This is an ETF screener based on tracking errors and tracking differences (ETF return minus index return). The screener will help a user evaluate how efficiently an ETF has tracked its underlying benchmark. The tracking error is simply the ETF’s standard deviation minus index monthly return differences. The lower the tracking error, the more efficient…
Continue reading →Here are a set of questions to determine how secure your financial life is. Personal finance is all about protecting our family against extreme situations (aka outlier risks). Everything we do, buying insurance, saving, investing etc., falls under this protection act. So let us get started. Don’t worry if you answer “no” or “not yet”…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “I’m unable to understand the need to venture into debt funds for my needs. What are the advantages they offer on the alternatives for the long term – PPF, EPF, SSY etc.? I’m primarily saving for retirement, and currently, almost all of my debt part is into epf and ppf (about 50%…
Continue reading →“Has anyone ever gotten rich using mutual funds?”. You may have seen this question do the rounds on social media and personal financial forums from time to time. This is asked by two sets of people. (1) Those who wish to push other products: Insurance, stock advisory services or a PMS and (2) young investors…
Continue reading →We profile debt mutual funds from time to time in our fund profile section. This time we consider SBI Magnum Ultra Short Duration Fund. Launched in May 1999, the fund currently has an AUM of Rs. 12,513 Crores. What is an ultra-short duration fund? Ultra-short duration funds are defined as “investment in Debt & Money Market instruments…
Continue reading →This is the list of equity index funds in India with AUM and expense ratios as of Aug 21st 2022. This includes ongoing and forthcoming NFOs at the time of writing. This list is only for reference. For investment recommendations, see: Handpicked List of Mutual Funds Jul-Sep 2022 (PlumbLine). Readers may know that we publish…
Continue reading →We break down the retirement planning process into nine simple steps for a beginner to get started. We shall assume retirement is 25 years away. Step one: Have a clear goal: Why the money is needed and when it is needed are already part of the question. So 25% of the question is already answered!…
Continue reading →The freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener (Sep 2022) 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 two courses:…
Continue reading →A reader writes, “Sir, I recently read your article – Sensex vs S&P 500 vs Nasdaq 100: Which is better for the long term? In this, you have plotted the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 in INR terms. Is there a way to quickly make such a comparison on our own?” As far as…
Continue reading →A reader writes, “Sir, you have repeatedly pointed out that it is hard for most active funds to beat the index, and this applies not only to large cap funds but also to mid cap and even small cap funds (when benchmarked with a mid cap index). However, can I use a hybrid like an…
Continue reading →In this edition of the fund performance report, we review DSP Equity & Bond Fund. The fund was launched as DSP Merrill Lynch Balanced Fund in May 1999. Then, DSP BlackRock Balanced Fund in 2008, and DSP Equity and Bond Fund in 2018. The fund currently has an AUM of Rs. 6,837 Crores. Disclaimer: Fund performance reports…
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 →A reader writes, “There are many investment options for senior citizens. However, today many people retire or are forced to well before 60. Where can such people invest for regular income and cash preservation and wealth creation?” Today even those above 60 are forced to look beyond traditional savings instruments to protect their money from…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “I am 28 years old and wish to retire by 45. My monthly expenses are about Rs. 40,000. My current net worth is essentially zero as I just started to work. How much should I invest to retire by 45? I do not intend to get married. I can manage to invest…
Continue reading →A reader who prefers anonymity asks, “Sir, I am a big fan of your articles. Thanks to you, we have started investing in a goal-based manner. We are not yet investing as much as we should for these goals. We live in rented accommodation. My husband wants us to buy a house as soon as…
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