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Ans: If you plan to invest for the long term, then it is always advisable to have your core holdings in well-diversified fund categories like largecap/flexicap funds. while having sectoral/thematic investments may work very well at times, they also come with the risk of going completely wrong. Hence sectoral/thematic investments are best avoided by most investors.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: If you plan to invest for the long term, then equity funds are suitable vehicles to participate in equity returns. The idea of less risk does not clearly specify your risk appetite, but if you want to go for pure equity funds, then choose from largecap/flexicap funds and if you want a comparatively safer (with some debt allocation in addition to equity), then you can consider Aggressive Hybrid Funds as well.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: To reach Rs 50 lakh in 10 years, you need to invest about Rs 21-23,000 per month assuming 11-12% average portfolio returns. Since no data about existing investments is provided, and given that you are doing a total of Rs 7000 per month in SIPs, there is first of all a need to increase your monthly investments to the required amount.

Having said that, you don't need so many schemes to invest Rs 20-25,000 per month. Just having a couple of schemes (like largecap index funds, and flexicap funds) would be sufficient.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: This requires a detailed explanation. I had written a detailed article on this gold taxation aspect. Please check it here - https://stableinvestor.com/2020/06/taxation-gold-capital-gains.html

Ans: You don't need to invest in so many schemes. There is a lot of overlap in your mutual fund portfolio holdings if you look at individual scheme's portfolios. So just investing the same monthly amount in up to 4 funds would be more than sufficient. You can pick one from Largecap Index Fund, 1-2 from a Flexicap/Large&Midcap Fund, 1-2 from Mid/Smallcap funds and that should be sufficient. In general, most investors are better off avoiding thematic/sectoral funds.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: You don't need to invest in so many schemes. There is a lot of overlap in your mutual fund portfolio holdings if you look at individual scheme's portfolios. So just investing the same monthly amount in up to 4 funds would be more than sufficient. You can pick one from Largecap Index Fund, 1-2 from a Flexicap/Large&Midcap Fund, 1-2 from Mid/Smallcap funds and that should be sufficient. In general, most investors are better off avoiding thematic/sectoral funds.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: You have already decided on the target corpus in today's value at Rs 1.5 Crore. So now if the same figure provided by you is inflation-adjusted at 6% (assumed avg. inflation) for the next 21 years, the figure comes to Rs 5.1 Cr in future value. To reach this corpus, one needs to invest about Rs 51-52,000 per month (Rs 6.1+ lakh per year) at an average return of 9% per annum. This monthly/annual investment amount needs to increase ny at least 5% every year in line with the increase in your salary.

Currently, you are investing Rs 1 lakh in LIC traditional plans which can give returns of 5-6%. The equity funds can give 10-11% average returns in the long run. So to reach the target corpus, you need to increase the investments in line with what the requirements have been suggested.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: You have already decided on the target corpus in today's value at Rs 1.5 Crore. So now if the same figure provided by you is inflation-adjusted at 6% (assumed avg. inflation) for the next 21 years, the figure comes to Rs 5.1 Cr in future value. To reach this corpus, one needs to invest about Rs 51-52,000 per month (Rs 6.1+ lakh per year) at an average return of 9% per annum. This monthly/annual investment amount needs to increase ny at least 5% every year in line with the increase in your salary.

Currently, you are investing Rs 1 lakh in LIC traditional plans which can give returns of 5-6%. The equity funds can give 10-11% average returns in the long run. So to reach the target corpus, you need to increase the investments in lien with what the requirements have been suggested.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: For short-term like 1 year, it is advisable to be in pure debt. You might be tempted to each more and invest in equities but think about a scenario about what you will do if you invest in equities for 1 year and there is big market correction. You will mess up your travel plans then.

