Have you ever thought about the logic behind credit card numbering? This numbering idea gives easy ways to identify & classify billions of transactions done every day.

Every number on your credit card has its own relevancy. Following are some interesting facts about credit card numbers.

Do you know that the first digit of a credit card will be always 3, 4, 5 or 6. It helps to you identify the card you have.

What does First Digit stand for

• 3 - Entertainment or Travel card like American Express or Diners Club
• 4 - Visa Cards
• 5 -Â Master Cards
• 6 – Discover Cards

The other numbers are usually used to identify other purposes depending upon the card issuer. In general the remaining numbers are grouped to identify the routing number of the bank and the user’s details. The secret about the last digit is that it’s a automatically generated special number upon a formula, which is used by the card issuer to find a fraud.

Each number after 1st digit have different meaning depending upon the card type.

It can give simple information like Country of origin, primary card or not, bank details.

Credit cards can be used to manage your spending and used to buy the dream things you want, without having to wait till you have that much savings. It is equally important to get the best credit card which suits you.

Following are the points to be noted to choose the best credit card for you :

• What is your Financial Status
• Your monthly income
• Are you staying on a rented house or your own
• How bad is your debt status
• Are you self-employed or a student

Many credit card companies have special offers for those earning above certain levels. Even some credit card companies have deals for those having bad debt status. It is important to understand your financial status to suit the right card for you.

How much rupees can you repay every month?

Everyone always look for a credit card which can give you more money to borrow. Its always better to think the other way. Find how much you can repay in each month. As most of the credit card companies always ask for a minimum repayment. This will be usually fixed at few rupees or a certain percentage of the total money you have to repay. You have to pay the larger one of the above. This gives you an idea before you plan to make a big purchase. Roughly estimate the minimum amount you have to repay and if it is within your limits you can afford it to buy that dream item.

How much Rupees do you want to borrow?

One of the most important point before choosing a credit card is about the money you want to borrow on a credit card. Different credit card companies have set different limits to borrow. It is usually set automatically by the company as per their policies. This limits can be raised by calling them. Most of them will wait to see the performance of your repayment before considering to increase your credit limits. Its called a trial period.

How attractive is the Special Offer?

 Every credit cards come with some special offers. The credit card market in India is very competitive, so always try to find the card which can benefit you the most. Do not just decide since it just appeals you. Find out whether this offer is really useful for you. For example some credit cards help you to earn points for making purchases on that credit card, you can later redeem these points on their participating outlets to buy things or get services. Most of them may not be of your interests. In this case you are just earning useless points and this type of card will not give the benefits you expect from a credit card. Â

Where can you find the best credit cards?

Always look for the bank websites for updated credit card information. Ads on new papers and magazines also provide you with best deals about cards. Please check out for list of banking websites here.

Authorities in US have charged 3 hackers in India for accessing many brokerage accounts to jack up prices of shares and make illegal profits of more than $ 120,000. One brokerage firm has reported of at least $2million losses. It is estimated that around 60 customers and 9 brokerage firms were hacked.

Read more about it here

• Hackers from India Indicted (press release)
• India Hackers Indicted for Hijacking (TMCnet)
• Hackers from India indicted (Digital Media Asia)Â
• US indicts stock hackers from India (StarNewsonline)

As a wise investor you should follow some basic systems and principles that any sensible investor should follow. It may seem obvious to many, but few people adhere to this “common sense.” A “smart investor” is one who is aware not only of the complete composition of the his portfolio, but also of market trends. These factors enable the investor to make an informed decision-and an informed decision is 90% of the work towards successful investing.
There are several techniques used by investors while tracking mutual funds.

• Momentum strategy – The method of the buying of stocks of companies whose earnings are rising.
• Buy Undervalued – This is another strategy of buying the funds which are undervalued. This strategy “bets” that the prices of these funds are bound to rise, and with time, will do so.
• Blue-chip funds -Â A traditional strategy of buying the mutual funds of blue-chip stocks.
• Small-cap funds - Buy mutual funds of small companies. Diversification is very important for this strategy.

Momemtum investors gain more than long term investors. A momentum investor is aware about the dynamics of the market and use the changing trends for entry and exits. A long term investor is least bothered about the market dynamics and follow a strategy of buy and hold.

If you know the Art of Market Timing, then are the most successful trader reaping huge profits. But the fact is that, no one can precisely predict the correct market timing. Anyone who has experience in share trading could have told you that the market is very dynamic.
Knowing the pulse of the market takes years of experience, but keeping a close eye on market indexs like SENSEX or NIFTY will be helpful.
You do not need to be an expert or a highly sophisticated trader to spot the obvious signs.

