The way UTI Mutual fund handled the DHFL crisis leaves a lot to be desired to say the least highlighting the need for tighter rules on what an AMC should do in the case of a bond default. In early June 2019, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd a housing finance company defaulted on almost 1000…
Continue reading →Each time gold prices start to move up, there is talk about how “gold is a hedge”, “gold is a safe haven”, about how every investor should have a small exposure to it, 5-10%. The question investors should really be asking is, how much gold in my portfolio will protect it against a market crash?…
Continue reading →In the last ten years, online mutual fund investing has been a gamechanger for both the investor and the industry. I think it is time to stop and ask is it unhealthy to buy mutual funds from an investment platform? Just think about the number of mutual fund investment channels available today, it almost seems like…
Continue reading →SBI Magnum Constant Maturity Fund can be considered for the debt part of the portfolio to be used for long term goals nearly free of credit risk (as per current scheme rules). The fund will invest at least 80% of its portfolio in central and state government bonds with a maturity of about 10 years….
Continue reading →This is a health insurance policy comparison spreadsheet prepared by K R Lakshminarayanan for his personal use. He has kindly come forward to share it with all of us. Use it as a base for comparing health insurance features and understand aspects of a policy that matter. Health insurance policies currently available can be classified…
Continue reading →When it comes to stock selection, two questions are always on the top of my head: (1) Is there a simple way to find out how good a business is? At least I must be able to identify stocks that I should not invest in. If I can do this in a visual manner from…
Continue reading →The 14th edition of the freefincal stock analyzer is now available for free download. Since Morningstar changed to site layout the sheet could no longer download financials and many users wrote to me about this. In this edition, I had changed the way the sheet retrieves data. Give this a try and let me know…
Continue reading →This is a performance review of Tata Equity PE Fund. We find out how consistently it has beat its benchmark and fares against peers in the category. Tata Equity PE fund is a value-oriented fund that tries to buy “good stocks at cheap valuations”. To achieve this, the fund uses several quantitative and qualitative factors…
Continue reading →This is how I lost Rs. 24,000 on my health insurance claim due to the presence of room rent sub-limits. However, having a policy without such sub-limits is not a bed of roses either. Readers may recall that my mother had ear surgery in Dec 2018 but I thought I got away with the sub-limit…
Continue reading →Dear Dad, I had always heard that God takes good people first. I know you were too good, but why you were so good, Dad? I am writing this letter to you because I am unable to express my feelings to anyone else. It has been three months that you are not with us. I…
Continue reading →After the series of credit problems in debt mutual funds, many investors would like to know more about buying bonds directly instead of debt mutual funds. To do this, knowledge of basics and familiarity with bond terminology is essential. Therefore I have requested an expert to discuss the basics of how to go about buying…
Continue reading →Avinash Luthria explains why the most important report about mutual fund investing in India was published in April 2010 – the S&P Index Versus Active Funds India report – and how there is sufficient and repeated evidence avoid active mutual funds and change the way we invest. I respect Avinash’s approach to investing especially his realistic…
Continue reading →Personal finance is personal and in general, it is incorrect to claim X or Y action as a mistake. That said, being judgemental (almost always with incomplete information) keeps human society together and I think it reasonable to list a few actions as unproductive and hence unnecessary. Harpring on these can be considered a mistake….
Continue reading →Yes, that is right! There is no legal obligation for a mutual fund to declare NAV after each business day! SEBI expects them to, yes but the rules are fairly lax in this regard. Let us take a look at what happened after the DHFL crisis. NAV for 3rd June 2019: According to AMFI, For…
Continue reading →As you know by now, DHFL has failed to pay interest on its bonds in time and the NAV of several debt funds fell sharply (and that is an understatement for some!) on Tuesday night. If you are affected, here is what you should do. If you are not affected, here is how you can…
Continue reading →