Original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on developments in the mutual fund space and in-depth reviews
Here is a list of calculators and resources related to fixed deposit (FD), recurring deposit (RD) and debt mutual funds. 1. Fixed Deposit and Recurring Deposit Calculators FD-Maturity value Comprehensive Fixed Deposit Calculator – I: Total and Advance Tax Liability Comprehensive Fixed Deposit Calculator – II: The Income Clubbing Headache Variable RD Calculator Comprehensive Recurring…
Continue reading →Use this excel tool to generate an account statement and calculate returns for your mutual fund SIP investments using NAV history. First, a few thoughts about calculating SIP returns. There are many ways to calculate returns from a SIP investment using Excel. Many prefer to use a function known as XIRR to estimate returns. Yes,…
Continue reading →Analyzing the performance of a mutual fund is not rocket science. Anybody can do it, just as anybody can select a mutual fund following a few simple rules. I would like to prove my point with a do it yourself mutual fund analysis using HDFC Top 200 fund – one of the most popular mutual funds in…
Continue reading →Here is a list of all the Excel-based free personal finance calculators available for download in the blog. This list will be available in a separate page in the navigation menu. If you see calculators you have not checked out before, do give them a try this weekend. If you find the calculators useful, please…
Continue reading →XLMFTrackerAG, an Excel based mutual fund portfolio tracker, is another excellent offering by Satish Mistry, financial planner at MoneyCare Financial Planning. Satish recently developed a comprehensive financial planning tool. XLMFTrackerAG is suitable for individual investors, financial planners and independent financial advisors to manage a mutual fund portfolio. Financial planners can easily process the portfolios of clients…
Continue reading →Use this Excel based rolling returns calculator to evaluate the consistency in performance of your mutual funds and stocks by comparing them with their benchmark indices. Returns for a financial instrument that fluctuate can be calculated in two ways: Point-to-point returns: The effective annual compounded growth rate (CAGR) is calculated between any two dates. You…
Continue reading →It is now seven months since direct mutual fund plan were introduced. Using NAV history of HDFC Top 200, I have calculated the actual difference in returns between the regular-plan and direct-plan (growth option) obtained so far (Excel sheet attached). Let use recall that regular funds will have a higher expense ratio than direct funds. …
Continue reading →Warren Buffet, in a letter to his shareholders said, ‘do not ask a barber if you need a haircut’. This applies to many situations in life. In the present context, ‘never ask someone in the financial advisory business, if mutual fund selection is hard’. Selecting a mutual fund is not rocket science. It can be…
Continue reading →When gold prices fell steeply earlier this year, we were flooded with ‘told you so’ articles. No one seemed bothered at that time to emphasise that gold is meant for long term investing only, and that such volatility is natural. Before the crash everyone was saying, ‘buy golf ETFs’, ‘allocate 10% of your portfolio to…
Continue reading →Here is a list of available mutual fund calculators and resources. (Updated Mar. 31st 2014) Flagship Calculator: Track your mutual fund and stock investments with this Google Sheet! Mutual Fund Calculators/Resources How to select mutual fund categories suitable for your financial goals? Step-by-step Guide to Choosing a Mutual Fund Mutual Fund SIP Returns Analyzer Mutual…
Continue reading →Since we cannot change the way the stock market operates all we can do is to make sense of its returns and invest wisely.In this post I use Sensex data to understand the nature of its fluctuating returns (including dividends!). The Excel sheet attached which will be of interest and utility to all investors regardless…
Continue reading →How would you answer if someone asks you: “I know that a systematic investment plan (SIP) in a mutual fund is an effective way to accomplish financial goals, but how often should I invest? Each month? Each quarter? Or should I invest daily? Which option provides better returns?” There are two ways of answering this:…
Continue reading →These are the latest FD calculators: Download the FD calculator (suitable for FD durations in months and years) Update Oct 2013: Download the FD calculator (suitable for FD durations in months and years) with pre-tax and post-tax annualized yield for each month of investment. Download the FD calculator (suitable for FD durations in days) Download…
Continue reading →Part I: A Step-By-Step Guide to Long Term Goal-Based Investing Download the Step-by-Step Goal-Based Investing Calculator Macros need to be enabled. Macro used is derived from Excel Workbook A standard goal calculator is also included for comparison. Part II: The What, Why, How and When of Portfolio Rebalancing Rebalacing Simulator Lite: Suitable for investors unfamiliar…
Continue reading →Question 2: Name mutual fund types with near zero probability of money-loss? I am big fan of lowering risk and tax. Before I save and invest I try to choose instruments with minimum risk and tax out-go. Of course the type of risk differs: loss-of-money-risk when saving and loss-of-value-risk (or inflation risk) when investing. Choosing…
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