A viewer on our YouTube channel wants to know,  “What are the “must have” mutual fund categories in a portfolio?” This is personal finance and it is deeply personal (for those who realise it is and act on it). So, there are no “must have” products or product categories (MF or non-MF). As long as…

On November 5, 2024, SEBI issued a circular titled, Disclosure of expenses, half-yearly returns, yield and risk-o-meter of schemes of Mutual Funds,  outlining three changes to the half-yearly disclosures made by Asset Management Companies (AMCs) under its jurisdiction. SEBI RIA Abhishek Kumar explains the changes. About the author: Abhishek is part of a freefincal’s curated list of…

Many readers ask, “Where should I invest a lump sum before deploying it into equity MFs?”. They research the best product for holding this lump sum, how long they should wait to start investing in equity MFs, and how long they should do the transfer. This is a waste of time, effort and money. You…

In this article, we cover the essentials of a mutual fund systematic withdrawal plan (SWP) in the format of an FAQ. 1: What is a Systematic Withdrawal Plan? The SWP is the opposite of a SIP. In a SIP, you invest a fixed amount each month (the most frequently used interval) and build a lump…

As readers may know, five mutual fund portfolios can be compared with the Google Sheets-based freefincal mutual fund portfolio overlap tool. Mr Sundararajan Srinivasan has updated the tool by replacing the existing (incomplete) Stock Sector listing with the standard SEBI classification. Features It allows you to compare the portfolio of five mutual funds. These can…

We explain the difference between profit booking and rebalancing using mutual funds in simple language for newbies, Profit-booking is a colloquial trade name for selling stocks or mutual funds.  Let us understand profit booking with an example. Suppose you purchased 100 stocks for Rs. 10. The initial investment value is Rs. 1000. After many months,…

Interactions with readers since Budget 2024 have made us realise that some investors are unaware of the difference between tax harvesting and portfolio rebalancing. One could also add “profit booking” into the mix. In this article, we explain the difference between these actions. Profit Booking: This is a fallacy. You cannot redeem only profits from…

A says, “Instead of starting a mutual fund SIP, can I manually invest each month?” The answer might seem trivial to old investors, but it is worth clarifying for newbies. Ask any AMC person or mutual fund sales guy this question, and you will get an immediate no. Followed by something like, “An SIP is…

Here is what you need to know and do to be a successful equity mutual fund investor. This also applies to the long-term direct equity (stock) investor. Understand the true nature of the stock market: All those stories of “compounding” that you have been fed do not pan out in real life. See: Don’t get…

It is clear from how many readers, particularly young earners, respond to freefincal content these days that they are overconfident about their equity investments. Especially investments in small cap funds, mid cap funds, etc., that have soared in recent months. This could spell trouble for their goals and dreams. I hate to break it to…

A reader says, “I am currently 37, married (no kids yet), based out of Bangalore and, as usual, a very late starter to equity investing. My debt portion (PPF, EPF, FDs) is much higher than equity, and all I am trying is to catch up and make debt to equity 50:50 and regularly rebalance once…

While recording an episode for the Let’s Get Rich With Pattu Podcast, a question that naturally emerged was, “Can I bet on the India growth story and invest in equity?” The question discussed in the podcast has been covered here: What is the probability the Indian equity market will perform well in the long term?…

Equity savings funds are recommended as a tax-efficient alternative to debt mutual funds. This is more so with the debt fund units purchased on or after 1st April 2023 taxed as per slab regardless of the holding period. See, for example, the new debt fund tax rule: How do I change my investment strategy? What…

A reader says, “I have been trying to get information on how to invest in Index Funds but could not find much info. I would appreciate it if you could provide your guidance on this”. Our investing mantra is process-first, products-last. So, selecting an index fund should be the very last step. We recommend asking these questions…