by Suvin David | Jun 7, 2021 | Blog
“Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people that they don’t like.” – Will Rogers All of us are familiar with the concept of Budgeting. It is one of the most crucial financial habits you can pick to lead a happy and peaceful life. Those who have been practicing this for a very long time would very well be able to relate to this, but the other group who hasn’t experienced the benefits of budgeting is sure to be wondering as to why this concept is considered a prominent aspect of personal finance. So what do you think makes budgeting so important? Budgeting allows us to limit our spending, keep track of our expenses and increase our savings. Moreover, it enables us to make better financial decisions, stay prepared for emergencies, clear our financial liabilities, and stay focused on achieving our long-term career goals. In other words, it is the building block of sound financial management. Let us now go deep into the importance of budgeting and why it is the determining factor of our financial well-being. i. It helps us cut-down our expenses: Operating your finances in the absence of a budget always sounds risky as it doesn’t have anything that holds us from spending too much. You might have a general idea of your monthly expenses, but the absence of a budget can ultimately make us a spendthrift. However, having a budget helps us closely monitor our spending habits, understand the impact of seemingly small expenses, and control our expenses. ii. Helps us work towards our long-term goals: Maintaining a budget helps...
by Rajnikanth | Jun 7, 2021 | Blog
“I’m generally a very pragmatic person: that which works, works.”- Linus Torvalds When we hear someone comment that Gen Z has a pragmatic approach towards life, we are sure to think as to why it is said so. So let us start with who Gen Z is. Gen Z comprises of those who are born between 1995 and 2010, with the eldest group about to enter the workforce at around the age of 22. All of us have seen Millennials grabbing the media attention over the last couple of years but it’s time we focused on the future co-workers of the Millennials, the Gen Z. Though Gen Z resembles Millenials to a great extent, there are a lot of characteristics that set the former apart from the latter. Let us dig a little deeper into the details of those distinguishing features. i. Gen Zers are Ambitious: Born in an era where the role of search engines in enriching our knowledge is increasing daily, Gen Zers’ model of education is not confined to classroom learning. Growing up witnessing the recession taking a toll on their parents, Gen Zers are more inclined towards pursuing an educational path that can help them land a secure job that offers them immense opportunities to grow. They are more likely to adapt quickly to the corporate culture owing to the exposure they received via internships, apprenticeships, on-the-job training, and the like. The fact that a major chunk of Gen Zers chose their majors based on the availability of jobs and long-term growth holds testimony to the fact that they are ambitious. ii. Gen Zers are Motivated by Security:...
by Ajith C J | Jun 7, 2021 | Blog
Stock Markets mainly have 2 categories of players in it, viz., Institutional Participants and Retail Participants. These 2 categories are known for trading in a large number of shares after conducting a thorough study and valuation of the market. Those in the field of finance shall be familiar with the term Bulk and Block deals and how they occur. For those of you who are not familiar with the concept, Bulk and Block deals occur when large numbers of shares are traded on NSE or BSE in one tranche. They indicate the interest of big investors in stock and such deals done on exchanges are keenly watched by the market participants daily. Even though the terms bulk deal and block deals look similar, they are not the same. Read on to know what they mean and how investors should be interpreting them. BLOCK DEALS Block Deals can be defined as those transactions containing a minimum quantity of 500,000 shares or a minimum value of Rs 5 crore between two parties, in which they agree to buy or sell shares at a price set amongst them. Conducted via a separate trading window Block Deals occur towards the start of trading hours for 35 minutes, from 9.15- 9.50 am. The fact that these deals happen over a separate trading window keeps them invisible to the regular market. The orders for such deals are notified to exchanges and disclosed via the bourse’s website with whereabouts of the company such as the company name, client, quantity of shares, and the average price at which the deal took place. RULES FOR CONDUCTING BLOCK DEALS i....
