Robinhood is launching a new retirement product called Robinhood Retirement For Independent Workers aimed at gig workers at companies like Grubhub and Taskrabbit. The service offers IRAs with matching contributions of 1-3% of deposits that must be held for 5 years. It also provides a financial counseling hotline. Experts say this could help more gig workers save for retirement by making options accessible. While traditional and Roth IRAs are good options for smaller contributions, SEP and solo 401(k)s allow more flexibility and higher contribution limits for those wanting to contribute more. Overall, the new offering seems aimed at expanding retirement savings access to an underserved group of independent contractors and gig economy workers.
Automatic savings programs through payroll deductions could help address the savings crisis in America, studies have shown that defaulting retirement contributions increases participation dramatically. However, this approach has not been applied to short-term savings through payroll yet. Payroll providers should make it easy for employees to automatically allocate a portion of their paycheck to a savings account each pay period. This could significantly increase people’s savings with minimal effort, as defaults have proven effective for retirement planning. Currently, though, most major payroll providers do not facilitate or encourage this optimal default approach to short-term savings.
Global investment firm Blackstone Group expresses strong conviction in India as a key investment theme, intending to deploy capital from its $65 billion reserve to expand its existing $50 billion asset portfolio.
Blackstone, already the largest owner of office properties in India, plans to diversify investments while noting exceptional growth in logistics and a focus on the untapped potential in the hospitality sector.
Razorpay has reported a flat net profit of ₹7.3 crore for FY23 despite a significant jump in revenues. Revenue from operations was at ₹2,279 crore in FY23, compared to ₹1,481 crore in FY22.
They are aiming to achieve profitability across all business lines in the next two years before considering a listing on Indian bourses. Razorpay’s payments business is already profitable, and the company is planning to shift its domicile back to India by the end of FY25.
Foreign ownership of Indian government bonds has surged by $9 billion in the five months since JP Morgan’s announcement to include local sovereign debt in its emerging markets index. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have acquired around $8.7 billion worth of Indian government bonds since September 22
Foreign investors made net purchases of Indian equities amounting to ₹5,107 crore in February, rebounding from the withdrawal of over ₹25,000 crore in the preceding month.
Despite the net positive figures, analysts suggest a cautious sentiment among investors due to recent stock price increases, making a strong revival in foreign institutional buying in March unlikely.
Mutual fund officials in India are grappling with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) directive to implement safeguards for investors in mid-cap and small-cap schemes, which have seen significant inflows.
SEBI’s two-point mandate requires fund houses to outline measures within three weeks to protect investor interests in these schemes. While immediate actions may include restrictions on incremental investments and increased exit loads, industry executives are struggling to find comprehensive solutions to dissuade further investments and shield existing unitholders in the event of a sharp selloff in smaller stocks.
SEBI’s move comes after months of discussions, reflecting concerns about the risks posed by a surge of money into illiquid small-cap stocks.
