1st Jan 2023 will mark the 10th anniversary of the introduction of direct plan mutual funds. This article discusses whether their introduction has caused more harm than good for investors. About 46% of total assets are in direct plans (a good chunk of it is as institutional and HNI assets). The honest answer to this…

A reader writes, “Which is more suitable for a long-term goal? Aggressive hybrid funds or multi-asset funds?” So in this article, we compare a hybrid portfolio with a multi-asset portfolio to arrive at an answer. We cannot compare these funds because multi-asset funds are quite new. Earlier, we compared CRISIL Aggressive hybrid index (with 65%…

IIFL has launched a tax saver index fund (passive ELSS fund). We have received several messages from readers wanting to know if they can invest in this. We are disappointed to receive such emails (some from those claiming they are our long term readers). Getting enticed by shiny objects is a huge investment mistake. Whether…

We study 40 ELSS funds to identify consistent performers when benchmarked with respect to the NIfty 200 Total Return Index (dividends included) using the freefincal equity mutual fund screener. Nifty 200 is a representative benchmark of the ELSS category in which funds are typically large cap oriented. Since it is market capitalization-weighted, the index returns…

The Nifty Next 50 is a strange index. Although theoretically part of the large cap universe, due to large impact costs (significant difference between buy and sell price), its volatility is comparable to that of a mid cap index, as repeatedly pointed out by us: Warning! Nifty Next 50 is NOT a large cap index!…

A reader asks, “I recently asked the members of a personal finance forum to review my  25 mutual fund portfolio. Everyone said that I held too many funds and that my portfolio resembled an expensive index fund. Is it wrong to hold that many funds? If so, what should I do?” They are right in…

I have been tracking the amount I invest for my goals for more than 11 years. It has been a life and game changer for my family. Whether you track your spending or not, I believe tracking the amount we invest is crucial. Today I can invest more for retirement than my target investment. That…

Two readers have the following questions. “Given the relative performance between Indian and US markets, my asset allocation is running low on international equity exposure. (1) Should I now increase my international equity exposure?” “(2) Is there any ideal rebalance frequency (identified via backtesting)? I’ve usually encountered rules such as – rebalancing once a year/…

Since there is no limit on the number of sectoral or thematic mutual funds an AMC can produce, they do just that! And these have huge fees and are marketed as the next big theme to profit from. But how consistent are they in beating a large cap index? Let us find out. Note: These…

A reader asks, “I have a question regarding Taxation on withdrawal of SIP mutual fund units. Can you throw some light on how the units would be taxed?” First, it must be understood that the SIP is just an automated way of buying mutual funds units each month (typically). However you buy mutual fund units…

A reader asks, “One common trend I see in your analysis is that the active MFs are always considered against the benchmark indices and not index funds themselves. Why are active mutual fund returns compared with TRI (total return indices) and not index fund returns?” “Also, since index fund investment recommendation is limited only to…

We analyse the performance of multi-asset mutual funds in this article. This category is only four years old introduced by SEBI in 2018 with the re-categorization of mutual funds. Therefore we shall only look at the last 1,2,3, and 4-year trailing returns of multi-asset funds. According to SEBI, a multi-asset fund invests in at least three…

This article presents results from the Equity Mutual Fund Screener Sep 2022 and discusses why we badly need an aggressive hybrid index fund! We find out how easy/hard it is to consistently beat the CRISIL Hybrid 35+65 – Aggressive Index. The index comprises S&P BSE 200 TR(65%) and CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index (35%). Disclaimer: Fund…