A reader writes, “I am 29 years old and had started a few LIC policies on my parent’s insistence six years ago. I pay an approximate total of 3000 a month for 25 yrs, or so the policy insured sum is 1 lac for seven policies, and the return the life insurance agent said I’d…
Continue reading →Over the last decade, the number of capital market participants (stocks or mutual funds) has increased sharply. Retirement corpora have gradually shifted from 100% fixed-income to higher and higher equity exposure. This shift implies both retirees and advisors must be mentally prepared to face big challenges. An extended rate cut for a good part of…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, Gayatri takes us through her personal finance journey, and how she has gradually filled the gaps in her financial planning and is on track to achieving financial freedom. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of readers….
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, here is a short account of a person who achieved financial independence and quit his corporate job by age 46. For the last two years, he has been enjoying his FIRE status and working on select assignments. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details…
Continue reading →I evaluate my retirement portfolio’s performance and my son’s future portfolio each year in a personal finance audit. This is the tenth edition. Published from 2013 onwards, these audits provide a sense of accountability and ensure I do not fall prey to fear of missing out, preventing bad investment decisions. They also point out the…
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 →The Indian bond market is exploding with options. If you search on Google for “buy bonds in India”, the first hits and the last three hits are ads by bond portals! Then we have portals that exclusively sell via influencer networks and content marketing. These bond portals have different offerings, from gilts to corporate bonds…
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 reader says that he has realized the importance of retirement planning only at age 35 and his current net worth is essentially zero. He would like to retire by age 55 and wants to know how to go about it. With twenty years to go, there is a good chance of accumulating enough corpus…
Continue reading →A reader writes, “Which is more suitable for a long-term goal? Aggressive hybrid funds or multi-asset funds?” So in this article, we compare a hybrid portfolio with a multi-asset portfolio to arrive at an answer. We cannot compare these funds because multi-asset funds are quite new. Earlier, we compared CRISIL Aggressive hybrid index (with 65%…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, Mr Alam provides the most detailed account of his financial journey: From a net worth of Rs. 6000 to auto-pilot goal-based investing. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of readers. Some of the previous editions are…
Continue reading →Jan 1st is just another day, but we consider it a time for new beginnings. If you want to manage money better, here are 15 personal financial resolutions and resources to consider for the new year. In his 2013 Ted Talk, former Google search quality chief Matt Cutts talked about the power of trying something…
Continue reading →We review the performance consistency of ICICI Pension Fund Scheme E – NPS TIER I measured against Nifty 50 TRI and UTI Nifty 50 TRI. The scheme was launched in July 2009 and currently has an AUM of about Rs. 5,594 crores. In a previous article, we listed the investment policy of NPS equity schemes,…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, 30-year-old Mr Yo (name withheld on request) explains in detail how he has systematically structured his money management and how he tracks his financial goals. This is a follow-up to his previous audit: How I track financial goals without worrying about returns. About this series: I am grateful to…
Continue reading →Over the years, readers have often asked us how the risk of uncertain returns from a mutual fund investment can be lowered. We have often said the solution is goal-based systematic risk management. Here is an illustration. We described the steps in a previous article: How to systematically reduce risk in your investment portfolio. A…
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