Showing posts with label exchange traded fund. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exchange traded fund. Show all posts

Saturday, 18 March 2023

EPFO Investments in Stocks via ETFs - vrk100 - 18Mar2023

EPFO Investments in Stocks via ETFs

 

 
 
 
 
(updates 15Jan2024, 12Dec2023 and 14Aug2023 with new data are available at the end of the blog post)


 
Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is a statutory body established by the Government of India. EPFO collects, administers and manages provident funds and pension funds of various employees in India. 

EPFO used to invest, on behalf of its subscribers and pensioners, most of its funds in debt securities of Government of India, State Governments and private sector firms. But in 2015, EPFO started investing in Indian stock market via exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This is a significant development, not only for EPFO but also for Indian stock market.
 
(story continues below)
 
------------------ 
 
Related Blogs: 
 
Why Do Indian Equity MFs Always Disappoint Investors?
 
Indian Mutual Funds and the Art of Ripping off Investors
  
Who is Eating My Gold ETF Return?
 
Mutual Fund Asset Class Returns 31Dec2022

Indian Equity ETF Risks and Returns 31Dec2021

------------------
 

Since August 2015, EPFO's gross investments (does not include redemptions) amount to Rs 159,300 crore till 31Mar2022. This is just face value of the gross investments made by EPFO. The market value of these equity ETF investments was Rs 226,000 crore as on 31Mar2022.
 
Due to large-sized investments from EPFO, the ETF assets in India swelled from Rs 28,800 crore in Dec2016 to Rs 497,000 crore in Dec2022 (data include both equity and debt, but exclude gold ETFs). 

 
Table 1: EPFO Investments in Equity ETFs >
 

 
Of the total investments of Rs 18.31 lakh crore (face value) of EPFO as on 31Mar2022, only 8.70 percent or Rs 1.59 lakh crore is invested in equity market and the rest is in various fixed income / debt securities. 

 
Table 2: Timeline of EPFO Equity Investment Pattern >


As shown in table 2 above, EPFO started investing, in August 2015, five percent of its incremental flows in a year in equity ETFs. In Sep2016, EPFO increased it to 10 percent and in May2017, further raised the maximum limit to 15 percent of fresh accretions in a financial year. 

EPFO restricts itself to equity ETFs based on Nifty 50, BSE Sensex, CPSE and Bharat 22 indices. Moreover, its Nifty 50 and Sensex ETF investments are restricted to just two mutual fund houses, namely, SBI MF and UTI MF -- both belonging to the public sector (for more: see pages 76 to 79 of EPFO Annual Report 2020-21).


Table 3: AUM of ETFs in Which EPFO Invested >



The assets under management (AUM) of the six ETFs (table 3) in which EPFO invested is Rs 3.21 lakh crore -- which accounts for about 80 percent of total AUM of Rs 3.97 lakh crore of about 130-odd equity ETFs of Indian mutual fund industry (data from Rupee Vest). 
 
Such a high concentration of AUM in just six ETFs is due to the fact that EPFO restricts its ETF investments to just these six ETFs.
 
As delineated in table 3 above, SBI Nifty 50 ETF, SBI Sensex ETF and UTI Nifty 50 ETF are the top three equity mutual funds schemes by AUM among all equity MFs (active equity funds, equity index funds and equity ETFs).
 
The regular flows from EPFO have helped these ETFs gain AUM in the past six to seven years. Most of the ETF investments are restricted to SBI Nifty 50 ETF, SBI Sensex ETF, UTI Nifty 50 ETF and UTI Sensex ETF.

 
EPFO Equity Investments Initiated in 2013:

The then finance minister P Chidambaram in his 2013-14 budget speech on 28Feb2013 announced that EPFO would enlarge its investments to exchange traded funds and others. A screenshot of the relevant budget speech >



Though the reform process originated in Feb2013, it took more than 30 months for EPFO to start investing in Indian stock market. One government initiated the process and the next government picked up the thread and started the investments.  
 
