Investing !! What's that?
Judging by the fact that you've taken the trouble to navigate to the Learning Center of ICICIDirect, our guess is that you don't need much convincing about the wisdom of investing. However, we hope that your quest for knowledge/information about the art/science of investing ends here. Sink in. Knowledge is power. It is common knowledge that money has to be invested wisely. If you are a novice at investing, terms such as stocks, bonds, badla, undha badla, yield, P/E ratio may sound Greek and Latin. Relax. It takes years to understand the art of investing. You're not alone in the quest to crack the jargon. To start with, take your investment decisions with as many facts as you can assimilate. But, understand that you can never know everything. Learning to live with the anxiety of the unknown is part of investing. Being enthusiastic about getting started is the first step, though daunting at the first instance. That's why our investment course begins with a dose of encouragement: With enough time and a little discipline, you are all but guaranteed to make the right moves in the market. Patience and the willingness to pepper your savings across a portfolio of securities tailored to suit your age and risk profile will propel your revenues at the same time cushion you against any major losses. Investing is not about putting all your money into the "Next Infosys," hoping to make a killing. Investing isn't gambling or speculation; it's about taking reasonable risks to reap steady rewards. Investing is a method of purchasing assets in order to gain profit in the form of reasonably predictable income (dividends, interest, or rentals) and appreciation over the long term.
Why should you invest?
Simply put, you should invest so that your money grows and shields you against rising inflation. The rate of return on investments should be greater than the rate of inflation, leaving you with a nice surplus over a period of time. Whether your money is invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds or certificates of deposit (CD), the end result is to create wealth for retirement, marriage, college fees, vacations, better standard of living or to just pass on the money to the next generation. Also, it's exciting to review your investment returns and to see how they are accumulating at a faster rate than your salary.
When to Invest?
The sooner the better. By investing into the market right away you allow your investments more time to grow, whereby the concept of compounding interest swells your income by accumulating your earnings and dividends. Considering the unpredictability of the markets, research and history indicates these three golden rules for all investors 1. Invest early 2. Invest regularly 3. Invest for long term and not short term While it's tempting to wait for the "best time" to invest, especially in a rising market, remember that the risk of waiting may be much greater than the potential rewards of participating. Trust in the power of compounding Compounding is growth via reinvestment of returns earned on your savings. Compounding has a snowballing effect because you earn income not only on the original investment but also on the reinvestment of dividend/interest accumulated over the years. The power of compounding is one of the most compelling reasons for investing as soon as possible. The earlier you start investing and continue to do so consistently the more money you will make. The longer you leave your money invested and the higher the interest rates, the faster your money will grow. That's why stocks are the best long-term investment tool. The general upward momentum of the economy mitigates the stock market volatility and the risk of losses. That's the reasoning behind investing for long term rather than short term.
How much money do I need to invest?
There is no statutory amount that an investor needs to invest inorder to generate adequate returns from his savings. The amount that you invest will eventually depend on factors such as:
Your risk profile
Your Time horizon
Savings made
All the above three factors will be discussed in brief in the latter part of the course.
What can you invest in?
The investing options are many, to name a few
Stocks
Bonds
Mutual funds
Fixed deposits
Others
Read about them in detail in module 2 of the course.
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Savings and Investment Vehicles Available
Personal finances.Why bother?
There is always a first time for everything so also for investing. To invest you need capital free of any obligation. If you are not in the habit of saving sufficient amount every month, then you are not ready for investing. Our advice is :-
Save to atleast 4-5 months of your monthly income for emergencies. Do not invest from savings made for this purpose. Hold them in a liquid state and do not lock it up against any liability or in term deposits.
Save atleast 30-35 per cent of your monthly income. Stick to this practice and try to increase your savings.
Avoid unnecessary or lavish expenses as they add up to your savings. A dinner at Copper Chimney can always be avoided, the pleasures of avoiding it will be far greater if the amount is saved and invested.
Try gifting a bundle of share certificates to yourself on your marriage anniversary or your hubby's birthday instead of spending your money on a lavish holiday package.