by Josin Jacob | Jun 7, 2021 | Blog
Generation Gap is something all of us have experienced in our lives quite often. In simple words, it can be defined as the differences in values and attitudes between different generations. In our day-to-day lives, we mingle with people belonging to different generations, be it at home, school or workplace. Every individual, irrespective of the generation they belong to have a different role to play, and understanding this can help us maintain a peaceful atmosphere at home. Now imagine the situation where different generations co-exist to achieve collective objectives, say in a workplace. Addressing the generation gap in such situations is one of the most pressing dilemmas faced by the HRs and the Management these days. The age gap in the workplace can often cause a difference of opinions among the employees. The reason for this difference can be professional as well as personal. In the long run, such differences tend to create an unpleasant working atmosphere thereby defeating the actual purpose of work. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand each generation and the challenges faced while managing a multigenerational workforce. This will help us take the necessary steps towards bridging the generation gap. Let us take a look at the distinguishing features of various generations in detail. Baby Boomers: Born between 1946-64, this generation has been a witness to incidents like the assassination of Martin Luther King and Kennedy and even the Civil Rights Movement. It is this group that gave way to Boomers (who are slightly narcissistic). Baby Boomers are known to be: Loyal Self-motivated Focused Experienced Team-players Gen X: Born between the...
by Sooraj Pai B | Mar 17, 2021 | Blog
With the advent of COVID-19, all our lives went for a roller coaster ride. The harsh realities of life made people realize the importance of many things they had taken for granted particularly when they got confined to their homes. Job- loss and the absence of adequate savings made it difficult for people to make their ends meet. Prevailing circumstances forced people to break their fixed deposits, sell their assets and even borrow money but that never gave a permanent solution to their problems. Many used this time as an opportunity to discover their hidden talents and even polish their skill-sets. Some started looking for better options to invest in, to save more, and earn better returns. Long ago, as a part of one of the camps conducted by my college I got an opportunity to visit a village. It was indeed an eye-opener and made me realize how a section of our society leads a happy life despite being unaware of the options they have, to lead a better life. They had their share of struggles, but that never stopped them from extending all the possible support to us (even financial) during the camp. Their love, care, and hospitality made me realize that happiness is never dependent on one’s financial status. COVID and the subsequent lockdown imposed have made their lives miserable. They had given up hope due to the lack of income or savings and were clueless about how to carry on with their lives. Agriculture was the solution that came to their mind, but it seemed like a temporary solution, as they had to get back...
by Aswathy Sreenivasan | Mar 17, 2021 | Blog
Start-ups have emerged as core drivers of economic development and job creation, and also serve as a catalyst for disruptive innovation. India has the third largest start-up ecosystem; Y-o-Y growth is expected to be 12-15% steady; India has around 50,000 start-ups; some 8,900-9,300 of these are tech start-ups. Alone, 1300 new tech startups are born in 2019, indicating that 2-3 tech startups are born each day. Startups were able to create about 40,000 new jobs throughout the year, raising the overall number of start-up jobs to 1.6-1.7 lakh. Startups continued to play a critical role in the economies of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. Some innovative new entrepreneurs have reacted flexibly and quickly to the disease outbreak and have been instrumental in helping many countries move towards fully digital employment, healthcare and education, as well as providing medical products and services with creative solutions. However, most of the current start-ups are faced with significant obstacles, as they are more vulnerable to COVID-19 disruptions than the older ones. Especially in comparison to other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), they prefer to engage in high-risk activities, face limitations in accessing traditional funding, and at best have a formative relationship with suppliers and customers. Many current start-ups face major risks as they are more vulnerable to risks caused by COVID-19. Some of the risks faced by startups are: (a) sudden or prolonged economic downturn will lead to companies considering significant budget cuts that eliminate discretionary spending; (b) remote work, online education and social distancing will create demand for products and services delivered by the tech industry; (c) change in investment patterns; (d) barriers...
by Rajnikanth | Mar 16, 2021 | Blog
Neha is a class VIII student who has always dreamt of starting a venture of her own from a very young age. Though she was able to fulfill this goal, she is completely new to the concept of budgeting. Even though she referred to many sources, she was unable to get a clear picture of How to Set-up a Budget. Neha approached her elder sister Niya, who was employed since 2019 to learn about the concept of budgeting and how this concept can be applied in real life. Imagine you are Niya. What according to you would be the best method to make Neha understand the concept of budgeting? Let’s take a look at how Niya explained this concept. Well, the concept of budgeting is not rocket science like you think, and you need not be an expert in mathematics. So, let’s start with the definition of budgeting. As you’d have seen in many sources, “Budgeting is the process of creating a plan to spend your money and the spending plan is what we call a budget”. Now, how do you think we can easily plan our budget? The first and foremost thing you need to have clarity on while planning a budget is the income and expenses that are to be considered for creating one. This can include anything like household expenses, living costs, travel expenses, expenses incurred via leisure activities, etc. Now, I’m sure you’ll be wondering about what not to include in this plan. Some of the common examples which I feel you can easily relate to in this category include usual, unnecessary expenses such as casual get-togethers, say...
