Like earlier Budgets, expectations are sky-high this time too from the investors community. In fact, the government, in the recent past, launched several new initiatives targeted at making investing more simpler as we move ahead. The regulators too are burning mid-night oil to safeguard investors’ interest. Although many changes were brought in for their benefit, there were some disappointments from equity markets, but for long-term investors it was hardly a cause for concern.
Avenues are aplenty when it comes to investment opportunities. Now, expectations have started building up as to what lies in the store for investors in this years’s Budget, to be presented on February 29, 2016. Here are what investors can look forward to.
Equities: No doubt equities are the main vehicle for long-term wealth creation. The piece of advice remains more or less the same i.e. to stay invested. A one or two-year underperformance is hardly a concern for any long-term investor. The year 2015 was a good year as investors started showing faith in investing through mutual funds. The manifold increase in number of equity mutual fund folios was a positive sign for the markets. The faith should continue and investors should keep investing. The entry of long-term funds through EPFO in ETFs may be a starter for growth of ETFs in our markets. Investors may see more of them in the coming financial year (2016-17). On the other hand, the emergence of direct plan has benefited and this year, we will see new investing platforms for direct plans investors. Thus, the changes will continue and investing will be lot more easy. So stay invested or start your SIP.