When the market is reaching all-time highs, it is the best time to shed your investments partially/fully. When the market is low, it is an opportunity to enter/buy. This is a simple technique of market timing.

To be a successful investor, you need to be right only 65 to 85% of the time.

Check Volatility using Beta Co-efficient

Beta Coefficient is used as a measure to check the relative sensitivity of a mutual fund to the market. The higher value of the beta means that the more volatile the fund. It is then considered to very sensitive relatively to the market as a whole. BSE sensex is assigned a beta of 1. It has been widely used by many investors and analysts to determine just how volatile a mutual fund is as compared to a standard index. In India the standard of comparison is provided by SENSEX index. Its usual time frame is three years back. A stock fund that is 20% more volatile than the stocks of that constitute the SENSEX would have a beta value of 1.2. Those stock funds that are 15% less volatile than the SENSEX would have a beta of 0.85.

Beta is not a totally indicative depiction of a stock fund’s situation. If a fund is “thinly traded,” or in other words there are not too many shares outstanding, large price swings are possible whenever shares are sold. In general, beta values are a good & reliable way of determining how a stock fund has done, and in a way, how well it may do in the future. Beta values for many Indian mutual funds can be found in many financial magazines, fianacial websites or special investing periodicals.

Find out the Risk vs. Reward using Alpha

Risk and Reward is direcly proportional. It depends on how much of a risk-taker you are is directly proportional to how much you stand to gain or lose. Risk vs. Reward is a concept that almost all investors struggle with and are aware of.

Alpha is the relationship between a fund’s beta value and its actual performance. Higher alpha values are considered better. Anything above zero is desirable.

Net Asset Value

Net asset value or generally known as NAV of a mutual fund is the price per share/unit. The NAV of a mutual fund is calculated by taking the value of the securities that the fund is managing and dividing that by the number of shares outstanding. For example a mutual fund with net assets of Rs 2.5 crore and 10 lakh shares outstanding has a NAV of Rs 25.

Important points to note on the Prospectus

When you get a prospectus along with the application of a mutual fund, please note the following most important aspects: Date of issuance, minimum investment, objective, record of performance, degree of risk and fees.

How to choose a good mutual fund? In India the competition among funds are very high. One of the best indicators is to check its total returns. Obviously, if a mutual fund is giving you a good total return, it is one that has proved itself to be valuable to you.
Total return includes all -dividends, capital gains, interest, etc. It is expressed as a percentage of the original net asset value.

It has been an accepted fact that the best way to choose a fund is to evaluate its past performance. This is one of the integral characteristics of a successful investor. By tracking how profitable a fund has been, you will gain a feel for the fund. Like stocks, mutual funds have their own “personality.” Understanding this personality will help even the novice investor make decisions that are more intuitive and well-informed.
There is the commonly held belief by many investors that certain funds do better or worse than others because they briefly outperform or underperform the averages. This is thought to be only temporary. In the end, funds are supposed to revert back to the normal middle ground.
If one looks at the performance of funds over time, it is true that most funds do become average performers.Look for the some of the following indications to choose a fund:

• The fund has outperformed similar funds.
• Over the years the fund has made huge profits.
• The fund consistently has made a profit.
• The fund has outperformed some of the major indexes (SENSEX, NIFTY)

The above indications may appear to be common sense, but you will be noticing that how many investors does follow this.

Mutual funds can be classified with a range of investment objectives. It can be classified based on Tenor, Asset class & Position Philosophy.Â

Open-End Mutual Fund (Tenor based)

An Open-ended Mutual funds are those funds in which the company can issue always more outstanding shares. It can help to add on the net assets of the company. These types of funds do not have a fixed maturity period. Investors can buy and sell units of these funds at Net Asset Value (NAV) related prices which are published on a daily basis. Open-end schemes are more liquid in nature.

Close-End Mutual Fund ( Tenor based)

Close Ended mutual fund or generally termed as traded mutual fund is the one that can be brought and sold like a normal share. In it, the number of shares always stays fixed. These funds also have commission which brokers get since the shares of these funds are traded over the counter, like the shares are traded. Close-ended funds has a stipulated maturity period like 5-7 years. It is open for subscription only during the time of launch. Investors can invest in the close ended mutual funds at the time of the initial public issue and thereafter can be brought or sold units of the scheme on the exchanges where the units are listed. Close-ended funds give an option for the investor of selling back the units to the mutual fund through periodic repurchase at NAV related prices. But the commissions will incur for this selling and buying.

