1. Longterm Performance , consistency in Returns
2. Short Term Performance (though a fund has performed well in the past, is there a let down in short to mid term performance)
3. Performance across market cycles, like during bullish and bearish phases (how well did the fund perform during the bearish phases)
4. Fund Corpus (When selecting midcap funds, the corpus size is very important)
5. Fund Managers performance with the scheme(If a fund just got a new fund manager, I would observe the performance under this new manager before I select the fund)
6. For equity mutual funds, one will also need to evaluate risk. (Exposure to midcaps, Standard Deviation of the fund)
7. For debt mutual funds, apart from risk one also need to examine entry/exit loads and expense ratio are very important.

What are the options the investor has if he has a Unit Linked Insurance Policy ?

Well as you may be aware and I suppose that you were told by your investment advisor that Ulip’s are investment for a longer period , the best option is to stay invested. If you even thing of withdrawing your money at this point of time you will have to bear a huge loss. The structure of Unit Linked policy is such that it takes at least 3 years to actually cover the expenses paid by you and another 3 years to give you some better return, provided that the markets are favorable.

>The risk of interest rate is low.

>You can have a
-clear idea on ups and downs of the Market
-check on the No. of units.

>Exit load is low when compared.

>The investment is in a disciplined manner.

Regards,
Aaradhna

Here’s our market view on American stock market for 10th October, 2008

The stock market has collapsed – since Sept. 19 the DJIA is down 25% and the S&P 500 is down 28% and down 42% from a year ago.

How can this happen so quickly and so dramatically when so many good things have occurred? Oil is down to $82 a barrel; interest rates are very low; the dollar is up; valuation levels are extremely attractive among many blue chip stocks.

What’s the real problem? The problem that is killing the stock market is a lack of hope about the future.

Hope springs from optimism that is based on facts and history. Look at the history of America and really all of mankind. Life is full of setbacks and problems – that’s just the deal. But this too shall pass, as all scary periods have.

Doomsayers have been around forever and their batting average is zero. Buying stock is based on hope – hope for the future. If one doesn’t have hope, they shouldn’t be in this business.

So what is the best service we, as professionals, can provide for our clients?

First, discuss the fact that we are dealing with serious problems but it is not at all like 1929. The Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department are doing many things to restore confidence in the financial system. There is global coordination in attacking the problem, which is lack of confidence.

Tell your clients to look at history of our great nation and what has happened since 1776 when we faced very serious problems. The stock market actually rose steadily about six months after Pearl Harbor and until the end of WWII even though the outcome was not at all clear for several years.

No one knows when the stock market will bottom and a new bull will commence. We do know that stocks and mutual funds offer the best values we have seen since Black Monday, Oct. 19, 1987.

Almost all Americans have hope about the future of our nation, but they need help to control their normal fears.

ThePowerStocks.com Team
Get 56 days free trial on ThePowerStocks.com exclusive newsletter. Offer Limited.
http://www.thepowerstocks.com