Clear all your high interest debts first out of the savings that you make. Credit card debts (revolving credits) and loans from pawnbrokers typically carry interest rates of between 24-36% annually. It is foolish to pay off debt by trying to first make money for that cause out of gambling or investing in stocks with whatever little money you hold. Infact its prudent to clear a portion of the debt with whatever amounts you have.
Retirement benefits is an ideal savings tool. Never opt out of retirement benefits in place of a consolidated pay cheque. You are then missing out on a substantial employer contribution into the fund.
Different investment options and their current market rate of returns.
The investment options before you are many. Pick the right investment tool based on the risk profile, circumstance, time zone available etc. If you feel market volatility is something which you can live with then buy stocks. If you do not want to risk the volatility and simply desire some income, then you should consider fixed income securities. However, remember that risk and returns are directly proportional to each other. Higher the risk, higher the returns. A brief preview of different investment options is given below:
Equities: Investment in shares of companies is investing in equities. Stocks can be bought/sold from the exchanges (secondary market) or via IPOs - Initial Public Offerings (primary market). Stocks are the best long-term investment options wherein the market volatility and the resultant risk of losses, if given enough time, is mitigated by the general upward momentum of the economy. There are two streams of revenue generation from this form of investment.
1. Dividend: Periodic payments made out of the company's profits are termed as dividends.
2. Growth: The price of a stock appreciates commensurate to the growth posted by the company resulting in capital appreciation.
On an average an investment in equities in India has a return of 25%. Good portfolio management, precise timing may ensure a return of 40% or more. Picking the right stock at the right time would guarantee that your capital gains i.e. growth in market value of your stock possessions, will rise.
Catch ICICIDirect's 'Tips for Stock Picks' and 'Portfolio Management' Chapter II / Module 9 & 10 respectively.
Bonds: It is a fixed income(debt) instrument issued for a period of more than one year with the purpose of raising capital. The central or state government, corporations and similar institutions sell bonds. A bond is generally a promise to repay the principal along with fixed rate of interest on a specified date, called as the maturity date. Other fixed income instruments include bank fixed deposits, debentures, preference shares etc.
The average rate of return on bonds and securities in India has been around 10 - 12 % p.a.
Certificate of Deposits : These are short - to-medium-term interest bearing, debt instruments offered by banks. These are low-risk, low-return instruments. There is usually an early withdrawal penalty. Savings account, fixed deposits, recurring deposits etc are some of them. Average rate of return is usually between 4-8 %, depending on which instrument you park your funds in. Minimum required investment is Rs. 1,00,000.
Mutual Fund : These are open and close ended funds operated by an investment company which raises money from the public and invests in a group of assets, in accordance with a stated set of objectives. It's a substitute for those who are unable to invest directly in equities or debt because of resource, time or knowledge constraints. Benefits include diversification and professional money management. Shares are issued and redeemed on demand, based on the fund's net asset value, which is determined at the end of each trading session. The average rate of return as a combination of all mutual funds put together is not fixed but is generally more than what earn in fixed deposits. However, each mutual fund will have its own average rate of return based on several schemes that they have floated. In the recent past, MFs have given a return of 18 - 30 %.
Cash Equivalents: These are highly liquid and safe instruments which can be easily converted into cash, treasury bills and money market funds are a couple of examples for cash equivalents.
Others : There are also other saving and investment vehicles such as gold, real estate, commodities, art and crafts, antiques, foreign currency etc. However, holding assets in foreign currency are considered more of an hedging tool (risk management) rather than an investment.
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Why Invest In Equities?
Introduction to Equity Investing.
Many investors go about their investing in an irrational way:
1. They are tipped of a 'news'/'rumor' in a 'hot stock' from their broker.
2. They impulsively buy the scrip.
3. And after the purchase wonder why they bought the stock.
He is a fool to act in such an irrational manner. We suggest a three-step approach to investing in equities.
The moment you get a tip on any stock, get the first hand news immediately. You'll find information on the following sites:
www.icicidirect.com
www.nse-index.com
www.bseindex.com
The news, if any, will be on the sites. Be it announcements earnings, dividend payoffs, corporate move to buy another company, flight of top management to another company, these sites should be your first stop.
