Each December, I conduct a personal financial audit. I take stock of my financial goals and other aspects of personal finance relevant to me. For the last couple of years I have been sharing the gist of such audits at freefincal: This may help interested readers to conduct one themselves: how to conduct a personal…
Continue reading →Here is a simple way to construct a diversified mutual fund portfolio, or to declutter and reconstruct an existing portfolio using the investment style box available at mutual fund star rating portals. The following are the attributes of a ‘good’ portfolio. Diversification across assets classes (equity and fixed income should do) Diversification within each asset class….
Continue reading →“Which is the best way to accumulate gold for a marriage?” is a question often asked by parents, brothers and even the bride or groom to be. This is a discussion on a few smart ways to accumulate gold for a marriage. Some of you are thinking, ‘the best way to accumulate gold is not to!’. The…
Continue reading →A mutual fund NFO or new fund offer is one which is available when a new mutual fund is launched. For about two weeks the new mutual fund is available at a NAV of Rs 10 per unit before its assets become marked to market. “Do not buy NFOs” is a refrain often found in…
Continue reading →The standard deviation is the simplest way of measuring volatility of an instrument. For investors, it is, the most important risk measure they should be aware of while choosing product categories. It is in my opinion, the key to successful mutual fund investing and can help you select mutual fund categories suitable for your financial goals When…
Continue reading →All long-term financial goals would soon become short-term financial goals. Perhaps it is obvious that with the passage of time that a goal 18 years away, will soon become a goal 3 years away.Children’s education goal is the best example of this. ‘They grow up so fast!”, we hear everyone say around us. Question is,…
Continue reading →Here is a 7-minute video that discusses the differences and similarities between the two types of annualized returns: the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and the extended internal rate of return (XIRR). An annualized return treats an investment in a volatile instrument (gold, stocks, debt funds) as one that compounds and calculates an average year-upon-year return….
Continue reading →This is a 15 minute user manual for using a retirement calculator. It describes the nature of inputs found in typical retirement calculators highlighting the importance of reasonable inputs and erring on the side of caution. Although freefincal retirement planner app now available at Google Play is used for the illustration, the video is applicable for…
Continue reading →The low-stress retirement calculator is now available as an android app from the Google Play store. Do give it a try and if you like it, please share. rate and review it. The app takes into account all your existings investments (equity, EPF, PPF, Fds etc.) to compute the corpus required to generate an inflation protected income…
Continue reading →This post is meant for young earners’ who would like to begin mutual fund investments at the start of their career. I write this following a reader’s suggestion (unable to locate the comment -apologies). The contents of this post is subject to the following assumptions: The investment would be used for financial independence later in life…
Continue reading →Version 9 of the automated stock analysis sheet now projects expected earnings per share and calculates the forward PE. Some bugs have been corrected and minor improvements made. List of features of the freefincal stock analyzer The automated stock analysis sheet pulls financials from morningstar and analyzes them pulls adjusted stock price history from money control, and…
Continue reading →Did you know that when you invest in the national pension scheme (NPS), you are actually investing in mutual funds? The NAV would be as volatile as any old equity or debt mutual fund and returns are not guaranteed. I was surprised that many thought the NPS investing is different from mutual fund investing. Hence…
Continue reading →Do we have what it takes to be a successful long-term investor? Join me in evaluating our behaviour with respect to some time-tested notions. 1. Long-term implies minimal short-term maintenance! Long-term really means long-term! What is going to happen in the markets tomorrow, one week later one month later etc. do not matter as long the…
Continue reading →I usually love December. The Chennai Summer is busy recharging its batteries and therefore not in full force. The Carnatic music season seems to begin earlier each year, thanks to some prudent marketing. The semester is over, and for me, goal-based investing month starts! Dec 2015 was unique because of the Chennai floods! Most of…
Continue reading →A discussion on how the term spread, which is the difference between the 10-year & 3-month government bond yield, can be considered as a macroeconomic indicator A macroeconomic indicator is one which gives an indication about the current state and future trend in the economy. Macroeconomic indicators can be used to change the asset allocation in…
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