Aggressive Growth Funds (Asset class based)
These are stock funds that primarily have one objective of maximum capital gains. Capital gains are the increase in the value of investment. This type of mutual fund invest in many different kind of shares which includes risk industry stocks, small company stocks and uses certain investment techniques like short selling of stocks, futures & options. These type of mutual funds are most volatile also.

Growth Funds (Asset class based)
These type funds are those which invest in the stocks of well-established, blue chip companies. Dividends and steady income are not only goal of these types of funds. But, they are focussed on increasing in capital gains.

Growth and Income funds (Asset class based)
These type of mutual funds are focussed on increased capital gains and steady income. Less volatile than Aggressive Growth funds.

Equity Funds (Asset class based)
These funds allow an investor to own a portion of the company that they have invested in, its like having shares of a certain company. Stocks that have proven historically to bethe best investment. Also which have already outperformed all other types of investments in long term, but the risk is high. These funds produce a greater level of current income by investing in equity securities of companies with solid reputation and have a good record of paying dividends.

Balanced Funds (Asset class based)
Balanced mutual funds have a portfolio mix of bonds, preferred stocks and common stocks. Balanced mutual funds aim to conserve investors’ initial investment, to pay an income and to aid in the long-term growth of both the principle and the income.

Fixed-Income Funds (Asset class based)
Fixed-income mutual funds are safer than equity funds, but as always, do not yield as high returns as the latter do. These types of mutual funds are geared towards the investor who is approaching old age and doesn’t have many earning years left. Many investors hope to draw a steady income from these types of mutual funds. Bond funds fall into the category of fixed-income funds.

Money-Market Funds (Asset class based)
These are generally the safest and most secure of mutual fund investments. They invest in the largest, most stable securities, including Treasury bills. The chances of your capital being eroded are very minimal. Money-market funds are risk-free. If you invest a thousand rupees, you will get that money back. It is simply a matter of when you get it back. When investing in a money-market fund, you should pay attention to the interest rate that is being offered, along with the rules regarding check-writing. Money-markets have allowed investors to reap high yields on their deposits, and have made the entire investment process more accessible to people.
The interest rates on money-market funds are changing nearly day to day. In times of inflation, these funds have had high yields.

Index Funds (Position philosophy based)
They invest in the portfolio of a index such as BSE Sensitive index (SENSEX) , S&P NSE 50 index (Nifty), etc. The investment is done in the securities in the same weightage comprising of an index. You can see that the NAVs of such schemes would rise or fall in accordance with the rise or fall in the index. It may not be exactly by the same percentage due to “tracking errors”.

I am sure that you have heard about “Mutual Fund” investments, buy what exactly is a Mutual fund investment? As simple, Mutual fund is like an insurance policy. There are accumulation and collection of many different types of shares. It is when investors together want to buy securites as a group, this fund can be called a mutual fund. Each and every investor of this group has a proportional stake in the shares based on the amount he has contributed.

It can be a cheap alternative and an easy way for a common man to have several shares. The birth of mutual fund was around eighty years ago in Boston. Today all over the world there are thousands of mutual funds and lot of people are investing in it.

Mutual Funds in India In India the investment in mutual funds is steadily increasing. Many of the investors have already enjoyed the high returns from mutual funds. The Bull run of Indian Equity market has benefited both Mutual Fund investors and Equity investors unimaginable gain from the simple investments. A Mutual fund can bring the average investor good returns if he is willing to follow two basic things :

1. Do simple research
2. Have little patience

Its really not hard to follow the above characteristics, since you will learn and become an successful mutual fund investor. Most of us in India do not have an idea about a Mutual Fund. In the most simplest defenition, a mutual fund can be considered as a group of people investing for a common interest. They may be appealing to the average & conservative sector. It is easy for an common investor to do on his own.

The world of mutual funds is so big that it can be confusing for a common man. There are many types of Mutual Funds, we usually see in TV ads and Newspapers, so lets try to understand it slowly and gain more knowledge about it Mutual Funds in India. This text will help you to give simple idea about mutual funds.

Our idea is to give awareness about Mutual Fund. We will not be telling you specifically when and what to buy. Do you know that an informed decision is more sound than a decision made from an impulse. Lets decode this complex information and it will help you to make good choices. Investing in Mutual Funds has proved to be solid investments over time.