This is my monthly retirement stock portfolio update compared with an equivalent investment in a Nifty index fund. Before we begin, investors need to appreciate the context of these investments. I started direct equity investing only after achieving a comfortable level of financial independence and ensuring my son’s future portfolio is in a good place….
Continue reading →This is a debt mutual fund screener for fund selection, fund portfolio tracking and learning. It also includes hybrid funds that invest in bonds. It will satisfy investors who wish to invest in money market funds, banking and PSU funds etc. The credit quality of the bonds in the portfolio and the bond maturity profile…
Continue reading →In this article, we discuss the benefits of portfolio rebalancing. Many investors find the topic difficult to understand and implement. So let us begin with a discussion of the basics. When we create a projection on Excel, we assume a 10% or 12% return from equity. On a spreadsheet, our money grows each year by…
Continue reading →In this article, we compare the returns of the Sensex Total Returns Index with the S&P 500 Total Returns Index in INR since the inception date of the Sensex, 1st April 1979. The analysis stems from a comment on our YouTube channel that said the S&P 500 would have easily beat the Sensex over the…
Continue reading →This is a passive fund screener based on tracking error and return difference wrt benchmarks. The screener will help a user evaluate how efficiently an index fund has tracked its underlying benchmark. It will also help a understand how tracking a midcap index or the Nifty 100, 500 is quite different from tracking the Sensex…
Continue reading →In this episode of reader-story, Mr G (anonymity on request) discusses his personal financial audit. Thanks to disciplined investing for more than a decade, he has seen his net worth double in the last financial year. It is inspiring to see such meticulous tracking of investments with a long term vision on the future corpus…
Continue reading →Wanting an extra income or side hustle and wanting to make that online is a popular desire. However, many people make the mistake of assuming that they need to become popular – more followers, more site views, more videos views etc. – in order to make good money. This is a misconception. We discuss why…
Continue reading →The finance ministry has announced the release dates of Sovereign Gold Bonds for 2021-2022. Six issues (tranches) are to be released. Thrice in May(!), once in July and twice in Aug. A discussion on when one can buy these when one should not. There are at least three distinct ways in which investors approach gold….
Continue reading →Suresh Padmanaban writes, “Dear Pattu, I have been investing in the markets since the mid-90s. I get a feeling that the volatility over these years has gradually come down. Can you please quantitatively verify this?” On 3rdf Feb 2021, the Sensex closed above 50,000 for the first time. We studied the evolution of stock market…
Continue reading →In this article, author Smriti Tuteja discusses how to choose the right school for our children. One aspect of raising children that worries most parents is education. We are always striving to give them the best and ensure that they have a secure future. It begins right after they take birth. I know people who…
Continue reading →We had recently discussed why we need to stop using Safe Withdrawal Rate (4% rule) for retirement planning. Many readers seem to be under the wrong impression that it is possible to fight inflation after retirement while ensuring the principal (nest egg) does not deplete. Here is why this is wrong. Let us reproduce the…
Continue reading →The freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener (May 2021) is now available. Use it to screen for consistently performing equity mutual funds. You can screen based on fund category & benchmark and spot mutual funds that have got a higher return than a benchmark at a lower risk. Inside, you get ~ 40% discounted links…
Continue reading →This is a review of Axis Global Innovation Fund of Fund, an open-ended fund of fund scheme investing in Schroder International Selection Fund Global Disruption (aka underlying fund). The NFO period is between 10th to 21st May 2021. Just eight months ago, the AMC had launched the Axis Global Equity Alpha Fund of Fund that…
Continue reading →Here is how a frugal lifestyle can simplify and enrich our lives. The Merriam-Webster defines “frugal” as – characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources while some of the synonyms include economical, thrifty, provident a stark contrast from the word “Cheap” which is also used to describe people with similar attributes but has a very…
Continue reading →Anyone keen on financial independence after retirement, in particular early retirement, would have come across the safe withdrawal rate, in particular the 4% rule. Unfortunately, the 4% rule is misunderstood and misused that most of us are better off never using it for retirement planning! What is a safe withdrawal rate? The safe withdrawal rate…
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