Do some number crunching. Check out the growth rate of the stock's earnings, as shown in a percentage and analyze those graphs shown on your broker's site. You will learn to do it in Chapter II of our learning center under the module named 'Technical tutorials'. Learn more about the P/E ratio (price-to-earnings ratio), earning per share (EPS), market capitalization to sales ratio, projected earnings growth for the next quarter and some historical data, which will tell what the company has done in the past. Get the current status of the stock movement such as real-time quote, average trades per day, total number of shares outstanding, dividend, high and low for the day and for the last 52 weeks. This information should give you an indication of the nature of the company's performance and stock movement. Also its ideal that you be aware of the following terms:-
| High (high) |
: The highest price for the stock in the trading day. |
| Low (low) |
: The lowest price for the stock in the trading day. |
| Close (close) |
: The price of the stock at the time the stock market closes for the day. |
| Chg (Change) |
: The difference between two successive days' closing price of the stock. |
| Yld (Yield) |
: Dividend divided by price |
| Bid and Ask (Offer) Price
|
When you enter an order to buy or sell a stock, you will essentially see the "Bid" and "Ask" for a stock and some numbers. What does this mean?
The 'Bid' is the buyer's price. It is this price that you need to know when you have to sell a stock. Bid is the rate/price at which there is a ready buyer for the stock, which you intend to sell.
The 'Ask' (or offer) is what you need to know when you're buying i.e. this is the rate/ price at which there is seller ready to sell his stock. The seller will sell his stock if he gets the quoted "Ask' price.
Bid size and Ask (Offer) size
If an investor looks at a computer screen for a quote on the stock of say ABC Ltd, it might look something like this:
| Bid Price |
: 3550 |
| Offer Price |
: 3595 |
| Bid Qty |
: 40T |
| Offer Qty |
: 20T |
What this means is that there is total demand for 40,000 shares of company ABC at Rs 3550 per share. Whereas the supply is only of 20,000 shares, which are available for sale at a price of Rs 3595 per share. The law of demand and supply is a major factor, which will determine which way the stock is headed.
Armed with this information, you've got a great chance to pick up a winning stock. Again don't be in a hurry, ferret out some more facts, try to find out as to who is picking up the stock (FIIs, mutual funds, big industrial houses? The significance of which you will learn in section II of our learning center). Watch for the daily volume in a day: is it more/less than the average daily volume? If it's more, maybe some fund is accumulating the stock.
Next time you hear or read a 'hot tip': do some research; try to know all you can about the stock and then shoot your investing power into the stock. With practice, you'll be hitting a bull's eye more often than not.
ICICIDirect recommends investors to be aware of the technical tools of measuring stock performances before investing. Learn to identify the signals that the market emits. The Chapter II of the learning center of ICICI Direct will help you in this effort.
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Basics On The Stock Market
Working of a stock market
To learn more about how you can earn on the stock market, one has to understand how it works. A person desirous of buying/selling shares in the market has to first place his order with a broker. When the buy order of the shares is communicated to the broker he routes the order through his system to the exchange. The order stays in the queue exchange's systems and gets executed when the order logs on to the system within buy limit that has been specified. The shares purchased will be sent to the purchaser by the broker either in physical or demat format
Indian Stock Market Overview.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) are the two primary exchanges in India. In addition, there are 22 Regional Stock Exchanges. However, the BSE and NSE have established themselves as the two leading exchanges and account for about 80 per cent of the equity volume traded in India. The NSE and BSE are equal in size in terms of daily traded volume. The average daily turnover at the exchanges has increased from Rs 851 crore in 1997-98 to Rs 1,284 crore in 1998-99 and further to Rs 2,273 crore in 1999-2000 (April - August 1999). NSE has around 1500 shares listed with a total market capitalization of around Rs 9,21,500 crore (Rs 9215-bln). The BSE has over 6000 stocks listed and has a market capitalization of around Rs 9,68,000 crore (Rs 9680-bln). Most key stocks are traded on both the exchanges and hence the investor could buy them on either exchange. Both exchanges have a different settlement cycle, which allows investors to shift their positions on the bourses. The primary index of BSE is BSE Sensex comprising 30 stocks. NSE has the S&P NSE 50 Index (Nifty) which consists of fifty stocks. The BSE Sensex is the older and more widely followed index. Both these indices are calculated on the basis of market capitalization and contain the heavily traded shares from key sectors. The markets are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Both the exchanges have switched over from the open outcry trading system to a fully automated computerized mode of trading known as BOLT (BSE On Line Trading) and NEAT (National Exchange Automated Trading) System. It facilitates more efficient processing, automatic order matching, faster execution of trades and transparency. The scrips traded on the BSE have been classified into 'A', 'B1', 'B2', 'C', 'F' and 'Z' groups. The 'A' group shares represent those, which are in the carry forward system (Badla). The 'F' group represents the debt market (fixed income securities) segment. The 'Z' group scrips are the blacklisted companies. The 'C' group covers the odd lot securities in 'A', 'B1' & 'B2' groups and Rights renunciations. The key regulator governing Stock Exchanges, Brokers, Depositories, Depository participants, Mutual Funds, FIIs and other participants in Indian secondary and primary market is the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Ltd.
