Several Asset Management Companies (AMCs) have launched ESG Mutual Funds in India. ESG Mutual Funds invest in businesses that are responsible. Ever since its launch in India, the MSCI India ESG Leaders index has not only outperformed the MSCI India Equity index1 but has also mitigated downside risk better. The ESG mutual funds’ performance was well evident during Covid-19 induced market volatility. ESG investing though a popular concept globally has huge potential in emerging markets like India.

ESG as a concept has evolved to a point where it is no longer just a luxury but has become a necessity in the present-day scenario. The objective of an ESG mutual fund is to build wealth to fulfill investor’s financial goals by investing in stocks that meet the ESG parameters.

The non-financial parameters of ESG mutual funds have a material impact on the company’s future performance. ESG mutual funds do not look solely at profit but also considers the impact on the planet (environment) and people (social) as equally important too. It helps investors evaluate the level of preparedness among companies to control the material risks that can impact the business over the long term. ESG mutual funds use a structured approach of assessing the sustainability of companies by identifying the potential risks that could have a lasting impact on the company’s valuation.

As more and more investors choose to invest responsibly, they realize that ESG is not a just check-the-box desk research. The challenge is the lack of quality data and the standardization of quantification of non-financial data. Investors should not limit the research of identifying such companies by looking at self-declared company disclosures. They should be cognizant of greenwashing, where the company claims to be ESG compliant but it is not, to capitalize on the opportunity of labeling themselves as ‘ESG-oriented.’

The second challenge is to increase awareness among investors that ESG mutual funds are a holistic way of assessing the sustainability of businesses. It is the understanding that responsibility and profitability go hand-in-hand.

1 MSCI Indexes supplied by MSCI Inc, and MSCI ESG Indexes supplied by MSCI ESG Research Inc, a subsidiary of MSCI Inc

The Internet of things has touched every corner of our lives. In food & beverage it has given us access to a variety of options by sitting in the comfort of our homes, in telemedicine it has encouraged doctors to perform surgeries and consult patients remotely, in communication it has made our lives way easier by almost putting the entire world in our hands, in banking & finance, it has made our lives a lot easier by doing away with brick & motor setup and replacing it with the click of a button. While IOT has touched and changed almost everything in our daily lives, investment also has leveraged its convenience and simplicity. What used to take a lot of time in filling up forms and attaching id proofs has now been replaced with a few easier steps & clicks.

One can find a variety of options when it comes to investing in mutual funds online. You can do it online via your banks, or log on to the mutual fund website, you can do it via Demat account via RIA’s (Registered Investment Advisor), etc. There are plenty of options available, but what you should be careful about is the plan you are selecting while investing online is direct or regular.

Regular Plan

The commission to the distributor is added in the Regular Plan TER or the total expense ratio. Thus, the NAV of regular plan is also slightly higher than direct plan and the units you get are slightly lesser than what you could have got in a direct plan. Even when you invest via a Bank or via your DEMAT account, you are investing in a regular plan attracting a higher expense ratio compared to a direct plan.

Direct Plan

When you log on to an AMC’s website and you choose to invest in mutual funds online directly or through an RIA , you are investing in a direct plan. When you choose to invest in a direct plan online, the TER or the total expense ratio is slightly lesser as compared to the regular plan as it does not include any commission charges. You end up getting slightly more units as compared to a Regular plan.

However, whichever mutual fund you choose to invest online, always remember to do proper research before investing.

A stock screener is an analytical tool that will help you identify and segregate trading instruments like stocks that are listed. Stock Screeners have a detailed database that consists of many companies that are listed on the stock exchange. There are various criteria that a stock screener looks at for filtering though most commonly used indicators are there on major platforms.

Additionally, a trader needs to select a set of variables with defined values in order to use a stock screener. Like for example, you want to screen all the companies with 1 crore and above market capitalization then you need to fill this variable to let the system know. The stock screener will bring you the list of stocks that fulfils the criteria you mentioned.

How does one use Stock Screener?
Here are some steps to use a stock screener with full potential. Those are:

Get started: Initial step is to create an account and choosing the appropriate trading platform after great research. The platform may offer free in-built screeners and you can use other separate screeners. Select a screener that suits best to your requirements.
Check chart patterns: You should select one or two chart patterns and do back testing for proper functioning. Additionally, checking the charts will make you realize whether or not odds are in your favour. Accordingly, determine the stop loss and potential profit levels.
View indicators: Technical indicators consider two factors that are price and volume from the charts and show the paraments set by traders.
Plan the period or time frame: You should plan the period of the goal and strategy while you set filters. All the parameters thereafter should be selected for the same timeframe.
Prefer stocks with higher volume: Trading stocks with higher volume brings great liquidity. Higher liquidity means you will find enough sellers and buyers of that stock in an active market.
Do research: You should do your own research rather than believing promoters of the stock blindly. Check the latest news, announcements, and much more.
Maintain a trading journal: Maintain your trades and use your thinking for stock selection via screeners.
Create a stock watchlist: Track the stocks that you see the potential in via screeners across the different markets. Do your own research and decide when the market opens.
Best Stock Screener of 2021

