In this article, we discuss simple tips to review your investment portfolio. Every portfolio requires a personalized benchmark for comparison. Our long-term goals, particularly the money required for these goals, form natural benchmarks for a portfolio review. First, the basics should be in place before we start investing or immediately after: Emergency fund Life Insurance…
Continue reading →This is an example of how indexation benefits help reduce long term capital gains on property sales. The sold property should be over two years old for applying for indexation benefits. There are several exemptions like sections 54 (reinvest in a new property), 54ec (buy specific bonds) and 54B (sell agricultural land in non-rural areas…
Continue reading →A reader has kindly consented to share his ordeal with Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) fraud and how he got his money back. Are you a victim of similar fraud? What did you do? Share your story with the freefincal community and promote awareness. All stories will be published anonymously. Send your story to letters [AT]…
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 →Since its inception, the National Pension Scheme (NPS) has made many user-friendly changes. The most recent of these is the introduction of the NPS Systematic Lump Sum Withdrawal (SLW) Facility, which allows users to gradually withdraw the non-annuitized portion of the corpus. Another notable change is the facility to defer annuity purchases (for pension) until…
Continue reading →Many who use our retirement calculators often are shocked to see the results. Some lose sleep, and some think the math is wrong. Eventually, many recover and start investing. See, for instance, this reader story: We lost sleep after using a retirement calculator! This is how we recovered. Here is a detailed explanation of the…
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 →There is a belief among some that hospitals may misuse the cashless hospitalization facility offered by medical insurance policies. As a result, they suggest paying out of pocket and then seeking reimbursement through the policy. This raises the question: is it more prudent to utilize the cashless hospitalization facility or pay upfront and seek reimbursement…
Continue reading →A retirement planning calculation is defined by its inputs and assumptions. This article discusses what portfolio return we should assume while planning for retirement. A return has little meaning as it has to be benchmarked to inflation. Also, we should not forget to factor in taxes. Another common mistake investors make while planning is using…
Continue reading →A reader writes, “I am a subscriber to the freefincal newsletter. They have been very insightful. Portfolio rebalancing is very easy to understand but equally difficult to implement, it needs a lion’s heart to move from equity to debt. I have one question about what can be treated as debt”. “I have been investing in…
Continue reading →A reader says, “I have a query regarding mf investment vs loan prepayment. I have an SBI MaxGain home loan account where I can park surplus funds and save on interest. Now I’ve approx 20L outstanding there, and I’m about to receive approximately the same amount from a different venture”. “I have two options. 1….
Continue reading →Phrases like “guaranteed income” or “guaranteed returns” are used to sell thousands of insurance policies or products because they strike an emotional chord within us. Sadly, even in 2024, many investors are unaware of the risk they pose to our lifestyle and our aspirations. So many investors want to buy guaranteed income plans, arguing that…
Continue reading →So many investors search for the best investment strategy and products offering the highest returns (and lowest risk and tax!). When we tell them these do not exist, they get irritated and move to someone who hopefully can offer them these. Investors want constant confirmation that they have chosen the right products and are on…
Continue reading →In this article, we discover what a 35-year-old reader who wishes anonymity should do to retire by age 55. He is married to a homemaker aged 30. We shall plan for retirement income from when he reaches 50 to when his wife (or, generally, the younger spouse) reaches 90. Therefore, he has 15 years to…
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. I started direct equity investing only after achieving a comfortable level of…
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