I am 49 years with take home salary of 2.5 lacs per month.
I have 1 Cr. In equity investment, 80k per month investment in mutual funds, 12 lakhs in FD, 1 commercial property worth 80 Lakhs. I have investment of 40 Lacs worth of residential property and live in my own house. I have 50L as liquid in savings account.
I have 2 children, with elder daughter will persue engineering from this year with younger son is in grade 9.
What should be my plan to maximise my portfolio.
I dont have any liabilities of loans as of now.
Ans: At 49 years, you have built a strong base.
You have no liabilities and hold good assets.
Let us now look at a 360-degree plan to grow further.
Understanding Your Current Financial Position
Age: 49 years
Monthly take-home: Rs 2.5 lakh
Equity investments: Rs 1 crore
SIPs: Rs 80,000 monthly
FD corpus: Rs 12 lakh
Liquid balance: Rs 50 lakh
Commercial property: Rs 80 lakh (not preferred for planning)
Residential property: Rs 40 lakh (also not used for investment planning)
Living in own house: No rent outflow
Children: Daughter starting engineering; son in Grade 9
No loans or liabilities
You are in a financially stable situation.
You now need focus on children’s education and your retirement.
Your investments must now be growth-oriented and tax-smart.
Immediate Priorities to Focus
Your main goals from here:
Fund daughter’s complete engineering cost
Prepare son’s future college education corpus
Build retirement portfolio within next 8–10 years
Maintain liquidity buffer for emergencies
Keep portfolio tax-efficient and rebalanced
Let’s approach this systematically.
Plan for Children’s Higher Education
Your elder daughter starts engineering now.
Costs may go up to Rs 15–20 lakh in 4 years.
Your son will need funds in 4–5 years too.
For both children, earmark a separate education corpus.
Use a mix of equity and debt mutual funds based on time horizon.
Plan like this:
Rs 10–12 lakh from liquid corpus to Ultra Short Duration or Liquid Funds
Start STP to large and large-mid cap mutual funds
Keep funds for daughter’s final year in pure debt fund
For son, create another STP with 60% equity and 40% hybrid
Do not depend on equity fully for short goals.
Avoid equity for use within 2 years.
Ensure you don’t stop current SIPs to fund college.
Your SIPs are for your own retirement.
Children's education must be handled with fresh corpus creation.
Your Retirement Planning from 360-Degree View
You are 49 now. Retirement could be planned at 58–60.
You have 9–11 years more to build your corpus.
You need a monthly income of approx Rs 1 lakh post retirement.
Future value after inflation could be Rs 1.8–2 lakh.
To achieve that:
Target a retirement corpus of Rs 3.5–4 crore
You already have Rs 1 crore in equity
You invest Rs 80,000 per month in SIPs
You can reach the goal if you stay invested
To make this work:
Do a proper goal-mapped investment
Tag each SIP to retirement corpus building
Increase SIPs by Rs 5,000–10,000 yearly
This small step-up can improve your returns significantly
Also important:
Don’t touch retirement SIPs for short-term use
Don’t stop SIPs even when markets fall
Monitor equity-debt allocation yearly
Rebalancing and Asset Allocation Guidance
Now let’s look at your current asset split.
Rs 1 crore in equity
Rs 80,000 SIP monthly
Rs 12 lakh in FD
Rs 50 lakh in savings
You are under-utilising Rs 50 lakh savings.
Too much cash reduces return and adds inflation risk.
FD is also overused for your age.
Ideal allocation for your age (49 years):
65–70% in equity
25–30% in debt
5% in liquid
Real estate (both commercial and residential) not counted.
They are illiquid, non-productive, and carry holding costs.
Don’t count them as your retirement source.
Next step:
From Rs 50 lakh in bank, move Rs 30 lakh in phased STP
Use STP into equity mutual funds over 12–18 months
Place Rs 10–15 lakh in debt mutual funds for safety
Keep Rs 5–7 lakh in liquid funds for emergencies
Don’t invest large chunk in lump sum into equity.
Use STP to reduce market entry risk.
Rebalance once in a year with help of CFP.
Keep Emergency Corpus Intact
You should always maintain 4–6 months of expense as emergency fund.
Since your household income is high, keep at least Rs 7–8 lakh liquid.
Place it in liquid or ultra short mutual fund.
Don’t use this for investing.
This gives you safety net during medical or job event.
SIP Strategy and Fund Structure Review
You are investing Rs 80,000 per month.
Very good at this income level.
Now ensure it is diversified across categories.
Ideal mix:
35% in flexi and large-cap funds
25% in large-mid and mid-cap funds
20% in aggressive hybrid or balanced advantage funds
10% in small cap (for long term only)
10% in sectoral or thematic (only if you understand that sector)
Use actively managed funds only.
Avoid index funds as they:
Fall fully when market falls
Offer no protection or human insight
Cannot give alpha returns
Simply follow the index blindly
Actively managed funds give:
Risk control
Opportunity-based allocation
Professional entry and exit timing
Alpha generation in sideways markets
Make sure all SIPs are in regular plans via MFD with CFP.
Avoid direct plans.
They look cheaper, but:
No personal review or handholding
No portfolio restructuring advice
No support in asset allocation
No tax harvesting or exit planning
A CFP-backed MFD will help you:
Stay consistent
Monitor goals
Handle market volatility
Align with your risk profile
Real Estate: Not Considered for Portfolio Growth
You already hold two properties.
They are not liquid or return-generating regularly.
Rental yield is low in India.
Selling is slow and taxation is high.
Don’t increase exposure to property now.
Don’t depend on commercial property for retirement cashflow.
Instead focus on mutual funds for liquidity, growth, and tax efficiency.
Review Your Tax Planning
You need to plan taxation smartly.
Points to note:
Mutual fund LTCG above Rs 1.25 lakh taxed at 12.5%
STCG in equity taxed at 20%
Debt mutual funds taxed as per income slab
FD interest fully taxable
PPF and EPF are tax-free
Use following tax-smart tools:
Debt mutual funds instead of FD
Hybrid funds for balanced taxation
Use 80C through PPF, ELSS, term premium
Health insurance for 80D benefit
Also, do not overuse FD for tax-saving.
Returns are low and tax is high.
Future Action Plan: 360 Degree View
For Daughter’s Education:
Use Rs 10–15 lakh from liquid corpus
Invest part in hybrid fund, part in liquid fund
Use STP to equity for 3-year+ requirement
For Son’s Education (in 5 years):
Start goal-linked SIP of Rs 20,000
Use mix of equity and hybrid mutual funds
For Retirement:
Continue SIP of Rs 80,000
Step-up yearly by Rs 10,000
Allocate Rs 30 lakh from savings via STP to equity
Target Rs 3.5–4 crore in 10 years
Emergency Corpus:
Maintain Rs 7–8 lakh in liquid fund
Don’t use for investment or spending
Portfolio Management:
Avoid direct funds
Avoid index funds
Avoid real estate further
Review yearly with Certified Financial Planner
Finally
You are already on the right path.
Your income and investments are strong.
But large idle savings must be utilised.
Ensure all goals have dedicated planning.
SIPs must be goal-based and well-structured.
Get a Certified Financial Planner to help you track and manage.
Stay disciplined, review yearly, and avoid emotional decisions.
Your financial freedom is within reach.
Plan smart, invest better, and grow wealth peacefully.
Best Regards,
K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,
Chief Financial Planner,
www.holisticinvestment.in
https://www.youtube.com/@HolisticInvestment