In a circular dated Sep 11th 2020, SEBI has modified asset allocation rules for multicap mutual funds. We discuss how this rule is unnecessary and is likely to affect investors.

Even an occasional market observer would know that the NASDAQ 100 index has zoomed past the S&P 500 after the March 2020 market crash. Has it begun to correct now? I received this question a couple of days ago. “I have been investing in Motilal Oswal NASDAQ 100 Fund of Fund via SIP since inception…

After the market crash in March 2020, SBI Small Cap and DSP Small Cap funds opened for lump sum purchase. Now SBI Small Cap Fund has announced that it will not accept lump sum investments from Sep 7th (it had opened on March 30th). Does this mean investors should be wary of poor returns in…

Portfolio folio rebalancing is like a “system reset”. It is used to remove money from a well-performing asset class (eg equity) and move it to another asset class (eg. fixed income).  Investors have many questions regarding this essential portfolio management activity and one of them is: “should I use the best performing mutual fund to…

Are you delaying your investments waiting for the market to fall again? Here is why waiting for the suitable time to invest in the market can an expensive and irreversible mistake.

It seems incredulous to think that the Nifty was 12,174 on 13th Feb and fell 37.5% over the next 39 days to 7610 on March 23rd. Then over the next 158 days, it gained 53% to close at 11647 on Aug 28th 2020. These are 10 mutual funds (from 9 categories) that have moved up…

“My goal is long-term. If my risk appetite is moderate, what kind of mutual funds should I choose?”. This is a common question asked in personal finance forums. We discuss what investors in this situation should do.

Let us consider this question asked by a reader: “Instead of starting a mutual fund SIP, can I invest small amounts on my own each month?” The answer might seem trivial to old investors, but it worth clarifying for the sake of newbies.

Investing in mutual funds is only a choice and has nothing to do with “financial literacy”. Imagine yourself as a financial advisor with no conflict of interest – meaning you are neither a sales guy nor looking to profit from a percentage of a clients networth. A client comes to you and says, “I want…

A multi-asset mutual fund is a new fund category introduced by SEBI. It has the mandate to invest at least 10% each in equity, debt and gold or permitted commodities at all times. We discuss the nature of available multi-asset funds, when investors should consider them and what to expect. We also consider if these…

A “long-term”  SIP can teach us many things about risk and reward. These are the lessons learned from an Rs. 500 a month SIP running since Aug 2009 in Sundaram Midcap Fund for a relative. Some tend to dismiss our earlier analysis on “SIP risk” as “theoretical”. So here are inferences with “real money”!

While the Public provident fund offers risk-free, gradually varying returns, a govt bond provides risk-free, constant income. If we buy it via a gilt mutual fund then its daily value depends on market supply and demand. The risk, although lower than equity or gold is still significantly high. There are some advantages of using gilt…

In this 15-year equity mutual fund SIP report, we tabulate returns for 148 equity-oriented mutual funds to find only 71 managed a return greater than 10%, and out of these 71, 17 are sectoral/thematic funds.

There is an uncanny pattern to mistakes mutual fund investors make regardless of their experience. Here are five such common mistakes. Avoiding these can significantly help your portfolio.