SBI Funds Management Private Limited has launched Series II of its SBI Tax Advantage Fund. The investment objective of the scheme is to generate capital appreciation over a period of ten years by investing predominantly in equity and equity-related instruments of companies across large, mid and small market capitalization, along with income tax benefit

The fund is of ELSS class and therefore would be eligible for tax benefit under Sec. 80C of IT Act, 1961.Tax-saving schemes or equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS) qualify for deduction of up to Rs.1 Lakh under Section 80C of the IT Act.

The following are the brief details of SBI Tax Advantage Fund - Series II

SBI Tax Advantage Fund - Series II Details:
NFO opens on: December 22, 2011
NFO closes on: March 21, 2012
Nature of Fund: Equity
Fund Type: Close ended
Investment plans: Growth and Dividend
Entry Load: NIL
Exit Load: NIL
Minimum Investment: Rs.500 and in multiples of Rs.500 thereafter

The fund being of tax-saving class, there would be a mandatory lock-in period of three years

CRISIL Research has undertaken a fresh grading exercise for MCX as the grade assigned to the company on June 15, 2011 had expired and has reaffirmed grade 5/5 to the proposed initial public offer (IPO) of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX)

This grade indicates that the fundamentals of the IPO are strong relative to other listed equity securities in India. However, this grade is not an opinion on whether the issue price is appropriate in relation to the issue fundamentals. The grade is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold the graded instrument, its future market price or suitability for a particular investor

Goodwill Hospital IPO has remained unsubscribed till the second day of its opening. The IPO which opened from December 30, 2011 has not received any subscription till Day 2, January 2, 2012.

CARE has assigned an IPO Grade 3 to Goodwill Hospital IPO. This means as per CARE, company has 'Average Fundamentals'. CARE assigns IPO grading on a scale of 5 to 1, with Grade 5 indicating strong fundamentals and Grade 1 indicating poor fundamentals

The IPO would remain open for subscription till Monday, January 9, 2012

A committee set up by market regulator SEBI to examine IPO-related issues is looking into a proposal to allow companies to sell shares through electronic Initial Public Offers (e-IPOs).

The proposed move would enable companies to sell shares electronically. Under such a system, investors would bid for shares online and would not be required to sign any papers physically.

“The committee set up by SEBI to undertake various issues relating to IPOs is looking into it (the e-IPO proposal). We are awaiting formal clearance from the ministry of corporate affairs for the e-IPO process,” Sebi Chairman U K Sinha told PTI.

Asked about Sebi’s proposal for reducing the number of days in the IPO process, he said, “The current period of 12-plus days and how to reduce it is part of the committee’s mandate.”

Calling for more awareness among the public on financial markets, he said an international conference is proposed to be held in Goa in February as part of investor education initiatives. A Sebi official said the conference will be co-hosted by Sebi and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The conference will explore domestic issues related to investor education as well as international issues and global trends, with special focus on Asia and its investor education needs, he said.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/sebi-panel-examining-e-ipo-offer/460480/