The point is economic reforms in India are a continuum; they can't be attributed to a single person / government.
 
 
To Sum Up

EPFO's investments in Indian equity market have led to the faster development of passive mutual fund industry. This has helped in the rise of Indian stock market also, with domestic institutional investors working as a bulwark to any large-scale equity outflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).
 
Instead of confining itself to just two mutual fund houses, namely, SBI MF and UTI MF, it would be better if EPFO, which works under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, expands its horizon to other mutual fund companies also.
 
 

- - -

P.S.: The following data / image are included after the blog was published on 18Mar2023 >

 

Update 15Jan2024: The Updated charts are available with new data incorporated as per FY 2022-23 annual report of EPFO > pages 79 to 90 of the PDF for equity investments and investment pattern details > PIB press release dated 11Dec2023 :

Table 1: Gross investment by EPFO in equity ETFs:

Total gross investments made by EPFO in equity ETFs or exchange-traded funds from August 2015 till 31Oct2023 are Rs 261,649 crore.


Table 3: AUM of Equity ETFs in which EPFO Invested:

As on 31Dec2023, the total AUM (assets under management) of all equity ETFs in which EPFO invested is Rs 412,602 crore -- which is 77.7 percent of total AUM of all equity ETFs. The total AUM of all equity ETFs is Rs 530,733 crore as per Rupee Vest data. 

But for the investments by EPFO in equity ETFs since Aug2015, the amount of equity ETFs in India would have been significantly lower.


Table 4: Growth in total AUM of all ETFs for the last 10 years:

Total AUM of all ETFs (includes debt and equity, but excludes golt ETFs) in India grew by 25 percent in calendar year 2023 to Rs 612,022 crore as on 31Dec2023. This is the lowest growth in AUM in the past 10 years, even as the benchmark stocks indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, have been scaling new highs in recent months.

The growth in total AUM of ETFs is mainly driven by investments in debt and equity ETFs by EPFO for more than eight years.


Table 4: Total Corpus of EPFO investments:

 

Total corpus of investments (face value) made by EPFO in various schemes is Rs 21,36,599 crore as on 31Mar2023 -- of which total corpus of ETF investments (face value) is Rs 196,699 crore, which is just 9.21 percent of the total corpus. However, this has been going up steadily in recent years. The percentage of ETF investments in total was 8.70 percent of the total as on 31Mar2022.





Update 12Dec2023: The investments of EPFO into stock market via ETFs from Apr2023 to Oct2023 are Rs 27,105 crore as per PIB press release dated 11Dec2023


 

Update 14Aug2023: The investments of EPFO into stock market via ETFs (from 2015-16 till Jul2023) are in the enclosed chart >

 

Total EPFO investments in equity ETFs from Apr2015 till Jul2023 are Rs 2.47 lakh crore. 



 

References:

Tweet 14Jan2018 on EPFO ETF investments

Tweet 15Oct2022 Chidambaram 2013 budget speech

EPFO Annual Reports

Additional data: investment pattern of EPFO >



-------------------
 
Read more:  
 
Ajanta Pharma Buyback Offer 2023
 
Natco Pharma Buyback Offer 2023
 
When Will US Federal Reserve Stop Hiking Interest Rates?
 
Why Do Indian Equity Mutual Funds Always Disappoint Investors?

Adani Stocks Meltdown and Nifty Next 50 Index

Are Indian Stocks Immune to Adani stock Meltdown?

Meltdown in Adani group Listed Stocks

JP Morgan Guide to Markets

Why the Divergence Between Sensex and Nifty 50 in Today's Trade?

Indian Stock Market Moves Fully to T+1 Settlement

NSE Indices Comparison 31Dec2022

BSE 500 vs S&P 500 Indices Compare 31Dec2022

India Up the Ladder in MSCI EM Index 

New Rules on Ex-date and Record date

Crisil Report - Big Shift in Financialisation 

Weblinks and Investing

-------------------

 

Disclosure:  I've vested interested in Indian stocks and other investments. It's safe to assume I've interest in the financial instruments / products discussed, if any.

