In this article, we tabulate index funds with the largest deviation in 1Y return (trailing as of 8th July 2022) from their corresponding indices. Regular readers may be aware that the most practical way to evaluate how efficiently an index fund is tracking its index is not the tracking error” but the return difference. For…
Continue reading →In this article, Srivatsan (a regular and popular freefincal guest author) offers a different take on the lemon spoon race video which recently went viral. Srivatsan, who would only like to be referred to as a “long-time reader” of freefincal has written several articles here before and is responsible for adding the Earnings power box…
Continue reading →A friend (who prefers anonymity) was reviewing his AIS (annual income statement) before filing ITR to ensure there is no disparity between the two. He was shocked to see that rental income reported in AIS was twice what he was actually receiving! The tenant was only paying him Rs. X per year as rent but…
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. Before we begin, investors need to appreciate the context of these investments. I started direct equity investing only after achieving a comfortable level of financial independence and ensuring my son’s future…
Continue reading →UTI Gilt Fund with 10-year Constant Duration is an open-ended debt scheme that invests predominantly in government securities issued by central and state governments. The weighted average portfolio maturity will be maintained at around ten years. A reader wants to know if this is the right time to buy such a product. Also, The fund…
Continue reading →Prashant Jain, the CIO of HDFC mutual fund, has resigned after a 19-year stint. In this article. We evaluate the performance consistency of three of his funds, HDFC Top 100 Fund, HDFC Flexicap Fund and HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund. The world of mutual fund investing changes so fast that Prashant Jain’s track record of excellence…
Continue reading →A reader writes, “One of the big unknowns is the real expense during retirement. We can make an educated guess based on current living expenses etc, however, the surprises are likely to come and disrupt. Medical expenses are a big surprise – post a certain age, insurance is also not available. While hospitalization and treatment…
Continue reading →We recently showed that a mutual fund SIP will not help you reduce risk when the market falls! Inspite of seeing data that rupee cost averaging will not reduce risk or enhance returns in any tangible way, many investors keep “talking” about the “averaging benefits of SIP”. In this article, we show further and repeated proof…
Continue reading →DSP Nifty Midcap 150 Quality 50 Index Fund is a new offering from DSP tracking the Nifty Midcap 150 Quality 50 Index The NFO period ends July 29th 2022. Should investors consider this? A discussion. DSP already has an ETF based on this index launched in Dec 2021 with an AUM of 52 Crores. Regular…
Continue reading →In this article, we discuss some common mistakes that should be avoided while planning for early retirement. What is early retirement? This typically means quitting a salaried job to do what a person loves (for free or otherwise). Today 55 is the normal retirement age. So early retirement is approximately 45 years or earlier. See;…
Continue reading →The prominence of index funds and ETFs in the last few years due to their visible outperformance has resulted in a heated active vs passive debate on social media, personal finance forums etc. While cost, the underperformance of active management, simplicity of fund maintenance etc are all important factors they are not of primary importance…
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 →A member of the armed forces writes, ” Hello sir, I am a continuous follower of your financial advice and financial-related methods(YouTube and web).. thankful to you for all these practical and fact-based reviews and advice”. “Sir all of your retirement corpus planning or savings required for retirement are not mentioned whether they have a…
Continue reading →A reader who prefers anonymity asks, “I would like to become a SEBI registered fee-only advisor. However many people in financial services have discouraged me. They either ask me to do something else or become a commission-based advisor or charge a fee based on the AUM of the client. I find these models unappealing. I…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “I have been continuously investing in MF for the last 6+ years. My brother tells me to invest in direct equity instead of MF for the main reason that the fund manager’s decisions can be driven by their relationship with the company or some conflict of interest. I buy direct equity in…
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