How to invest in Gold

The sheen of returns from investing in gold makes it impossible for anyone to miss out investing in the yellow metal. Specially this past decade- the prices of gold have gone up nearly 6 times. The graph shows CAGR of 34.39% for the past two years.
  
Gold provides a perfect hedge against inflation. Also it is the most sought after asset class in times of volatility and market crashes. One cannot avoid having gold as an important element in one’s portfolio - only the proportion would differ with stage of the life cycle.
  

        
There are many ways of investing in Gold. But then, each of them has its pros and cons.
 
Physical gold: Investing the household savings in gold jewellery is an age old tradition in Indian families.
Pros
1. It gives us a mental satisfaction of possession
2. It carries with itself a beauty and ornamental value
3. Emotional value is attached.
Cons
1. High development charges account for wastage
2. Purity has to be verified before purchasing
3. Storage and security issues and the connected costs do not make this option viable
4. Resale valuation issues for out of fashion designs.
                  
 Gold funds: These days you have option to invest in gold funds. Two latest funds-Kotak gold fund and Reliance gold fund give you this flexibility. There are also many Gold funds which invest in gold mining companies for example Blackrock Global Funds, World Gold Fund and the AIG World Gold Fund.
Pros
1. Comes with SIP flexibility
2. No DEMAT required
3. Good for conservative investors
Cons
1. Double charges-for mutual fund scheme and for ETF both
         
ETFs: ETFs are exchange traded fund like mutual funds, but here the NAV keeps fluctuating the whole day and you can sell and buy anytime you want.
Pros
1. No responsibility of security and insurance
2. You do not have to worry about the purity of gold since it is guaranteed by the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association)
3. Pricing is not an issue since you can buy and sell as and when you feel
4. No STT, VAT, sales tax and wealth tax.
Cons
1. ETFs attract long term capital gains tax.
               
Commodities market: Investing in commodities market is good for those who are well versed with the idea of trading in commodity spot and futures.
Pros
5. Good returns can be expected
6. Good for diversification of portfolio
7. Good for investors how already have a DEMAT account
8. Good for investors who want to stay away from the stock market
Cons
2. Time is required to invest and understand
3. Good understanding of spot and futures is also required.
4. Forecasting ability and of importance
5. No suitable enough for a small investors.
                             
Investing in mutual funds sound obvious but there are some crucial factors you should look at:   

• Mutual funds trade at NAV at the end of the day, whereas ETFs give you the flexibility to trade intraday.
• With ETFs, it is simple to trade because of one price that is involved. But with mutual funds, the underlying shares are constantly being traded and the price keeps changing which is quite a bit complex to track.
• ETFs are more cost effective than mutual funds. Mutual funds are actively traded and actively managed mutual funds are thus expensive. Gold, does not need to be actively managed that way and so, is a cheap investment haven.
• With mutual funds, come in investment styles and trading strategies of different mutual funds houses, a hassle for an investor to be dealt with. Nothing as such happens in gold ETFs. Gold does not need any investment strategies.
• Now since ETFs need not be managed like mutual funds, their expense ratio is much lower than mutual funds. Management expenses and trade commissions are nit as high.
• In terms of purchasing and investing, mutual funds do require a minimum amount to be invested, which is not the case with ETFs.

Investing in Gold ETFs is very simple. It is similar to how you buy shares, i.e. you need to register yourself with a broker having membership of the NSE, fill up the KYC form, open a demat account, post margins and commence trading. If you have an existing Demat account you can use the same.      
       
Following is the list of gold ETFs listed on NSE:

• Gold Benchmark ETF
• UTI Gold ETF
• Kotak Gold
• Reliance Gold ETF
• Religare Gold ETF
• Quantum Gold
• SBI Gold ETS
• HDFC Gold ETF

             
A comparative analysis of some leading Gold ETFs:
                  


















Source: Valueresearch Online  

How to File Your Income Tax Returns Online: E-filing

Filing of Income Tax Returns could be quite a task for many, owing to plethora of paperwork and lengthy procedures. In this era of technology, no longer is this going to be a daunting task. You could now file your Income Tax Returns online without having to spend hours at the Income Tax office, or pay exorbitant fees to a chartered accountant. Read on to know about the hassle free process of “E-filing” of returns.
 