Rolling Settlement Cycle :
In a rolling settlement, each trading day is considered as a trading period and trades executed during the day are settled based on the net obligations for the day. At NSE and BSE, trades in rolling settlement are settled on a T+2 basis i.e. on the 2nd working day. For arriving at the settlement day all intervening holidays, which include bank holidays, NSE/BSE holidays, Saturdays and Sundays are excluded. Typically trades taking place on Monday are settled on Wednesday, Tuesday's trades settled on Thursday and so on.
Concept Of Buying Limit
Suppose you have sold some shares on NSE and are trying to figure out that if you can use the money to buy shares on NSE in a different settlement cycle or say on BSE. To simplify things for ICICI Direct customers, we have introduced the concept of Buying Limit (BL). Buying Limit simply tells the customer what is his limit for a given settlement for the desired exchange. Assume that you have enrolled for a ICICI Direct account, which requires 100% of the money required to fund the purchase, be available. Suppose you have Rs 1,00,000 in your Bank A/C and you set aside Rs 50,000 for which you would like to make some purchase. Your Buying Limit is Rs 50,000. Assume that you sell shares worth Rs 1,00,000 on the NSE on Monday. The BL therefore for the NSE at that point of time goes upto Rs 1,50,000. This means you can buy shares upto Rs 1,50,000 on NSE or BSE. If you buy shares worth Rs 75,000 on Tuesday on NSE your BL will naturally reduce to Rs 75,000. Hence your BL is simply the amount set aside by you from your bank account and the amount realized from the sale of any shares you have made less any purchases you have made.
Your BL of Rs 50,000, which is the amount set aside by you from your Bank account for purchase is available for BSE and NSE. As you have made the sale of shares on NSE for Rs.100000, the BL for NSE & BSE rises to 1,50,000. The amount from sale of shares in NSE will also be available for purchase on BSE. ICICI Direct makes it very easy for its customers to know their BL on the click of a mouse. You just have to specify the Exchange and settlement cycle and on a click of your mouse, the BL will be known to you.
What Is Dematerialization?
Dematerialization in short called as 'demat is the process by which an investor can get physical certificates converted into electronic form maintained in an account with the Depository Participant. The investors can dematerialize only those share certificates that are already registered in their name and belong to the list of securities admitted for dematerialization at the depositories.
Depository : The organization responsible to maintain investor's securities in the electronic form is called the depository. In other words, a depository can therefore be conceived of as a "Bank" for securities. In India there are two such organizations viz. NSDL and CDSL. The depository concept is similar to the Banking system with the exception that banks handle funds whereas a depository handles securities of the investors. An investor wishing to utilize the services offered by a depository has to open an account with the depository through a Depository Participant.
