The latest freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener is now available. Use it to screen for consistently performing equity mutual funds. You can screen based on fund category & benchmark and spot mutual funds with a higher return than a benchmark at a lower risk. Inside, you get discounted links to our robo advisory tool…

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…

In early 2024, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mandated that all mutual fund houses disclose the results of stress tests for their small-cap and mid-cap schemes. Following this directive, the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) required fund houses to publish these stress test results by the 15th of each month…

A reader says, “I was listening to the Let’s Get Rich With Pattu podcast last Sunday, and there was a discussion about what happens when your son inherits your portfolio. Can you help me understand the difference between adding a nominee to a mutual fund and keeping your family as a second unit holder?” “In…

A reader says, ” I am a 41-year-old self-employed person. I have been following your blog for 2 years. I wish to retire by age 55. I am following a rebalancing and derisking strategy in my retirement portfolio. My debt portfolio is 10% in constant duration gilt fund, 15% in dynamic gilt fund, rest in…