Stocks and bonds should be a common term that everyone should know. But sadly, most of us don’t have adequate knowledge on what a stock or bond is. Here we can look at the meaning of stocks and bonds and even analyze which one is the best option for you as an individual.
Stocks represents the ownership of a fraction of a corporation. Most of the time when a company requires extra capital, they list their company’s stocks on the stock market. In simple terms, they sell a part of the share of their company to the general public and in return, they would receive money.
When you buy a share of the company you become an owner of the company. The person who buys the shares of the company will be called an investor and the company which lists their stocks will be a Public limited company.
The companies will have to show their business activities every year to the general public. It will be available to each and every individual even if you don’t hold a share in the company.
There are two groups of people in the stock market. One group are investors who buy the shares of companies and hold them for years expecting the share prices to rise. The second group is traders – they buy and sell different shares of different companies in a short period of time mostly in a single day.
Stocks are considered to be risky. But if invested wisely you would get unimaginable returns from it. Stocks are also called as equities. People consider stocks as one of the investment options. Stocks have proven to beat the inflation rates over the years and is a form of security that shows that you hold a piece of ownership in the company.
Certain companies even provide dividends to their stockholders. Dividends are part of the profits the company earns during the year. So, in addition to the increasing of the value of stocks, you would even receive a part of the company’s profits with it.
Bombay Stock Exchange
What are Bonds
Bonds are also a financial instrument. In simple terms, if the company or the government requires money, they issue bond certificates. Sometimes government would require some funds to develop a new road or come up with new infrastructure in the city or companies. The government would want to open new branches at that time so they would opt to raise funds through the issue of bonds.
When you buy a bond certificate you are lending money to the government or the companies. They will have to pay back the money they owe you plus the interest.
There are different types of bonds and there are agencies that rate the bond. The bond certificates with the highest rating will be the safest bond and vice versa.
Bonds are less risky than shares. They provide higher returns compared to bank deposits. There are certain bonds that are tax-free or even charged less tax compared to other instruments. Bondholders will have more preference than shareholders in a company.
If the company is closing down, the bond holders will be paid first and then the shareholders will be paid. However, while buying a bond one should wisely choose it according to the credit ratings given to the bonds and a proper check about the company issuing the bonds.
Which one is Right for you
Stocks and bonds have their own advantages and disadvantages. Stocks are considered to be riskier than bonds. Whereas stocks can provide really high returns than bonds. If you are ready to take high risks you can invest in stocks but if you want comparatively lower risk then you can go for investing in bonds.
However, one cannot blindly invest in either stocks or bonds. Before you invest in stocks you will have to learn the basics of the stock market, fundamental and technical analysis. You should always do your own research before investing in stocks and never invest based on anyone else’s advice.
Even investing in bonds requires prior research. You will have to check the ratings and then invest in bonds. Certain investors invest in bonds and stock markets together to manage their risk. They will invest in proper ratios so that they will be able to get an average return from both instruments.
Choosing to invest in stocks or bonds can be according to your risk appetite.
FAQ
What are the 4 types of stocks?
Growth stocks, Yield stocks, IPOs, and Defensive stocks are the 4 types of Stocks.
What is the safest investment?
Certificates of deposit (CDs), money market accounts, municipal bonds and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) are among the safest types of investments.
What stocks lost the most in 2020?
Occidental Petroleum Corp, (OXY) Coty (COTY), Marathon Oil Corp, (MRO) TechnipFMC (FTI), Carnival Corp. (CCL) stocks lost the most in 2020.
Conclusion
If you do not have the time to do the research of a company there are companies that invest on behalf of you. There will be fund managers who would invest your money on behalf of you and provide you with the returns. Those are called Mutual fund companies. Now there are apps like Groww, smallcase, Etc., which help you in investing in bonds and stocks.
India is one of the fastest emerging startup ecosystem. The Indian technological landscape has seen a tremendous growth towards creation of innovative startups which has lead it to become the 3rdfastest growing hub for technology startups in the country. The current article analyses the India’s position as a global startup hub that is becoming attractive for investors startup, and corporates.
From having just a handful of tech companies to couple dozens and now thousands of innovative new ventures, India’s startup ecosystem has grown immensely from the past decade. India now has 55,000 startups with more than 3200 startups raising $63 Billion in funding in the last five and half years alone.
The internet has helped paved the way for thousands of startups to rise over the past decade, address unique problems, transform entire industries and create new segments. With deep data insights to influence strategic decision making in governance, investments, growth, and other core aspects driving the Indian startup ecosystem.
Over the years the growth of startups has brought in more international investors and boosted their confidence towards India. Fundraising reported by SEBI registered ventured capital funds grew from Rs.326 Crore in 2014 to over Rs. 2,703 Crore in 2019 showing the increase which is up to 8 times more now. The share of actual capital raised to commitments in 2014 was 35% compared to 61% in 2019, indicating the growing investor interest towards investments opportunities in India.
The most beneficiary sectors are EdTech, fintech, online gaming and OTT, ecommerce and enterprise tech. But because of the covid 19 scenario in 2020, the total capital inflow in Indian startups expected to dip in 202 by as much as 36.2% compared to 2019 to reach $8.1 billion. The total capital inflow in Indian startups for the year 2020 is expected to be the lowest since 2017.
Indian’s Unicorn And Soonicorns
India only a single unicorn in 2012, but in 2016 the number increased 10. It is now the home to 34 well known Unicorns with a combined valuation of $115.5 billion, 52 Soonicorns with the potential to become unicorns by 2022. With an overall funding skyrocketing to $63 Billion from 2014 to 2020. In the past decade, India has shown a great appetite for technology, data and the internet.
Some of the popular unicorn companies in India
Excluding that India has 53 startups in India that have the potential to achieve $1 billion pus valuation by the end of 2022. Out of these numbers the fintech sector has 19 unicorn which is different from the unicorns where enterprise tech startups which have 7 unicorns
Infrastructure And Resources That Help The Startups Growth in India
India now has an estimated 100 plus startup incubators across the country, mostly housed in academic institutions; this number is likely to cross 300 by 2020. This means that there will be a startup incubator in every state, city and town in the country are enabling entrepreneurs to access resources and solve problems in their local areas. Next, we have Co- working spaces that are growing at an exponential rate and this helps entrepreneurs to have office spaces in their neighborhood.
Many states are coming up with policies in 2020, as the government at the central and state level have recognized the potential of startup as a driver for job creation and are hence enabling a better regulatory environment for starting up. The startup culture in India and other policies are looking at addressing the problems of B2C entrepreneur level.
NITI Aayog is in the process of making the necessary infrastructure and resources available through the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). AIM is adopting a more B2B approach by supporting in the scale up of the existing incubators such as NSRCEL, C-CAMP etc.
The Main Hubs of Indian Startups
In 2020, Bengaluru the silicon valley of India is still the startup capital of the country with a total funding amount of $28 Billion across 1,876 deals 2014 to 2020. It’s the startup hub in India for startups. In addition to that the other top hubs are Delhi and Mumbai, while the emerging hubs are Pune and Hyderabad as they have recorded an annual growth rate of 45% and 37% respectively.
Top startup hubs in India as of 2020
In the tier segment Jaipur and Goa have outperformed cities like Hyderabad and have earned their spot in top 10 startup hubs as of 2020 based on the number of funding deals.
The Indian Investor Landscape
From just a handful of investors and a few startups to over 49 thousand startups and over 2,000 Indian and International investors, the startup ecosystem have come a long way in past five years. The International investors now routinely come to India to invest in the burgeoning tech ecosystem. The frequency of participation by the existing investor is on the rise.
The total count of unique investors every year
Many corporations have played a major role in the funding trends, according to Datalabs by Inc42 analysis, 2019 was not one of the good year for venture capitalist. In 2020 however, there are approximately 4,640 active investors in India. Among these 59% (2,751) are angel investors and about 18.3% (849) are venture capital firms. Overall there is a downward trend in terms of unique investor’s participation similar to what has been observed in 2019.