Depository Participant : The market intermediary through whom the depository services can be availed by the investors is called a Depository Participant (DP). As per SEBI regulations, DP could be organizations involved in the business of providing financial services like banks, brokers, custodians and financial institutions. This system of using the existing distribution channel (mainly constituting DPs) helps the depository to reach a wide cross section of investors spread across a large geographical area at a minimum cost. The admission of the DPs involve a detailed evaluation by the depository of their capability to meet with the strict service standards and a further evaluation and approval from SEBI. Realizing the potential, all the custodians in India and a number of banks, financial institutions and major brokers have already joined as DPs to provide services in a number of cities.
Advantages of a depository services :
Trading in demat segment completely eliminates the risk of bad deliveries. In case of transfer of electronic shares, you save 0.5% in stamp duty. Avoids the cost of courier/ notarization/ the need for further follow-up with your broker for shares returned for company objection No loss of certificates in transit and saves substantial expenses involved in obtaining duplicate certificates, when the original share certificates become mutilated or misplaced. Increasing liquidity of securities due to immediate transfer & registration Reduction in brokerage for trading in dematerialized shares Receive bonuses and rights into the depository account as a direct credit, thus eliminating risk of loss in transit. Lower interest charge for loans taken against demat shares as compared to the interest for loan against physical shares. RBI has increased the limit of loans availed against dematerialized securities as collateral to Rs 20 lakh per borrower as against Rs 10 lakh per borrower in case of loans against physical securities. RBI has also reduced the minimum margin to 25% for loans against dematerialized securities, as against 50% for loans against physical securities. Fill up the account opening form, which is available with the DP. Sign the DP-client agreement, which defines the rights and duties of the DP and the person wishing to open the account. Receive your client account number (client ID). This client id along with your DP id gives you a unique identification in the depository system. Fill up a dematerialization request form, which is available with your DP. Submit your share certificates along with the form; (write "surrendered for demat" on the face of the certificate before submitting it for demat) Receive credit for the dematerialized shares into your account within 15 days.
Procedure of opening a demat account:
Opening a depository account is as simple as opening a bank account. You can open a depository account with any DP convenient to you by following these steps:
Fill up the account opening form, which is available with the DP. Sign the DP-client agreement, which defines the rights and duties of the DP and the person wishing to open the account. Receive your client account number (client ID). This client id along with your DP id gives you a unique identification in the depository system.
There is no restriction on the number of depository accounts you can open. However, if your existing physical shares are in joint names, be sure to open the account in the same order of names before you submit your share certificates for demat
Procedure to dematerialize your share certificates:
Fill up a dematerialization request form, which is available with your DP. Submit your share certificates along with the form; (write "surrendered for demat" on the face of the certificate before submitting it for demat) Receive credit for the dematerialized shares into your account within 15 days.
In case of directly purchasing dematerialized shares from the broker, instruct your broker to purchase the dematerialized shares from the stock exchanges linked to the depositories. Once the order is executed, you have to instruct your DP to receive securities from your broker's clearing account. You have to ensure that your broker also gives a matching instruction to his DP to transfer the shares purchased on your behalf into your depository account. You should also ensure that your broker transfers the shares purchased from his clearing account to your depository account, before the book closure/record date to avail the benefits of corporate action.
Stocks traded under demat:
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has already specified for settlement only in the dematerialized form in for 761 particular scripts. Investors interested in these stocks receive shares only in demat form without any instruction to your broker. While SEBI has instructed the institutional investors to sell 421 scripts only in the demat form. The shares by non institutional investors can be sold in both physical and demat form. As there is a mix of both form of stocks, it is possible if you have purchased a stock in this category, you may get delivery of both physical and demat shares.
Opening of a demat account through ICICI Direct :
Opening an e-Invest account with ICICI Direct, will enable you to automatically open a demat account with ICICI, one of the largest DP in India, thereby avoiding the hassles of finding an efficient DP. Since the shares to be bought or sold through ICICI Direct will be only in the demat form, it will avoid the hassles of instructing the broker to buy shares only in demat form. Adding to this, you will not face problems like checking whether your broker has transferred the shares from his clearing account to your demat account.
Going Short:
If you do not have shares and you sell them it is known as going short on a stock. Generally a trader will go short if he expects the price to decline. In a rolling settlement cycle you will have to cover by end of the day on which you had gone short.
