On 30th Sep 2022, the RBI increased the rate at which it lends money to commercial banks (the repo rate) from 5.4 % to 5.9%. See RBI repo rate history from June 2000 to the present. A reader asks, “why did the govt. not increase PPF and SSY interest rates?” The REPO rate is at…
Continue reading →This edition of the fund performance report looks at the DSP Flexi Cap Fund (erstwhile DSP Equity Fund). Launched in April 1997, the fund has an AUM of 7,739 Crores. After the SEBI categorisation rules, it was first classified as a multi-cap fund in mid-2018 and then shifted to the flexicap category to align with…
Continue reading →A reader aged 35 asks, “I have stopped all my equity MF investments due to the global recession and poor returns over the last few months. However, reading your articles, I am now in two minds. Can you please advise what I should do?” The market zoomed up after the March 2020 crash much more…
Continue reading →These are the freefincal handpicked list of mutual funds for Oct-Dec 2022. New and old investors can use it according to their specific needs. The list is called “PlumbLine” and has been published since Sep 2017 for beginners to accompany the freefincal robo advisory tool. Most important! Plumbline is a mix of my opinions +…
Continue reading →A reader writes, “We are about to sell our flat. Many of my friends advise me to buy 54EC Capital Gain Tax Exemption Bonds to save tax and then invest the money. However, I wonder if paying the tax and investing the rest in equity is better. Can you please do a comparison study? Thanks…
Continue reading →A reader writes, “I want to ask you if this asset allocation in index funds is right or wrong. I am not good at finance. These are the index funds which I invest in every month. Nifty 50 – 35.71% Nifty Next 50 – 35.71 % Gold Index fund – 14.28 % Mid-cap index fund…
Continue reading →SBI CRISIL IBX Gilt Index – June 2036 is an open-ended Target Maturity Index Fund investing in constituents of the CRISIL IBX Gilt Index – June 2036 Index. We discuss if this new fund offer is suitable for a long-term portfolio. 1 What are Target Maturity Debt Funds? These are open-ended funds investing in various bonds…
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…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “Can I add 10% to 20% gold to my investment portfolio? My need is in 15 years? Is it possible to do backtest to find out how a portfolio with gold fares against a portfolio without gold? The short answer to this question is one can certainly add 10% to 20% of…
Continue reading →The freefincal robo advisory tool is now available on Google Sheets. You can use it to plan from start to finish for retirement (early, normal, before and after), non-recurring financial goals (child education) and recurring financial goals (holidays, appliances etc.). The tool would help anyone from ages 18 to 80 plan their retirement with a…
Continue reading →Many on the verge of retirement ask us, “how much equity should I hold after retirement?” This is a tough question to answer as it depends on the individual, but some general guidelines are possible. Asking this question on the verge of retirement with no prior market experience can be harmful. It is essential to…
Continue reading →This article lists six model equity portfolios by combining different equity index funds. We now have both the evidence and the variety to create such portfolios. We have mentioned several times in the past that index funds are the way to go for new mutual fund investors. Even in the mid cap and small cap…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “What are the best options for Income bucket investments?” This a reference to our retirement bucket strategy. So we shall list all possible investments suitable for building retirement buckets. A bucket strategy is a post-retirement investment plan to manage inflation-protected withdrawals (income) and investment for the near-term and long-term. So we have…
Continue reading →This is a debt mutual fund screener for fund selection, fund portfolio 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 and PSU funds etc. The credit quality of the bonds in the portfolio and the bond maturity profile…
Continue reading →United has recently made significant changes to its Family Medicare Policy and Super Top-Up Medicare Policy. I discuss why we purchased the revised top-up cover with Rs. 95 lakhs sum insured in this article. If you are looking to buy base or super top-up health insurance, this may be useful: Select the right health insurance…
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