Fintech Boom
The fintech sector continues to grow at rapid speed. Paytm can easily be called a pioneer in fintech as at gave the power of choice and how to spend to people who never had wallets or bank accounts. Following the success of Paytm, many other wallet companies have shown promise. We believe this sector will continue to attract investors’ interest in 2019 as the business ideas in fintech.
The Growth of Innovation in India
The interim budget conveyed the message that India youth should constantly innovate to drive the country growth. Towards this end, the government has pushed for the use of digital technologies through initiatives such as the National Program on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the establishment of nine centers of technological excellence.
While the first decade of 21st century was all about bringing India’s cities and metros online, the past ten years have been about using the internet to create businesses and startups and take the digital torch to rural India. India is today the home to world’s largest working population and startups are expected to take full advantage of this in the next five years.
The country has more than 500 million internet users. Which is why we can expect an active implementation of block chain, AI, IoT and data analytics across multiple technology sectors. For example the IoT in India has reached $15 billion by 2020. It will account for approximately 5% of the total global market. On the other hand, AI is predicted to become as big as $ 15.6 trillion by 2030.
Nevertheless, 2025, the number of startups in India is expected to cross 100K, creating more than 3.25 Million jobs in the process. At the same time, the total funding in Indian startups is likely to increase to over $150 Billion and with the total value creation exceeding $500 Bn. Once the medium and long-term pandemic impact subsides, there’s no stopping Indian startups.
A startup ecosystem is formed by people, startups in their various stages and various types of organizations in a location (physical or virtual), interacting as a system to create and scale new startup companies.
What is entrepreneurial ecosystem?
Entrepreneurial ecosystems or entrepreneurship ecosystems are peculiar systems of interdependent actors and relations directly or indirectly supporting the creation and growth of new ventures.
What makes a good ecosystem?
A healthy ecosystem consists of native plant and animal populations interacting in balance with each other and nonliving things, for example, water and rocks.
Bitcoin is a digital coin and it is considered as one of the best investment instruments by the Millennials. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that depends on blockchain technology. It is used to make purchases but mostly it is considered an investment option.
Bitcoin has provided an amazing return over the years. It has provided a return of about 204% in 2020. The price of one bitcoin has crossed more than 29 Lakhs and it is considered as one of the favorite investment options for GenZ.
Bitcoin is the first Cryptocurrency and is believed to be found by Satoshi Nakamoto. Even though cryptocurrencies are used to make purchases it is not accepted as the mainstream payment yet.
Retail investors are investing in bitcoins after seeing huge returns. Some years ago, investing in bitcoin was considered hard and was mostly for techies. But now, with the emerging of new startups, investing in bitcoin has become easy. Venture Capitalists are funding such startups which aim at making the investment much easier.
A retail investor can invest in bitcoin through the below ways
P2P transactions are Person to Person transactions. It is a transaction between 2 individuals. If you don’t prefer using an App or paying a transactional fee then you can find a person who is interested to sell his bitcoins and buy it from him. It is considered hard to find a like minded person and it is time consuming. You wouldn’t find a seller as easy as you can find one on the exchange.
Person to Person Transaction
Method to invest
If you would want to buy bitcoins through P2P method then you will have to consult a cryptocurrency exchange/platform. They will act as a coordinator. The exchanges will help you find a seller who is interested according to your requirements. Again, the process would take a lot of time to find the ideal person. This method is more direct.
Bitcoin Mining is the way you earn bitcoins. Bitcoin Mining is considered as a profession. The main role of a bitcoin miner is to record the bitcoin transactions. Bitcoins are decentralized which means it doesn’t have a legal body to regulate it. Bitcoin Miners act as an accountant where they keep a record of the transaction as it happens.
Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin miners will be paid in bitcoins once they successfully complete adding a block of transactions. Bitcoins are recorded using blockchain technology. It is said that in every 10 minutes a block is added.
In the beginning it was easier to mine the bitcoins as the demand increased, bitcoin mining has become more complex as it requires really good software and specific skills which makes it difficult for a common man.
A Cryptocurrency exchange is similar to a stock exchange platform. You will be able to buy and sell bitcoins though a cryptocurrency exchange. There are a lot of mobile application in India which helps you to invest in Bitcoin.
Cryptocurrency exchanges are operational for 24 hours and you can place order anytime. It is decentralized and is not controlled by any central authorities. You can start investing in bitcoins by buying a part of it. The investment can start with a small amount of INR 500.
Cryptocurrency Exchanges
You should make sure that you buy bitcoins through a trusted exchange or an app. Some of the apps which helps you invest in bitcoins are Zebpay, UnoCoin, Coinsecure etc. Choosing the right platform is the hardest task. The exchanges may charge a small fee for their services. The easiest way for an individual to invest in bitcoins is through the exchange. It is the simplest way to invest.
KYC process
You will have to find the exchange of your choice and later complete the KYC (Know Your Customer) process.
You will have to verify your documents such as PAN card, Aadhar card etc. It is mainly to avoid unlawful usage of the currencies.
For the KYC process you will have to provide your details such as
Your full name.
2. Address and Date of birth as it appears in your documents.
3. You will later have to upload your KYC document in a scanned format.
Once the above steps are completed you will be able to open your account.
FAQ
Is Bitcoin a good investment?
Bitcoin is an extremely risky investment that may or may not pay off.
Can we Invest in Bitcoin in India?
You can Buy/Sell Fractional shares of Bitcoin via an Exchange.
Who is the richest Bitcoin owner?
According to a New research from Traders of Crypto Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin, who is rumored to own around 1 million Bitcoins.
Conclusion
Cryptocurrency is one of the fastest growing asset class. Bitcoin has around 69% of the market share of Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was introduced as an asset to beat inflation. The number of bitcoins is limited and hence it helps in beating the inflation. A perfect cryptocurrency exchange is one which is flexible, simple and accessible. Many platforms are highly technical but at the same time there are many platforms which are easy to use.
While choosing your platform make sure it is easy to use and try staying away from platforms which does not have a KYC. It may not be secure.
Any returns you receive from bitcoin is taxable. You are taxed up to 30% for short-term gains and up to 20% for long term. Make sure you do your research before investing in bitcoin as it is highly volatile. It is always better to start with a very less amount of money.
Most of us would have heard about bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. It is all over the news and everyone speaks about the fancy returns provided by this digital coin. It has created its mark in the market. It was not so famous some years back and the value of the coin was not so high.
The popularity has increased the value of the digital coin. But even though the coin has provided huge returns and even though it has been claimed as the favourite investment tool for the GenZ, the major investors and the rich stays away from it.
The famous investor of India Rakesh Jhunjhunwala recently said that he wouldn’t buy bitcoin for even 5 Dollars. Warren Buffet one of the richest people in the world has said that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are worthless. He terms it to be a delusion.
Here are some reasons why the rich doesn’t invest in bitcoins.
Bitcoin has become a craze worldwide. Not a lot of them know what a bitcoin is or understands the concept of cryptocurrencies. But they would end up investing in it because of the trend and later on would sell it which would cause a huge fluctuation in the price. This makes it difficult to value the coin and to find an accurate value.
Bitcoins are not backed by any assets and hence the price of bitcoins totally depends on the demand and supply. If the demand for bitcoins are increasing the price would increase and if the demand decreases there would be a fall in price. This makes it difficult for investors to make a good investment.
Bitcoin Price in U.S. Dollars 2017- 2021
Bitcoin is just a digital coin. It cannot be touched or felt, it is not physically present. It is made up of certain codes and it does not have a real value. The value of bitcoin depends on the people and the market news. If there is a negative news in the market then we will see a fall in prices of the coin and vice-versa.
Bitcoins are highly volatile. Bitcoins can be traded 24 hours a day and since it is open for trading every time there would be huge amount of buying and selling, which would cause a difference of up to 20-30% of the price in a day. It is considered unstable and there are chances that you would lose all your money in a day.