Concept Of Margin Trading:
Normally to buy and sell shares, you need to have the money to pay for your purchase and shares in your demat account to deliver for your sale. However as you do not have the full amount to make good for your purchases or shares to deliver for your sale you have to cover (square) your purchase/sale transaction by a sale/purchase transaction before the close of the settlement cycle. In case the price during the course of the settlement cycle moves in your favor (risen in case of purchase done earlier and fallen in case of a sale done earlier) you will make a profit and you receive the payment from the exchange. In case the price movement is adverse, you will make a loss and you will have to make the payment to the exchange. Margins are thus collected to safeguard against any adverse price movement. Margins are quoted as a percentage of the value of the transaction.
Important facts for NRI customers:
Buying and selling on margin in India is quite different than what is referred to in US markets. There is no borrowing of money or shares by your broker to make sure that the settlement takes place as per SE schedule. In Indian context, buying/selling on margin refers to building a leveraged position at the beginning of the settlement cycle and squaring off the trade before the settlement comes to end. As the trade is squared off before the settlement cycle is over, there is no need to borrow money or shares.
Buying On Margin : Suppose you have Rs 1,00,000 with you in your Bank account. You can use this amount to buy 10 shares of Infosys Ltd. at Rs 10,000. In the normal course, you will pay for the shares on the settlement day to the exchange and receive 10 shares from the exchange which will get credited to your demat account. Alternatively you could use this money as margin and suppose the applicable margin rate is 25%. You can now buy upto 40 shares of Infosys Ltd. at Rs 10,000 value Rs 4,00,000, the margin for which at 25% i.e. Rs 1,00,000. Now as you do not have the money to take delivery of 40 shares of Infosys Ltd. you have to cover (square) your purchase transaction by placing a sell order by end of the settlement cycle. Now suppose the price of Infosys Ltd rises to Rs. 11000 before end of the settlement cycle. In this case your profit is Rs 40,000 which is much higher than on the 10 shares if you had bought with the intent to take delivery. The risk is that if the price falls during the settlement cycle, you will still be forced to cover (square) the transaction and the loss would be adjusted against your margin amount. Selling On Margin : You do not have shares in your demat account and you want to sell as you expect the prices of share to go down. You can sell the shares and give the margin to your broker at the applicable rate. As you do not have the shares to deliver you will have to cover (square) your sell transaction by placing a buy order before the end of the settlement cycle. Just like buying on margin, in case the price moves in your favor (falls) you will make profit. In case price goes up, you will make loss and it will be adjusted against the margin amount.
Types Of Orders:
There are various types of orders, which can be placed on the exchanges:
Limit Order : The order refers to a buy or sell order with a limit price. Suppose, you check the quote of Reliance Industries Ltd.(RIL) as Rs. 251 (Ask). You place a buy order for RIL with a limit price of Rs 250. This puts a cap on your purchase price. In this case as the current price is greater than your limit price, order will remain pending and will be executed as soon as the price falls to Rs. 250 or below. In case the actual price of RIL on the exchange was Rs 248, your order will be executed at the best price offered on the exchange, say Rs 249. Thus you may get an execution below your limit price but in no case will exceed the limit buy price. Similarly for a limit sell order in no case the execution price will be below the limit sell price. Market Order : Generally a market order is used by investors, who expect the price of share to move sharply and are yet keen on buying and selling the share regardless of price. Suppose, the last quote of RIL is Rs 251 and you place a market buy order. The execution will be at the best offer price on the exchange, which could be above Rs 251 or below Rs 251. The risk is that the execution price could be substantially different from the last quote you saw. Please refer to Important Fact for Online Investors. Stop Loss Order : A stop loss order allows the trading member to place an order which gets activated only when the last traded price (LTP) of the Share is reached or crosses a threshold price called as the trigger price. The trigger price will be as on the price mark that you want it to be. For example, you have a sold position in Reliance Ltd booked at Rs. 345. Later in case the market goes against you i.e. go up, you would not like to buy the scrip for more than Rs.353. Then you would put a SL Buy order with a Limit Price of Rs.353. You may choose to give a trigger price of Rs.351.50 in which case the order will get triggered into the market when the last traded price hits Rs.351.50 or above. The execution will then be immediate