The AUM (asset under management) of Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund (previously known as Parag Parikh Long Term Equity Fund) grew by 147% in 2020. This article evaluates the AUM growth of this fund and discusses if this is a cause for concern. This article stems from a question posed by a reader: “I have…

We evaluate the performance of 28 active large cap mutual funds by comparing their 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 year SIP returns with Nifty 50 TRI. Investors would be aware of the explicit underperformance of large cap funds from early 2018, while the actual underperformance began well before that: Active mutual funds struggle to beat Nifty 50 for last seven…

A few days ago, a discussion led to an interesting question in the freefincal goal-based investing Facebook group: Can we buy mutual funds in the name of my minor child; wait until she becomes a major to redeem? She will then have to pay tax on capital gains. We discuss the rules in this regard…

Direct mutual fund plans were introduced from Jan 1st 2013. In this article, we list the return difference between an 8-year SIP in a direct plan and a regular plan mutual fund. Scared that it would disrupt sales, SEBI has still not renamed “regular plans” for what they really are: “commission plans” – nothing “regular”…

Every time the market hits an all-time high, many investors get jittery. Questions like “should I book profits now?” “Should I stop investing now?” start doing the rounds in social media. This article discusses a simple way to handle our emotions when investing in mutual funds or any capital market-linked product. The adage, “show me…

In this article, we study historical Sensex data to determine if investors should stop or pause their mutual fund SIPs when the markets hit an all-time high. We also consider lump sum investments and systematic transfer of a lump sum (STP) during all-time market highs. Every time the market hits an all-time high, new investors…

All of us are aware of the stability brought by a stable side income source in our financial lives. It reduces reliance on our day job and brings in additional income, which makes it easy to work towards our financial goals. In this post, we discuss 20 business ideas that would need no investment or…

As regular readers may be aware, we publish a personal financial audit each December – this is the 2020 edition: How my retirement portfolio has performed in 2020. This time, we asked regular readers to share how they review their investments and track financial goals. Suhas was the first to do this: How Suhas tracks his…

Readers may recall, a year ago (Dec 21 2019), we showed that the return difference of Nifty 50 vs Nifty 50 Equal-weight index at an all-time high. This essentially means that only the top few stocks of Nifty were holding the market up. This was apparent from late 2017 to just before the 2020 crash:…

We study 41 ELSS funds to find out which of them have consistently outperformed the NIfty 200 Total Return Index (dividends included) using the Dec 2020 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…

This is a review of HDFC Infinia Credit card one of the best super-premium cards available in the country. It’s the top of the line among the cards offered by HDFC Bank in terms of the benefits offered. About the author:  Arjun is a financial services professional, keen about all things personal finance and with…

Parag Parikh Long Term Equity Fund has now become Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund, in order to fall in line with the SEBI Multicap MF Rule issued in Sep 2020 forcing multi caps to invest in 25% in midcap and 25% in smallcap stocks and taking advantage of the new scheme category introduced in Nov…

The e-vote to decide on the winding up of six affected Franklin Templeton debt funds will be held during 26-29 Dec 2020. Here is why investors should vote “Yes” to the closure and gradual disbursal of withheld funds instead of “No”. Ideally, SEBI should have played an active role in the matter, told Franklin to…

A few days ago, I rebalanced my son’s future portfolio from 67% equity to about 54%. This means selling a big chunk of equity mutual funds and reinvesting them into fixed income. In this article, I explain why I choose ICICI Gilt fund as one component of the fixed income portfolio. I would like to reiterate…

Kotak International REIT FOF is an open-ended fund of fund scheme investing in units of SMAM ASIA REIT Sub Trust fund and/or other similar overseas REIT funds. The NFO period closes on Dec 21st 2020. In this review, we explain how a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) works and what kind of return one can…