Bitcoin’s main value is derived from its blockchain technology. But now a lot of other cryptocurrencies are using the same technology. Bitcoin has an early mover advantage and that’s why the prices are really high. But bitcoin was actually made to make secure online transactions which is not the situation now. Some exchanges say that it would take around 10 days to complete an order of the bitcoin placed, as there is huge demand for the coin.
Most of them don’t transact using bitcoin because the price keeps fluctuating. When the other person receives the money, the value would be different when compared to the time the coins were sent.
Most of them are not buying the coin for its value, but because of the trend. The rich and investors finds it gambling and not investing.
There are a lot of scams associated with bitcoins. Hackers or Malicious users can get details of your Wallet and take away your coins. There was a recent incident where the twitter accounts of the top individuals Elon musk, Barack Obama and Bill gates were compromised.
The tweet said that they were feeling generous and would double the bitcoins sent to a specific wallet. People who sent the bitcoins lost their coins and it was impossible to trace the digital coins because of the blockchain technology as it keeps it secure. It involves a lot of risk.
There is no central body which regulates and hence if you lose your bitcoins or if someone hacks into your wallet you wouldn’t receive your coins back. Bitcoin’s blockchain technology makes it impossible to track your coins if you lose it. It is highly risky and it cannot be considered as an investment option.
Bitcoin is an risky investment that may or may not pay off.
Is it Legal to buy and sell Bitcoin in India?
It is Legal to buy and sell Bitcoin in India.
What are the taxes I should be concerned about Bitcoins?
There is a lack of clarity on the tax front on Bitcoin investment in India.
Conclusion
Other than these there are also a lot of scams related to Cryptocurrencies. The companies promise huge returns and claims that a specific coin is going to beat bitcoin in some years and people tend to invest in it. People invest without proper research and knowledge and just look at the high returns and lose their entire amount.
The above reasons are why the wealthy don’t prefer to invest in bitcoins. Bitcoins have provided huge returns in the recent years but it is a highly risky product and you can never predict the price of bitcoin in future. Buying a bitcoin is equivalent to gambling than investing.
Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by Sqrrl.
Today, in contrast to savings, the internet offers various unprecedented methods to spend money. One can easily see that spending have become increasingly easier and savings has become gradually difficult. To bridge this huge chasm between saving and spending patterns, Sanjeev and Samant decided to tap a new market – the millennials & GenZs , by launching Sqrrl.
Sqrrl is a wealth management platform founded by Samant Sikka (Chief Dreamer), Sanjeev Sharma and Dhananjay Singh. The Sqrrl team works to simplify personal finance for millions of young Indians. Sqrrl’s mission is to impact the lives of 3 million young Indians by helping them save, invest and prosper by 2021!
StartupTalky interviewed Mr. Samant Sikka (Founder & Chief Dreamer, Sqrrl) to know about the Sqrrl Success Story along with getting a glance on How Sqrrl started, Sqrrl Funding, Business model, growth, founders, products, future plans & more…
Sqrrl is a platform aimed at helping young Indians save their earnings while keeping things simple. With Sqrrl, it’s not about putting away large chunks of salary, but rather small sums with just a couple of clicks. Sqrrl is a wealth management platform. Sqrrl is an app-only platform with the MVP around savings and investment products powered by Mutual Funds.
Technology is being used for the greater good today, even in personal lives. It is an attempt to stay at the forefront of this new wave of technology by combining a great user experience with something substantial. The Sqrrl team works to simplify personal finance for millions of young Indians.
As of today (Feb 2021), Sqrrl provides 7 different products under their app —
Sqrrl operates in the personal finance space. The main target users are young Indians – both millennials and GenZs.
With an acute focus on the financial aspirations of the new age generation, Sqrrl is geared to capitalize on India’s 440 Mn millennials (390 Mn GenZ). The challenge here is that the younger generation finds financial products, boring, jargonized and not adding any value to their lives. The company wishes to change that by offering simple financial solutions that will bring a huge change in the financial wellness of its customers.
Sqrrl – Product/Service offered
The Sqrrl platform gauges the personalized investment needs of individuals and matches them with funds available in the industry. It is like a personal finance buddy that one can rely on to save and grow money. Sqrrl is an app-only platform with the MVP around savings and investment products powered by Mutual Funds.
As of today (Feb 2021), Sqrrl provides 7 different products — Systematic Investment Plan (SIP), Goal-based investment, Axe Tax, Sqrrl Away, Lump sum investment, Fixed Deposit and Personal Loans — under the app.
Samant Sikka (Chief Dreamer), Sanjeev Sharma and Dhananjay Singh are the co-founders of Sqrrl.
Samant Sikka (Founder & Chief Dreamer, Sqrrl)
Samant Sikka, the founder of the fintech has over 20 years of experience in financial services. He has major stints in Sales, Business Development, Strategy and Marketing with firms like Franklin Templeton, AIG Investments, Goldman Sachs & Axis Asset Management.
Samant Sikka, Chief Dreamer & Founder, Sqrrl
Sanjeev Sharma (Co-founder, Sqrrl)
Co-founder, Sanjeev Sharma, has over 16 years experience in financial services with background in business setup and expansion, financing and operational excellence with firms like Franklin Templeton Investments, AIG Investment & Pine Bridge Investments. Sanjeev and Samant have worked together in the past in Franklin Templeton and AIG and continued to be in touch.
Dhananjay Singh (Co-founder, Sqrrl)
The founders were very clear about the role of technology in solving the challenges for the customers and therefore, decided to bring in Dhananjay, who brought the Tech domain to the team which plays a critical role in our business. Co-founder, Dhananjay Singh is an IIT-Kharagpur graduate with an experience of over 20 years in data science and analytics, a professional with products and canned solutions background with firms like PWC, Tech Mahindra, United Healthcare and Axtria.
Sqrrl came into existence in early 2017 with the sole aim of simplifying personal finance for young Indians. The journey behind establishing Sqrrl is best described by Mr. Samant Sikka and Mr. Sanjeev Sharma who collectively have over 37 years of experience in the financial services.
Between 2006 to 2016, both Samant and Sanjeev observed an alarming trend with regards to savings in Indian households. India, which is generally described as a saving-oriented country, saw a huge dip in household savings in the last decade wrapping up in March 2016. Statistics show that household savings fell from 22% to 19% as compared to GDP’s ratio, which increased from Rs 0.23 lakh crore to Rs 1.36 lakh crore during the same 10 year period.
Today, in contrast to savings the internet offers various unprecedented methods to spend money. One can easily see that spending is becoming increasingly easier and savings is becoming gradually difficult. To bridge this huge chasm between saving and spending patterns, Sanjeev and Samant decided to tap a new market – the millennials & GenZs.
Before launching Sqrrl, they did a hands-on primary research by meeting with salaried millennials at coffee shops, eateries and even hosted ‘Pizza & Beer on us’ sessions. Sanjeev and Samant ended up meeting approximately 400 young Indians in the age group of 25-35. The intent was to understand their relationship with money and challenges, whatever they were. Through these sessions, they collected some very powerful feedback.
Sanjeev and Samant says – The biggest lesson that we learnt is that for millennials the value of money as a concept has completely morphed into money-as-a currency, a mere tool to spend on stuff that they like.
Along with that, the biggest revelation faced by the founders of Sqrrl was – that a significant portion of this generation is living from salary to salary with barely any savings. Even though they are starting to work earlier than the older generations and getting higher salary packages, they are still struggling to save for anything. Using this feedback, they built multiple financial products to promote both savings and investing.
The founders were very clear about the role of technology in solving the challenges for the customers and therefore, decided to bring in Dhananjay, who brought the Tech domain to the team .
As one would think, the name Sqrrl was inspired by the tiniest of animals, Squirrel.