Disclaimer: The analysis and opinion provided here are only for information purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. Investors should consult their own financial advisers before making any investments. The author is a CFA Charterholder with a vested interest in financial markets. 

CFA Charter credentials  - CFA Member Profile

CFA Badge

 

He blogs at:

https://ramakrishnavadlamudi.blogspot.com/

https://www.scribd.com/vrk100

Twitter @vrk100

 

Tuesday, 17 January 2017

Why I Won't Invest in the FFO of the CPSE ETF - 17Jan2017

Why I Won't Invest in the Further Fund Offer of the CPSE ETF:

 



(Previous blog dated 19Mar2014 on CPSE ETF)


The Government of India has come out with a further fund offer (FFO) of the CPSE exchange traded fund or CPSE ETF, which is managed by the Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Ltd or Reliance Mutual Fund. This FFO opens on 18 January and closes on 20 January 2017 for non-anchor investors. The government wants to raise Rs 4,500 crore (with a green shoe option of another Rs 1,500 crore) from this offer.

Here I briefly analyse of the offer of the units of CPSE ETF and I'm giving my reasons why I will not invest in this further fund offer of CPSE ETF:

1. High Concentration Risk:

There are only ten stocks in the CPSE ETF mutual fund. All of them belong to the public sector known as central public sector enterprises or CPSEs. Top four stocks account for around 74% of total value of the fund. Such high concentration is vulnerable to greater risks and against the principles of diversification. As noted, the performance of the ETF depends mostly on four PSUs (public sector undertakings), namely, ONGC, Coal India, IOC and GAIL.

Even among sectors there's little diversification. Energy sector (oil, gas and minerals) accounts for 77% of the total value, which is not desirable. Financial services is one of the high growth sectors in India, but this ETF has only less than 11% exposure to this sector.

The natural resources sector is not a growth sector in India, though these companies have huge assets and some of them are in monopoly businesses. It's inexplicable how the market regulator SEBI has allowed such an ETF with just 10 stocks, all belonging to the public sector, with high exposure of 77% to natural resources sector.

2. Indian Government Is a Bad Manager:

As is widely known, governments in India are known to arm-twist PSUs to suit their political and social needs, crippling the ability of the management of the companies to deliver decent performance. Every year, the Government forces these companies to declare higher dividends (ignoring the internal needs of the individual companies for capital expenditure) to bridge government's recurring fiscal deficit.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) brings out a yearly report on the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), pointing out the poor performance and resource allocation of them. PSU stocks have greater political risk.

3. Price Risk:

The FFO will open on 18 January and closes on 20 January 2017 for non-anchor investors. The price for new investors will be based (after 5% discount) on the average price of CPSE ETF during the three days offer period (that is, 18-20 January 2017).

The Reliance Nippon Mutual Fund has indicated the new units of the current offer are likely to be listed on NSE and BSE by 10 February 2017. The new investors in FFO of CPSE ETF will have to bear price risk between the investment date and FFO allotment date for about 20 days.

In between, we've Union Budget on 1st of February, which is expected to give some surprises for stock markets. The NAV of the CPSE ETF is likely to be impacted by this event.

4. Past Performance:

Government of India seems to have timed the FFO of CPSE ETF very well. The last one-year return of the CPSE ETF is 32% as compared to 14% for the Birla Sun Life Nifty ETF fund. This performance has to be seen in the context of minus 20% delivered by this CPSE ETF in one year prior to that. As PSU stocks were beaten down during Jan2015-Jan2016 period, the return of the CPSE ETF looks superior in the last one year. But when you look at the last two years performance, the extra return of the CPSE ETF is not much.


