An informed investor is always a better investor. Systematic Investment Plans (SIP) into mutual fund scheme is now so commonplace that many of us overlooks some of its features or characteristics. Thus, we remain not-so-informed investors after all. Same goes true for its cousins – SWP and STP. Let’s understand some of the not-so-common features of SIP, SWP and STP here. Let the fun ride begin. **SIP – Systematic Investment Plan** It is a nice, con..

In a recently conducted survey by an insurance company on urban Indians across 25 cities, revealed that top priority goal for maximum investors (62%) is to accumulate enough fund for their children’s education and marriage. Not surprising. The tendency of choosing investment product for the same varies. Though almost any investment product can be linked to the goal of your choice, often investors prefer to invest in a product which is labelled accordingl..

If your decision of making investment or choosing insurance policies has often been taken for the sole purpose of saving some tax – then you have reasons to worry. This tendency of jumping on the bandwagon i.e. saying ‘yes’ to a product just because it offers some tax saving can backfire or do harm to your overall portfolio of investments and insurance. Let us see, how. **Tinkering with the horizon** When an investment allows to claim deduction fro..

Money habits make or break us. It has been proved time and again. But based on our money habits, how are we perceived by others around us? As it is all about a character trait, it is therefore very personal. You may feel concerned about it, or not. But if you are ready for a casual discussion around this topic on a Sunday morning – here you are! Read on. Habits build characters. Taking a cue from that, our spending / saving habits mostly lead us to be..

Like in every aspect of life, we behave quite differently in managing our finance than mentioned in books and in theories. Of course, those books are written for our benefits and those theories are formulated for our financial wellbeing, but still, most of us rarely could follow such guidelines ditto in our everyday life. How funny or contradictory it may sound, but it is the reality. Let’s discuss few such areas of personal finance where theories and pr..

**How to invest in mutual funds without any prior knowledge about it?** Investing in mutual funds can be a smart way to grow your wealth, even if you have no prior knowledge of the financial markets. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to start your mutual fund investment journey without any prior expertise. **1. Educate Yourself:** The first and most crucial step is to educate yourself about mutual funds. A mutual fund is a pool of money collected ..

Financial freedom is a dream for many, where you have the resources and flexibility to live life on your terms. While it may seem like an elusive goal, mutual funds can be a powerful tool to help you achieve this aspiration. In this blog, we will explore how mutual funds can contribute to your journey to financial freedom. **→ Diversification and Risk Management** One of the fundamental advantages of mutual funds is their ability to diversify your i

Financial freedom is a dream for many, where you have the resources and flexibility to live life on your terms. While it may seem like an elusive goal, mutual funds can be a powerful tool to help you achieve this aspiration. In this blog, we will explore how mutual funds can contribute to your journey to financial freedom.

→ Diversification and Risk Management One of the fundamental advantages of mutual funds is their ability to diversify your investments. Diversification means spreading your money across a range of assets, such as stocks, bonds, commodities. By investing in a mutual fund, you become a part of a larger pool of investors, which, in turn, allows the fund manager to diversify your investments effectively. This diversification helps to reduce the impact of poor-performing assets and manage risk.

→ Professional Management Mutual funds are managed by experienced fund managers who make investment decisions on your behalf. These professionals are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to navigate the complex world of financial markets. They conduct research, analyze market trends, and strategically allocate the fund's assets to maximize returns while mitigating risks. This professional management ensures that your investments are in capable hands.

→ Accessibility Unlike some investment options that require substantial initial capital, mutual funds offer accessibility to a wide range of investors. You can start investing with a relatively small amount of money. This accessibility makes mutual funds an attractive choice for individuals at various stages of their financial journey.

→ Liquidity Mutual funds provide liquidity, meaning you can easily buy or sell your units. This flexibility ensures that you have access to your money when you need it. Whether you're saving for short-term goals or maintaining an emergency fund, mutual funds allow you to maintain financial flexibility.

you need it. Whether you're saving for short-term goals or maintaining an emergency fund, mutual funds allow you to maintain financial flexibility. → Automatic Investment with SIPs Achieving financial freedom often requires discipline and consistent saving. Mutual funds offer a solution through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). SIPs allow you to set up automatic, periodic investments, helping you save and invest consistently. Over time, this disciplined approach can significantly increase your wealth.

→ The Power of Compounding Mutual funds harness the power of compounding, which can significantly impact your wealth over time. As your investments generate returns, those returns are reinvested, and your investment base grows. This leads to exponential growth and can be a key driver in achieving your financial goals.

→ Flexibility Mutual funds come in various categories and cater to different investment goals. Whether you're saving for retirement, your child's education, or buying a home, there is likely a mutual fund category that aligns with your specific financial objectives. This flexibility allows you to tailor your investments to meet your unique needs.

