Weekend Roundup – Mar. 9th 2014

• First an update on the mutual fund and financial goal tracker. Thanks to more feedback I have made some major improvements.
  • Ability to combine lump sum and SIP transactions in the same account statement
  • Option to change SIP end date. I forgot to add this earlier!
  • Improvements in the fund summary sheet and goal tracker
  • I have not added goal calculators which will be linked with the fund holdings
  • Graphs to plot evolution of a portfolio
  • I would like to test this for about one more week before releasing it (finally!). Before I forget, I need to compile the list of all those who took the trouble of sending feedback and post it.
  • If you are interested in testing it, leave a comment.

• This week I asked, Should I invest for my child’s marriage? If you have missed it, do read it including the interesting comments. I received this fabulous comment from Raesh Emani, at Asan Ideas for Wealth (FB group):

‘future is unknown and uncertain’…..let me add, ‘past is known and certain (factual)’….what is left is ‘TODAY and NOW’; so SAVE today and INVEST today. think this way ‘everyday’. When the event happens, one might or might not spend what is accumulated for the purpose. But, the whole idea is Accumulate – spending is an option available when the event occurs. One can still accumulate and avoid spending or end up spending more. ‘Accumulation is mandatory, Spending is a Choice’.

• Thanks to feedback from Satya S Mishra, here is the updated Mutual Fund SIP/Lump Sum Returns Analyzer
• Double indexation madness! Mutual funds rush to launch fixed maturity plans Just goes to show how majority of investors are clueless about goal-based investing. If you want to catch the average Indian’s attention, just throw in ‘tax-free’ in the sentence! Who is to blame?  The investor or people who take advantage of investor-idiocy? Without a doubt the investor!
• A slightly older but obviously still relevant article by livemint: Big FMP push by funds; should you invest?  The tagline says it all: “We always recommend FMPs, but the point here is (to) buy them only if you want them”.

“Be warned: your mutual fund (MF) distributor may just try and persuade you to invest in a fixed maturity plan (FMP). That is, if she hasn’t done it already. Let’s make one thing clear: we like FMPsand we recommend them regularly, especially the double-indexation ones that come out in February and March every year. But we also insist that it’s when you invest in any product for the wrong reasons that you suffer. Also, if distributors get higher-than-usual commissions, chances of mis-selling obviously go up”.

• What should you do when Markets hit a record high? Quantum AMC has a weird definition of portfolio rebalancing! While it is peppered with some decent financial commonsense, the message: No matter what, do not redeem ….. from Quantum MFs!
  • If you are interested in learning more about portfolio rebalancing and why it is important, you can try out my rebalancing simulator: Understanding Volatility of Investment Returns with a Portfolio Rebalancing Simulator

• Check out the interesting list of articles here:  reddit.com/r/IndiaInvestments
• Interesting resource for professionals and DIY investors: Portfolio Management – Portfolio Calculations