CPSE ETF
Birla SunLife Nifty ETF
From 17Jan2016 to 17Jan2017
32%
14%
From 17Jan2015 to 17Jan2016
- 20%
- 11%



From 17Jan2015 to 17Jan2017
5.6%
1.5%


To use a cliche, past performance of a mutual fund is no guarantee of future performance. It's a different matter whether the current offer will be suitable for new investors.

5. Any Alternatives to this CPSE ETF?

Two mutual funds are available that invest in PSU stocks--they are Invesco India PSU Equity fund and SBI PSU fund. They hold around 20 PSU stocks in their portfolios, with about 50% exposure to natural resources sector. Even these two funds cannot be called as diversified funds.

To Sum Up:

Investments in equities have to be made based on one's risk appetite, one's asset allocation, long term orientation, future expected performance of the fund (a basket of stocks underlying the CPSE ETF), and diversification potential of the underlying stocks in the ETF. Due to the above reasons, the FFO of CPSE ETF may not be suitable to most of the investors.

As buying the underlying stocks by large institutional investors involves high impact cost, such large investors, like, EPFO, LIC of India and other insurers may be tempted to invest in this ETF.

The managers to the offer are marketing the FFO of the CPSE exchange traded fund with the following reasons: there is a 5% discount to investors; the ETF is eligible for Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme; invests in ten so-called "Maharatna" and "Navratna" companies; the ETF is outperforming Nifty 50 index; low expense ratio of 0.065%; and 4% dividend yield of the CPSE Index.

All these reasons do not outweigh the risks involved in the CPSE ETF, like, high concentration risk, perceived mismanagement and unnecessary interference by the government and high exposure to natural resources stocks.

If one is positive about the future performance of the underlying stocks, one might take a small exposure to the further fund offer of the CPSE ETF. Before you take a decision on investing, you better read the following web links:


Read More:






Abbreviations:

EPFO - Employees Provident Fund Organisation
BSE - Bombay Stock Exchange
NSE - National Stock Exchange


Disclosure: Don’t own any units in the above ETF. But I own a few shares in a few PSUs.

Disclaimer: The brief analysis provided here is only for information purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. Investors should consult their own financial advisers before making any investments. The author is a CFA Charterholder with a vested interest in financial markets. He blogs at:







Thursday, 31 December 2009

JUNIOR NIFTY BeES ETF - How to Make Higher Profits - vrk100 - 06112009





Junior Nifty BeES Exchange Traded Fund
How to Make Higher Profits?



NIFTY JUNIOR BeES (Nifty Junior Benchmark Exchange Traded Scheme) is a mutual fund product, but it is traded on NSE throughout the trading day like any company’s share. It is an open-ended mutual fund scheme. Like a share, one can buy/sell units of NIFTY JUNIOR BeES on NSE (National Stock Exchange) throughout the trading hours. JUNIOR NIFTY BeES is traded in demat form only. One can buy JUNIOR NIFTY BeES from NSE through one’s broker and the units will be credited to one’s demat account on T+2 basis. If one desires, one can sell the units again through NSE anytime during the trading hours.
 




What is an Exchange-Traded Fund?



Before we plunge right into Junior Nifty Bees, let us examine a little about ETFs-

1) An ETF is basically an index mutual fund scheme with a little difference

2) The main difference between an index fund and an ETF is this: an ETF is always listed and traded on an exchange; whereas an index fund has to be bought/sold directly with the particular Mutual Fund company or through a mutual fund agent/distributor

3) An ETF is linked to a benchmark index like any index fund

4) An ETF can be bought and sold through an exchange like any share

5) To buy an ETF, one requires a demat account and a trading account with a broker to buy/sell on the particular exchange where the ETF is listed/traded; whereas for buying an index fund, investor does not require a demat account and she can directly approach the mutual fund for buying or selling the index fund units



What are the Components of CNX Junior Nifty?