Sqrrl Logo
The main reason behind it is that a squirrel, despite its small size, plans for the future carefully. It saves a small amount of nuts gradually to build a full stock for the winters. And it does so, by being prepared for even the most desperate times in advance. The sheer size of the whole affair – a small squirrel working hard to save small everyday to make a full pile for the winters is very motivating. The main idea to imbibe financial discipline into young minds through a new financial product – to promote both savings and investing which fortunately, was achieved very well by this.
That’s what the founders of Sqqrl wanted people to think of when they looked at the brand. They wanted to use a young, fresh and vibrant brand name which millennials will associate with. Saving a small amount of money over a long period of time can do wonders.
Sqrrl’s business model is a combination of B2B and B2C.
Sqrrl has an app that helps the customers directly in saving and investing in mutual funds and taking personal loans
Sqrrl also has multiple integrations with banks and NBFCs that helps in bringing a substantial amount of revenue.
The platform’s subscription called Sqrrl Prime is another source of monetization for the business.
Sqrrl – Startup Launch
For the first 100 users of Sqrrl , it was a soft launch. The initial users were mainly people from the founders’ network. Slowly, the team started communicating with its target users through educating them about the need for financial planning in today’s world.
With education comes awareness and we were banking on that awareness to drive our product further into the hearts and mind of people. Facebook and Google definitely helped us in increasing the traction during initial days and even now – Says Samant Sikka (Founder, Sqrrl)
The initial challenge faced by the Sqrrl team was to build a Minimum Viable Product(MVP). There is no debate that one will always have aspirations to build a fully loaded offering with scarce resources. Humans are very optimistic like but it was important to draw a line. Therefore, few of the important decisions that the team had to make were about saying NO. Say NO to many features that the various customers will need. Instead of that they focused on building a sharp cut around a user persona with a particular use case.
In Sqrrl case, the team decided to start with saving and investment products, powered by mutual funds, specifically converting the challenges that they had heard from the target audience into Sqrrl’s offerings. However, all the challenges get magnified in case of financial services as there are multiple regulations to adhere to in letter and spirit. The list of things that one cannot do is longer than the things that you one do.
Since the founders of Sqrrl came from the industry some of the industry partners were very encouraging and offered support in making the journey of Sqrrl less complex. The other important challenge was around theproduct, execution and team. The enough time was spent on studying the ecosystem to build a product that spoke to people in everyday life.
An important decision that the Sqrrl team took was not outsourcing the technology, which meant that they had to slowly but surely start to put together a handpicked team of competent and domain experts who had been able to deliver a great product in a short time frame. There are other challenges that need attention in early days which are Product, Team, Execution, Infra and Funding. Some of these factors can be a big drag on the founder’s bandwidth, the ROTI (Return on Time Invested) is not very high, especially in early days.
“We made some decisions that helped us keep ourselves away from distractions. For example, one of the most important agendas was to keep fixed costs low and flexible, therefore we decided to work out of a co-working space Sproutbox” Says Samant
Fundraise is another time sapping activity and a big distraction from the core of the business.
“We, in the founding team were coming with approx. 2 decades corporate experience. Each decided not to raise any monies till we have demonstrated our ability to execute and therefore bootstrapped the venture initially. These were the easier parts which meant that we kept ourselves away from distractions” Samant added.
During 2020, Sqrrl expanded its wings beyond the sphere of savings and investment. It launched many new products and features to solve various financial problems of the customers. These include income tax return e-filing, starting a Fixed Deposit (FD), offering loans, a subscription plan called ‘Sqrrl Prime’ and protection products like accidental insurance.
Sqrrl’s partnership for offering Goal based investments with ICICI bank’s MINE, a millennial banking platform has also gone live in October, 2020.
Sqrrl – Funding and Investors
After almost a year being bootstrapped, Sqrrl raised the the first round of funding from Equanimity Ventures in June 2018 for 1 Million USD.
Sqrrl is fortunate to be led by a team of fantastic mentors including Carl Richards, Advait Dikshit and Shripad Nadkarni.
Carl Richards
Richards is a certified financial planner and has been the creator of the Sketch Guy column, appearing weekly in The New York Times since 2010. He is also the author of the book called The Behavior Gap which has been a huge hit.
Advait Dikshit
Dixit has been a management consultant for the past 19 years and is an avid speaker.
Shripad Nadkarni
Shripad Nadkarni is a brand and marketing Guru and presently also the co-founder of Maverix, which is a Mumbai based startup in the food space.
Sqrrl – Competitors
Some of the Top Competitors of Sqrrl in the market are Groww, ET Money, Fisdom and Scripbox.
Sqrrl got selected at the Reliance GenNext Hub, a scalerator program run by Reliance Industries and Microsoft ventures amongst 23 startups picked from approx. 1200 applications.
Sqrrl also have been featured in #Hot100 Startups in India.
The Sqrrl app has been featured on multiple occasions by both the Google Playstore and Apple App Store for its design and features
Sqrrl – Future Plans
In the future, the Sqrrl app plans on offering international investing, and stocks to its customers. Currently, the company is focusing extensively on partnering with banks, NBFCs and other platforms to enhance its distribution and reach.
In addition to that, Sqrrl have tie-ups with banking correspondent platforms and many more of these interesting partnerships are already under integration and closure. With the fast and fantastic evolution of the company, it is constantly finding channels to raise resources by speaking actively with financial and strategic investors.
Sqrrl – FAQs
What is Sqrrl?
Sqrrl is a wealth management platform founded by Samant Sikka (Chief Dreamer),Sanjeev Sharma and Dhananjay Singh. The Sqrrl team works to simplify personal finance for millions of young Indians.
Who are Sqrrl Founders?
Samant Sikka (Chief Dreamer),Sanjeev Sharma, Dhananjay Singh are the founders of Sqrrl.
How much funding has Sqrrl raised?
The first round of funding for Sqrrl came from Equanimity Ventures in June, 2018 for 1 Million USD.
Who are the Top competitors of Sqrrl?
Some of the competitors of Sqrrl in the market are Groww, ET Money, Fisdom and Scripbox.
Money makes the world go round, quite literally. Interesting 21st century shift of focus, isn’t it? We will dwell on that phenomenon under a relevant topic, for now we will look at just the right investment opportunities that the wise are most likely to target in the year 2021. Something that should make your & my bank accounts recover fast as our nation has, from the Wuhan virus.
IMF (International Monetary Fund) has projected a GDP growth rate of 11.5% for India, highest among all major economies including China’s – this is the kind of positive announcement we needed to set foot in the year 2021. And it showed its magic already. Stock markets jumped in excitement after Budget 2021, doubling the cheer for investors. Not forgetting that markets are highly speculative and volatile and do not always truly behave as per the economic realities on the ground, hence risky. But at the same time equally rewarding if you observe the patterns carefully over time.
So if you think it’s time to gear up and make some far-reaching changes in your stock portfolio – in order to either revamp your share market investment that was hit by the turbulent 2020, or to readjust/diversify it to continue getting stable returns or simply to reap the gains of the rising share market – here are some of the best stocks to place your bets on in 2021.
1. Infosys
Industry: IT – Software
Market Cap (INR. cr): 550,100.64
Stock exchanges: BSE (500209), NSE (INFY)
Share price history:
Last 6 month high
1392.70
Jan 2021
Last 6 month low
912.60
Sep 2020
Last 52 week low
511.10
Mar 2020
Current share price (BSE)
1,291.35
Feb 19, 2021 (closing)
According to key brokerages, buying stocks in Infosys is worth it. IT major in the top spot shouldn’t be a surprise, especially in the post COVID economic environment. Businesses are increasingly relying on digitisation, making information technology most sought after domain. Healthy deal pipeline, cost efficiency & account expansion are some of the other factors going in this stock’s favour, experts speculate.
2. Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel
Industry: Telecommunications – service
Market Cap (INR. cr): 316,940.60
Stock exchanges: BSE (532454), NSE (BHARTIARTL)
Share price history:
Last 6 month high
610
Jan 2021
Last 6 month low
394.05
Sep 2020
Last 52 week low
381.05
Mar 2020
Current share price (BSE)
580.95
Feb 19, 2021 (closing)
Telecommunications powers IT & vice versa. Both are interdependent. With internet penetration growing rapidly, and India’s rural population largely having access to internet though Smartphone, (up to 50% of population has gotten access by 2020), this sector is booming for sure. So Airtel overtaking Jio in adding new monthly subscribers in 2020 isn’t a shocker. Moreover, social distancing has made mobiles & broadband into a necessity for businesses & individuals across. Hence, foremost brokerages give thumbs up to this stock as well.
3. SBI
SBI
Industry: Banking, Finance
Market Cap (INR. cr): 356,404.36
Stock exchanges: BSE (500112), NSE (SBIN)
Share price history:
Last 6 month high
310.80
Jan 2021
Last 6 month low
175.55
Sep 2020
Last 52 week low
149.55
May 2020
Current share price (BSE)
399.35
Feb 19, 2021 (closing)
SBI is the largest public sector bank & one of the biggest corporations of 2020 according to Fortune Global 500. It is also one of the best performing stocks of recession year 2020. Consistently falling NPAs must be the reason for investors’ growing confidence in this bank with over 22,000 branches. Top brokerages too favour investing in this stock.
4. Bajaj Finance
Bajaj Finance
Industry: Financial Services (NBFC)
Market Cap (INR. cr): 331,365.79
Stock exchanges: BSE (500034), NSE (BAJFINANCE)
Share price history:
Last 6 month high
5372.75
Dec 2021
Last 6 month low
3008.85
Sep 2020
Last 52 week low
1783.10
May 2020
Current share price (BSE)
5499.05
Feb 19, 2021 (closing)
This is another stock that brokerages approve for inclusion into your long term investment portfolio. Short term lending is the companies’ forte. A subsidiary of Bajaj Finserv Ltd. and part of the Bajaj group of companies – Asset management, wealth management & insurance are its other core financial services. What is contributing to this sector’s growth? Low interest rates, foreign fund inflows further lowering cost of money thereby liquidity and of course consumer behaviour i.e. tendency to spend more than save.
5. HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank
Industry: Banking & Financial Services
Market Cap (INR. cr): 847,754.65
Stock exchanges: BSE (500180), NSE (HDFCBANK)
Share price history:
Last 6 month high
1511
Jan 2021
Last 6 month low
994
Aug 2020
Last 52 week low
738.90
Mar 2020
Current share price (BSE)
1544.50
Feb 19, 2021 (closing)
Started as Housing Banking Development Corporation, the largest provider of housing loans, HDFC Corporation diversified into retail banking in 1994. The largest private sector bank by assets and largest by market cap, HDFC Bank gets an almost unanimous ‘buy’ recommendation from brokerages. After the market crash of March-May 2020 across all sectors, this one has shown an almost steady upward momentum. The health of this bank is also reflective in its investment of INR 1,000 crores for reconstruction of Yes bank in order to prevent its collapse in Mar 2020 due to excessive bad loans.
This is not an exhaustive list or a blanket recommendation for all investors given the varying degrees of risk & reward taking potential. Plus, each investor has a set of expectations unique to his needs/goals. Therefore these are just a few shares (out of several), keeping one common goal out of many in mind, among multitude of investors – low risk with a good return over a long term (typically 3 years or more).
Wondering what are the parameters you should consider while zeroing in on a stock? A few factors you must consider before you make your investment are:
Market Capitalisation: It is simply the market value of the publicly listed company i.e. the number of outstanding shares multiplied by the current price per share. Hence it is a variable & keeps changing. Look out for the trend over a period of time to derive meaning. It represents size of the company (large cap/mid cap/small cap); a high market cap (relative to the industry of the company & its peers) further indicating a more stable growth, hence low risk perception.
Sector/Industry Assessment: To look for the growth prospects of the sector you plan to invest in has crucial value. Say you want to buy stocks of a company operating in the software industry. Currently IT is a booming sector; software products & services are in huge demand due to digital drive by govt as well as global shift in consumer behavior showing inclination towards technologies like cloud, AI, robotics, 5G etc. Similarly healthcare/pharmaceutical & e-commerce are seeing an unprecedented growth due to obvious & significant post pandemic socio-economic changes. Other promising sectors would be power, infra, chemicals et al. It all comes down to which sector attracts you.
Financial health of a company: Revenue, operating/net profit or loss, EPS, P/E ratios etc. are some of the basic pointers of the performance of a company. Analyse & compare these over a couple of quarters or years depending upon your short/long term investment goals.
Economically, 2021 clearly is a risky terrain, just showing some green patches but with whole lot of uncertainty about the future path. So ‘caution’ is the word for 2021. Growth looks certain, in all sectors of the economy but the direction & extent will vary depending on how long & successful the vaccination drive turns out to be and that is what will eventually decide the sum total of returns you pocket.
What Is Unique About Investing in Stock Market
Very simplistically put, just like how you plan your diet according to your taste, you must plan your stock portfolio to best suit your financial needs and interests. Pack your investment portfolio with choice of healthy, interesting & may be a few experimental options as well. And then start to watch & study the trend of your stock performance or ROI (return on investment) over time, because this is primary in becoming a successful investor & ensuring a robust financial health.
P.S: Again, these are only a few stocks with large market cap that brokerages & market analysts have favored buying or holding for a rather careful investor looking to safely park his money (away from gold or real estate) for a long term. There are many more, in many other industries with mid & small market cap that could give you rich returns if you do basic research & then keenly watch their trend. Timing is as important as the budget & the shares you pick. So here’s wishing a happiness ‘index’ for your shares too!
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs for Share Market
How do you double your money?
Most of us us think its a wild goose chase, but did you know according to ‘rule of 72’ you could calculate the time it’d take to double your money? The time it’d take to double your money = 72/rate of return
Example: At 10% return money will double in 72/10 i.e. 7.2 yrs; Similarly at 8% return money would double in 72/8 i.e. 9 years.
Do I need a large sum of money to invest in stocks?
Absolutely not! You can start investing with a small amount of a couple of thousands to begin with. And that is usually recommended for beginners.
In the past few years, many online mutual fund investment portals like Niyo Money (Goalwise) and Scripbox have come about which have simplified the process of investing for individuals. This has been mainly beneficial for investors and now gone are the days where people don’t have to go bank branches in order to be able to invest in Online Mutual Funds.
However, before you begin investing, you need to do research on which online mutual fund you want to invest in and think about the purpose of the investment and when you need the money back. Based on that, you need to know how much to invest in equity, how much in debt, and how all of this ties in with your financial goals in life. This article will help you choose a mutual fund platformaccording to your needs.
One of the key advantages of investing in a mutual fund is that each investor (even with a small investment) gets access to professional money management and expertise. Also, it would be very difficult for an investor to create a diversified portfolio of investments on his own with a small amount of money. With mutual funds, each investor participates proportionally in the return the scheme generates.
Each unit gets a proportional share of gain (or bears loss) from the fund. There is a portfolio report generated for each investor, which tracks all investments and the returns generated by the mutual fund. Investors can draw their money any time they want, also they can invest small amount.
Goalwise is an online wealth management platform that allows users to buy and invest in direct mutual funds. Goalwise headquarters is in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Goalwise has been a Subsidiary of Finnew Solutions Private Limited since July 2020. Goalwise has received a total of $1Million in funding. Goalwise main competition is Kuvera, Groww, and ETmoney.
Niyo Solutions acquired Goalwise in July 2020. The company plans to launch international and domestic stocks, Robo-advisory, and auto-invest products in the next few months. Now they have started offering zero commission investment.