Ticker Screener by Finology: Filter out stocks based on your own set of criteria. Finology Stock Screener helps you narrow down thousands of companies to a small group of companies. You just need to enter your criteria based on 1200+ ratios that we have made for you, whatever type of stocks you want, you can think of a query and it will show you the companies which fulfill your requirements. Just follow the below steps to use Finology Screener -
Step 1. Type your query
Step 2. Choose from Suggestions
Step 3. Click on Run Screener
Step 4. Analyze your results

Trade-Ideas: Trade ideas is an AI-based stock screener that tracks the main movements of the trading day which helps the traders in making the decision. The pre-set scans are customizable and the tracking that is done is based on social data, technical and fundamental.
Edelweiss: Edelweiss stock screener is a type of offering that is popular in brokerage houses in India. Moreover, it is easy to use for both beginner and seasoned traders or investors. The mobile app of edelweiss helps make the decision quickly. It is available for both lite and Elite plans which are free.
Trendlyne: Trendlyne is a website that can be used for personalized screening which is query-based. This focuses on technical and fundamental analysis. Additionally, this screener provides stock alerts, the latest news, and research reports. There are free and paid options for the Trendlyne stock screener. The basic version pricing starts at Rs.2150 annually.
Trading View: Trading View is a charting and screening tool that is web-based. It enables screening that is based on fundamental and technical indicators that uses multiple timeframes. Additionally, they provide real-time international stock exchange data. You have options to create watchlists, get news and view stock details, and so on. Moreover, there are pre-set scans (hotlists) that will help the traders find the big movers of the trading day. Here traders or investors can create their own stock scans.
Investing.com: Investing.com is an investing screener for stocks that can be used by experts and novices. Additionally, investors can analyse the company based on fundamental and technical analysis for all the companies that are traded on the stock exchange (NSE and BSE). The screener has filters such as price, fundamentals, ratios, volume, and dividends. It is an NSE screener that provides quotes and charts with the latest news related to the company.
Zerodha: Zerodha’s Pi Stock screener has filters available for users those are financial ratios, technical indicators, future estimates, broker ratings, and much more. Additionally, these criteria can be saved for further use after reloading anytime. It helps for real-time scanning that is used at a fixed time during trading days. Under these stock screener sectors available are IT, financials, healthcare, consumer staples, etc.
Money Control: The money Control stock screener uses brand new information and updates from the Indian and international markets for screening stocks. Moreover, the users can monitor their investment and get better expert views. You can also do the voice-based search as it is supported by the mobile app.
Google Finance: Google Finance is a stock screener that focuses on stock chart patterns and technical analysis that are suitable for intraday trading. Additionally, the parameters of this screener include Bollinger bands, MFI, MACD, RSI, Moving Average, volume, price, and many another. It is a free app-based stock screener with in-app purchases. There various attractive features like market trends, real-time market quotes, watchlist options, earnings calendar, stock suggestions, and up-to-date financial news.
Investello Investing Screener: Investello Investing screener helps the traders and investors filter the stocks based on various criteria like safety, valuation, and performance. It allows peer comparison, provides daily updates, has a dashboard, and has normalized figures.

Conclusion
A stock screener is an analytical tool that will help you identify and segregate trading instruments like stocks that are listed. Stock Screeners have a detailed database that consists of many companies that are listed on the stock exchange. Additionally, a trader needs to select a set of variables with defined values in order to use a stock screener. There are various best stock screeners of 2021 that will provide you will the best features and are mentioned in the above list. You should consider the steps mentioned for using Stock screeners and get the best out of them.

Small business consulting has come a long way in the past few decades. It has helped businesses (both small and large) add value to what they offer as entities. Organizations hire the services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably objective) advice, access to the consultants’ specialized expertise, or simply as extra temporary help during a one-time project, where the hiring of more permanent employees is not required. In other words, when business owners lack the skills they need to take their businesses to the next level, they seek the assistance of a consultant.

A small business consultant may not get paid when the business owner does not see any significant improvement on his business. It is a ‘no win, no fee’ situation.

Small Business consulting offers the following advantages:

1. They help to define the business

They help to organise your vision and your goals in a more elaborate manner. They help you come up with an excellent business plan investors would want to look at.

2. They help grow your business with an effective marketing and sales plan

3. They help you to attract customers by formulating a cohesive and powerful Internet marketing and website design plan for your business

4. They help increase your business income and get things done

5. They help increase motivation, focus, clarity, success and balance. They also combine consulting and coaching programs to create the business of your dreams.

Business consulting has much more benefits than you can imagine. You may never know until you explore the opportunities.