BMW to invest Rs 130 cr in India, will launch new version of the 5 series this month

The company is looking to expand its dealer network in the country

 

 

German luxury carmaker BMW is investing another Rs 130 crore in India to enhance operations, taking its total investment in the country to Rs 1,250 crore.

The company will launch new version of its locally manufactured 5 Series later this month and 6 Series Gran Turismo (GT) model next year to strengthen its product portfolio in India.

"Since 2007, we have been consistently investing in India. This year, we are going to increase our investment further to up to Rs 1,250 crore on a cumulative basis," BMW India President Vikram Pawah told PTI.

BMW has invested Rs 1,120 crore in the Indian operations so far.

The new investment will go into BMW group operations, including Motarrad (two-wheeler business) as well as the financial services arm, he added.

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With the fresh investments, the total investments on BMW group operations in India will go up to Rs 520 crore and on BMW Financial Services to Rs 730 crore.

The company is looking to expand its dealer network in the country. It currently has 18 partners and is present in 30 cities.

"Besides, we have 63 touch points. Out of these, we have 41 sales outlets. So we want to take these 41 outlets to 50 by 2018," Pawah said.

In other emerging towns, in addition to 30 major cities, the company utilises its 'Mobile Studios' to expand the market further.

On new product launches, he said: "As part of our power to lead strategy, product offensive starts. In next two weeks, we will be launching the new 5 Series."

The model has played a big role in the success of BMW in India. Since 2007, the company has sold around 66,000 vehicles in India with 5 Series having contributed close to 30 per cent of the total sales...(read more...)

Exploring Untapped Potential of Mutual Funds

 

The Mutual Fund industry has seen unprecedented growth in the past 3 years. In November 2016, total assets managed by mutual funds touched a record high of ?16.5 lakh crores rupees, a year on year growth of 27%.

Total number of folios in India also reached a record number of 4.7 crore. However, mutual funds still suffer extremely low penetration in India. A 7% share of Assets under Management (AUM) of Mutual Funds to GDP is significantly lower than some other emerging economies like Brazil (42%) and South Africa (33%).

Introducing Direct plans of mutual funds

MoneyFront aims to highlight the true potential of mutual funds to investors by firstly adopting the no-conflict option of direct plan of mutual funds. Direct plans are an alternative to the regular plans of mutual funds where you can skip the distributors and agents and invest directly with the Fund House.

Exploring Untapped Potential of Mutual Funds A direct consequence of this is an increase in returns by up to 1.5% annually, as the commissions paid to the distributors/agent are not charged to the scheme. MoneyFront, in its endeavour to provide maximum benefits to clients offers only ‘Direct Plans’.

For investors who are not well-versed about mutual funds or who need help with their asset allocation, MoneyFront also offers investment advisory that provides model portfolios and scheme recommendations tailor-made to the investor’s financial goals and risk tolerance levels. Over and above that, the investors have access to a vast library of news, views, developments, and statistics related to mutual fund schemes and everything else that impacts them.(read more...)

Top 5 biggest life insurance myths

Breaking News - There are several misconceptions about life insurance. It is a popular notion that older or married individuals with kids should invest in one, or that the insurance only offers post-death benefit. Here we debunk some of the biggest life insurance myths…

Life insurance policy is critical to any financial planning. Yet it is never prioritized and is often considered complicated to decode. But it is always a good idea to invest in life insurance, more so sooner than later. Especially, since not having one when you need it can be devastating.

While there are quite a few common myths about life insurance myths, here is a list of the five biggest ones.

Myth 1: Single, without dependents. I don't need coverage

Myth 2: Too young to think about coverage

Myth 3: Only men need life insurance

Myth 4: Insurance is of no use unless you die

 

Myth 5: Better to invest the money rather than lock it up in life insurance of any kind

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Mukesh Ambani, Bill Gates, Jack MA to donate for $1 bn clean tech fund

The goal is to build cos that will help deliver the next generation reliable, affordable, and emissions-free energy to the world

The Breakthrough Energy Coalition (BEC), which has Mukesh Ambani and Alibaba’s Jack Ma as members, will invest more than $1 billion in Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), an investor-led fund that will finance emerging energy breakthroughs for affordable and reliable energy to reduce greenhouse emissions, BEC said in a statement.

"It is extremely exciting for us to launch this fund as the next step in the commitment made by the Breakthrough Energy Coalition last year. Our goal is to build companies that will help deliver the next generation reliable, affordable, and emissions-free energy to the world,” said Bill Gates, chairman BEV.

“Breakthrough Energy Ventures will collaborate with other investors, governments, research institutions and corporate partners, bringing to the table an investor-led fund with internal scientific expertise, a long-term horizon, and a tolerance and understanding of the investment risks required to transform energy markets,” according to BEV statement.

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