Tax saving instruments are always supposed to live up to their name – that is, be a vehicle for saving taxes. But over the years these tax-saving vehicles have performed as well as many investment instruments in terms of returns and have contributed to wealth creation. This puts them in the league of instruments that offer the best of both worlds – tax saving and capital appreciation. Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart, shares his knowledge on such two Income Tax-saving instruments that help you save maximum money - ELSS and NPS.
Vijay Singhania, Chairman, TradeSmart spoke on robo advisors, do it yourself (DIY) investment strategy, their advantages and more in this 'Money Guru' show. The generation Z is a tech-savvy and the strategy of DIY investment is quite popular among this class of investors. "We have witnessed for the last five years that the DIY investment has been in trend and the young investors want to do the trading and built their portfolio on their own," Singhania said. He further added, "For Do-it-yourself investors, robo adviosrs are an effective medium to make informed investment choices. Robo-advisors are digital platforms that provide automated, algorithm-driven financial planning services. These platforms have little or no human intervention."
Valentine’s Day is one such day when couples across the world put aside their differences and unite to bestow love and gifts on each other. As couples celebrate the day of love, they focus on improving their relationship and life. Arguably one of the most important aspects of a relationship is financial management. In today’s day and age it is often a make or break part of most relationships. Managing money as an individual is itself a daunting task, managing it as a couple makes it more difficult and requires equal efforts of both partners. Here are 7 ways Vikas Singhania suggests couples can circumvent their issues and invest successfully together.
February may be the shortest month, but it is certainly the largest when it comes to spreading love. With Valentine’s Day positioned in the middle of the month, the entire month is soaked in love. It is also a good time to share financial love along with emotional love. By financial love, we mean securing each other’s and the family’s future. Protecting, nurturing, and growing wealth so that the family gets the benefit of emotional love financially. Ahead of Valentine's Day, Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart, suggests the following steps a couple can take jointly to secure a financially stable future.
The pandemic changed the world in many ways. Apart from a forced lockdown that restricted mobility, the event changed our lifestyle, our habits and made us explore new ways to occupy our minds. Many of us took to reading or watching movies, but the Indian youth decided to explore the stock and crypto markets. Media reports and our experience show that the GenZ and millennial population discovered markets during the pandemic and took to it like fish to water. Nearly two-thirds of all new account additions have been from clients below the age of 30 who have never bought or sold a share in their life. The phenomenal growth in the client base that the industry has seen over the last two years has a lot to do with the younger generation coming to the party.
Union Minister of State for Finance said that the LIC shares will hit the market before March 31, 2022. Reacting to the LIC IPO, Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart said, "The truncated size of LIC IPO can easily sail through in the market. For an IPO of around Rs 60,000 crore, as reported in media, finding investors for the largest insurer in the country should not be a problem. The smaller sized IPO is more digestible given the recent dampened sentiment in the Indian and global markets."
Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister, has announced some important tax adjustments for taxpayers. The finance minister stated during her budget address that taxpayers can submit a revised return on tax payment within two years after the end of the relevant assessment year. The new clause, according to FM, will ensure tax submission and decrease disputes for all individual taxpayers. Vijay Singhania, Chairman, TradeSmart also stated that "Investors were relieved that the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has not announced any increase in taxes especially on long-term capital gains tax on equity investments in her Budget speech. The FM has capped the LTCG on equity at 15 percent, which should be beneficial for shareholders of unlisted companies. No new taxes have been imposed on corporate India too. Capping LTCG on unlisted companies is good for HNIs and also for venture capitalists."
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Budget for the 2022-23 fiscal on Tuesday. A massive capex boost was announced, more credit lines have been proposed for small businesses, and a push for digital banking and amendments to strengthen the bankruptcy law were among other key announcements.
“The long-term capital gains on listed equity shares, units etc. are liable to maximum surcharge of 15 per cent, while the other long term capital gains are subjected to a graded surcharge which goes up to 37 per cent. I propose to cap the surcharge on long term capital gains arising on transfer of any type of assets at 15 per cent,” said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget speech. "FM has capped the LTCG on equity at 15 percent, which should be beneficial for shareholders of unlisted companies," says Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart.
"Investors were relieved that the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has not announced any increase in taxes, especially on long-term capital gains tax on equity investments, in her Budget speech. The FM has capped the LTCG on equity at 15 percent, which should be beneficial for shareholders of unlisted companies. No new taxes have been imposed on corporate India too. Capping LTCG on unlisted companies is good for HNIs and also for venture capitalists."
“After two years of the pandemic and the economy struggling to stand on its feet, expectations from the finance minister are high from Budget 2022. The previous budget, which was a bumper one, has increased expectations from the government that it will steer the economy on a higher growth path,” Vikas Singhania CEO at TradeSmart, says. “Some relief for taxpayers is likely ahead of important state elections. Incentives to boost the economy and nudge the private sector to invest more are expected. Infrastructure will continue to be the focus area. Start-ups and renewable energies have been the focus area for the government and may continue to get benefits in this budget. As for the market, one can expect some benefits, especially since the government wants to divest a big company like LIC,” he adds.
