When direct mutual fund plans were introduced, many ‘advisers’ said, they would not recommend direct plans because they will not receive feeds from the AMC (a fancy term for account statement) and hence cannot monitor portfolios. The truth was that they were looking for an excuse to justify the trail commissions they receive. Soon the…

If there is one phrase or term that riles up most of the financial services industry (perhaps any industry) it is, conflict of interest.  The reason for this is quite simple. It is difficult for a person with a conflict of interest to understand what it means! What is conflict of interest? It is a situation…

Here is the single most important reason for not investing in the  Sukanya Samriddhi Account. Fact: One can open an account if one has a daughter aged 10 or less (11 upto Dec. 2015 as a relaxation) One must invest for 14 years after the account is opened. Partial withdrawal of 50% is allowed when…

There are very few things life that I am absolutely sure of: (1) nature is subject to a set of physical laws -elegant or otherwise, (2) all Gods are one and the same and (3) each species has a stronger sex and in the case of homo sapiens, it is the female (like most other species)….

I see more and more people wanting to approach financial planners. Quite frankly I don’t see this as a good sign. Simply because choosing a financial planner is harder than doing it yourself.  In this post, I would like to discuss a simple way to figure out the intentions of the financial planner you had…

Let us take a look at the investment options available for short-term goals. Since the time the article was written, equity LTCG above Rs. one lakh is taxable and dividends from equity mutual funds are taxable at 10% + cess at source (DDT). So kindly keep this in mind when you read the relevant sections….

So the Sukanya Samriddhi Account is now EEE. Investments, interest and maturity are tax-free like PFF. Here is why it means nothing and why I will never invest in it if I have a daughter (I don’t). 1) You can withdraw only 50% at the age of 18. My imaginary daughters education is more important to…

If you are in Facebook Group Asan Ideas for Wealth (AIFW), chances are you would have encountered the acronym MDBSC* many times. Newcomers wonder what it stands for and wonder why there is a  *.   At a time when every news channel, financial services portal and blogger with an eye on Google Adsense earnings…

Suppose I have 70 lakhs with me and would like to generate an inflation-protected income for as long as possible, how and where should I invest? The following is based on the Inflation-protected Income Simulator, and a thread at facebook group, Asan Ideas for Wealth (some inputs have been modified) A more detailed how to generate inflation-protected income…

Thanks to the ‘bull run’, ELSS mutual funds are projected as a ‘good’ last minute tax savings instrument. If you are thinking about tax deductions only now, do not use ELSS mutual funds. Last minute tax-savers are not interested in preaching: how you should integrate tax planning with goal planning, plan for it at the start…

Do you even need a financial planner? Money management, especially  inflation proofing long-term goals, is not rocket science.  Then again, even rocket science is not rocket science! The inclination to act, coupled with commonsense is all that is required. So the answer is, a financial planner is not necessary. Of course, financial planners and ‘independent’ financial advisors…

Here are few tough questions directly or indirectly to personal finance, that I have encountered. I do not propose answers but only wish to point out certain neglected aspects that must be considered before a decision is made. Let us start with a familiar question: Should I rent or buy? The answer is simple only…

Every now and then, one can find an article that says, ‘should we teach financial literacy in schools?’, where the authors talk about the importance of power of compounding, investing in equity and all that sort of thing.  Stuff like math and biology seem unimportant and dispensable to these authors compared to financial literacy. I think…

Thanks mainly to personal finance bloggers, more and more individuals are recognising to the need to treat inflation as the benchmark for long-term goals. With this comes the inevitable realisation that investments that have an insurance component in them – endowment plans, money-back plans, traditional with-profit plans and market-linked ULIPs etc. are unlikely to help…