→ Transparency Investors receive regular updates on their mutual fund investments, ensuring transparency. You can easily track the performance of your investments and make informed decisions about your portfolio.

→ Tax Benefits Certain mutual funds offer tax advantages. For example, Equity-Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) can provide tax deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. → Goal-Oriented Investing Mutual funds can be a vital tool for goal-oriented investing. Choose funds that match your financial goals to help you reach them in an organized way. This approach ensures that you are not just saving money but actively working towards your aspirations.

Conclusion Financial freedom is not a distant dream; it's a tangible goal that you can work towards with the help of mutual funds. Through diversification, professional management, accessibility, liquidity, compound growth, and other advantages, mutual funds provide a path to financial independence. To make the most of this investment option, it's essential to select funds that match your risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial objectives. Regularly reviewing your investments and staying committed to your goals will help you realize your vision of financial freedom. So, start your mutual fund journey today and take the first step towards achieving your financial aspirations.

The purpose of making investment may differ – going to an expensive vacation, foreclosing an outstanding loan, funding for children’s higher education or securing own retirement years etc. But while implementing any of these investment decisions – we must pick and choose some or other financial products. At this juncture knowing investor’s risk profile is said to be of paramount importance, which consists of his/her risk appetite and risk capacity. What ..

Should Gold be part of your investment portfolio? If yes, then how much? In that case, in what form should we buy gold – physical gold jewellery, bars, coin, Gold ETF or SGB (Sovereign Gold Bond)? Questions are many. As usual, in many other cases of personal finance, here also the answer is – “It depends”. But it depends on what and how much? Let’s discuss. First things first – gold itself should not be considered as an asset class, the right asset cl..

Shakespeare said – What’s in a name? But in reality, naming a thing has lot to do with how we perceive a thing. Take, for example what we used to refer earlier (many of us still use that in casual terms) as ‘Dividend’ in a mutual fund. That time, it was often thought that dividend received from a mutual fund scheme is same as dividend received from a stock we hold, which it is not. To clear that confusion, SEBI rechristened it as IDCW (Income Distributio..

If you want to secure regular income payout throughout your life starting now or later – Annuity Plans (also often referred as Pension Plans) are worth to consider. Mostly such plans are opted by retirees. But even if someone continues to work and still want a regular payout for whatever reason – annuity plans can be opted. What are the options available? What do you must know before buying? Read on. **Immediate or deferred Annuity -** First thing fir..

Any time is good time to invest – this sentence has almost become a common parlance for all investors like us and largely for long-term investors – this is true also. But not many are talking about right time to take our money out of investments. Whether you consider redemption as a part of personal finance strategies or as a need – it makes lot of sense to know a thing or two about redemption. **Following 3 things must be considered while making rede..

The awareness of opting for adequate health insurance cover is quite low in our country. The top two reasons for the same could be as follows – **> Lesser number of insurance advisors than required for a hugely populated country like ours. **> Limited scope of cashless hospitalization and complicated process of claim settlement. The good news is that the second reason may soon be a thing of past! ** Read on. At present around 37% of health ins..

What is the formula of finding future value of an investment? Let us talk plain arithmetic here. The formula is FUTURE VALUE = PRESENT VALUE OF INVESTMENT * (1 + ANNUAL COMPOUNDING RATE OF RETURN) ^ NUMBER of YEARS. What lessons can we learn from this seemingly easy looking formula? Let’s check. One thing is pretty clear from the above formula, if somehow, we can increase either present value of investment or rate of return or number of years – the ov..

**Mutual Fund Distributor (MFD)** is there to help you in managing your personal finance better. It is therefore quite an important factor that your MFD fits the bill perfectly. Here, I am assuming that you understand the need of an MFD at the first place and you are not a full-time investment expert knowing all your behavioural finance pitfalls and still being able to take unbiased financial decisions over and again. The following 6 important factors ar..

Consider a simple scenario – you had purchased some mutual fund units before 31st January 2018, and you sold those units sometime after 1st April 2018 (assuming in the meantime more than a year has passed between the purchase and sale date) – then how your long term capital gains will be calculated and taxed? Let us understand this in an easy way through example and without any complication. Read on. Taking a cue from the above example, let’s say you ..

In personal finance, many a times, we use certain quick and easy calculations to find out investment or insurance related insights. ‘Rule of 72’ is one such calculation method to find out how many years it would take to double our investment given a certain compounding rate of return. But how accurate is the result? Can you trust the result for critical high value calculation? Read on. Let’s start with an example of using Rule of 72. Say we are assumi..