I am sure that at some point while watching the news on TV or skimming through news articles, you might have come across headlines like these and wondered what they meant: “RBI raises repo rate, reverse repo rate by 25 bps”, “RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points” With the RBI’s rate-setting panel (the…
Continue reading →We received this email from a reader. “Dear pattu sir, I was shocked to see Value Research has rated ICICI Pru Nifty Next 50 Index Fund Direct Plan with their lowest rating of just one star! How is this possible? How can an index fund have a star rating and that too so low? Can…
Continue reading →Generally, debt products are expected to have lower volatility than equity mutual funds. However, many investors find that debt fund volatility is a lot higher than what they anticipated. This is because of incorrect expectations and a poor understanding of the factors that influence debt fund returns. In this article, we discuss a simple way…
Continue reading →Let us discuss the answer to a question we received recently: “dear sir, can you please compare MF SIP vs lump sum returns and tell us which is a better way to invest in mutual funds?”. This question has been asked and analyzed for decades! Unfortunately, very few point this simple fact. If you ask…
Continue reading →These are the freefincal handpicked list of mutual funds for Apr-Jun 2021. New and old investors can use it according to their specific needs. The list is called “PlumbLine” and was started in Sep 2017 for beginners to accompany the freefincal robo advisory template. This quarter, I have two new categories and consolidated some types…
Continue reading →Here is a list of stocks with low volatility and momentum for April 2021 from the Nifty 100. You can also get the historical data from March 2019 to April 2021. We filter Nifty 100 for (1) positive 1-year return, (2) positive six-month return, (3) price > 200-day moving average, (4) 50% of daily positive…
Continue reading →It seems incredulous that I am writing this in 2021. It feels like 1921 when I see so many people complain that the govt does not want to help senior citizens or the middle-class or the lower-income group. Every govt regardless of who is in power, tries to do its best to those who need…
Continue reading →In this article, I discuss why the govt can use income tax (IT) slab rates as a primary guide for fixing small savings scheme interest rates to (1) reduce hardships to lower-income groups and senior citizens and (2) avoid cringy embarrassment such as this PPF rate cut reversed but do not reverse your decision to reconsider…
Continue reading →The finance minister in a tweet announced, “interest rates of small savings schemes of GoI shall continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 2020-2021, ie, rates that prevailed as of March 2021. Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn”. Inspite of this readers should reconsider its place in their…
Continue reading →PPF interest rate has been “slashed” from 7.1% to 6.4% for the second quarter of 2021. This has come as a big shock to retail investors who, at the least, expected rates to remain the same. The rate for Sukanya Samridhhi Yojana has also be reduced from 7.6% to 6.9%. Does it still make sense…
Continue reading →Many PPF investors have a habit of investing Rs. 1.5 Lakh between April 1st to April 5th to “maximise” the interest benefits of PPF. Here is what you need to consider before you do this! The discussion also applies if you wish to maximise PPF investments over the course of the financial year. If you…
Continue reading →When it comes to managing our money, there are several questions to ask. (1) Should I do it myself? Can I do it myself? Or outsource it to a professional? (2) If I wish to outsource, who should I contact, what should I expect, what questions should I ask them? For the last six-plus years,…
Continue reading →Anyone investing in mutual funds would have heard the saying, “time in the market is better than timing the market”. This was propagated by AMC folk to try and stop fluctuating AUM and, therefore, income/commissions. However, “time in the market” or “staying invested” at all times or “buy and hold” is not different from “timing…
Continue reading →This is a list of the worst-performing equity mutual funds over every possible five, four, three and two year period between 1st Jan 2013 (introduction date of direct plans) to March 8th 2021. Some caveats before we begin: (1) The definition of a “worst mutual fund” is as arbitrary as the definition of a “best…
Continue reading →Interest in passive investing has increased in India over the last few years. This trend was driven by perceptible outperformance: first was the increase in interest in Nifty Next 50 – as usual after the index started moving south in 2018. Then in the Nifty and Sensex as they were held up by a few…
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