A reader says, “I am attempting to start an experiment within my family. The plan is to create an inheritance pot each generation tries to hand over to the next generation. If they can add to the kitty, then great, but that is not an expectation. It is good enough if they can sustain and…
Continue reading →One of my biggest regrets is being unable to splurge on my parents – buy them expensive gifts, take them on holidays, etc. My dad died when I was in debt (due to his hospital bills), and my mom became ill soon after. So I keep telling young people that there is a small window…
Continue reading →Ever since the announcement of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), I had assumed that it would also apply to the Union Government’s Central Autonomous Bodies (CABs) (which include all the IITs; see a full list in the link below). That is not the case. Contrary to some reports online, none of the official notifications about…
Continue reading →This article compares my stock portfolio with an equivalent investment in a Nifty index fund and the Nifty 100 Low Volatility 30 TR index. We post this comparison each month. Before we begin, new readers need to appreciate the context of these investments. Update: We recently added a new tool to the freefincal investor circle…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “Can I use a simple equity + debt portfolio instead of multiple retirement buckets? Won’t this be easier to manage?” When I was younger, I would have agreed with the reader. Age and experience change perspective. See: I thought a pension was unnecessary, but age taught me a lesson on retirement planning!…
Continue reading →We recently received an interesting email, which is reproduced below with the author’s permission. “I have come across your work in the field of saving/investing for financial independence very recently. I come from a family of marginal farmers. Both my parents toil in the fields. For more than 30 years, they used to borrow money…
Continue reading →This is a debt mutual fund screener for portfolio selection, tracking, and learning. It also includes hybrid funds that invest in bonds. It will satisfy investors who wish to invest in money market funds, banking PSU funds, etc. The credit quality of the bonds in the portfolio and the bond maturity profile can be tracked….
Continue reading →Readers often send us their mutual fund portfolios and ask for help in decluttering them. That is reduced unnecessary funds. Since we do not offer investment advice, we can do the next best thing – offer some generic steps to DIY this decluttering process. The first step is to recognise clutter. I hold 8 funds….
Continue reading →We discuss how to plan for financial goals 5-10 years away. They are neither long-term to include equity nor short-term to avoid equity completely. Financial goal planning is all about setting the right priorities. If my need is within five years, it would be prudent to avoid all equity. Equity returns are volatile regardless of…
Continue reading →Often, readers ask us, “How do we plan for holidays abroad once in 2-3 years? Our robo-advisor tool has a recurring financial goal calculator module, which you can use to plan for all such goals. This can be used to plan big-ticket annual expenses like school fees(!). Suppose we wish to go on a holiday…
Continue reading →This index fund screener is based on tracking error and returns difference wrt benchmarks (aka tracking difference). It will help users evaluate how efficiently an index fund has tracked its underlying benchmark. It will also help them understand how tracking a midcap index or the Nifty 100 or 500 differs from tracking the Sensex or…
Continue reading →Do you remember the interesting rule while setting off losses from previous years? While setting off long-term capital loss brought forward from previous years against capital gains from equity under Section 112A, the loss is first set off against the gains, and only then is the exemption of ₹1 lakh (₹1.25 lakhs from FY 2024–25…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, “If I were to describe my financial journey in one line, I’d say: It’s been a life of ordinary beginnings, supported by extraordinary people, and driven by quiet persistence.” About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of…
Continue reading →This ETF screener is based on tracking errors and differences (ETF return minus index return). It 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 in following…
Continue reading →In May 2025, the AUM of Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund crossed 1,00,000 Crores, making it the most popular active fund. Will this large AUM affect its performance? AUM vs. performance is a tricky subject, and it isn’t easy to draw useful conclusions. What we can say for sure is that AUM is likely to…
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