  

Junior Nifty BeES ETF is based on CNX Nifty Junior Index of the NSE. There are 50 stocks in it. It can be said that they are the most liquid stocks after those 50 stocks that are part of the benchmark S&P CXN Nifty of the NSE, Mumbai, India
 
NSE selects these fifty stocks in CNX Nifty Junior based on market capitalization, volumes and liquidity. The stocks that appear in Nifty Junior will never appear in Nifty and vice versa. Together these 100 stocks in Nifty and Junior Nifty indices are said to be the most liquid stocks in India
 
Of course, NSE constantly changes the composition removing inactive stocks while including actively traded stocks in the index. And there are fair chances that Nifty Junior stocks move up the chain and get included in the main Nifty index. 
 
The traded value for the last six months of all Junior Nifty stocks is approximately 16% of the traded value of all stocks on the NSE. Impact cost for CNX Nifty Junior for a portfolio size of Rs.50 lakhs is 0.26 per cent.



Salient Features of Junior Nifty BeES



 

One unit of Junior NIFTY BeES is equal to one-hundredth of the value of CNX Nifty Junior Index. On 5.11.09, Junior Nifty index had closed at 9,391; whereas, Junior NIFTY BeES was quoting at Rs 94.53 on day’s closing on NSE. 

The small difference (technically called tracking error) between the underlying Nifty Junior index and Junior NIFTY BeES is due to the supply and demand factors of Junior NIFTY BeES on NSE. 

On 5.11.09, its day’s high was Rs 94.60 and day’s low was Rs 92.05. During the trading hours, the price of Junior NIFTY BeES will fluctuate in tune with the movement of Nifty Junior index.


If the NIFTY Junior Index goes up to 13,000 in the next six months, the value of one unit of NIFTY BeES will go up to Rs 13 or if the Junior Nifty Index retraces to 8,000, then the value of one unit of Junior NIFTY BeES will be realigned to Rs 80 in tune with the movement of the market

The structure of Junior Nifty BeES is such that it does not hurt long-term investors from the inflow and outflow of short-term investors. This is because the Fund does not bear extra transaction cost when buying / selling due to frequent subscriptions and redemptions.

It is traded only on the NSE (face value Rs 1.25) & India’s first ETF based on a mid-cap index (Nifty Junior index consists of mid-cap stocks)

It is managed by the AMC of Benchmark Mutual Fund, which is sponsored by one Niche Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. The fund manager is Payal Kaipunjal. This Mutual Fund maintains other ETFs also – like, Nifty BeES, Liquid, Gold, Bank, Derivatives and others. 

The total average assets under management by the Benchmark MF are Rs 1,470 crore as on 31st of October, 2009.


Entry Load is NIL

Exit Load: With effect from August 01, 2009, Exit load (technically referred as CDSC) (if any) of up to 1% of the redemption value charged to the unit holder on redemption of units shall be retained by each of the Schemes in a separate account and will be utilized for payment of commissions to mutual fund advisors and to meet other marketing and selling expenses

It is open-ended mutual fund

For tax purposes, it’s considered as an equity-oriented mutual fund. Long-term capital gains tax (for holdings of more than one year) is NIL. (This may change if the Direct Taxes Code is implemented after 1.4.2009)

Short-term capital gains tax (for holdings of less than one year) is 15 per cent, plus surcharge (if any) and 3% education cess (This too may change if the Direct Taxes Code is implemented after 1.4.2009)

STT is applicable for buying/selling of units of Junior NIFTY BeES on NSE

As Junior NIFTY BeES is bought from NSE like any share, brokerage needs to be paid by the investor for buy/sell transactions

Dividend distributed by AMC for Junior NIFTY BeES is exempted from Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT). Dividend is not taxable in the hands of individual resident Indian tax payers. Benchmark AMC declares dividends on Junior NIFTY BeES, now and then. The latest dividend was Rs 1.25 per unit paid in July 2009.  