and will be at the best price between 351.50 and 353. However stock movements can be so violent at times. The prices can fluctuate from the current level to over and above the SL limit price, you had quoted, at one shot i.e. the LTP can move from 350-351-and directly to 353.50. At this moment your order will immediately be routed to the Exchange because the LTP has crossed the trigger price specified by you. However, the trade will not be executed because of the LTP being over and above the SL limit price that you had specified. In such a case you will not be able to square your position. Again as the market falls, say if the script falls to 353 or below, your order will be booked on the SL limit price that you have specified i.e. Rs. 353. Even if the script falls from 353.50 to 352 your buy order will be booked at Rs. 353 only. Some seller, somewhere will book a profit in this case form your buy order execution. Hence, an investor will have to understand that one of the foremost parameters in specifying on a stop loss and a trigger price will have to be its chances of executionability as and when the situation arises. A two rupee band width between the trigger and stop loss might be sufficient for execution for say a script like Reliance, however the same band hold near to impossible chances for a script like Infosys or Wipro. This vital parameter of volatility bands of scrips will always have to be kept in mind while using the Stop loss concept.
Circuit Filters And Trading Bands:
In order to check the volatility of shares, SEBI has come with a set of rules to determine the fixed price bands for different securities within which they can move in a day. As per Sebi directive, all securities traded at or above Rs.10/- and below Rs.20/- have a daily price band of ±25%. All securities traded below Rs. 10/- have a daily price band of ± 50%. Price band for all securities traded at or above Rs. 20/- has a daily price band of ± 8%. However, the now the price bands have been relaxed to ± 8% ± 8% for select 100 scrips after a cooling period of half an hour. The previous day's closing price is taken as the base price for calculating the price. As the closing price on BSE and NSE can be significantly different, this means that the circuit limit for a share on BSE and NSE can be different.
Badla financing
In common parlance the carry-forward system is known as 'Badla', which means something in return. Badla is the charge, which the investor pays for carrying forward his position. It is a hedge tool where an investor can take a position in a scrip without actually taking delivery of the stock. He can carry-forward his position on the payment of small margin. In the case of short-selling the charge is termed as 'undha badla'. The CF system serves three needs of the stock market :
Quasi-hedging: If an investor feels that the price of a particular share is expected to go up/down, without giving/taking delivery of the stock he can participate in the volatility of the share. ? Stock lending: If he wishes to short sell without owning the underlying security, the stock lender steps into the CF system and lends his stock for a charge. ? Financing mechanism: If he wishes to buy the share without paying the full consideration, the financier steps into the CF system and provides the finance to fund the purchase The scheme is known as "Vyaj Badla" or "Badla" financing. For example, X has bought a stock and does not have the funds to take delivery, he can arrange a financier through the stock exchange 'badla' mechanism. The financier would make the payment at the prevailing market rate and would take delivery of the shares on X's behalf. You will only have to pay interest on the funds you have borrowed. Vis-à-vis, if you have a sale position and do not have the shares to deliver you can still arrange through the stock exchange for a lender of securities. An investor can either take the services of a badla financier or can assume the role of a badla financier and lend either his money or securities. On every Saturday a CF system session is held at the BSE. The scrips in which there are outstanding positions are listed along with the quantities outstanding. Depending on the demand and supply of money the CF rates are determined. If the market is over bought, there is more demand for funds and the CF rates tend to be high. However, when the market is oversold the CF rates are low or even reverse i.e. there is a demand for stocks and the person who is ready to lend stocks gets a return for the same. The scrips that have been put in the Carry Forward list are all 'A' group scrips, which have a good dividend paying record, high liquidity, and are actively traded. The scrips are not specified in advance because it is then difficult to get maximum return. All transactions are guaranteed by the Trade Guarantee Fund of BSE, hence, there is virtually no risk to the badla financier except for broker defaults. Even in the worst scenario, where the broker through whom you have invested money in badla financing defaults, the title of the shares would remain with you and the shares would be lying with the "Clearing house". However, the risk of volatility of the scrip will have to be borne by the investor.
