Swaroop asks, “I am 30 years old and have recently started investing in NPS. Can you please explain how to calculate the pension that we would receive from NPS?”. The short answer is, it is not possible to accurately calculate NPS pension. Yes, we can make an estimate, but the result is likely to be…
Continue reading →Only nine out of 87 thematic or sectoral mutual funds have consistently beaten the Nifty 100 Total Returns Index. Nifty 100 was used because, if these funds cannot consistently beat a simple large cap index (equivalent to Nifty 50 or Sensex), it makes the entire category unsuitable for retail investors who might make the mistake…
Continue reading →In this article, let us determine what percentage of mutual fund AUM is in passive funds (index funds and ETFs). We shall consider four dates to consider the AUM growth. 1: Sep 2021 (latest at the time of writing); 2: March 2020, when the mark fell due to the pandemic/lockdown. 3: Jan 2018 – Before…
Continue reading →Here is a list of stocks with low volatility and momentum for November 2021 from the Nifty 100. You can also get the historical data from March 2019 to November 2021. We filter Nifty 100 for (1) positive 1-year return, (2) positive six-month return, (3) price > 200-day moving average, (4) 50% of daily positive…
Continue reading →This article discusses why SEBI needs to categorize investment advisors like mutual funds as there is considerable confusion among investors. It has been almost nine years since the SEBI investment advisor regulations came into force. In essence, the rules mean that a person or entity has to be registered with SEBI to provide investment advice…
Continue reading →A viewer on our YouTube channel asks, “Sir, Kindly do video…how to redeem only profit from mutual funds without reducing unit’s (if we book profits our capital amount also reducing because units get reduced)”. Experienced investors and regular readers of freefincal would immediately know that the answer to this is: No, it is not possible to…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, we meet Suresh Murugan. In Dec 2019, Suresh had shared his first financial audit with us: I met with an accident the day I got married and learned key money lessons. Since then, Suresh’s life has changed for the better significantly. About this series: I am grateful to…
Continue reading →Sudip asks, “Dear Pattu Sir, Thanks to your advice we now have an office-study-group with 12 people discussing money management. One member claimed that over 15 years, a lump sum investment will always beat a SIP. Is this line of thinking correct? Can you please shed some light on this?” I am delighted to hear…
Continue reading →In this edition of the reader story, we meet Mr Sailor (real name withheld on request) who, despite several mistakes (judged in the comfort of hindsight, to be fair), is on course to achieve financial independence by age 45. His journey teaches us to not wallow in regret, move forward and be consistent. About this…
Continue reading →Over the last couple of weeks, three readers have asked me why their Sovereign Gold Bonds decrease in value and how they can lose their principal in a bond with a sovereign guarantee. So, what is sovereign about these bonds? First, consider a simple bond issued by either RBI or the central or state governments….
Continue reading →So many readers and viewers on YouTube want to know more about floating rate mutual funds as there has been enough propaganda that these funds would benefit if there is an increase in interest rate. Does it make sense to invest in floating rate funds? Are there any simpler alternatives? What are floating rate funds?…
Continue reading →Arjun asks, “Can you please write an article on how new mutual fund investors should track their portfolios?” Today “tracking” an investment portfolio has become extremely easy. Investors are spoilt for choice and, at the same time, swayed by fancy pie charts and textured graphs. But is this tracking? In this article, let us consider…
Continue reading →In this article, Santhosh explains that it is not a crime to want to make more money and why it could be beneficial! This might seem astonishing to a younger audience, but the ground reality is too many people around us have a “money is evil and wanting more is wrong” mindset. A few months…
Continue reading →Sriram has an interesting question: “Dear Pattu sir, thanks to your articles, I have just started investing in equity mutual funds with a 15-year goal. For the fixed income part, I would like to use a combination of fixed deposits and gilt mutual funds”. “My asset allocation is 50% equity and 50% fixed income. As…
Continue reading →This article compares my monthly retirement 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…
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