A reader says, “I have been trying to get information on how to invest in Index Funds but could not find much info. I would appreciate it if you could provide your guidance on this”. Our investing mantra is process-first, products-last. So, selecting an index fund should be the very last step. We recommend asking these questions…
Continue reading →A reader recently could opt for a cashless claim or pay cash and then be reimbursed in a network hospital—an account. This is my experience when encountering a Cashless VS Reimbursement situation a few months ago in 2023 (the story was shared with us in Feb 2024). The hospital offered a package for the procedure…
Continue reading →In this article, Sunil explains how he contested a health insurance claim rejection with the Insurance Ombudsman (Bima Lokpal portal) and won. Sunil prefers that the health insurance company not be named in the article (the editorial team at Freefincal is also unaware of this). The procedure followed matters more to the reader, as it…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, a young earner shares his investment journey. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of readers. Some of the previous editions are linked at the bottom of this article. You can also access the full reader story archive. Opinions…
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 →A listener to the Let’s Get Rich With Pattu podcast writes, ” What is the probability that a particular equity market (just the index) will perform well (beating inflation) in the long term? I can see all the examples taken comfortably from the US and India everywhere. But what about other equity markets? And what’s…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, we learn about a young earner’s journey to one crore and their plans to build further wealth. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of readers. Some of the previous editions are linked at the bottom of this…
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 publish a list of stocks with low volatility and momentum each month. We provide data for BSE 500 and BSE 100 stocks. There are now three different screener files available. (1) Stocks with low volatility and momentum from the BSE 100 large cap universe are available as a separate file (2) Stocks with low…
Continue reading →Taxation on Sales of Real Estate Bought Before April 2001 requires more clarity from the government. Update: Finance Bil 2024 has been amended. Taxpayers can now choose either 12.5% without indexation or 20% with indexation, whichever is lower for LTCG on property. Are indexation benefits available for selling properties purchased before 1st April 2001? Our…
Continue reading →After the fall in gold prices due to the customs duty cut announced in the 2024 budget, sovereign gold bond investors are shocked, and many have written to us to ask if these investments make sense anymore. There is a lot of speculation as to why the customs duty was cut – “this was done…
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 →Investors seem confused about how gold investments will be taxed after Budget 2024. This is natural since there is still some ambiguity about the holding periods of listed assets like gold ETFs and sovereign gold bonds. Here is a quick summary. Physical Gold: slab rate (<2Y); 12.5% (>2Y) The tax will be at the applicable…
Continue reading →This article discusses how Balanced Advantage Funds and Dynamic Asset Allocation Funds will be taxed after the 2024 Budget. Dynamic Asset Allocation or Balanced Advantage Fund can invest in equity/ debt that is managed (0% to 100% in equity & equity related instruments; and dynamically 0% to 100% in Debt instruments). So they could be…
Continue reading →A reader says, “I am 47 and have a wife and 15-year-old daughter. I have my own house, and I am paying one lakh emi. The balance loan is 1.4 cr. I have been considering resigning from my current job and, depending solely on my corpus, investing primarily in FD, mutual funds, and some stocks.”…
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