Franklin Templeton AMC hailed for its ‘strong research’ in selecting corporate bonds has come in for a lot of criticism due the downgrade (Feb 15th 2016) and subsequent default (March 9th 2016) of Jindal Steel bonds. A discussion on how to minimize risk associated with debt mutual fund investments. First, a look at the Jindal…
Continue reading →‘I would like to start managing my money better, but do not know where to start and how to start’. Is a statement I have come across in many forms. I have been accused of ‘providing mathematical answers’. So in this post, I try to do something different. Where to Start and How to Start?…
Continue reading →This year, direct mutual fund plans have taken off in a big way. This is exciting news not just because there is a single window to invest in direct mutual fund. In order to grow these portals must advertise*. Meaning commission-free investing will be the USP. Meaning more and more people will understand that their current online…
Continue reading →Here is a compilation of posts that hopefully can serve as a guide to last minute tax saving. Do not use ELSS mutual funds to save tax in the last minute! Unless you understand the volatile nature of equity returns, do not listen to any AMC or agent and invest in ELSS in the last minute….
Continue reading →Women members of Facebook Group Asan Ideas for Wealth listed several problems that women (married/unmarried, working/non-working) face when it comes to money management. Here is a compilation. Some problems are due to deep-rooted notions about ‘what a women can do or should do’ and some problems are due to lack of communication between a couple…
Continue reading →Budget 2016 has made annuity plans popular thanks to proposed taxation on EPF and the NPS. In its clarification about Changes made in the Tax Treatment for Recognised Provident Fund & National Pension System, the government claims It is expected that the employees of private companies will place the remaining 60% of the Corpus in…
Continue reading →Here is a step by step guide on how to use a stock screener and identify financially sound and good businesses. This is a guest post by Indraneal Balasubramanian, a passionate equity enthusiast who blogs at cognicrafting. Indraneal needs no introduction to Facebook group Asan Ideas for Wealth regulars. The following can be thought as a sequel to Krishna Kishore’s…
Continue reading →‘In the light of budget 2016 recommendations, should I now switch or shift to the national pension scheme?’ More and more EPF and other pension scheme subscriber are asking this question. While it is clear that we need to wait for the budget recommendations to become a law, here are some important points to keep in…
Continue reading →Here is an EPF calculator in Excel that helps illustrate the new EPF withdrawal rules. With effect from 10th Feb. 2016, EPF subscribers can only withdraw their contribution and the interest it earns in the EPF account if they quit their job before the age of 57. The employer contribution and the interest earned from it…
Continue reading →Here is a set of slides on retirement planning that I have used at the investor workshops. The aim is to convey the importance of retirement planning in a few slides to young earners. 1. Imagine how your monthly income will evolve in the future The abrupt stoppage in income represents retirement. 2. Now imagine…
Continue reading →Here is a simple tool to check if you are on track to early retirement. It is also suitable for normal retirement and will work on Google sheets as well. Users can enter the current value of the corpus from online portfolio trackers. It is basically an Excel retirement calculator, with a focus on tracking….
Continue reading →Here is an analysis of a mutual fund SIP investment in which purchases are systematically ‘timed’ using an index PE. I made this analysis following the suggestion of ET Wealth analyst/columnist Dr. Narendra Nathan (@drnarendranET) after (or amidst!) some fierce discussion over the usefulness of the SIP. The SIP is a useful way to invest…
Continue reading →Upside and Downside capture ratios are easy-to-understand mutual fund performance measures. Consistent downside capture ratios can be combined with consistent returns (try the mutual fund screener) to select and review mutual funds. Regular reader may be aware that I am a fan of the downside capture ratio. In this post, I present a video that describes how these…
Continue reading →Many debt mutual funds invest in corporate bonds which carry credit risk. It is important for investors to understand how this can affect debt mutual fund returns. Yesterday, rating agencies, CRISIL, ICRA and CARE downgraded short-term and long-term ratings on Jindal Power and Steel bonds. As a result, the NAV of debt funds which held…
Continue reading →Here is an illustration of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana vs. PPF when used for a girl child’s education goal. It also serves to understand why liquidity is more important than higher interest rates. Update: Current Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana rate is 8.3% and current PPF rate is 7.8% (the same 0.5% difference as assumed in the article). This does…
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