by Anukrishnan T S | Mar 16, 2021 | Blog
Have you ever thought about how trading took place during the times when computers were not invented? It resembled those places where the auction was carried out in the most primitive manner, where, stock exchanges very active trading platforms with traders and brokers communicating in verbal (shouting) as well as and non-verbal forms (signaling). With the advent of computers and the internet, the traditional system of trading underwent a major change thereby enabling equal participation of experienced traders, brokers as well as individuals. This facilitated algorithmic or automated trading where computers were programmed to trade independently with pinpoint precision. It also enabled investors and brokers to plan their strategies as well as protect themselves from losses via automated stop-loss orders. Even though algorithmic trading took automated trading to the next level, (E.g., By enabling computers to trade by analyzing price signals in real-time) it was discovered that systems that function based on preprogrammed strategies may not be completely reliable when confronted with uncertainties. With the onset of Artificial Intelligence (AI) came trading solutions that can understand why markets function the way they do. “Artificial intelligence and machine learning, as a dominant discipline within AI, is an amazing tool. In and of itself, it’s not good or bad. It’s not a magic solution. It isn’t the core of the problems in the world.” — Vivienne Ming, Founder & Executive Chair, Socos Labs. While it’s too early to label AI as a game-changer of stock trading, there is ‘n’ number of examples that hold testimony to this statement. Basic AI systems available these days are far better in predicting market movements...
by Ajith C J | Mar 16, 2021 | Blog
“The stock market is the story of cycles and of the human behavior that is responsible for overreactions in both directions.” — Seth Klarman Market Cycles, also known as stock market cycles can be defined as the periods of growth and decline in a market sector or industry. In other words, market cycles refer to the visible price movements that rise, fall and return to their point of origin. Every market cycle goes through the same cycle, i.e. rising in the beginning, peaking (culminating) at the top before dipping, and bottoming out in the end. As the name indicates market cycles are cyclical, and the end of one cycle represents the start of a new cycle. Expressed as time-series data, market cycles guide analysts and policymakers in decision making and enable traders to determine the best prices at which they can trade. Understanding the market cycles and knowledge of technical analysis can help us easily recognize and capitalize from these cycles. The basic principle of investing a trader should keep in mind remains Buy Low and Sell High. Richard D. Wyckoff was one of the titans of Technical Analysis during the early 20 century and an active trader. His Price Action Market Theory is still a leading principle in today’s trading practice. According to the Wyckoff method, the price cycle of a traded instrument consists of 4 phases – Accumulation, Markup, Distribution, and Mark-Down. Let us now look at each of these phases in detail. i. Accumulation: This is the first phase of a market cycle that occurs after the market has bottomed out in the previous cycle. With...
by Suvin David | Feb 10, 2021 | Blog
A couple of years back, no one would have imagined that virus would change our lives forever, as we have seen in the year 2020. Fear of infection, lockdown, and social distancing norms have drastically altered all our behaviors, creating a new way of life which we call the new normal. With the present state of affairs, it has become inevitable to have an emergency fund, a tool that will help you manage the unwelcome impacts of the pandemic. “Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed.”- William James All of us are familiar with the concept of emergency and might have experienced it in various forms at different points in our lives. An emergency can be defined as a sudden, unforeseen happening which calls for immediate action, neglecting which can cause serious repercussions in our lives. Setting aside some amount of money can help us prevent such situations from getting disastrous. A pool of money set aside to meet such expenses is known as Emergency Funds. Emergency funds play a crucial role in our lives due to a variety of reasons. Let us now go in-depth into some of those reasons: i. It helps us stop adding debt: Have you ever come across a situation where you fell ill unexpectedly/ had to take your car for repairs and realized that you did not have sufficient cash to pay for it? Well, this would have been the exact point you wished you had kept aside some money as an emergency fund. An emergency fund provides enough funds to take care of uncertainties and enables...