Ans: You don't need to invest in so many schemes. Just investing the same monthly amount in up to 3 funds would be sufficient. You can pick one each from Largecap Index Fund, Flexicap Fund, Midcap fund and that should be sufficient. If you want to further have some exposure to smallcaps, only then go for a standalone Smallcap fund otherwise not required for most people.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: If you are investing for short-term like 2-3 years, then use bank RD. If you have a longer time horizon of 5-7 years at least, then you can consider Largecap Index Funds, Flexicap Funds or Aggressive Hybrid funds based on your risk appetite

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: To reach Rs 1 Cr in 10 years, you need to invest Rs 42-48,000 per month at 10-12% average returns. If you are able to increase your monthly investments by at least 7% each year, then this requirement (starting) comes down to Rs 32-36,000 per month.

While it is possible to generate more than 12% returns in equities, it is not easy to do that and most people will be unable to achieve it consistently. So better to invest with reasonable expectations and also try to increase your investment amount to a higher amount if possible.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: For the given total amount of investment being made monthly, you don't need to invest in so many schemes. Just one fund would be more than enough. It can be an ELSS if you have tax-saving requirements. Or it can be a simple flexicap fund as your existing portfolio seems to be a mix of large, mid and small-cap funds.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: Hi Gopal

A few observations, for the total amount of investment being made monthly, you don't need to invest in so many schemes. 1-2 schemes are enough, of which 1 can be ELSS if you have tax-saving requirements. The other can be a flexicap fund as your existing portfolio seems to be a mix of large, mid and small-cap funds.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: If you plan to invest in equity funds), you need to have a time horizon of at least 5+ years if not more. If this is applicable in your case, then you can consider investing in any good largecap index fund, or flexicap fund or if you don't want to invest fully in equities, then can consider Aggressive Hybrid Funds (which have 60-70% in equities).

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: In the absence of information about your time horizon and risk appetite, it is not possible to provide any recommendations. But if you plan to invest in equities (via shares or mutual funds), you need to have a time horizon of at least 5+ years if not more. If this is applicable in your case, then you can consider investing in any good largecap index fund, or flexicap fund or if you don't want to invest fully in equities, then can consider Aggressive Hybrid Funds (which have 60-70% in equities). You should stagger your Rs 2.5L investment across a few months to average out your entry and avoid the risk of mistiming the entry.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: If you plan to invest Rs 5000 monthly continuously for at least 3-5 years, and ALSO are willing to hold this investment for at least 5-7 years, only then consider putting money in equity funds. You can do a monthly SIP in any good largecap index fund, flexicap fund or if you don't want to invest fully in equities, then can consider Aggressive Hybrid Funds (which have 60-70% in equities. But be reminded that when investing in these funds, you should be willing to hold on to for at least 5-7 years even if you stop fresh investments after 3-5 years because of your job. Also, make sure you have an emergency fund in place as you have mentioned about job insecurity.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: First, low NAV doesn’t mean that it’s a cheaper fund. Second, NO, cheap or low NAV is not better in mutual funds. In reality, the NAV of a fund is irrelevant and ideally, it shouldn’t even be considered when making an investment decision regarding investing in mutual funds.

Let me explain in simple terms why low NAV doesn’t matter at all.

Suppose two friends invest in 2 different mutual fund schemes having identical portfolios. But their NAVs are different. One was launched several years ago and hence, has a higher NAV of Rs 200. While the other is a relatively new fund with a NAV of Rs 20 only. But both funds have exactly the same portfolio of stocks they invest in.

Both friends invest Rs 1 lakh. The older fund investor gets 500 units at a NAV of Rs 200 per unit. While the new fund investor gets 5000 units at NAV of Rs 20 per unit. So it is true that lower NAV would give you more units while higher NAV would give you a lesser number of units.

Now let’s say that both funds rise by the same 20%. Since the portfolio is the same, the fund appreciation will be the same as well.

A 20% rise in the older fund will increase its NAV from Rs 200 to Rs 240. While that of the newer fund will increase from Rs 20 to Rs 24. At the fact of it, you might say that the older fund has risen by Rs 40 while the newer one has risen by Rs 4 only. But that is not the right way to look at it. You need to compare the value of your investment.