It is a new age mutual fund investing platform which provides goal-based investing for investors looking to invest in direct mutual funds. With Goalwise one can easily set up SIPs or invest a large amount in the mutual funds chosen by its algorithms. If someone is a first-time investor looking to get started quickly as well as experienced investors looking for planning and automation.
The Goalwise app has features like automation in fund selection and switching, automation in asset allocation based on the goal time horizon. The app is also highly customization to suit the needs of every individual investor.
Company Name
Goalwise
Headquaters
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Founded On
2015
CEO
Swapnil Bhaskar
Annual Revenue
$1.2M
Sector
Consumer Finance & Credit Cards
Brief on Scripbox
Scripbox is an online platform that allows users to invest in mutual funds. Scripbox is headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The founder and CEO of Scripbox is Atul Shinghal, while the investors including Trusted Insight, Omidyar Network, and Accel Partners. Scripbox’s main competitors are FundsIndia, Fisdom, and Groww.
As of August 2019, Scripbox has 413.9 thousand fans on Facebook and 2.4 thousand followers on Twitter. Scripbox is a user-friendly app-based investment platform that makes investment completely hassle-free. One can start a SIP or make a one-time investment with the help of Scripbox. It is a great app for beginners as it also automates most of the investment process through its scientific and unbiased fund recommendation. It is the only app which has algorithm that reduces Long Term Capital Gain Tax at the time of withdrawal. Scripbox also generates capital gain tax statement that will us male tax return or annual IT return. Also they do not charge for services.
Company Name
Scripbox
Headquaters
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Founded On
2012
CEO
Atul Shinghal
Annual Revenue
$1.5M
Sector
Consumer Finance & Credit Cards
Direct Mutual Fund Investment
The mutual fund investment you do with the help of a broker or financial advisor includes an extra 1% which is paid to the broker or financial advisor. So some mutual fund plans are called regular plans. You should read about the expense ratio to learn how your broker, commission agent and distributor agent, and distributor make money when you invest in mutual funds.
With Goalwise, you will be investing only in direct mutual fund plans and will be earning an extra 1% on your overall investment. Scripbox however has an algorithm that creates a basket of ten mutual funds. The firm claims to make mutual fund investment simple and jargon-free for investors with no financial background. It also allows the customer can keep a check on their portfolio from their mobile or computer.
Types of investments provided by both Goalwise and scripbox
One of the challenges of mutual fund investing is to find the right mutual funds to invest in a lot of them are dependent on friends, network, and information on the web to find the right mutual fund. However, the bigger challenge is to know when to get out of a particular fund. Goalwise has a wide fund selection criteria and also tries to solve this problem by using data to suggest mutual funds.
When it comes to Scripbox it has more than 8000 choices in the market with seasoned investors which will give a tough time in deciding which to invest in. The Scripbox algorithms choose to perform mutual funds basis on their historical performance.
Goal Based Investing
Goal-based investing is one of the smartest ways to grow wealth and achieve all your life goals. A lot of the first time users are not aware of goal-based investing and they then focus on growing their money that is what Goalwise is known for as it is goal-based investing. When you tie up your investment with a goal, you are more likely to be happier.
Scripbox on the other side provides growth with the principle of safety. In scripbox money is first invested in liquid funds. A fixed portion from this is then invested each month in index funds. The benefits of this are:
Security and stability similar to FDs
Better taxation than FDs thanks to indexation
Better returns than FDs
Full flexibility to stop or withdraw anytime
Glide Path Strategy
The glide path formula is a methodology by which asset allocation is achieved as your portfolio changes every time. Let’s understand this with a simple example from Goalwise and Scripbox :
In Goalwise: One of your goals is to have 40 lakh for child education in the next 6 years. Based on your risk profile the initial investment will be 60% equity and 40% in debt instruments. All your SIP will be done to get exposure in the 60:40 ratio in the equity debt market.
By the final year, your exposure on Equity: Debt ratio would be 0:100%. This is to ensure your investment is safe from market volatility and you receive your goal amount, despite the market going down. Goalwise automates this process and makes it easier for you to maintain asset allocation based on your goal time frame.
Whereas at Scripbox they have a practical action plan in place to create your child’s college education fund. In Scripbox it starts out with the right Financial Goal where they will help you estimate the amount you will need for your goals taking inflation into consideration. After that, they will create a customized financial plan for your child’s college education.
This plan will be based on the type of college, start date, your current savings, and the potential increase in your income. It will then make the right investments by deciding on the right mix of investments that are suited for the customer’s goals and their personal preferences.
Ease to us
The best part about Goalwise apart from being free is, it requires only a one-time setup. It is a complete set it and forget it kind of system. You can revisit anytime and make changes if required. However, the best thing to do is to set it up once and keep investing.
With Scripbox it is one click investment where one can choose between SIP (systematic investment plan) and OTI (one-time investment) and invest in the recommended top mutual funds in India with a single click. You can stay on track with your investments and also inform you in case you need to change your selection.
Transfer Plans
In Scripbox if you want to invest a large amount in equity, If you want to invest a large amount in Equity, but also want to reduce the impact of volatility, this plan is ideal for you. Instead of keeping your large amount in your bank account, park it in liquid funds which grow 2-3% faster.
And most importantly it is flexible. You can stop, and restart, your STP at any time. In Scripbox the amount is fully invested into Liquid funds. Then, every month, a certain amount is moved from these Liquid funds into Equity funds.
The transfer plan in Goalwise allows you to switch from regular fund to direct fund. With Goalwise, you could track all your external investments and see which all regular funds you have invested in. You can also move all mutual funds investment to Goalwise.
So you decided to start using Goalwise and also move all your funds from other brokers/distributors to the Goalwise platform, you could do that with just a few clicks. If you ever feel you are stuck with your existing mutual fund advisor, a feature like this makes it easier for anyone to take control of their funds.
FAQ
Are the mutual funds picked by Goalwise and Scripbox always the most profitable ones?
Every fund selection process goes through underperformance. As these services use AI, the pick would be the most accurate one. But the stock market is highly volatile, nothing is predictable. There will be ups and downs in the short term.
What is mutual fund SIP?
A SIP or a Systematic Investment Plan allows an investor to invest a fixed amount regularly in a mutual fund scheme, typically an equity mutual fund scheme.
Which one is better Scripbox or Goalwise?
Goalwise provides you a goal-based investing and it takes no commission. There are no hidden charges and no account opening and managing charges as well. This means it is completely free. Other services like Scripbox use hidden charges to get money. So, Neo Money(Goalwise) is better.
How does wealth tech company make money?
They apply hidden charges, account opening, and managing charges. Also the premium plans.
The RBI recently announced that the retail investors would soon be able to open Gilt accounts. Government securities would now be made available to retail investors with the introduction of a new platform called the “Retail Direct”. RBI believes that this is a game changer for the economy as retail investors will now access to G-sec in a rather more hassle free process.
Who is a Retail Investor?
Retail investors are individuals or small investors who trade with smaller amounts in the equity market. Their investments are generally smaller as compared to institutional investors, which results in them having to pay higher commissions or fees to the brokers.
A retail investor is an individual or entity trading with smaller amounts in the market
Government bonds or securities in the UK , India and several other commonwealth countries are called Gilts. They are equivalent to the US Treasury bonds in their respective countries. Gilts consist of government bonds, securities and treasury bills. These securities are rated high in their returns (when held for a long time) and low risk as compared to other equity options. So far, only institutional investors were having direct access to government securities. They can be held in physical forms and dematerialized forms.
As RBI announces the introduction of gilt accounts for retail investors, one might note that these government securities are already available for the retail market. Retail investors have access to G-sec through non-competitive bidding on primary auctions through aggregators. Some of the retail investors have chosen Gilt funds to make investments in government securities. The stock exchanges are allowed to reroute the primary purchases and also allow a specific retail segment in the secondary market. Here’s how you can invest in government securities:
The eligible retail investors have to participate in a non-competitive bidding (NCB) at RBI through an aggregator or a facilitator.