NSE symbol: JUNIORBEES

JUNIOR NIFTY INDEX is calculated using the Free Float methodology with effect from May 4, 2009

Assets under management as on 6.11.2009 for Junior NIFTY BeES: Rs 44.31 crore with a total of 47.37 lakh units of Junior NIFTY BeES being issued to investors

It is highly liquid from an individual investor’s point of view

It is a passively managed fund. Its underlying will be in proportion to the weight of the constituents of Junior Nifty 50 index.

Total expense ratio of the fund is 1.00% and is reasonable

Tracking error of Junior NIFTY BeES is 0.68% annualized. Tracking error is the difference between Junior NIFTY BeES and its benchmark index, that is, CNX Nifty Junior Index. The tracking error occurs due to some factors, like: a small component of cash in the fund, difference in weights between the fund and the underlying index, etc. The tracking error of 0.68% is negligible from individual investor’s point of view.

Trading of JUNIOR NIFTY BeES has been going on since its inception on NSE on March 6, 2003

All types of investors – whether retail or institutional – can invest



Junior Nifty BeES’ performance as on Nov. 5th, 2009




Fund/Index

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009 (till Nov 5, 09)

%
%
%
%
%
%
Junior Nifty Bees
27.29
25.22
28.63
75.12
-63.26
101.73
Benchmark*
30.76
24.43
27.31
77.01
-63.52
106.13
Sensex
13.08
42.33
46.70
47.15
-52.45
66.51







           
            Source: ValueResearch
            * Benchmark is  NIFTY Junior INDEX
            Returns are absolute

As can be seen from above, Junior Nifty BeES has given better returns compared to Sensex in the years, 2004, 2007 and 2009; whereas, Sensex had given superior returns in 2005 and 2006. 
 
In the year 2008, Sensex had fallen by 52.45 per cent while Junior Nifty BeES had fallen more by 63.26 per cent. This indicates that the volatility in the Junior Nifty BeES is much higher compared to Sensex which consists of blue-chip frontline stocks. 
 
Investors need to be aware of this volatility aspect before making any investments. 



What are the components of Junior Nifty BeES?



 (click on the image for a better view) 


What are the Tope five Sector Holdings?



Thirty per cent of the index consists of financials, like bank stocks and financial institutions, making it highly vulnerable to the price movements of banking/FI stocks. 

While in a traditional diversified equity mutual fund product, the individual fund manager has got the mandate to maintain a balanced allocation to different sectors; here in Junior Nifty BeES, the fund manager has to necessarily keep the money as per the allocation in Nifty Junior Index which moves dynamically. 

Even diversified equity mutual funds traditionally have exposure to the financial sector ranging from anywhere between 10 to 20 per cent due to the dominance of financial stocks in India.




Can we Buy or Sell units directly from the AMC?



An investor can buy or sell minimum 16,000 units of Junior Nifty BeES and in multiples thereof directly with the Benchmark Mutual Fund. This route is usually used by High Networth Individuals (HNIs) and institutions to buy this exchange-trade product. It is very convenient for corporates also.

Minimum Lot Size         : 16,000 units


Price                                : In exchange for a basket of Junior Nifty securities                                                     and cash defined as “Creation Unit”


Eligibility                         : Authorised participant or large institutions

For more on this ‘Creation Unit’, HNIs and institutions can visit:




What are the risks involved in owning the units?



It’s a high risk fund and the return also can be higher or lower depending on the movement of the underlying index. Junior Nifty BeES is based on Nifty Junior Index with mid-cap stock exposure. 
 
The experience in Indian markets suggests that mid-cap stocks are highly prone to high volatility as compared to the benchmark indices, Sensex & Nifty. Investors are to be aware of other risks, like:

1)     MARKET RISK: The returns of this fund are linked to the movement of stock markets in India in general. If the overall market turns adverse, then the fund will give negative returns to investors.