What is E-filing?
E-filing is a process of filing your returns the electronic way using the help of the internet. Various web portals have been designed and designated to help you file returns. So, without being bogged down by lengthy procedures, you could now use the internet to file your returns in the comfort of your home or office, at any time of the day.
 
Where do you E-File your Returns?
The Income Tax of India website lets tax payers of all kinds, to file their returns online, free of cost. The steps involved are explained in the main home page of the website. This free version however is not very user friendly for novice users. For someone not familiar with ITR-1, ITR 2 etc, understanding and using the excel based utility could be quite difficult. Also, the site has no provision for online help and could get slow at times.
 
Sites such as Tax Yogi and some of the other portals which, at a nominal fee, not only guide you through the e-filing process, but also offer value added services.
Tax Yogi offers users two tax packages, Basic and Advance. One need not have to worry about any form numbers such as ITR-1 or ITR-2. Tax Yogi’s ITR tool takes care of it all. It takes just 10 minutes to fill in the details and complete the process. The advance package of Tax Yogi additionally offers expert advice on tax saving options and, tax planning services for the future.
 
How do you E-file Returns?
Before you begin, keep all relevant information such as your Form 16, your investment details, your income from other sources etc., ready at hand.
Step 1: You would need to register with the portal through which you desire to file your returns. Most tax return filing sites are user friendly and help you through the process in a step by step manner. You can achieve the same task by downloading Excel utility from the It department website. However it may be difficult to use.
 
Step 2: Details such as name, address, PAN, total salary, deductions etc are collected in a digital format.
 
Step 3: An ITR XML file is generated which is your electronic income tax return. Do not try to make sense of it as it’s a bit technical.
 
*Step 4: You would need to upload this ITR XML file on the Income Tax website. For doing this, an account needs to be created in the Income Tax website using your Permanent Account Number. Once uploaded, an acknowledgement receipt called ITR Form-V would be generated. This needs to be signed and sent to “Income Tax Department – CPC, Post Box No.1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore – 560100, Karnataka” within 120 days of e-filing.
   
*The TaxYogi Advantage: Tax Yogi has an e-intermediary status and hence you would not require to login to the income tax site to upload the electronic return. The electronic return is generated and automatically uploaded by them. In this case, users get the ITR-V by email instantly from the IT department which needs to be printed, signed and sent to the CPC Bangalore.
 
Step 5: You would receive a confirmation from the IT Department, acknowledging the receipt of ITR-V. This is your final acknowledgement that concludes your e-tax filing.
 
Points to Keep in Mind

• As you would be entering your financial information, ensure the site you log in to is trust worthy and has a security certificate.
• If you do not wish to post the ITR-V form to the IT office, you could alternatively use an “electronic signature” to authenticate your identity. Sending by post is mandatory only when returns are filed without the use of a signature.
• If the ITR-V is not submitted within 120 days of e-filing, what has been submitted will be considered as null and void. In such a case you will have to file your returns again, get a new ITR-V and submit the same within 120 days.
• If one requires an “E-Refund”, i.e. when the refund process is carried out electronically, the details of refund (if any) are filled up online in a prescribed form. After approval of refund request by the concern authority, the refund amount will credited to your bank account.

VANISHING TRADITION

Can We Save South India’s Traditional Wear From Vanishing?

Gone are the days when we would find teenage girls walking on streets wearing half sarees. Half saree is the traditional outfit of South India. But for the past two decades the number is reducing year by year and it is almost reaching a stage where the traditional outfit will vanish completely. The North Indian traditional dress shalwar kameez over shadowed half sarees in south and girls of late prefer salwar kameez to half sarees as they find it more comfortable. But then pants are dominating shalwar kameez too in all metropolitan cities irrespective of North or South. The reason being the effect of western culture on Indian youth.