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) acts as one of the aggregators and places a collective single bid at the RBI.
Retail investors can place their bids through a registered member of NSE or using the NSE goBID web platform or mobile app.
After placing bids, securities are credited to the account of the registered member of the NSE and then transferred to the Retail investors’ demat account.
The process of investing in government securities as a retail investor can be hectic and time consuming. To simplify this process RBI is launching the “Retail Direct” platform as it aims to simplify the process and attract more retail investors. While there are other ways to invest in government securities, none of them are as seamless, simply operational and efficient.
This will be the first time retail investors will be having direct access to the government securities through a platform owned by the government of India and the RBI. Retail investors will be able to set up a gilt account through RBI’s digital platform e-Kuber. e-Kuber is the core banking solution used by RBI for huge transactions and services. Once the account is set up, the investor can bid through NDS-Om. It is a screen based anonymous order matching system for trading in government securities owned by RBI. Currently, it is open to entities maintaining an SGL account (large financial institutions such as banks, mutual funds, insurers etc.) with RBI.
The government of India is coming up with various solutions to control its economic narrative. As it plans to curb expenses and reduce capital expenditure, it is trying to expand its fund raising potential in the Indian Market as the market itself is enormous. The recent example of this was the IPO launched by the Indian Railway Financial Commission (IFRC) in January 2021, which will be raising funds to finance various projects laid out by the Ministry of Railways.
Benefits for Retailers
Government securities are high in returns with practically zero risk. They have been by far the safest option in terms of tenure and interest. This platform makes it workable for investors looking for alternative solutions for better returns on their long term investments. Retail investors already investing in government securities through alternative routes can now invest directly through this platform in a less complicated and efficient manner. It will save all the hassle that a retail investor has to go through to buy government securities.
Direct access to guilt account will attract more retail investors
The government has taken several measures in the past for engaging more retail investment by introducing bids through non competitive bidding. Allowing direct access to retail investors into government securities seems like a smart move to increase the inflow of retail investment. “This will broaden the investor base and provide retail investors with enhanced access to participate in the government securities market. This is a major structural reform placing India among select few countries which have similar facilities,” RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the monetary policy on Friday.
The G-sec market is broadening its base by opening up to Retail investors
The G-Secs market has witnessed significant changes during the past decade. Introduction of an electronic screen-based trading system, dematerialized holding, straight through processing, establishment of the Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL) as the Central Counter Party (CCP) for guaranteed settlement, new instruments, and changes in the legal environment are some of the major aspects that have contributed to the rapid development of the G-Sec market. Along with its new initiative and good old major players, we’re now here to observe how the retail behavior brings a change in its due course.
The investment landscape in India is fragmented and spilt between the haves and the have not. Over the last decade, India has seen an increase in the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI). More MNCs have been opening their offices and expanding their businesses here, resulting in a wealth of job opportunities. The Bangalore based Minance has stepped forward to solve the chaotic investment landscape of the country by making three fundamental changes.
The company is vesting its focus on making investing more accessible, making the process more transparent and finally working towards centralization. Investing for higher returns has become an important factor in the average Indian’s financial planning. While there are many wealth management firms targeting high net worth individuals (HNIs) and their impressive portfolios, there aren’t many players in the market helping the average Indian invest his/her hard-earned savings and realize profits from otherwise idle assets.
This is where Minance steps in to make a difference. The company aims to change that by helping investors from all walks of life invest in products that were earlier available only to the ultra-rich. Right from financial handholding, transparent dealing of investments through a customer friendly dashboard, to centralization of investments and taxation, Minance is giving the Indian consumer financial independence in the true sense of the term.
Minance is a private wealth management firm focused on providing a comprehensive range of investment product for its partners. Minance uses a combination of complex algorithms and fundamental research to guide our investment across derivatives, equity, mutual funds and private equities. Minance was founded in the year November 19th, 2014 by Anurag Bhatia. The vision is to be a one stop solution for investor’s financial needs. The company also provides taxation services and is expanding to insurance, credit, and international equities.
Minance manages the investments of its partners across a range of asset classes from equities and derivatives to mutual funds and stocks of fast-growing private companies and startups. In just four-and-a-half years, Minance has 3,000 partners and an Asset under Management (AUM) of over $41 Million (Rs. 300 Crore). Bhatia the founder of Minance says that, “Our internal tagline is the money company and we want that to be a reality. To that end, we will soon be expanding into insurance and credit”.
Anurag Bhatia, the founder and CEO of Minance
When it comes to the history of minance, the company was started when Bhatia was still employed under Amazon. He noticed how a lot of employees who had vested their Amazon stocks but didn’t know what to do with the money. Bhatia who then was known to be the ‘stock market guy’, would help them make a deal in which he would manage his colleague’s investments in return for 1/5 of the profits. This led to Bhatia making a company known as Minance. The company, which initially offered just derivatives, soon gained traction among investors because of its low investment ceiling of Rs 25,000.
Bhatia became well known after becoming a top writer on Quora. Impressed with his knowledge of the markets, people started pouring in to invest through Minance. The young founder says that he’s been humbled by the overwhelming response to his company. “The journey has been challenging at times. What we set out to do hadn’t been done this way before and we had to build a lot of things from scratch, especially the technology,” he says. Now the investment management firm has around 3,000 partners and has an Asset Under Management (AUM) of over Rs. 300 Crore
What makes Minance stay ahead is their belief of simply establishing a personal relationship with the people who invest with them. Over the years, the company has managed to build a family of clients who have restored their faith in Minance. Minance has been able to carve out a niche for itself in the competitive market with established players like Tata, HDFC, Future Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Edelweiss stock broking and many more.
The founder of Minance, Anurag Bhatia says that, “Small retail investors were catered to by mutual funds and the ultra-rich (investments of Rs. 30 Crore and more) went with players like ASK, HDFC, Kotak, etc. We take care of the needs of those in the middle, people who can invest anywhere between Rs. 5-10 Lakh to a few crore”. Minance products are designed in way that they cater to a wide range of risky profile needs. Minance has a product for everyone whether they are a heavy risk taker hungry for return or conservative investor looking for a stable and consistent gain.
The logo of Minance
Systematic investments plans (SIPs) are the most popular type of mutual fund as it is easy and convenient, but it comes with a problem as people forget to monitor people forget to monitor them and when market conditions change. Regular monitoring and rebalancing are needed, for which Minance offers managed mutual funds. Bhatia points out that one of the most sought-after products Minance offers is a mutual fund enabled product called Assets Pay Cash, which is designed to generate around 12% additional returns per annum over and above what the mutual fund makes.
Investing through SIPs in stock are harder since you need to gauge the market and track multiple stocks, which is time consuming. “We are making this easier with our equity product (Bloom). Investors can set up a SIP with us, the money is parked into liquid debt funds while we wait for the right time to deploy. This way your money is still invested and we get to pick the right time to enter the market,” explains Bhatia.
The products offered by Minance are varied in nature. The company taps into the unlisted/private equity market and carries out quality research on companies that are revolutionaries in their fields. The team at minance is focused on research and they make a point to delve into specifics before pitching an investments to their clients. Assets Pay cash (APC) is another investment strategy risk averse in nature with an aim to have you generate significant alpha above your mutual funds.
The idea is to collateralize your mutual funds, gain margin and then trade in conservative option positions. With all this, our team of Investment managers and Traders work towards being up to date with the market nuances to make informed decisions for our clients,” he informs. Some of the known products offered by the company are:
Bloom – Minance long tern equity product is designed to grow your wealth over a 3 to 5 year period. Both Arbor and bloom feature five risk profiles to balance risk appetite with returns.
Arbor – Minance core derivatives product catering to aggressive investors, Arbor is designed to generate returns of up to 35%. The product is market neutral, meaning it will generate returns regardless of the market direction.
Private equities – The Company offers shares of promising private companies such as PayTm, Ola Kurlon Mattresses, Nazara, etc.
