https://primeinvestor.in/varsity/how-to-invest-in-index-funds-and-build-portfolios/

Suppose you are looking forward to achieving short-term returns from your investment; the ideal avenue to invest is in the debt category, where you can receive commendable returns from your portfolio even in three to six months. If you are willing to grow your money in the short term, you can consider the debt category from where you will receive returns slightly higher than the Fixed Deposits in a bank.

The debt category is generally placed at a higher position above the liquid funds in the pyramid of low risk as they provide relatively higher returns within a short span of time. These funds usually follow a good blend of duration and accrual strategies for maximizing returns. Thus, it is a meaningful investment avenue for investors who want to keep some money aside for a short duration of a few months.

ETFs or Exchange Traded Funds are usually purchased and sold none other than on the stock exchanges. So, apart from the TER, Exchange Traded Funds also charge some amount of brokerage on these transactions. The overall cost, however, depends on the pattern in which the brokerage is specifically structured. You will need to pay the charges for the Demat account, as this is necessary to initiate trading in the ETF. Some brokers usually waive off these charges for the Demat account for active traders. If ETF is not liquid, then certain impact costs are also levied. The impact cost is the difference between the price you want to trade & the executed price. This difference generally exists when the ETF has low traded volumes.

Mutual funds are one amongst the preferred avenues for PMS Managers to park their cash components presently. The data from SEBI shows that the Portfolio Management Service companies have recently more than doubled their reported allocations to the mutual funds in the last two years. The figures state that the allocation has grown from Rs 10,668 crores in the month of June 2020 to Rs. 24,537 crores in the month of June 2022.

Experts reveal that the liquid funds & other short-term mutual funds are becoming a preferred parking ground for several PMS Managers to store their liquid assets. Many PMS Managers are seen to invest in the different equity funds that include ETFs and offer certain convenient & efficient ways for deploying assets at a very low cost.

Momentum investment follows an opposite approach from the prevailing buy-low and sell-high canon. This is majorly based on the concept of investing in those stocks that are already doing well and are expected to perform well even in the near future. So, momentum investing is all about investing in high-performing stocks until it slows down eventually.

Momentum investing has been very profitable in recent years and generated much higher returns than broader indices. The outperformance of the momentum funds has been witnessed to be very significant.

You must remember that momentum funds are high-performing and yield higher profits, but they are still unproven and new. If you are a conservative saver, you should ideally give this particular category a miss and restrict your investments only to large-cap Flexi-cap and index funds. If you have an appetite for handling volatility, you can try the momentum funds.

Invest you time and money not only in stocks but also health and education.

That's where you get the highest returns.

Despite being the largest wealth creator in the world, the stock market continues to be a complicated subject for many people. The majority of individuals don't actually understand the principles and foundations of the stock market.

Many people are uncertain about where to begin when it comes to investing. With so many techniques available, it might be challenging to choose just one place to start. This article explains the basic fundamentals of the stock market and how you can invest responsibly.

What Is a Stock? 

Stocks are a kind of security that gives investors (stockholders) a percentage of ownership in a business. In other words, you own a small portion of a firm when you purchase stock in it, such as Apple or Infosys.

One share or many shares might be purchased when you buy stock in a corporation. Your "share" or "shares" refers to the total number of individual equities you purchase. Your shares' value rises whenever the stock price does, and your investment's return does as well.

Typically, in order to buy a company's stock, it should be publicly listed and traded on a stock exchange, like the Bombay Stock Exchange.

What is a Stock Market Exchange?

A stock exchange is a marketplace where publicly listed companies can sell their shares. Shares of a corporation can be bought or traded on various stock exchanges.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Nasdaq, international stock exchanges, and over-the-counter (OTC) markets are a few examples of stock market exchanges. The majority of these exchanges are electronically connected.

What Is a Brokerage? 

Buying and selling individual securities, index funds, ETFs, and mutual funds is all facilitated through brokerage firms. Every individual investor needs a brokerage account or stockbroker to buy a stock.

You can either use an online brokerage company and handle all the buying and selling yourself, or you can work with a broker who will, in exchange for a fee, carry out purchasing and selling operations on your behalf in line with your goals.

What is the Stock Market?

The stock market isn't any kind of physical location, like the Bombay Stock Exchange. In reality, it's a huge network of financial markets where people buy and sell stocks. In general, the term "stock market" refers to all of the different markets and exchanges where these kinds of transactions take place.

It's important to remember that while the stock market doesn't necessarily represent the economy, it does have an impact on it. The Dow Jones Industrial Average usually referred to as "The Dow," or the S&P 500, are two major stock market indexes that are frequently mentioned. A common indicator of the state of the economy at any given time is the trend in stock prices across the major stock indices over a period of time.

How does the Stock Market Function?

Companies are listed on an exchange.

An organization must be publicly traded and listed on a stock exchange to purchase stock. Several factors influence a company's decision to go public. Raising money is one of these reasons. A company's initial public offering, or IPO, is how it raises money from institutional investors seeking to buy shares when it first goes public.

What Determines Stock Prices?

When a company goes public, a bank determines the first stock price based on the firm's worth and interest from institutional investors. But after that, a number of things affect the price.

Supply and demand

A company's stock price after going public is influenced by fundamental supply and demand. The company's stock price rises and vice versa as more individual investors desire to buy a stake in it. Investors purchase stocks when they believe the price of the company's shares will rise and sell stocks when they believe the price of the company's shares will decline.

Events in the world, greed, fear and economic considerations like interest rates all influence the market. Market cycles with ups and downs are also usual. A "bull market" is one that is trending upward, whereas a "bear market" is one that is trending downward.

Why Should You Invest in the Stock Market?

Build Wealth

The best long-term return on your money can be achieved by investing in the stock market. Better than gold, bonds, and even real estate, even bonds. This might be a good method to create wealth for future generations in addition to yourself.

Make a Passive Income.

Additionally, stock market investing can give you a chance to generate passive income. In the end, passive income is what lets you maintain the same standard of living with little to no additional work.