One question that new investors ask is, “since the NAV of a direct plan mutual fund is always higher than that of the regular plan, I will get a lesser number of units for the same investment. Is this not bad? Will I not get lower returns and lesser corpus?” In this article, we shall…
Continue reading →This is a performance review of Sundaram Mid Cap Fund (previously Select Mid Cap Fund) one of the most consistent performers in the mid cap fund space. Since its launch in July 2002, it has grown to become to fourth place in terms of AUM (~ 5700 Crores) and is one of the few mid…
Continue reading →I received two interesting questions received on email. (1) As a new investor, how many mutual funds do I need to begin with? (2) Can I begin investing with a single multi-cap fund? Interestingly, the answer to the second question is “yes” and that is the also the answer to the first question – “one”. Yes, most investors,…
Continue reading →There is no need for investors to consider the two new index from DSP: DSP Nifty 50 Index Fund & DSP Nifty Next 50 Index Fund as there are good existing options. Amusingly, in its promotional campaign DSP has admitted that beating the market will be tougher in future! We should avoid a new index fund…
Continue reading →I argue why there is no need for financial advisors to be competent because most investors are not worth it and the ones who are worth it do not need advisors! A few years ago, I was engaged in a debate with a colleague. I said, teachers should push themselves to become better and better otherwise…
Continue reading →Many 35-40+ investors face a crisis: they realise need for equity in the portfolio but have a huge fixed income corpus. In this guest post, Ananth, a member of FB group, Asan Ideas for Wealth discusses how one can handle this problem. Ananth made this important observation in response to this video: I started investing late,…
Continue reading →This is a performance review of Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund. They launched the fund as a closed -ended fund mid and small cap fund in Jan 2006 and became open-ended from April 2011. From June 4th 2018, it became a small cap fund in line with SEBI regulations. We compare the risk and reward of…
Continue reading →Gilt mutual funds are those that predominantly invest in government bonds (gilts).For a citizen, such bonds carry no credit risk, that is the risk of perceived or actual delay or default in interest payment*. However, this brings to the table a new of problems that investors need to know of. If you cannot stomach the possibility…
Continue reading →Here are five index funds based on Sensex and the Nifty that have beat their indices in the last year! Therefore, investors should avoid such funds! Since an index fund has expenses associated with management and commissions (in the regular plan), it is impossible for an index fund to produce a return more than the index…
Continue reading →Here is how you can combine NIfty 50 (Nifty or N50) and Nifty Next 50 (NN50) index funds to create large and mid cap index portfolios. Since both N50 and NN50 index funds have been around for many years, index investors can use these two instead of new or low AUM ETF or index fund…
Continue reading →It is well known that small cap stocks and therefore small cap mutual funds are high-risk instruments with potential high return. The small cap investor may feel like riding a roller coaster on Red bull – stupendous gains or losses over a short period, followed by years of no returns. So it is a natural choice…
Continue reading →A review of SBI Small Cap Fund previously called SBI Small & Midcap fund. The small cap mutual fund space is an adrenalin filled rough ride not suited for many. Spectacular returns in a short time is often followed by extended periods of meagre returns. This segment is most sensitive to AUM increases as the…
Continue reading →The interim budget announced on 1st Feb 2019 has proposed a change in the tax rebate under section 87A. Here is how it will work. Revised Tax Rebate Under Section 87A (FY 2019-2020) If you are resident individual and your total income after all eligible deductions is equal to or less than 5 lakh, then…
Continue reading →The government announced in the interim budget on 1st Feb 2019 that house property capital gains exemption under section 54 of the income tax act can be claimed by the purchase of two new house (residential) properties. Also read: Revised Tax Rebate Under Section 87A (FY 2019-2020) Explained Existing House property capital gains exemption (section 54) Section…
Continue reading →One of the most popular beliefs about a mutual fund SIP is that it reduces risk because the buying price is “averaged”. Many also believe a SIP helps achieve higher returns. We show that statements are not true and merely myths propagated by the mutual fund industry for profit. That a mutual fund SIP cannot…
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