COVER
STORY
Socially
Responsible Investing
-- S Rajagopalan
The profit maximization principle of business
when observed in tandem with a social and environmental
friendly cause, will make investment process
more responsible and holistic in nature. In
finance theory and practice, the avowed purpose
of all investments is to earn and maximize returns.
The corollary to earning returns is the risk
associated with it; hence, simply put, investing
deals with the return-risk trade-off.
© 2007 IUP . All Rights
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IPOS
IPOs
through Book-building since 1999 on the NSE
: An Analysis
-- Chaarlas and P Bagatheeswari
The
article primarily takes a closer look at the
pricing mechanism of Initial Public Offerings
(IPOs) in Indian equity market since 1999, with
a primary focus on book-building. A country's
economic growth depends upon a number of factors,
the most important, as considered by many, being
the stock market. There exists a positive correlation
between the economic growth of a country and
the status as well as the performance of its
stock market. A country with strong financial
fundamentals reflected through well-developed
stock market registers higher growth as compared
to a country with weak capital market.
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MUTUAL
FUNDS
New
Fund Offerings : Myths and Realities
-- Arindam Banerjee
In
recent times, marketing gimmicks, misselling
products and fancied nomenclature in the mutual
funds' initial offerings have taken the gullible
investors for a ride. Let's be careful of some
of the bare facts involving NFOs. Markets are
bullish.FIIs are investing.GDP is growing at
9%..., these are some headlines we are coming
across everyday in the newspapers. With so much
positivity around, one sometimes suspects, "Is
there something wrong?" Both the primary market
for Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and the
secondary markets for stocks have been performing
well.
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FINANCIAL
SERVICE
Alternate
Channels
-- CV Kumar
Distribution
channels in the financial products market plays
a crucial role in generating revenues for financial
service firms. In this backdrop, the evolution
of alternate channels, primarily the `sub-brokers',
needs special emphasis. The article looks into
this aspect of alternate channel and carries
a SWOT analysis of the same. The Indian financial
market is in a state of metamorphosis. The last
decade has been witness to some of the spectacular
moments, such as Sensex crossing the 15,000
barrier and then again going as low as 10,000
points. Though the markets have been highly
volatile resulting in huge losses they have
also given reasonable returns. But one should
consider that this volatility itself is a sign
of growth and characteristic of a market moving
towards maturity.
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COMMODITIES
Risk
Management in the Commodity Market
-- NS Pandey and Meenu Pandey
With
the increasing popularity of the commodities
markets in India, having a sound risk management
system in place is of prime importance. The
commodities market consists of both spot and
forward markets. Spot trading has been prevalent
across the world since the commencement of the
system of barter. The futures markets have evolved
in different ways in several countries. In India,
commodity markets have a long history. Organized
trading on Commodity Exchanges in India started
with the setting up of the Bombay Cotton Trade
Association in 1875.
© 2007 IUP . All Rights
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PERSONAL
FINANCE
ELSS
: Preferred Tax-Saving Instrument
-- Anand Bansal
Tax
planning plays a pivotal role in the entire
finance planning process. Among the gamut of
products available, ELSS provides tax advantage
in addition to Return on Investment (ROI). The
article takes a closer look at the scheme. Equity-Linked
Saving Scheme (ELSS) is one of the most attractive
tax-saving instruments in India as it offers
high returns and multiple tax benefits with
the advantage of a low lock-in period. Traditional
means of tax saving investments are mostly just
equipped to commensurate the burden of inflation
and build wealth in the long term.
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INDUSTRY
ANALYSIS
Indian
Hospitality Industry
-- PR Kulkarni
Keeping
pace with the general trend in the economy,
the Indian hospitality industry too is poised
for significant growth. This article digs deep
into the segments of the industry and analyzes
the same. The hospitality industry in India
is undergoing a rapid growth. With the tourism
industry showing an excellent performance in
terms of foreign tourist arrivals, the hospitality
industry is poised to grow at a faster rate.
During the third quarter of the financial year
2006, the arrival of foreign tourists increased
by 12.8% and the foreign earnings increased
by 21% when compared to the same period of the
previous year.
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CASE
STUDY
MF
Industry in India : A SWOT Analysis
-- P Hanumantha Rao and Vijay Kr Mishra
With
the Indian Mutual Fund industry standing on
the verge of a massive growth, it is time to
do a SWOT analysis of the same. Financial reforms
in India had a great impact on not only the
financial system but also the economy as a whole.
The booming financial market has a lot to do
with the growing Indian economy. It is the financial
markets that provide the necessary resources
for the economic activities of any country.
The Indian economy is projected to grow over
9% during the 11th Plan period.
© 2007 IUP . All Rights
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VIEW
POINT
Views
on the Consultative Paper on Regulation of Investment
Advisors in India
-- Arindam Banerjee
The
recent move of Sebi expressing concerns over
investment advisors in India is commendable.
As a regulator of one of the most dynamic capital
markets in the world, Sebi's role in protecting
investor confidence has been commendable and
it has earned for itself the reputation of being
one of the most respected regulators in the
world.In its recent pronouncements, the Sebi
has been talking about having a closer watch
on those providing financial advice to investors
and also being more stringent on the usage of
the title "Financial Advisor". The regulator
has voiced concern that there are large numbers
of entities rendering investment advice to clients,
without any formal contract or discretion and
indicated that those who offer investment advice
need to be necessarily registered with it.
© 2007 IUP . All Rights
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BOOK
REVIEW
Global
Governance of Financial Systems : The International
Regulation of Systemic Risk
-- Kern Alexander, Rahul Dhumale, John Eatwell
Reviewed by Jayanta Kumar Seal
This
book finds out deficiencies with rules, regulations
and guidelines that have emerged in governing
the International Financial System (IFS). It
also throws light on Economic rationale for
International Financial Regulation by providing
insights into particular type of global governance
structure necessary for efficient regulation
of the IFS.
© 2007 IUP . All Rights
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