During CY17, the Midcap Index was up 47% versus 28% on the Nifty. Mid-caps have outperformed large-caps by over 40% in the last three years from 2015 to 2017.

Quality of the management is one of the key aspects to consider before investing in a business. Look for stability in management, and for leaders with strong backgrounds in the industry and a good record of success in other companies.

Smart traders in anticipation of a rate hike have already buildup short positions in the financial stocks as the spread between the 10 year G-Sec and RBI repo rate widens.

Investing in mutual funds via Systematic Invest Plan (SIP) is the best way to creating wealth in the long-term. SIP is a way to regularly invest a fixed amount in mutual fund schemes.

The equity market has been volatile so far in April-May 2018 due to rising crude oil prices and bond yields, uncovering of governance issues in banks and the possibility of four rate hikes in 2018 in the US. Therefore, investors should use the current volatility as an opportunity to create wealth in long-term.

Italy has been without a government since March because no political group can form a majority. The two big winners in that election - Five Star and The League - attempted to join forces on Sunday but abandoned efforts after President Sergio Matarella vetoed their choice of finance minister.

HDFC Prudence Fund has the largest AUM of Rs37,998cr as on April 30, 2018, among all equity-oriented mutual funds. The fund started its journey on February 01, 1994, and has given a return of ~18% CAGR since then, as on May 20, 2018.

This strategy is heavily based on the concept of seasonality, specifically, those stocks which perform better in the winter months than they do in the summer months.

The best way to get the benefit from volatility is investing in mutual funds via Systematic Investment Plan (SIP). SIP is a way to invest via which investors can invest a fixed amount in a mutual fund for a defined period. SIP helps investors in ‘Rupee Cost Averaging’ and follow a disciplined approach without worrying about the short-term volatility in the market volatility.

The year 2018 being a pre-election year will have a significant bearing on sentiment in equity markets.