Arjun asks, “Can you please write an article on how new mutual fund investors should track their portfolios?” Today “tracking” an investment portfolio has become extremely easy. Investors are spoilt for choice and, at the same time, swayed by fancy pie charts and textured graphs. But is this tracking? In this article, let us consider…

Sriram has an interesting question: “Dear Pattu sir, thanks to your articles, I have just started investing in equity mutual funds with a 15-year goal. For the fixed income part, I would like to use a combination of fixed deposits and gilt mutual funds”. “My asset allocation is 50% equity and 50% fixed income. As…

In response to our article, “Do we need to invest in international mutual funds?“, a reader claimed that the Nasdaq 100 or the S&P 500 would beat the Sensex over the long term for sure. Is this just another opinion based on personal faith, or does it have any past performance support? We find out…

Having mutual funds from all AMCs to buy from at the click of a button is a “convenience” only for those who know what they are doing and when to stop. Many young earners make the mistake of starting SIPs in multiple mutual funds from day one. And multiple here means more than 10! The…

In this article, we present the results of a performance analysis of small cap mutual funds compared to the Nifty Smallcap 250, NIfty MIdcap 150 and Nifty Next 50 total returns index. We discuss if it is worth investing in small cap mutual funds. We had recently reported that active mid cap mutual fund managers…

Chitra asks, “Dear Pattu Sir, I have just started my mutual fund investment journey with a SIP in UTI Nifty index fund. I see many investors talk about Nasdaq 100 or S&P 500 funds, but I feel that they are not necessary. Can you please an article about this topic?” The short answer to, “do…

A viewer on our YouTube channel asks, “Sir, How can I identify my risk appetite. Please let me know the list of points to consider while deciding asset allocation. Thanks.” Many investors believe their risk appetite falls under three categories: low, medium and risk. They also assume risk appetite refers to “how much risk we…

Thanks to effective industry propaganda, many investors believe that mutual fund managers in the mid cap space can easily beat a  mid cap benchmark. In this article, we bust this myth with rolling returns and trailing results comparison of active mid cap mutual funds with Nifty Midcap 150 TRI. First, let us compare trailing returns…

Abhishek asks, “Dear pattu sir, how many mutual funds are necessary to build a portfolio? I would like to build a long-term minimalistic but diversified portfolio”. Ironically, context is often the first casualty in personal finance discussions. If you go to Facebook group Asan Ideas for Wealth and announce, “I am holding ten mutual funds”,…

Anand has an interesting question, “Dear Pattu Sir, I was looking to invest in a mutual fund offering regular dividends* but I can only see the returns of the growth option listed everywhere. Can you please explain why dividend option returns are not published?” * SEBI has mandated that mutual fund dividends be called “Income…

A viewer on our YouTube channel asks, “Sir, at present, my age is 24. For the last 2 years, I have invested in  Sbi small cap Rs. 1200 a month. Recently 4 months back, I started SIP in these funds. Mirae asset emerging Rs.  1100; Parag Parikh Flexicap Fund Rs. 1100; MO Nasdaq 100 Rs….

A viewer on our YouTube channel asks, “What is the benefit of a mutual fund beating the index? How it is going to benefit a common investor?” On the face of it, this seems like the answer is obvious, but that is not true because of how the real cost of investing in a mutual…

We list some of the worst mistakes to be avoided while investing in mutual funds.  This list is sourced from the questions we have received or encountered at Facebook group Asan Ideas for Wealth over the past 9+ years and is equally applicable to any capital market-related investment product or strategy. 1. I want to…

Piyush asks, “Dear Pattu Sir, You have mentioned several times the importance of portfolio rebalancing. Due to the marker recovery, my equity mutual fund portfolio allocation is now 75%. I want to reduce this to 70%. Can I do this by stopping my SIPS for a few months and invest it in fixed income? This…

A viewer on our Youtube Channel asks, ” I have been investing in index funds for the last 3 years in sip mode. Can I book partial profits now?” The answer to this question does not depend on whether you invested in index funds, active funds, or direct equity. It depends on your asset allocation…