As tax rules change, AMCS develop innovative ideas to attract customers. The latest move is creating a new type of fund of funds (FOF), an MF that invests in other MFs (from the same or different AMCs). Since debt mutual fund capital gains are always taxed at the slab rate, this new FOF creates a…

Whenever a mutual fund or an asset management company gets into trouble (bond defaults, front running, etc), some investors say, “They want their money back!” But will they get it? Some even believe SEBI will bail out investors. Is this true? The short answer is, nope! You had purchased units from the mutual fund company. When…

A reader says, ” First of all, I would like to thank you for your insightful videos, posts & articles. It gives us a different vision to look at various things like continuity of investment, retirement planning, etc. & that too in a “to the point”, transparent, honest manner”. “You have made several videos for…

A reader says, “I was very happy with my mutual fund returns over the last few years until I started reading your articles. They made me realise it is just luck or one fortunate sequence of returns. I now recognise that the going will not always be good. This makes me wonder what the maximum…

Often, clients and advisors have conflicting views that result in friction and typically a break in the relationship. This can easily be avoided if both parties clearly explain their viewpoint and meet on common ground. Take, for example, a situation we encountered recently. The client has more than Rs. one crore in regular plan funds….

As you may be aware, Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd. was the victim of a cyber attack on April 9th, 2025. At the time of this writing, the restoration is still ongoing. Thankfully, investors can still access their funds via the fund houses registrar and transfer agent (RTA) K-Fintech, MFCentral, MFU or other third-party…

I was recently asked in an interview, “What mutual fund would you recommend for investors with FOMO (fear of missing out)?” A discussion. The short answer is that investors with FOMO can never be satisfied. They will always clutter their portfolio with the next shiny product they come across. Unless and until they tell themselves,…

All mutual fund investors would have come across the saying that time in the market is better than timing the market. But is this true? Yes, time in the market is 100% better than timing the market for AMCs and distributors. This ensures no break in fees or commissions.  But what about investors? There is…

Several readers have asked us how to invest as the market reacts to the US tariffs. Regular readers would know what our stance is. The following is for those new here. The short answer is that your investment strategy should be independent of “current market conditions” or events. If it is dependent, you need to…

When people say, “Over the long term, equity will provide good returns”, they often forget or do not want to consider how monthly or annual return sequences combine to result in the final annualized return (CAGR). Sometimes, the sequence of returns can be good or bad. This is known as sequence of returns risk, sequence…

“How would you explain ULIP compared to a direct mutual fund to a layman?” Tax expert Manmohan Sethumadhavan answers. About the author: Manmohan Sethumadhavan is a freelancer, investor, and personal finance enthusiast “in search of the absolute truth.” You can follow Manu on Twitter @ManuTsr. Also, read his articles: Capital Gains Taxation Rules Ready Reckoner for FY…

Each time the stock market falls, a new generation of investors learns how risky it can be, especially small cap and mid cap segments (which includes the Nifty Next 50). Equity investing is challenging for two reasons. 1) It requires incredible patience, discipline and conviction. See: Now Is the Best Time to Invest: Do not stop…

The equity market has been falling since September 2024. If you are losing patience and thinking about stopping or redeeming your equity investments, don’t! Now is the best time to invest – as long as your goals are far away! Even if we buy into the (incorrect*) belief that “over the long term, the stock…

We have been publishing a monthly equity mutual fund screener since Sep 2022. This uses rolling returns to determine how consistently active mutual funds outperform representative category benchmarks. This can also be used to appreciate how hard it is for active funds to outperform and why passive funds make sense – especially if you are…

Since Sep 2024, my retirement portfolio has lost an amount equivalent to 1 to 1.5 years of my annual expenses (X). That is if it was 10 times X in Sep 2024*. It is now 8.5 to 9 times annual expenses. * Not my real portfolio value. It will take a huge fall to erase…