The worst time is when they are offered as lollipops

The business of mutual fund industry rests on a strange paradox. Investors should buy funds when the market is down. But they don’t – for a variety of irrational factors. So, fund companies don’t have much of a choice in when to launch funds. Fund companies are able to make new fund offers only when the market has been on a strong uptrend...

Gold was languishing at US$741 on 11th September. Over the next two days, it jumped to US$780, paused there for a day and then, suddenly, in just two days flat (17th and 18th September), it jumped to hit almost US$910. This astounding two-day move was caused by the financial crisis that has hit the US and Russia. For much of the period in the past two years, gold was a play on the strong euro...

Madhusudan Kela, head equity, Reliance Mutual Fund, is among those rare fund managers with a known prowess of handling the largest and the best funds in India, having seen all kinds of market cycles. In a career spanning two decades, Kela has been associated with Peregrine Securities, UBS Securities and Motilal Oswal prior to joining Reliance. In an interview with Shailendra Lotlikar of...