I'm not aware about the way MF's are held when purchased online.
As such if you open an account with one of the brokers you will need a demat account for which, from what I know, you will be charged rs.350 minimum/yr
If you open a trading account and only trade a few times a yr then you will be charged high brokerage.
If you can't actively monitor you equity holdings then I suggest you stay away from stocks totally. Having a trading account does help if you want to buy Index/gold ETF's which are considered excellent investment options for long term.
As such if you open an account with one of the brokers you will need a demat account for which, from what I know, you will be charged rs.350 minimum/yr
If you open a trading account and only trade a few times a yr then you will be charged high brokerage.
If you can't actively monitor you equity holdings then I suggest you stay away from stocks totally. Having a trading account does help if you want to buy Index/gold ETF's which are considered excellent investment options for long term.
Which account among the ones I mention (ICICIdirect, HDFCsec, sharekhan) would you recommend? Is it worth paying extra for MFs & being with icicidirect for my requirements?
Also, with a brokerage site like sharekhan, will investing in SIP not really be automatic? For example, will I need to keep transferring the SIP amount from the bank to sharekhan periodically, prior to the SIP date?
In that case 3-in-1 account (like ICICI or HDFC) would be convenient, right?
What are the tax implications? My wife is not working, so would it make sense to open any of these accounts in her name to avoid paying tax?