Which is the single most important trait that characterizes a DIY (do it yourself) investor? 1) I for Individuality A person who rises above pigheadedness* and understands the steps necessary for wealth creation. However, once the basics are clear (asset allocation is all that is needed!), the person chooses a path defined by personal…
Continue reading →I am a movie buff. Here is a list of my favourite movies with a financial theme. This is an off-beat listing and is obviously non-exhaustive. When I ask myself to make a list, many wonderful movies escape my memory. This is all I could muster. All posters are from Wikipedia and all storylines and…
Continue reading →The primary stumbling block that prevents investors from achieving holistic fiscal health is mental clutter. Their minds are filled with the wrong questions. The right question is a prerequisite for finding the right answer. One such wrong question, and the flavour of the season is: Where should I invest to save tax? PPF or ELSS?…
Continue reading →Balaji Vaidyanath from Sundaram AMC where he works as a fund manager in its PMS wing spoke about, investment process and construction of an equity portfolio on 1st Nov. 2014, at the Chennai Investor Education Workshop on Financial Planning and Goal-based investing. The workshop was jointly organised by Srinivasan Sundararaman of MoneyKare, Wealth Managers, and myself and…
Continue reading →Are the markets overvalued? Is the Nifty PE too high? Should I exit and re-enter later? Aided by ‘experts’ who advice ‘caution’, such questions are doing the rounds again. Here are some misconceptions and myths about the Nifty PE. In a previous post on the relevance of the Nifty PE for the long-term investor, I…
Continue reading →There are some grey areas in personal finance and there are some downright dark areas. One such dark area is how a couple should prepare for parenting duties once a child is on the way. Dark, because there are several possibilities and each would impact the present and the future in several ways. Child birth…
Continue reading →An SWP or a systematic withdrawal plan is the lesser-known cousin of the SIP. In an SWP, an investor would receive a specific sum at periodic intervals (monthly, quarterly etc.) from a lump sum invested in a mutual fund. Here is an SWP calculator with a step-up option. Although I am not a fan of the…
Continue reading →Use this Excel-based template for creating an amortization schedule for your home loan. It allows you to visualize the monthly and yearly evolution of interest and principle components and the balance of the loan. It can accommodate regular (monthly, quarterly, bi-annual and annual) and irregular (random months) pre-payment schedules. It can also handle a loan…
Continue reading →Life insurance, health insurance, accident insurance and critical illness insurance are tailor-made fortification products that help a family tackle unpleasant and unexpected developments. Be it expenses due to hospitalization, or loss or decrease in income due to death, accident or a critical illness. I refer to them as fortification products because they protect the families…
Continue reading →Use this rolling standard deviation calculator to evaluate the volatility in returns of a mutual fund. This is an idea that struck me during the Chennai investor meet in response to a question. The sheet calculates the rolling return and rolling standard deviation for a specified interval. For equity funds, the rolling standard deviation of…
Continue reading →A little more than seven years ago, my expenses dropped to ‘normal’ levels after my father passed away (post a prolonged battle with cancer). I had been in a regular position for less than two years then and was taking stock of my cash flow and investible surplus (money net of all expenses). Immature me,…
Continue reading →The physics PhD students of IIT, Madras invited me to speak on the rudiments of personal finance in their weekly meet on Oct. 24th. Here is a transcript of the talk. Since I spoke impromptu (following an outline!), I cannot reproduce everything that I said, but will try to list the important points covered. Was…
Continue reading →When I posted a checklist for DIY investors: What it takes to do your own financial planning, Ashal Jauhari had the following to say. I would like to think he gave vent to his frustrations (about time too!): “Dear Pattu Sir, I’m in DIY mode. Please tell me the BEST Term plan and the BEST…
Continue reading →Use this rolling returns calculator to compare the consistency in performance of one mutual fund with another. When you have shortlisted two funds and are not sure which one to choose, this tool along with the Fund A vs. Fund B Risk and Return Analyzer can be used to choose one fund. For those who…
Continue reading →Buying a term life insurance policy based on an insurers claim settlement ratio (CSR) is a meaningless exercise. All it does is offer psychological comfort to the buyer who refuses to understand that each death, and therefore each claim settlement is unique. When a nominee applies for a claim, the insurers CSR is irrelevant. That…
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