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What is a commodity?

Asked by shyam singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   7:39 PM on September 21, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

Commodity includes all kinds of goods. FCRA defines "goods" as "every kind of movable property other than actionable claims, money and securities". Futures' trading is organized in such goods or commodities as are permitted by the Central Government. At present, all goods and products of agricultural (including plantation), mineral and fossil origin are allowed for futures trading under the auspices of the commodity exchanges recognized under the FCRA. The national commodity exchanges have been recognized by the Central Government for organizing trading in all permissible commodities which include precious (gold & silver) and non-ferrous metals; cereals and pulses; ginned and un-ginned cotton; oilseeds, oils and oilcakes; raw jute and jute goods; sugar and gur; potatoes and onions; coffee and tea; rubber and spices, etc.

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Answered at 2:18 AM on September 22, 2008

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What is a margin account?

Asked by shyam singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   7:41 PM on September 21, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

A margin account is an account offered by brokerages that allows investors to borrow money to buy securities. An investor might put down 50% of the value of a purchase and borrow the rest from the broker. The broker charges the investor interest for the right to borrow money and uses the securities as collateral.

The specific calculations as to how margin works get a little more complicated, but you can learn about this in our Margin Trading tutorial.

The important thing to understand about margin is that it has consequences. Margin is leverage, which means that both your gains and losses are amplified. Margin is great when your investments are going up in value, but the double-edged sword of leverage really hurts when your portfolio heads south. Because margin exposes you to extra risks, it's not advisable for beginners to use it. Margin can be a useful tool for experienced investors, but until you get to that point, play it safe.

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Answered at 2:13 AM on September 22, 2008

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What's the difference between a load and no-load mutual fund?

Asked by shyam singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   7:42 PM on September 21, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

A mutual fund is simply a large group of people who lump their money together for a management company to invest. And, like most things in life, there are fees and commissions involved.Mutual funds come in two main flavors, categorized by how the fees are charged.

A load mutual fund charges you for the shares/units purchased plus an initial sales fee. This charge is typically anywhere from 4% to 8% of the amount you are investing or it can be a flat fee depending on the mutual fund provider. This is added to your purchase as a sales fee. For example, if you invested $1,000 into a 5% load mutual fund, you would actually be investing only $950 with the remaining $50 going to the company as a commission.

There are a couple different types of load funds out there. Back-end loads mean the fee is charged when you redeem the mutual fund. A front-end load is the opposite of a back-end load and means the fee is charged up front.

A no-load fund simply means that you can buy and redeem the mutual fund units/shares at any time without a commission or sales charge. However, some companies such as banks and broker-dealers may charge their own fees for the sale and redemption of third-party mutual funds.

Most people recommend trying to avoid load funds altogether. Many studies have shown that both types of mutual funds offer the same return - it's just that one charges you a commission fee. One warning though, most no-load funds charge fees if you redeem them early (usually within the first five years), but, if you are a long-term investor, there is no need to worry.

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Answered at 2:10 AM on September 22, 2008

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What is a tranche?

Asked by shyam singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   7:41 PM on September 21, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

A piece, portion or slice of a deal or structured financing. This portion is one of several related securities that are offered at the same time but have different risks, rewards and/or maturities. "Tranche" is the French word for "slice".

Tranche is a term often used to describe a specific class of bonds within an offering wherein each tranche offers varying degrees of risk to the investor. For example, a CMO offering a partitioned MBS portfolio might have mortgages (tranches) that have one-year, two- year, five-year and 20-year maturities. It can also refer to segments that are offered domestically and internationally.

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Answered at 2:06 AM on September 22, 2008

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* What is EDIFAR?

Asked by akash singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   9:04 PM on September 18, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

EDIFAR is Electronic Data Information Filing and Retrieval system. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in association with National Informatics Centre (NIC) has set up the EDIFAR Web site to facilitate filing of certain documents/statements by the listed companies online on the Web site (www.edifarsebi.co.in). This would involve electronic filing of information in a standard format by the companies.

This system will have several benefits by way of dissemination of information to various classes of market participants, such as investors, regulatory organisation, research institutions, and so on. This would also be useful to the companies and the stock exchanges.

This system is being introduced in a phased manner and would be applicable to 200 companies. A link to EDIFAR is available on the SEBI Web site, www.sebi.gov.in and at the NIC Web site, www.nic.in.

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Answered at 1:28 AM on September 19, 2008

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what are Secondary Market instrument?

Asked by akash singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   9:04 PM on September 18, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

Following are the main financial products/instruments dealt in the secondary market,

Equity: The ownership interest in a company of holders of its common and preferred stock. The various kinds of equity shares are as follows

Equity Shares:

An equity share, commonly referred to as ordinary share also represents the form of fractional ownership in which a shareholder, as a fractional owner, undertakes the maximum entrepreneurial risk associated with a business venture. The holders of such shares are members of the company and have voting rights. A company may issue such shares with differential rights as to voting, payment of dividend, etc.

