The other day, I was in a get-together, and the topic of personal finance came up. One of them asked where to start. There was an inevitable chorus of “security analysis”, “intelligent investor” and the likes. There was also the litany of blogs that mindlessly parrot Buffettisms and Mungerisms with “investor” in their titles with…

Yes, NRIs can invest in PPF accounts that were opened when they were resident  Indians in 2020. They will get the same interest rate as everyone else. The confusion arose when the ministry of finance announced in October 2017 that subscribers should close their PPF accounts when they become non-residents. However, in a circular dated…

The reason I speak before employees is not to teach them money management (no such lofty ideas please) but to learn common practices from them.  Real people behave very differently from an Excel sheet! During the course of my talk, I say something like, “we do not know what to do our salary minus expenses,…

What is bravery? Instinctively doing the right thing when danger strikes unexpectedly is bravery. When there is no danger, anyone can claim that they are brave. It is only during the actual moment of peril do we know how brave we really are. Well, my point is, asking someone “how brave are you”, is the same…

As we head to the third phase (out of 7) of Lok Sabha Elections 2019, it should be reasonably clear that it would be a lot tighter race than in 2014. No “single coalition”(!) could get an absolute majority of their own and smaller parties can decide who comes to power. If you are worried…

You can now watch the talk I give to corporates – A common sense approach to managing money. The audience is a typical mix of 20+ to 50+ in age. This particular presentation was given to World Bank employees in Feb 2019. If you wish to start organising your money, this seminar may be of…

When people say, “over the long term equity will provide good returns”, they often forget or do not want to consider (if they are sales guy) how monthly or annual return sequences combine to result in the final annualized return (CAGR). Sometimes the sequence of returns can be good, sometimes bad. In this article, via…

A PMS or a portfolio management service is a personalised wealth management service where there is no pooling of assets like a mutual fund. A PMS has a minimum investment of Rs. 25 lakh and unlike mutual funds, each buy and sell transaction by the fund manager is taxable in the hands of the investor….

If you are worried about how much to invest in equity for different financial goals, here is a simple asset allocation template that you use to plan your goals along with several video guides. Investing starts and ends with the right asset allocation or how much should I invest in equity and how much in…

It is every parents’ dream and duty to ensure our children can do what they want to in life. It would also be great if our children do not start their earning lives with an educational loan Therefore it is important that we plan and invest right for our child’s future. Here is a simple…

The interim budget announced on 1st Feb 2019 has proposed a change in the tax rebate under section 87A. Here is how it will work.  Revised Tax Rebate Under Section 87A (FY 2019-2020) If you are resident individual and your total income after all eligible deductions is equal to or less than 5 lakh, then…

A typical NRI with no set return date to India has a unique financial planning dilemma. Should I plan to stay put or for return? Do I invest in NRE FDs paying 7% or global equities expected to deliver between 4-6%? Should I buy a house abroad or rent instead? It’s an endless list. In…

Every December I take stock of my financial goals and evaluate where I stand. I have been publishing this since 2013 and this is the 6th edition and 1st video version. My goal is only to point out the benefits of goal-based investing and have no intentions to brag.My success so far (if it can…