A reader says, ” I am a 41-year-old self-employed person. I have been following your blog for 2 years. I wish to retire by age 55. I am following a rebalancing and derisking strategy in my retirement portfolio. My debt portfolio is 10% in constant duration gilt fund, 15% in dynamic gilt fund, rest in…
Continue reading →Now that the gazette notification for the Unified Pension Scheme is out (look for CG-DL-E-25012025-260482 at https://egazette.gov.in/), or download a copy here now may be a good time to revisit the NPS vs UPS decision for government employees, especially given that they must exercise their choice, and it’s a one-time non-modifiable choice! About the author:…
Continue reading →The Jan 2025 Gazette Notification has explained the workings of the Unified Pension Scheme. We have updated our free NPS vs UPS calculator, considering these changes. In this article, we provide a simple explanation of the formula used to compute the pension using the same terminology used in the notification. UPS pension = (P/2) x…
Continue reading →Use this free calculator to determine if you can stay invested in the National Pension Scheme or consider switching to the Unified Pension Scheme. This is an updated version of the calculator first published in Aug 2024, incorporating the Jan 2025 Gazette Notification. We have tried to incorporate all the UPS essential features into the…
Continue reading →Many Freefincal readers have shown interest in becoming a SEBI Registered Investment Advisor to offer unbiased advice to clients and earn a decent income from this. Investment Advisory can be a second career for many DIY investors passionate about helping others manage their finances. As per old SEBI regulations, a postgraduate qualification in finance and…
Continue reading →This is a compilation of frequently asked questions about the freefincal robo advisor tool. It allows you to plan from start to finish for retirement (early, normal, before and after), non-recurring financial goals (child education) and recurring financial goals (holidays, appliances, etc.). The tool would help anyone aged 18 to 80 plan for their retirement,…
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. Update: We recently added a new tool to the freefincal investor circle…
Continue reading →Ever wonder why index investing or passive investing should work? In this article, SEBI registered fee-only advisor Swapnil Kendhe explains the basics of indexing and why it is effective. About the author: Swapnil is a SEBI Registered Investment Advisor and part of my fee-only financial planners’ list. You can learn more about him and his service…
Continue reading →Rolling return charts have become prominent over the last few years, especially for mutual fund analysis. However, few investors understand how rolling return charts are computed and their benefits and limitations. A discussion. Rolling lump sum, rolling SIP, and many other mutual fund and time series analysis and financial planning tools are available in the…
Continue reading →This article explains how a simple cash flow projection can significantly impact our goal-based financial planning. When I started creating Excel sheets in 2010-11, I slowly realised that all goal-planning must culminate into a cash flow projection. The freefincal robo advisor tool automatically creates a cash flow projection with goal-planning results. If the user chooses…
Continue reading →This is a debt mutual fund screener for portfolio selection, 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 PSU funds, etc. The credit quality of the bonds in the portfolio and the bond maturity profile can be tracked….
Continue reading →I am Narayanan. I am from Chennai, and I am 39 years old. I was late to investing, starting my career around 2008, and started investing peanuts in MF around 2015, increasing it substantially from 2018. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of…
Continue reading →We address a reader’s concerns about mutual fund investing. He writes, “As I continue my journey to financial independence, a few concerns have occupied my thoughts recently”. 1. Safety of Direct Investing on Mutual Fund AMC Websites “I have often contemplated investing directly through mutual fund AMC websites to minimize hassle. However, I am apprehensive…
Continue reading →Many people make two mistakes while planning their finances. The first common mistake is presuming that equity mutual funds provide a 12% (or more!) return and utilizing that figure to calculate the necessary investment amount. Regrettably, this approach entirely disregards asset allocation and the reality that investing 100% in equity is not feasible. Even those…
Continue reading →This index fund screener is based on tracking error and returns difference wrt benchmarks (aka tracking difference). The screener will help users evaluate how efficiently an index fund has tracked its underlying benchmark. It will also help to understand how tracking a midcap index or the Nifty 100, 500 differs from tracking the Sensex or…
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