In this edition of the reader story, we meet a 34-year-old who has achieved financial stability from humble beginnings. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives, which benefits us all. Some of the previous editions are linked at the bottom of this article. You can also access…
Continue reading →Is it always good to switch from regular to direct plans? The answer is No. Before you move to calculate the switch cost, the first step is to stop existing SIPs in regular plans and start investing in new SIPs in direct plans. The most important factor to consider is the expense ratio difference between…
Continue reading →This ETF screener is based on tracking errors and differences (ETF return minus index return). It will help users evaluate how efficiently an ETF has tracked its underlying benchmark. The tracking error is the ETF’s standard deviation minus the index’s monthly return differences. The lower the tracking error, the more efficiently the ETF tracks the…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, Sreekanth, who runs the personal finance blog ReLakhs.com, shares his investment journey. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives, which benefits us all. Some of the previous editions are linked at the bottom of this article. You can also access…
Continue reading →Readers often ask us, “What return can I expect if I invest via SIP in an equity mutual fund for 10 years?”. The honest answer to “What return can I expect from a 10-year equity MF SIP?”, is “no idea”. We have discussed this at length before Do not expect returns from mutual fund SIPs!…
Continue reading →With the SIP campaign a grand success, the mutual fund industry has started promoting SWPs. The sales pitch is this: Invest a lump sum in a hybrid fund like balanced advantage, dynamic asset allocation, aggressive hybrid and the like. As you keep systematically withdrawing, the remaining corpus will grow. Don’t worry about intermittent volatility; the…
Continue reading →The latest freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener is now available. Use it to screen for equity mutual funds that consistently perform. You can screen based on fund category & benchmark to identify mutual funds that offer higher returns than the benchmark while maintaining lower risk. Inside, you get discounted links to our robo advisory…
Continue reading →We discuss some minimalist equity MF portfolios. This is intended for beginners new to the capital markets. Existing investors with multiple funds need not act on this. However, they should tell themselves not to buy more anymore and try to de-clutter as and when possible in the future. New investors should also recognise that a…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, a 42-year-old doctor shares his journey to financial freedom. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives, which benefits us all. Some of the previous editions are linked at the bottom of this article. You can also access the full reader…
Continue reading →We publish a monthly National Pension Scheme Fund Screener to shortlist consistently performing NPS schemes. We discuss how the NPS equity schemes have performed using the Jan 2026 screener edition. Please note: NPS funds are NOT passive schemes. They are actively managed. The top 200 stocks by market capitalisation on the NSE (Nifty 200 index)…
Continue reading →You planned for everything. You have the PPF corpus, the health insurance, the paid-off home, and the monthly pension. You thought the hardest part of retirement would be managing inflation or medical bills. But six months after your farewell party, you realize you missed a hidden cost. A cost that doesn’t appear in any financial…
Continue reading →This is a National Pension Scheme Fund Screener to shortlist consistently performing NPS schemes. You can also identify NPS schemes that offer a higher return than the benchmark while maintaining lower risk. This is similar in design to the freefincal Equity Mutual Fund Performance Screener. Inside, you get discounted links to our robo advisory tool…
Continue reading →We discuss the most crucial steps in defining and planning for a financial goal. Only after the goal is defined should one consider products for investments. Sadly, most investors have a product-first, plan-later approach. A goal provides direction and a sense of purpose. Only when we know the destination can we plan how to get…
Continue reading →The reduction of the mandatory annuity requirement from 40% to 20% for non-government NPS subscribers is a welcome move. I wish for two major changes to the NPS that would make it more user-friendly for retirees. I do not dream of the annuity option going away. That will make the NPS just another MF. It…
Continue reading →You check your bank account. The number is healthy. You have a steady job. You have savings. By all logical metrics, you are safe. So why does spending ₹500 on a dinner feel like a crime? Why does receiving an unexpected bill send your heart racing? Why do you feel an impending sense of doom…
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