This index fund screener is based on tracking error and returns difference wrt benchmarks (aka tracking difference). The screener will help users evaluate how efficiently an index fund has tracked its underlying benchmark. It will also help to understand how tracking a midcap index or the Nifty 100, 500 differs from tracking the Sensex or…
Continue reading →I have tracked the amount invested for my goals in the same Excel sheet for the last 14 years (2011 to 2024). This sheet only tracks the amount invested and not its current market value (for this, I use a Google Sheets Tracker). These are some lessons from the journey. Between 2010-11, my retirement planning…
Continue reading →As readers may know, five mutual fund portfolios can be compared with the Google Sheets-based freefincal mutual fund portfolio overlap tool. Mr Sundararajan Srinivasan has updated the tool by replacing the existing (incomplete) Stock Sector listing with the standard SEBI classification. Features It allows you to compare the portfolio of five mutual funds. These can…
Continue reading →These are four assets that you should not add to your net worth! Over the years, many readers have vehemently disagreed with me on this, but I have always followed a sound thumb rule: if I cannot use it, or should not use it, cannot liquidate it at will, then it is not part of…
Continue reading →This ETF screener is based on tracking errors and tracking differences (ETF return minus index return). The screener will help users evaluate how efficiently an ETF has tracked its underlying benchmark. The tracking error is the ETF’s standard deviation minus index monthly return differences. The lower the tracking error, the more efficient the ETF is…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, a reader who has been managing money for five years shares his observations and lessons. In our experience, when young earners come forward and share their experiences, it inspires others (even older investors) to do better, sometimes more than stories by accomplished investors. About this series: I am grateful to…
Continue reading →We explain the difference between profit booking and rebalancing using mutual funds in simple language for newbies, Profit-booking is a colloquial trade name for selling stocks or mutual funds. Let us understand profit booking with an example. Suppose you purchased 100 stocks for Rs. 10. The initial investment value is Rs. 1000. After many months,…
Continue reading →A reader says, “My equity allocation is 66%. My target allocation is 60%. But to rebalance, I must shift Rs. 48 Lakhs (approximately) from equity mutual funds to fixed-income instruments. The tax I must pay will be significant, and it bothers me. I invest almost Rs. 4L a month in my portfolio with almost 3L…
Continue reading →Before getting started, let us try to understand the meaning of the term ‘retirement corpus’. Then, we will move on to discuss the four things that can make a dent in your retirement corpus. About the author: Ajay Pruthi is a fee-only SEBI registered investment advisor. He can be contacted via his website plnr.in. Ajay is part…
Continue reading →The latest freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener is now available. Use it to screen for consistently performing equity mutual funds. You can screen based on fund category & benchmark and spot mutual funds with a higher return than a benchmark at a lower risk. Inside, you get discounted links to our robo advisory tool…
Continue reading →Interactions with readers since Budget 2024 have made us realise that some investors are unaware of the difference between tax harvesting and portfolio rebalancing. One could also add “profit booking” into the mix. In this article, we explain the difference between these actions. Profit Booking: This is a fallacy. You cannot redeem only profits from…
Continue reading →This is a National Pension Scheme Fund Screener to shortlist consistently performing NPS schemes. You can also spot NPS schemes with a higher return than a benchmark at a lower risk. This is similar in design to the freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener. Inside, you get discounted links to our robo advisory tool and…
Continue reading →We all remember Rajesh Khanna belting out ‘Zindagi Ke Safar Mein Guzar jaate jo mukam, woh phir nahi aatein’ and he was right! Our life is a mixture of the good and the bad decisions we make. But there is one thing that keeps us on our toes. There is one thing that keeps us…
Continue reading →This article discusses how the INR to USD exchange rate affects gold prices. Tracking gold-price movements in terms of USD and INR is a simple but intuitive way to understand the strength of our economy. Here are some observations from staring at the historical gold price movement in USD and INR. The domestic price of…
Continue reading →A reader says, “I’m 48 years old, unmarried, and the only son of dependent parents. I work in a MNC IT firm and own two houses (in Mumbai and Bengaluru) and a car. I have term and medical insurance for the 3 of us”. “Unfortunately, a big mistake I have made is having very little…
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