So older fund investor having 500 units (purchased at Rs 200 per unit) will see their investment increase from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.2 lakh due to the rise in NAV from Rs 200 to Rs 240.

Not surprisingly, the new fund investor having 5000 units (purchased at Rs 20 per unit) will also see his investment increase from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.2 lakh due to the rise in NAV from Rs 20 to Rs 24.

So inspite of the different number of units held due to different investment NAVs, the eventual value of the investment is the same. This is the reason that concept of low NAV or high NAV is irrelevant. What only matters is the future % increase in NAV. That’s it. Mutual fund schemes should not be judged on their NAVs but on their performance.

This confusion about low NAV vs high NAV arises because many investors make the mistake of looking at the fund’s NAV like stock prices. But that is not the case. Both are very different animals.

Low NAV doesn’t mean a cheaper fund. High NAV doesn’t mean an expensive fund.

Ans: The details of how much you already have in equity and debt allocation are not provided. But assuming that you are investing in equity funds for a minimum period of 5 years and probably longer, you can do a monthly SIP of chosen Rs 10,000 amount into Largecap Index Funds or Flexicap Funds. Even one fund is sufficient though if you want, you can invest Rs 5000 each in one scheme from both fund categories.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: Kindly elaborate on the question.

Ans: Investing in a passive index fund can be a good option. But given the nature of equity markets, you should be willing to wait longer than 5 years if need be when you invest. There are no multiple options in passive funds too, but for most investors, picking a Nifty50-based index fund is good approach.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: Dear Sir... You have not provided enough data/information to provide you with any views on this. Please get in touch with an investment advisor for proper recommendations.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: It is not clear how you want to invest 80K from a 50K monthly income. If this is a typo and you meant 8K per month, then for this amount, you don't need to diversify too much. Just pick one passive index fund and a flexicap fund for this and start your SIPs. Even picking one from these two is sufficient. When picking funds, look at the fund vintage and investment philosophy of the AMC/fund manager handling it. Better to go with funds which have seen a full market cycle instead of yet-to-prove newer ones.

If you meant one time Rs 80K to be distributed into funds, then also you can follow the above suggested fund categories.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: There is no one best ELSS fund. Different ELSS funds have different investment approaches and you should pick one which fits well in your risk profile and complements the portfolio of existing mutual funds in your portfolio. So for example - if you have a largecap fund already in your portfolio, then picking an ELSS fund which has higher exposure to non-large-caps is what you should consider assuming your risk profile is suited for that. Also, when picking ELSS funds, look at the fund vintage and investment philosophy of the AMC/fund manager handling it. Better to go with funds which have seen a full market cycle instead of yet-to-prove newer ones.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: You have not provided the investment amount in all these funds. But in general, the fund selection seems to be tilted more towards mid and smallcaps. This kind of allocation is suitable only for those who have required risk profile and can identify as aggressive investors. For largecap exposure, one can even opt for passive largecap funds though active funds are still fine for mid and small-cap exposure.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the like and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: From what I understand, it seems that you are already investing a total of Rs 5500 per month in the 3 schemes mentioned by you. And now you want to increase the amount by another Rs 5000, thereby taking the total to Rs 10,500 per month. For this monthly investment amount, generally having 1-2 funds/schemes is enough. So you can either increase your SIPs in existing funds or go for Passive Largecap funds or Flexicap Funds.

Note (Disclaimer) - As a SEBI RIA, I cannot comment on specific schemes/funds that are provided or asked for in the questions in the platform. And the views expressed above should not be considered professional investment advice or advertisement or otherwise. No specific product/service recommendations have been made and the answers here are for general educational purposes only. The readers are requested to take into consideration all the risk factors including their financial condition, suitability to risk-return profile and the likes and take professional investment advice before investing.

Ans: There is no sure-shot method to predict which mutual fund scheme or sector will do well in the short term or in the next 1 year.