2)      LIQUIDITY RISK: If sufficient volumes are not available on the exchange for the product, investors may not be able to buy new units/liquidate their holdings easily in the market and as such this investment involves liquidity risk (for small individual investors, this is not a problem at all)

3)      TRACKING ERROR RISK: The fund may not be able to invest the entire corpus in the same proportion as in the underlying S&P CNX Nifty Index due to certain factors such as: expenses incurred by the fund, corporate actions, cash balances, dividend payouts, changes in the underlying index and regulatory policies.



My Opinion and Summary



Junior NIFTY BeES is a high-risk financial product (high-risk compared to blue-chip/frontline stocks or leading indices, Sensex or Nifty). It provides higher returns with ‘high’ risk. 
 
It is a very simple and easy to understand product. As the risk is high, returns from Junior NIFTY BeES can be higher or lower unlike blue-chip stocks which give reasonable returns while protecting the downside.  
 
As the number of fund managers, mutual fund houses and number of schemes are increasing by leaps and bounds every day, it would be difficult for fund managers to outperform the indices (like, Nifty, Sensex, BSE-500) on a sustained basis in the long-term. (The author does not have any solid data to back his opinion.) 
 
Finding new stock ideas year after year is next to impossible in these times of greater higher volatility and abounding global uncertainties.

As the NIFTY Junior BeES represents the country’s top fifty mid-cap companies on NSE through the Junior Nifty index, it would be very easy and convenient for individual investors to buy the stock market without bothering much about the wild movements in the fortunes of individual company’s performance. 
 
However, one needs to keep in mind one’s overall asset allocation, individual’s need for liquidity and to have a broad outlook on market dynamics, prevailing sentiment, country’s economic situation, global factors, corporate performance, regulatory risks, political risks, etc. 
 
By investing through Junior NIFTY BeES, individual investors will be relieved of the burden of poring over bulky annual reports, opaque financial statements, analyzing quarterly/periodical results minutely and scratching one’s head over declarations of bonus shares, dividends, rights issues, open offers, stock splits, etc. 
 
It is a good start with 15 or 25 per cent allocation for ETFs in one’s equity portfolio for individual investors who like passive investments.

Junior NIFTY BeES is a very convenient financial product compared  to other index funds* that are available to investors. 
 
(*These index funds can only be bought directly from mutual fund houses and not through stock exchanges; and these index funds have unreasonable tracking errors which may dilute the overall returns in the medium/long term. The situation may change when SEBI introduces a new trading platform for MF trading irrespective of fund houses)


 
 
- - -
 
 
 
The above article can be read on my Scribd pages also.
 
Abbreviations used:
 
NSE - National Stock Exchange of India Limited
ETF - exchange-traded fund
 
Another ETF that is traded on NSE is NIFTY BeES, which is a low-risk product.
To know more about the author’s article dated Sep. 30th, 2009; just click:  



Reference: For further information, please visit: www.nseindia.comwww.benchmarkfunds.com, www.valueresearchonline.com and www.vanguard.com. The above analysis is made keeping in mind the needs of individual investors. Mutual fund performance is subject to market risk and as such investors should do their own due diligence before start trading in NIFTY Junior BeES.

AUTHOR’s DISCLAIMER: This should not be construed as a recommendation by me. The author holds Junior Nifty BeES units in small quantity and as such it’s safe to assume that the author has a vested interest in the its price and general market going up. The views of the author are personal. Mutual Fund performance is subject to market risk and as such investors should do their own due diligence. Readers or investors must consult their certified financial advisor before taking any decision on their equity investments and the investment should be in line with their risk profile & risk appetite and their general market perception. Any equity investment should be within their overall ASSET ALLOCATION, which is extremely vital.

Disclosure:  I've vested interested in Indian stocks and other investments. It's safe to assume I've interest in the financial instruments / products discussed, if any.

Disclaimer: The analysis and opinion provided here are only for information purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. Investors should consult their own financial advisers before making any investments. The author is a CFA Charterholder with a vested interest in financial markets.