As many as 100 stocks in the BSE 500 index wiped out investors' wealth in 2021, when the benchmark BSE Sensex is set to settle the year with over 20 per cent gain. The identification of Omicron kept the market jittery in the last quarter of the calendar. Commenting on the New Year, Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart said, “We feel that 2022 will be a year of consolidation. The biggest risk in the market presently is the spread of Coronavirus and its variants that keep on mutating. Unless we have a strong solution to the menace, markets will continue to remain volatile. Volatility may rise as apart from external reasons we have some important state elections that will keep markets on the edge. However, a defined investment style and regular investments through SIPs will pay off in the long run."
2021 marked another pandemic year but also saw the resurgence of the Fintech sector, as hybrid banks became the norm and started emerging as a strong alternative to traditional financial institutions. A young sector that has emerged recently in India - has the second-highest number of fintech start- ups in the world. The pandemic has had an adverse impact on the sector. However, the fintech sector has been growing in recent years and the very nature of the pandemic made the use of digital payment platforms both lucrative and convenient. During the lockdown, the market witnessed a 40% increase in the number of digital transactions. During the pandemic, the digital stock broking platforms also witnessed a spike in investments creating history in the record on investments.
Discipline and some dark chocolate desserts. 1) Concentrating on my personal fitness has been a lifestyle game-changer. Facing health issues at a young age forced me to take up regular workouts in addition to eating healthy. I work out every day for an hour, which means waking up early. I have not skipped my workouts in the last 16 years, hence it has taught me discipline, resilience, and strength — essentials for dealing with any situation in life.
National Youth Day 2022: Jack Canfield, the co-author of the best-seller Chicken Soup for the Soul series, has said, ‘Your habits will determine your future.’ It is habits gained at an early age that are the cause of wealth, happiness, stress, relationships, and, of course, health. Habits acquired at a young age are difficult to shrug off. Unfortunately, in India, we are not taught prudent financial habits as part of our education curriculum, the youth of our country are left to fend for themselves. Most young people, even those with good educational qualifications earning high salaries, end up making rookie mistakes when it comes to building wealth. Accumulating wealth is not easy, but at the same time, it’s not too difficult. It involves a few sacrifices and some smart planning. Let’s take a stepwise look at how the youth can plan for their financial freedom.
Dalal Street Voice: Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart is of the view that equities are likely to correct in the near-term mainly due to pressure from tightening from central banks as inflation surges, as we believe inflation will worsen due to entrenched Omicron-induced lockdowns and supply chain disruptions. Q) What are your views on the market for the year 2022 after a double-digit gain seen in 2021? A) 2021 was one of the best years in the market's history, which has increased expectations of a repeat performance in 2022, especially among the millennials. However, looking at the gauges flashing before us, it looks like 2022 may be a period of consolidation.
The Covid-19 pandemic changed the way India Inc. hires. While onboarding talents from across the country, companies have a great chance to have diverse team. Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart said, "The talent force is likely to see diversity, equality, and inclusion at a higher rate at all levels of an organization. Coming to maintaining attrition rates, businesses need to re-think on their retention strategy strongly. Given static jobs in most remote roles, internal re-skilling and upskilling programs as per market and changing trends will help stay employees updated in their roles. This can ensure internal mobility leading to individual growth professionally thereby ensuring enhanced retention."
Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart said, “2021 will be featured as the golden year for the fintech sector. Overall, the financial environment has been good for the finance sector with liquidity and mobility restrictions nudging users to use fintech’s for several transactions. From day-to-day banking to financial transactions, asset purchases, and the stock market operations all are now provided by fintechs using just your mobile. On the private equity front, 2021 was the best year to date for fintechs. A record amount of money was raised by Indian fintechs, demonstrating their capability. In the first three quarters of 2021, a record $4.6 billion was raised as compared to $1.6 billion in 2020. Investments worth $2.4 billion were raised from 53 closed deals in the third quarter. This shows that Indian markets are willing to finance fintechs.”
Due to the lack of traditional financing infrastructure with retail banks that are much behind in digitisation, FinTechs have been the answer for the people, as far as borrowing, investing and financial planning are concerned. As for the primary market, there are some important fintech IPOs lined up in 2022 which will give a boost to the sector. Given the growth expectation, if market conditions are right, these IPOs should sail through. "For the sector to grow, investments will be needed both from private equity players and the primary market. With venture capital raising more money, Indian fintech is well placed to attract more capital, especially since China's fintech is no longer a popular destination, thanks to their government's crackdown on the new technology players. As for the primary market, there are some important fintech IPOs lined up in 2022 which will give a boost to the sector. Given the growth expectation, if market conditions are right, these IPOs should sail through." Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart.
When the history of Indian fintech’s will be written, 2021 will be featured as the golden year for the sector. Many important milestones were crossed during the year. While global fintech companies also performed very well during the year, 2021 was an important year for their Indian counterparts since they came of age during the year. Overall, the financial environment has been good for the finance sector with liquidity and mobility restrictions nudging users to use fintech’s for several transactions. From day-to-day banking to financial transactions, asset purchases and the stock market operations all are now provided by fintechs using just your mobile. No surprises that fintech has been in the news and has attracted money.