Mutual Funds – The company helps its partners identify and manage the most lucrative funds for a given risk level, based on the efficient frontier theory.
Assets pay cash – This lets the partner make 12% more returns on top of their mutual funds with no additional investments.
Tax safe – Tax safe is minance online vault which stores user’s tax documents and enables them to file taxes in a fast and hassle freeway.
Global Equities – Minance latest product enables its partners to invest in a diverse global portfolio comprising of US tech companies, European manufactures, Asian infrastructure firms and many more.
A hardworking team
Minance is backed by a young and self-reliant team that is open to opportunities and willing to learn. Bhatia say that, “Finance at the end of the day is also an empathetic business and if you do not speak to your clients the way you would like to be spoken to, the concept of client service is lost. Our team believes in being honest with our clients.” The aim of the company is to level where it serves the elite Indian crowd.
The idea is to target the rich customers and help them manage their wealth. Traditional methods of investing have existed for centuries and the team is looking for avenues that could help them bounce from these methods to a more advanced ones. “It’s common to worry when it comes to Futures or Options as products because they are quite complex in nature. But that’s where the trick is the want to figure that out. That defines us,” he concludes.
Minance partners have access to all these advantages while being able to maintain complete ownership and control of their money. One of the most popular features is a sure shot investor pleaser and the ability to redeem funds anytime. By allowing complete liquidity, Minance takes away whatever apprehensions investors generally have, which make them wary of investing. Minance also enables its partners to access their accounts anytime they wish to see how their funds are doing.
It offers a web dashboard through which partners receive updates and insights about the companies they have invested their funds in. This helps them stay in loop without having to set up additional tickets on their desktop. Wealth management is an important concern for people living in a country burgeoning economically, technologically, and in many other aspects. Minance helps investors as well as novices strike this balance and provides them the perfect platform to spread their wings and experience ultimate financial freedom.
With the introduction of large scale adoption of investment applications and online mutual fund platform. These apps helped an average trader avoid the hassle of being physically present with a broking agency or having to invest separately across multiple asset management company websites.
These apps offer the user all funds and investment opportunities under one roof, revolutionizing the way we invest. Goalwise and Kuvera are two such investments app that have a command over a great share of the Indian online Investment market today. In this article we take a look at Goalwise and Kuvera and compare their features and rates.
Goalwise is an online wealth management platform that allow users to buy and invest in direct mutual funds. Goalwise headquarters is in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Goalwise has been a Subsidiary of Finnew Solutions Private Limited since July 2020. Goalwise has received a total of $1Million in funding. Goalwise main competition are Kuvera, Groww and ETmoney.
As of august 2019, Goalwise has 1.7 thousand fans on facebook and 184 followers on Twitter. It is a new age mutual fund investing platform which provides goal based investing for investors looking to invest in direct mutual funds. With Goalwise one can easily set up SIPs or invest a large amount in the mutual funds chosen by its algorithms.
If someone is a first time investors looking to get started quickly as well as experienced investors looking for planning and automation. The Goalwise app has features like automation fund selection and switching, automation asset allocation based on the goal time horizon. The app is also highly customizable to suit the needs of every individual investor.
Company Name
Goalwise
Headquaters
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Founded On
2015
CEO
Swapnil Bhaskar
Annual Revenue
$1.2M
Est. Customers
20
Sector
Consumer Finance & Credit Cards
The logos for Goalwise and Kuvera
A Brief on Kuvera
Kuvera is a wealth management platform that offers mutual fund selection, goal planning, tax optimizations and portfolio rebalancing solutions. Kuvera was launched in October 2017 and is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The CEO and Co-founder of Kuvera is Gaurav Rastogi and the company has received a total of $4.8 million in funding.
Kuvera is only available as an app and support 38 out of 44 registered asset management companies. The app has managed to sign on 500 thosand users in the last three years managing assets worth RS 8000 crores. Kuvera has positioned themselves as an AI-led platform, Kuvera says its target market is the affluent and mature investors (above the age of 30), hailing from the top metros in the country.
The kuvera app is free and does not charge users any free on their direct plans regardless of asset size and only charges the transaction charges as per the cost levied by asset management companies.
Company Name
Kuvera
Headquaters
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Founded On
2015
CEO
Gaurav Rastogi
Annual Revenue
$3M
Est. Customers
46
Sector
Internet and Application Software and mutual funds
Kuvera offers an affordable loan which is up to 80% of your mutual fund portfolio. With kuvera the mutual funds remain secure with the fund house. There is no fixed loan period and a 1 year loan for auto renews on the 12th month. The Kuvera loans start at ₹25,000 up to ₹10 crore. It provides full disclosure from with no hidden fees.
Kuvera is also flexible allows you to pay your outstanding loan, in full or in parts, anytime during the loan period. With Goalwise it provides you Zero commissions and unlimited investments. While most advisory platforms provide only commission direct plans for free/no transaction charges, account fees or any other hidden charges.
Accessibility of Goalwise and Kuvera apps
The kuvera app has a simple user interface which is easy for new users to understand. Kuvera can kick started with a few easy steps which started with a profile setup by providing details like PAN, Date of birth, mobile number, etc. You can then select investment choose between mutual funds, equity stocks, and gold to start your investment journey.
Choose you type of investment between SIP and one-time investment and place your order. You can choose to pay through different types of payment modes (net banking, UPI, etc.) Once these steps are done your investments are complete, you can track, change or comprehend your investments through an app.
The best part about Goalwise apart from being free is, it requires only one-time setup. It is a complete set it and forget it kind of system. You can revisit anytime and make changes if required. However, the best thing to do is to set it up once and keep investing.
Types of investments that Goalwise and kuvera provide.
Goal based investing
Goal based investing in Goalwise is one of the smartest ways to grow wealth and achieve all your life goals. A lot of the first time users are not aware of the goal based investing and they then focus on growing their money that’s is what goalwise is known for as it is a goal based investing. When you tie up your investment with a goal, you are more likely to be happier.
In kuvera setting a financial goal is the first step to make your dreams a reality. Investing regularly is the next step and they guide you to the next step easily. You can simply choose your goal to get started. The switch or redeem order involves costs taxes on short and long term capital gains and exit load.
Kuvera doesn’t pool investors’ money, instead all financial transactions happen directly between the investor and AMC. So even if kuvera goes out of business, your money is entirely safe and you can redeem it anytime. The same is pointed out in one of the FAQs on their website they say that the money goes directly into mutual funds account so all your investments are safe.
Goalwise however, goes a step beyond when it comes to mutual funds not only does it offer mutual fund suggestions based on your risk appetite and goal tenure, but it also switches your investments automatically to a better performing fund to maximize your returns. They also have a proprietary Glide Path feature that automatically moves your investments to relatively safer debt funds as you move closer to your goal timeline.
The features that Goalwise and Kuvera provide.
Tranfer plans
The transfer plan in Goalwise allows you to switch from regular fund to direct fund. With Goalwise, you could track all your external investments and see which all regular funds you have invested in. You can also move all mutual funds investment to goalwise.
So you decided to start using Goalwise and also move all your funds from other brokers/distributor to Goalwise platform, you could do that with just a few clicks. If you ever feel you are stuck with your existing mutual fund advisor, a feature like this makes it easier for anyone to take control of their funds.
In kuvera it is available to switch to direct plans with the least tax and exit load impact. Switching to Direct has never been easier or cheaper. You can see the optimal number of fund units to switch or redeem before you transact. It helps make better decisions and also will take care of complexities.
On kuvera the complaints are addressed by writing to the Kuvera support team via email, as mentioned above. The customer care team has a turnaround time of 24 hours to revert to any user complaints raised. When it comes to Goalwise a quick look at their Facebook page with 5 on 5 rating will tell you that they have a lot of happy customers. Most of the users are in praise for the customer support of Goalwise which happens over chat, email and whatsapp.
Vibhavari Madki
