Barely have all retail investors been allotted pan when SEBI comes up with a new regulation. Till now, any investment or bank deposit over Rs 50,000 required quoting the investor's pan. Now SEBI has made it mandatory for investors with investments exceeding Rs 1 lakh in stocks and mutual funds to have a Unique Identification Number (UIN). From April 1, anyone who does not have a UIN will not be allowed to carry out transactions exceeding Rs 1 lakh.

SEBI says it is creating this database of investors to track manipulative trades and prevent scamsters from rigging the market. The NSDL will create and maintain the UIN database. It has appointed Geojit Securities, Karvy Consultants, Integrated Enterprises, ICICI Direct, CMC, Alankit Assignments and Kotak Securities as agents for receiving applications. To get a UIN, all that an investor has to do is submit his proof of identity, proof of residence, his fingerprints and Rs 300 as fees. The applicant is photographed and has to sign the form in the presence of the agent's representative.

ABC OF UIN

From April 1, it will be mandatory for investors to furnish UIN for investments of over Rs 1 lakh in stocks or mutual funds NSDL has appointed seven companies as agents for accepting applications and issuing UINs. Applicants have to submit proof of identity, proof of residence and Rs 300 as fees for a UIN card. Applicants are photographed and their fingerprints are taken in the presence of the registration officer.

The question is, does one really need a UIN? After all, investors can get around the rule by breaking up their investment into tranches. For instance, if somebody wants to invest Rs 5 lakh in a mutual fund or in stocks, he can do so in several instalments of less than Rs 1 lakh each. But he may face a problem if he needs to liquidate all his holdings at one go. Narayan S.A., CEO of Kotak Securities, advises investors not to wait for the March 31 deadline and apply for the UIN right away. Savvy investors will heed this advice.

MONEY TALKS

CLICK ON LIFE: Now you can buy life cover online. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has launched an online sales portal for its insurance products. One of the key benefits of this facility is that a person can get a large cover without any medical underwriting. As of now the Unit Gain Plus Single Premium and Unit Gain Easy Pension Single Premium policies are available online.

MARATHON CREDIT: After a glitzy run with the Mumbai Marathon, Standard Chartered Bank is building further on its association with the sport by launching the Standard Chartered Marathon Credit Card. The credit card is for fitness-conscious customers and comes with freebies like Reebok shoes and free supplementary cards. The card comes for a one-time charge of Rs 1,599.

I INVEST IN...

MARIA GORETTI, TV HOST
"I invest in mutual funds and property because the returns from fixed deposits are very low. Property gives you the best returns. I sold my house at Yari Road for a neat profit. I would like to buy another house now. Life insurance too is important."

MUTUAL FUND TRACKER

Gains From Tax Top three tax plans and short-term debt funds   1 YEAR 6 MONTHS 1 MONTH Tax Plans (Equity) Pru ICICI Tax Plan 71.41 56.97 12.70 Magnum Taxgain 67.43 56.57 14.07 HDFC Taxsaver 62.79 51.92 11.16 Debt Funds (Short-term) LICMF Liquid 4.95 2.56 0.46 Sahara Liquid 4.83 2.52 0.44 HDFC Cash Mng Sav Plus 4.76 2.48 0.46 Figures are percentage returns as on February 21, 2005. Funds ranked on basis of one-year returns.                                                                Source: ValueResearch The returns from tax plans prove that equities yield attractive returns in the long run. The short-term debt funds gave stable returns.

-By Malini Bhupta

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