Rights Issue/ Rights Shares: The issue of new securities to existing shareholders at a ratio to those already held.

Bonus Shares: Shares issued by the companies to their shareholders free of cost by capitalization of accumulated reserves from the profits earned in the earlier years.

Preferred Stock/ Preference shares: Owners of these kind of shares are entitled to a fixed dividend or dividend calculated at a fixed rate to be paid regularly before dividend can be paid in respect of equity share. They also enjoy priority over the equity shareholders in payment of surplus. But in the event of liquidation, their claims rank below the claims of the company’s creditors, bondholders / debenture holders.

Cumulative Preference Shares. A type of preference shares on which dividend accumulates if remains unpaid. All arrears of preference dividend have to be paid out before paying dividend on equity shares.

Cumulative Convertible Preference Shares: A type of preference shares where the dividend payable on the same accumulates, if not paid. After a specified date, these shares will be converted into equity capital of the company.

Participating Preference Share: The right of certain preference shareholders to participate in profits after a specified fixed dividend contracted for is paid. Participation right is linked with the quantum of dividend paid on the equity shares over and above a particular specified level.

Security Receipts: Security receipt means a receipt or other security, issued by a securitisation company or reconstruction company to any qualified institutional buyer pursuant to a scheme, evidencing the purchase or acquisition by the holder thereof, of an undivided right, title or interest in the financial asset involved in securitisation.

Government securities (G-Secs): These are sovereign (credit risk-free) coupon bearing instruments which are issued by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of Government of India, in lieu of the Central Government's market borrowing programme. These securities have a fixed coupon that is paid on specific dates on half-yearly basis. These securities are available in wide range of maturity dates, from short dated (less than one year) to long dated (upto twenty years).

Debentures: Bonds issued by a company bearing a fixed rate of interest usually payable half yearly on specific dates and principal amount repayable on particular date on redemption of the debentures. Debentures are normally secured/ charged against the asset of the company in favour of debenture holder.

Bond: A negotiable certificate evidencing indebtedness. It is normally unsecured. A debt security is generally issued by a company, municipality or government agency. A bond investor lends money to the issuer and in exchange, the issuer promises to repay the loan amount on a specified maturity date. The issuer usually pays the bond holder periodic interest payments over the life of the loan. The various types of Bonds are as follows,

Zero Coupon Bond: Bond issued at a discount and repaid at a face value. No periodic interest is paid. The difference between the issue price and redemption price represents the return to the holder. The buyer of these bonds receives only one pay

Answered at 1:38 AM on September 19, 2008

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What is a Central Listing Authority?

Asked by akash singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   9:04 PM on September 18, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

THE Central Listing Authority (CLA) has been empowered to make recommendations to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on issues concerning the protection of interests of investors in securities and the development and regulation of the securities market. Besides the principal function of receiving and processing applications for "letter precedent to listing", the CLA can now specifically make suggestions on investor protection, development and regulation of the securities market, including listing agreements, listing conditions and disclosures to be made in offer documents.

SEBI has come up with a new set of regulations on CLA that has broad-based the functions of the authority, besides making alterations in its composition. Interestingly, the revamped regulations has dispensed with the self-regulatory character of the CLA, which was enshrined in the previous regulations issued in February 2003. The main objective behind the setting up of a CLA was to bring about uniformity in the exercise of `due diligence' in scrutinising listing applications.

In the earlier dispensation, CLA's function was primarily confined to "processing applications of corporates, mutual funds or collective investment schemes for the letter of recommendation and making recommendation as to listing conditions or provisions of the listing agreement". As per the new comprehensive regulations on CLA, a merchant banker can, on behalf of a company, mutual fund or collective investment scheme, approach the authority to apply for a "letter precedent to listing".

A "letter precedent to listing" means a letter issued by CLA to permit the applicant to make a listing application to any exchange, including for re-listing and listing of an already listed security at an exchange other than the exchange where it is currently listed. As against the earlier norm of having at least four members as representatives of stock exchanges in the CLA, the revised regulations have specified that at least three members should be representatives of exchanges in the 11-member authority (including the President and Vice-President).

The revised regulations also provide that a CLA can, in consultation with SEBI board, appoint a Chief Executive Officer, who will be the ex-officio member-secretary of the authority. A member of CLA can also be a CEO of the authority. The CLA will prescribe the functions of CEO.

