Original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on developments in the mutual fund space and in-depth reviews
Use this tool to analyse the consistency in the performance of your mutual fund holdings with respect to their benchmarks (72 indices from BSE and NSE). You can also use this to evaluate new funds that you want to invest in. This is a major update (version 5 ) to the freefincal mutual fund rolling…
Continue reading →In this post, I discuss what investors need to know before reaching for Best/Top mutual funds with a past vs future performance study along the lines of the one made earlier: Mutual Fund Investing: Does Past Performance Matter? So this post is more of an update to that analysis. Let us assume that you make a lump…
Continue reading →Shall we try out the following experiment? Pick a fund that you invest in. Say Quantum Long Term Equity or PPFAS LTVF or HDFC Balanced. Enter all the transactions in that fund(s) in a portfolio tracker. Then add a couple of index mutual funds like Franklin Nifty Fund or ICICI Nifty Next 50 fund. Use the same…
Continue reading →In July 2016, while researching on the Nifty Smart Beta Indices, I accidentally realised that the Nifty Next 50 (formerly Nifty Jr) is one tough benchmark to beat. When I compiled the list of equity mutual fund benchmarks, I could not find any active mutual fund benchmarked to the Nifty Next 50! Now, if that…
Continue reading →Here are forty ways to make more money In India based on real-life inspirational examples of hard work, skill and determination. I asked the members of Facebook group Asan Ideas For Wealth to share details of how they are earning an extra income to supplement their main salaries. I received 100+ responses which make it…
Continue reading →I discuss ways in which we can visualise and interpret the annualised return, also known as the compounded annualised growth rate or the CAGR and volatility of returns. Franklin India Prima Fund had a NAV of 201.75 on April 3rd, 2006 and a NAV of 878.5 on 12th April 2017. What is the annualised return?…
Continue reading →Use this Excel sheet to track and compare the annualized return (XIRR) of your mutual fund investments with that of a benchmark. This is the updated version of the Mutual Fund SIP XIRR Tracker thanks to Krishna Chaitanya who pointed out an error in the sheet. The Nifty strategic indices have also be updated up to April 10th 2017. The sheet…
Continue reading →Concerned that the stock market is overheated? Here is why it makes sense to focus on the risk associated with the money already invested and not worry about investing more. Suppose, I have a long-term goal and I can only spare Rs. 500 towards an equity SIP. I choose a nondescript mid-cap mutual fund and start…
Continue reading →There were reports yesterday regarding SEBI thinking about asking fund houses to use benchmark indices where the dividends are assumed to be reinvested. Such total return benchmark indices (TRI) offer anywhere between 1-2% higher return each year over the normally used price indices (for large cap stocks) which do not consider dividends. While this is…
Continue reading →“Which is the best way to compare my mutual fund with other funds from the same category?”. The best way would be to not compare the performance of the funds that you hold with others. The second best way would be to use the exact dates in which you invested and only those dates for the comparison….
Continue reading →Freefincal has two automated stock analysis and valuation spreadsheets. One that obtains financial data from screener.in and another which obtains financials from morningstar. Both sheets also get stock price data from moneycontrol. This is an important update to both these modules due to a change in moneycontrol web layout. Thanks to swanand pointing this out. Before…
Continue reading →The systematic transfer plan (STP) is a way for an asset management company to lock into some “business”, just as jewel shop does with a “gold scheme”. It can be used to withdraw from one mutual fund to either generate regular income or transfer that money to another fund (typically equity) in the name of “reducing risk”…
Continue reading →It is unfortunate that mutual fund dividends are among the least understood aspect of mutual funds. They are often used when unnecessary and without understanding tax implications. In this post, I discuss when mutual fund dividends make sense and when they do not. The first step is to understand that a fund declares a dividend…
Continue reading →Why blame Value Research For awarding Taurus Liquid Fund that is in trouble for continuing to buy a near-junk bond (Ballarpur Industries), five stars (four stars when commissions are removed)? That is like blaming someone because they could not predict a market crash! Before we go any further, it is important to recognise that many…
Continue reading →Most stock market indices widely used in India are what are known as market capitalization weighted indices. That is, higher the total market value of a stock, higher its presence (weight) in the index. The Nifty 100 Equal weight index is one in which all the stocks of the Nifty 50 and Nifty Next 50…
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