our markets as is evident from the wave of quant fund launches over the last few years.

SBI MF mops-up ₹900 crore via passive Nifty50 Equal Weight Index Fund
Mumbai: SBI Mutual Fund, the country’s largest fund house, has collected over ₹900 crore through its new fund offer which closed on January 29.

What should you know about the sub-category in ESG Mutual Funds?
Currently, the investor community is likely acquainted with the concept of “ESG investing,” a practice that incorporates non-financial criteria such as environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and sound corporate governance in the process of investing in companies. In December 2023, Kotak Mutual Fund renamed Kotak ESG Opportunities Fund to Kotak ESG Exclusionary Strategy Fund. Other asset management companies (AMCs) including ICICI Prudential, Aditya Birla SL, Axis, and Quantum, too, have also renamed their ESG thematic funds. This was prompted by the SEBI circular in July 2023 explicitly mandating AMCs to incorporate details of their specific ESG strategy in the scheme name. The delay in execution can be attributed to operational aspects such as AMCs getting clarity of ESG sub-categories before finalising the strategy. So here’s what MF investors should know.

Alternative investment fund route to obtain 'QIB' status may get tough
Amid concerns around circumventions of rules, the Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA), an industry association for AIFs, has proposed stricter thresholds for achieving QIB status. 

In January, FPIs withdrew $3.1 billion from Indian equities but invested $2.4 billion in debt markets
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) net sold Indian equities worth ₹25,744 crore in January 2024 even as they remained bullish on sovereign debt, pumping in ₹19,836 crore in Indian debt markets, data with depositories showed.  This was the highest monthly outflow from equities since January 2023. This renewed selling in Indian equities was largely prompted by the rise in U.S. 10-year yields to about 4.18 per cent during January 2024 and lower-than-expected Q3 earnings from certain large private sector banks.

Government bonds give up early gains as traders sell at a profit
The yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond touched the day’s low of 7.02 per cent as the government announced lower-than-expected gross borrowing for financial year 2024-25 on Thursday.

Govt doubles gold bond issuance to ₹3,500 crore for next fiscal
Mumbai: Sovereign Gold Bond, administered by the RBI, has turned out to be another preferred investment avenue rather than suppressing physical gold demand and keeping current account deficit under check by controlling imports. The Budget has more than doubled SGB issuance for next fiscal to ₹3,500 crore against ₹1,500 crore logged in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. It has also retained the Budget estimate for this fiscal at ₹1,500 crore against ₹402 crore raised last fiscal.