Most investors are better off picking funds from diversified equity fund categories and being willing to remain invested for the long term, which is at least 5 years.

Ans: You have just provided the AMC name and not the actual fund name. Hence, it is not possible to suggest anything without knowing the fund/scheme name.

Ans: While the amount that you now wish to increase your monthly SIPs to, i.e. Rs 50,000 would be a reasonably good figure to achieve Rs 1.25 Cr in 10 years, the choice of funds needs a thought.

First of all, nothing is known about your risk appetite. But assuming you belong to at least the Moderately Aggressive bucket, you should stick to the following fund categories and allocations -

Largecap Index Funds - 10K
Flexicap Funds - 12.5-15K
Large&Midcap Funds - 12.5-15K
Midcap Funds - 5-7.5K
Smallcap Funds - 5-7.5K

In my view, you don't need sectoral or thematic funds (like the one you have) in your portfolio. The above-suggested fund allocation will be sufficient to help you reach your goal. Also, make sure you increase your monthly SIPs each year as your income increases.

Also, just targeting a future amount may not be enough. It is always advisable to link all your investments to your real financial goals and follow a goal-based investment philosophy.

And if you have other goals that also need investment and you are unsure how to allocate to them all, it is suggested that you get in touch with an investment advisor with full details to better plan your finances.

Ans: You have not provided details of your other investments and hence there is no way of knowing what is your existing asset allocation. But 3-5 years is a short term and ideally, you should not be taking too much risk in this time horizon. Having said that and assuming you have at least a moderately aggressive risk appetite, you can have an allocation of about 30-40% equity:debt initially.

For this, you can have the following allocation initially -
i) Largecap Funds - 15%
ii) Flexicap Funds - 15%
iii) Aggressive Hybrid Funds - 20%
iv) Rest in debt funds

Later on, as you get closer to the goal day, you need to derisk and reduce equity allocation.

Since the actual advice will depend on a lot of other factors, it is suggested that you get in touch with an investment advisor with full details to better plan your finances. More so as you are nearing the retirement age and will need to position your portfolio accordingly in next few years.

Ans: First please ensure you set aside funds equal to at least 6-12 months of your basic monthly expenses. This can be in the form of a safe bank FD. Also, get term life insurance and health insurance for you and your family if it's still not there.

Only after that, you should begin investing. Since you wish to invest for the next 18 years, you can consider starting monthly SIPs equally in one scheme each from largecap and flexicap fund categories. These are equity fund categories which are suitable for long-term investing for those who have a suitable risk appetite. The journey will not be smooth like a bank FD or post office deposit but if you stick for long enough, equity has historically delivered 10-12% average annual returns.

Ans: If we calculate using a few assumptions, like post-retirement life of 25 years; average inflation of 6% pa during that period, and portfolio returns of about 8% (assuming a judicious mix of equity and debt with a higher allocation to the latter), then you need to have a corpus of about Rs 4.8 Cr. This is to ensure that starting at Rs 2 lakh monthly (after 15 years), your monthly income from there on increases by at least 6% assumed inflation. And starting from zero, you need to invest about Rs 1.1 lakh per month assuming equity:debt 50:50 and this monthly investment amount should increase by at least 5% every year.

To reach this target corpus, you have a sufficiently long runway of 15 years. So you should be willing to invest a major chunk in equities via equity funds if your risk appetite allows for it. You may also have some of the existing assets, which too can be earmarked towards this retirement corpus.

As mentioned, for equity allocation, choose diversified equity funds categories like passive largecap funds, flexicap funds, and large&midcap funds (and if you have a sufficiently high-risk appetite, then mid-and-small cap funds as well). For debt, your EPF+VPF alongwith PPF should be sufficient.

When the time comes for retirement (in 15 years), you may have to divide your portfolio into 2 buckets. One to take care of income needs (via SCSS, debt funds, PPF withdrawals, bonds, etc.) and the other for growth (via equity funds and ETFs)