A reader asks, “Can you please do an analysis on focused mutual funds and discuss if they are a better choice than index funds?” What is a focused mutual fund? According to SEBI, it is an open-ended equity scheme focused on the number of stocks (maximum 30). The minimum investment in equity & equity-related instruments…
Continue reading →This article lists the essentials an investor needs to keep in mind before selecting debt mutual funds. (1) Debt mutual funds are not replacements for fixed deposits! Do not take product manufacturers (AMC guys) and sales guys seriously! A fixed deposit in a bank too big to fail has a risk so small that it…
Continue reading →When Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams could not find a publisher for a one-page book on “Everything you need to know about financial planning”, he was forced to write a 368-page book – Dilbert and the Way of the Weasels. (Ref: MyMoneyBlog) You don’t even need a page to hold all the advice that Adams gives. All…
Continue reading →A reader asks, “Sir, a friend recommended ICICI Prudential Short Term Fund is a suitable choice for my need which is three years away. The AMC website says the fund can be used for durations above six months. Can you please let me know if this is true and if I can proceed with the…
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 →We review Nippon India Nifty Alpha Low Volatility 30 Index Fund, an open-ended scheme tracking the Nifty Alpha Low Volatility 30 Index. The NFO period is from 1st Aug to the 12th of Aug 2022. What is the Nifty Alpha Low-Volatility 30 Index? It is a 30-stock index selected from NIFTY 100 and NIFTY Midcap…
Continue reading →In this edition of the fund performance report, we review Edelweiss Large & Mid Cap Fund. The fund was launched in June 2007 by JP Morgan and was known as JPMorgan India Equity Fund. After Edelweiss acquired the fund house it became Edelweiss Equity Opportunities Fund and then Edelweiss Large & Mid Cap Fund to…
Continue reading →My son turned 12 a few months ago. I have been investing for his future since Dec 2009 – a month before he was born. Here are some lessons from this journey. Many years ago, I asked a question in the Jagoinvestor forum, “if anyone has achieved their financial goals using mutual funds, please share…
Continue reading →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…
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