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mutual funds have underperformed their respective benchmarks in 2024 so far. There were around 27 smallcap mutual fund schemes in the market. Out of 27 smallcap schemes, 22 schemes have underperformed their respective benchmarks. In other words, only five smallcap schemes managed to outperform their respective benchmarks in 2024 so far. UTI Small Cap Fund, the worst performer in the category, gave 0.54% in 2024 so far against 9.06% by its benchmark (Nifty Smallcap 250 — TRI). Union Small Cap Fund gave 1.64% in 2024 so far.

insurance industry in FY24, ToI reported on April 12 citing data from the General Insurance Council. The general insurance industry recorded an annual premium of close to Rs 2.9 lakh crore for FY24, marking a 13% rise from the previous fiscal year's Rs 2.6 lakh crore. Similarly, the five standalone health insurance companies saw a significant 26.2% increase in total premium, climbing from Rs 26,243 crore to Rs 33,115 crore during the same period. These statistics are based on preliminary data released by the council. The rise of standalone health insurance companies' growth can be credited to larger policy sizes, as they introduce high-value policies worth crores. Premium rates have been adjusted to match medical inflation, and coverage has expanded, insurers revealed.

Also Read: Apple's M4 chip overhaul to revive Mac sales, AI push lifts stock 4.3% Amazon share price rose 1.7% to close at $189.05, surpassing its previous closing high of $186.57 set in July 2021. Amazon is the last of the five biggest US tech firms to reach an all-time high in the rebound from the post-pandemic selloff. It was the only company of the five biggest US tech firms that failed to enter record territory in recent months, Bloomberg News reported.

Who won yesterday IPL Match? Mumbai Indians (MI) took on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at home on April 11. Mumbai, coming from their first win in four matches, won the toss and decided to field first. Bengaluru had a rocky start to their innings.

Mint in the week gone by. In a historic milestone, the Indian stock market’s valuation crossed ₹400 trillion, with the last ₹100 trillion coming in a mere nine months. The policy decision made by the oil cartel Opec+ earlier this month has resulted in a surge in international crude prices to their highest level in five months.

Bloomberg. “The new Macs are underway at a critical time. After peaking in 2022, Mac sales fell 27% in the last fiscal year, which ended in September.

Outer Range Season 2 is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video. The second season of the Josh Brolin-led series promises to delve deeper into the mysteries surrounding the Abbott family and the eerie black void on their land. Release Date

Canada will loosen the rules on mortgages to allow first-time buyers to take out 30-year loans when they purchase newly-built homes.

Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Power Limited (JSPL), ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) have bagged steel supply contracts worth ₹1,586.39 crore from the Railways. According to officials aware of the development, bids for procuring Mild/Corten Steel Sheets/Plates/Coils were called in July 2023 but award only be finalised earlier this month. Another tender was called for buying stainless steel sheets and plates in February 2024 which was also awarded at the same time. Public sector undertaking Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has bagged the lion's share in both tenders. SAIL will be supplying 1.05 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of steel worth ₹671.27 crore and another 16,356 MT of stainless steel worth ₹217.90 crore.

Vedanta's proposed demerger, where it is dividing its debt among the six demerged entities based on their respective book asset values, has raised concerns about the allocation of specific debt to each entity. For bondholders of Vedanta Resources (VRL), the parent of Mumbai-listed Vedanta, a major concern is the security over the Indian entity's shares, said Fitch Group unit CreditSights in a report. In September 2023, the mining conglomerate announced plans to demerge five of its key businesses — aluminium, oil and gas, and steel, into separate listed entities.

Imran Masood, Congress-SP alliance nominee, who had hit the headlines for aggressive postures in the past is running a low-key campaign focussing mainly on villages dominated by Hindus. Masood is a nephew of nine-term MP (five-time Lok Sabha and four-term Rajya Sabha member) Rashid Masood, who had enjoyed support of different castes of the Hindu community during his long political career. Masood is now exploring chances to revive the old support base of his uncle among non-Muslims. His camp is also avoiding organising big rallies or public meetings. «Drawing Muslims in big numbers at political rallies or public meetings may lead to polarisation in other communities,» a supporter said.

Billionaires and Senator Bernie Sanders agree on at least one thing: They see a four-day work week in America’s future. Hedge fund manager Steve Cohen is investing in golf courses because he anticipates a big increase in leisure time, and IAC founder Barry Diller is expecting people to be in the office only four days a week. Sanders has even proposed legislation to reset the work week to 32 hours.

Lok Sabha elections 2024, PM Modi said that the streets of India are echoing with the chants of "Phir ek baar, Modi sarkar." "If you wish to see the wave, you will have to go to the ground, be among the masses. You will see the enthusiasm among people for the third term of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government at the Centre. Our workers are already in the field.

In my early days as an investment analyst, I was once pitching a stock to my fund manager boss. Two minutes into the pitch, he asked me “What’s the weight?" I had no idea what he was talking about and so I later asked one of my senior colleagues what he meant. Most institutional investing in India is of the relative return type, which means that every fund is benchmarked against an index and a fund manager’s competence or otherwise is measured by how well he or she performs against the benchmark.

The federal government has announced a series of measures to make it easier for first-time buyers to break into the housing market with changes to the Home Buyers’ Plan and amortizations on some mortgages.

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose to its highest level in five weeks, a setback for prospective homebuyers during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for home sales

IAF helicopters to snow-bound Marwah and Warwan areas in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district which is part of the Udhampur parliamentary seat, officials said. Udhampur goes to polls in the first phase of the elections on April 19. The officials said the airlifting of 144 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) and 44 Jammu and Kashmir Police officers for deployment at 31 polling booths in the remote pockets marks the maiden airlift of men and materials in the country under the Lok Sabha elections. In preparation for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the significant deployment of security personnel has been executed in both the cut off remote regions of Kishtwar with joint efforts of the district election office, Kishtwar, and the Indian Air Force (IAF), they said.

₹1 lakh in a mutual fund scheme at the time of its launch in August 1998 would have swelled to a whopping ₹1.53 crore in 25 years? Sounds incredible but true! The rationale behind this is far simpler than it sounds: compounding. This means that being invested for a long period of time accrues greater dividends than one can imagine. Since mutual fund schemes, by default, reinvest the earnings made in the initial years, the returns in the later years are naturally higher than those earned in the initial years.

By Mary-Jane Bennett

Alberta-based Jennifer* is 47, divorced, has two adult children and recently lost her job. A successful professional, she was well on her way to an early retirement at age 52 or 53, but now she’s wondering if that will still be possible, and how much she’ll have to scale back her original plans.

Amie Miller has a go-to spot for conducting job interviews: a gray, L-shaped couch. The problem is it is everyone else’s favorite spot, too. “We’ve reached peak couch," says Miller, the chief talent officer at TBWA Worldwide.