Securities lending
Securties lending program is from the NSE. It is similar to the Badla from the BSE, only difference being the carry forward system not being allowed by the NSE. Meaning this is a where in a holder of securities or their agent lends eligible securities to borrowers in return for a fee to cover short positions.
Insider trading:
Insider trading is illegal in India. When information, which is sensitive in the form of influencing the price of a scrip, is procured or/and used from sources other than the normal course of information output for unscrupulous inducement of volatility or personal profits, it is called as Insider trading. Insider trading refers to transactions in securities of some company executed by a company insider. Although an insider might theoretically be anyone who knows material financial information about the company before it becomes public, in practice, the list of company insiders (on whom newspapers print information) is normally restricted to a moderate-sized list of company officers and other senior executives. Most companies warn employees about insider trading. SEBI has strict rules in place that dictates when company insiders may execute transactions in their company's securities. All transactions that do not conform to these rules are, in general, prosecutable offenses under the relevant law.
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Set Your Goals Right, Right At The Beginning
Investment Goals.
Investment avenues should always be treated as tools which will generate good returns over a period of time. To take a short term view would be fatal. In the stock markets, prices fluctuate very fast for the lay investor. To get the maximum returns begin with a two-year perspective.
Begin with an understanding of yourself.
What do you want from your investments?
It could be growth, income or both.
How comfortable are you to take risks?
It's only human if your first reaction on an adverse market movement is to sell and run away. To shield yourself against short term trading risks one has to take a long-term view. Renowned experts such as Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffet rarely shuffle their portfolio unless there is some change in the fundamentals of a company. Once you see the kind of returns you can generate over time, you'll come to realize that it really doesn't matter if your stock drops or rises over the course of a few hours or days or weeks or even months. Mutual funds are a good way to begin investing in the stock market. Funds render investment services with professionalism and give a good diversification over many sectors. If volatility is not your cup of tea, then you might consider buying fixed income securities.
Planning and Setting Goals: Investment requires a lot of planning. Decide on your basic framework of investments and chart your risk profile.
Ask yourself: What is the investment "time horizon"? Time horizon is the time period between the age at which you would like to start investing and at the age by which you would need a consolidated amount of money for any said purpose of yours.
One should also find out if there are there any short-term financial needs?
Will be a need to live off the investment in later years?
Your investments could be for retirement, a down payment for a house, your child's education, a second home or just for incremental income to take up a better standard of living.
Make clear-cut, measurable and reasonable goals. Be more specific when you decide your goals. For example you must reasonably predict how much amount of money would require and at what time inorder to satisfy any of the above stated needs?
If arriving at these figures looks cumbersome or daunting, our online interactive calculators will help you figure out your future money requirements. The answers to the above will lead you directly to "The type of investments will you make".
Is time on Your side ?
The time frame you seek to invest on, your investment profile and the moblizable resources are interdependent and are not mutually exclusive.
How much time do you want to spend on investing?
You can be active, allocate an hour every day or just spend a few hours every month.
Another important factor is when do you need the money?
To help put all of this into context, you also need to look at how various types of investments have performed historically. Bonds and stocks are the two major asset classes that have been used by investors over the past century. Knowing the total return on each of the above and the associated volatility is crucial in deciding where you should put your money.
Moblizable Resources
After you zero in on your investments its time to decide on how much money you want to invest. Setting investment goals and checking out on allocable monetary resources go hand in hand. It is necessary to fix your monetary considerations as soon as you decide on the basic investment framework.
Some of your basic monetary considerations could be:-
The amount of initial investments that you can pump in.
The sources for the money that you need for investments.
The foreseeable bulk expense which prevents you from saving or which may force you to liquidate your existing portfolio (this expense itself may be your investment goal).
Money that you need to have as back up for emergencies.
The amount of savings that you can afford to allocate every month on a continual basis for such number of year that you may desire.
Answers to all or atleast the most important of these would logically lead you to where you ideally have to invest your money in, can it be equity, mutual funds or bonds.