Further, the regulations now provide that an order passed by the authority declining to grant or even withdrawing a "letter precedent to listing" would be deemed to be an order of the SEBI board. Appeal against such order would now lie with the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). Post-listing monitoring and compliance is not part of the CLA's agenda even under the revised regulatory framework in which the authority will now operate.

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Answered at 1:26 AM on September 19, 2008

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What is the difference between open-market and closed-market transactions?

Asked by akash singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   9:07 PM on September 18, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

Insiders often are blessed with owning a significant portion of a company's shares. This shared ownership is often in the form of direct share ownership or through stock options. Since these insiders own - or have the opportunity to own - a lot of shares, it is in their best interest to buy or sell the shares whenever they feel necessary, to realize a profit.

Although some cases of insider trading are illegal, legal insider transactions can take place in two ways: an open-market transaction or a closed-market transaction.

Open-market transactions occur on the open market where average investors put through their transactions. The only difference is that insiders must follow certain rules and regulations that have been set out by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). After filing the appropriate documentation, the order goes through the same as all other orders. The purchase or sale made in an open-market transaction is done voluntarily by the insider, and is not regulated by any company rules. Since these trades are made voluntarily by the insider, they can be used to identify the insider's sentiment about the stock.

A closed-market transaction is the opposite of an open-market transaction. Any trading that is done in a closed-market transaction is between the insider and the company; no other parties are involved. However, as with an insider's open-market transaction, the appropriate documents must be filed with the SEC to show investors that the transaction took place. Most often, closed-market transactions occur when the insider is receiving shares as part of a compensation package or through stock options. As a result, they do not reflect the insider's sentiment toward the stock.

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Answered at 1:20 AM on September 19, 2008

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What is securitization?

Asked by akash singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   9:07 PM on September 18, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

Securitization is a structured finance process, which involves pooling and repackaging of cash-flow producing financial assets into securities that are then sold to investors. The name "securitization" is derived from the fact that the form of financial instruments used to obtain funds from the investors are securities.

All assets can be securitized so long as they are associated with cash flow. Hence, the securities which are the outcome of securitization processes are termed asset-backed securities (ABS). From this perspective, securitization could also be defined as a financial processes leading to an emission of ABS.

Securitization often utilizes a special purpose vehicle (SPV), alternatively known as a special purpose entity (SPE) or special purpose company (SPC), in order to reduce the risk of bankruptcy and thereby obtain lower interest rates from potential lenders. A credit derivative is also generally used to change the credit quality of the underlying portfolio so that it will be acceptable to the final investors.

Securitization has evolved from tentative beginnings in the late 1970s to a vital funding source with an estimated total aggregate outstanding of $8.06 trillion (as of the end of 2005, by the Bond Market Association) and new issuance of $3.07 trillion in 2005 in the U.S. markets alone.

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Answered at 1:11 AM on September 19, 2008

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What is the difference between investment banks and merchant banks?

Asked by akash singh in Personal Finance & Tax at   9:07 PM on September 18, 2008

Dhaval's Answer

Merchant banks and investment banks, in their purest forms, are different kinds of financial institutions that perform different services. In practice, the fine lines that separate the functions of merchant banks and investment banks tend to blur. Traditional merchant banks often expand into the field of securities underwriting, while many investment banks participate in trade financing activities. In theory, investment banks and merchant banks perform different functions.

Pure investment banks raise funds for businesses and some governments by registering and issuing debt or equity and selling it on a market. Traditionally, investment banks only participated in underwriting and selling securities in large blocks. Investment banks facilitate mergers and acquisitions through share sales and provide research and financial consulting to companies. Traditionally, investment banks did not deal with the general public.

Traditional merchant banks primarily perform international financing activities such as foreign corporate investing, foreign real estate investment, trade finance and international transaction facilitation. Some of the activities that a pure merchant bank is involved in may include issuing letters of credit, transferring funds internationally, trade consulting and co-investment in projects involving trade of one form or another.

The current offerings of investment banks and merchant banks varies by the institution offering the services, but there are a few characteristics that most companies that offer both investment and merchant banking share.

As a general rule, investment banks focus on initial public offerings (IPOs) and large public and private share offerings. Merchant banks tend to operate on small-scale companies and offer creative equity financing, bridge financing, mezzanine financing and a number of corporate credit products. While investment banks tend to focus on larger companies, merchant banks offer their services to companies that are too big for venture capital firms to serve properly, but are still too small to make a compelling public share offering on a large exchange. In order to bridge the gap between venture capital and a public offering, larger merchant banks tend to privately place equity with other financial institutions, often taking on large portions of ownership in companies that are believed to have strong growth potential.

Merchant banks still offer trade financing products to their clients. Investment banks rarely offer trade financing because most investment banking clients have already outgrown the need for trade financing and the various credit products linked to it.

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Answered at 1:17 AM on September 19, 2008

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