Still, I feel half saree has its own beauty and one should realize that and save our tradition. Therefore, here I present some of the beautiful pictures of South Indian Actresses in half sarees   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

            

Cool pics, great quotes.

Next time you have extra time try stacking your coins



Cool Mailboxes



I hope that backpack is a parachute

"Ahhh, it’s so warm and cuddly on here"



Sorry bro, but thanks for being my chair



Looks like he wanted to be alone… and chances are he will be



Bye Bye Freeway… Mother Nature had another idea



Help!  Call 911



It’s good to have a friend when you need one!



I guess cats can read after all



This is not as comfy as I thought it would be



Static cat!








Is the sign really necessary?




Don’t try this at home




The water is so clear the boat seems to be floating on air



I’m sorry… I didn’t know you were coming back



OK, let’s change places at the next corner



Fluffy in flight



Let me know when all the dogs are in so I can move



You may not be happy with dinner but you are going to eat it anyway!

Contribute to Save Earth

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There is a cute small round press button at the bottom right corner of almost all monitors: Please make use of this



Stop printing out Harry Porter, Jeffrey Archer and other e-books. This is a classic example of paper wastage.


If you have forgotten to give double-side prints, make sure you make use of the empty sides as scribbling pads or for your kids' imposition

!


Take two minutes from your busy schedule before hurrying back home to shut down the computer.

All of us are big time Googlers. Have you heard of the Blackle search engine? Blackle (Google powered) is a search engine designed all in Rich Black so that your system consumes less power. So change your homepage.

Plastic bags these days indeed come in bright and flamboyant colours and tempt us to take them home with us. But the saying, "Appearances are deceptive" holds true for these plastic things too. Next time, hold back or go prepared to counter temptation with a cloth bag.




Roses, Jasmine, Hibiscus and Peas; All these saplings cost hardly between Rs 10 - 20 each. Can't we afford to plant these in and around our houses? Also, more importantly, caring and maintain them as they grow?

Try to segregate the different kinds of waste into Bio-Degradable (Fruit or vegetable waste) , Recyclable (waste Paper, paper products) and Electronics (Floppy disks, CD-ROMS ). Once you have segregated your thrash, look for specialized trash cans to throw them away.

Try to minimize the use of horns. Honking has drastically increased and this adds to the noise pollution and does not provide a conducive environment to live in.

Use rechargeable batteries though it's an expensive product, it's one-time purchase. Recharge when required. (Same applies to cell-phones, MP3s, iPods and Laptops)


The best pens to use would be ink ones. Though if you have to use a ball point pen, buy refills instead of buying new pens. Pencils are much better for rough use! (That's why we used it at school!!!)

Remember to close water taps before preening in front of the mirror. Of course you are beautiful, but Water is a precious resource!

Let's not just wake up and walk out of finished meetings and conferences with a sigh of relief, let us remember to turn off the lights and projectors too.

Take few minutes to learn about topics like 'Global Warming' , 'Air / Noise /Land / Water Pollution ' etc apart from constant surfing of News, Latest Gadgets, Movies and Music.

Spread this message to your friends and colleagues. They too can make a difference.

The Earth has already become a dangerous place to live in for the animals and birds. Soon it might be our turn. So let's pledge to save our beautiful planet so that you and your future generations can live happily and peacefully ever after.

Save the Planet


 

Running a half empty machine, taking a bath instead of a shower or leaving the light on for no reason destroys the planet. Remember: turn your monitor off along with the computer , unplug chargers if you don't use them and use water wisely .
A bit of attention can go a long way!

Don’t use paper cups for taking tea or coffee, save our environment… please it’s in our hands let us give a clean and safe environment to our children