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Ramalingam

Ramalingam Kalirajan  |11028 Answers  |Ask -

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on Apr 26, 2024

Ramalingam Kalirajan has over 23 years of experience in mutual funds and financial planning.
He has an MBA in finance from the University of Madras and is a certified financial planner.
He is the director and chief financial planner at Holistic Investment, a Chennai-based firm that offers financial planning and wealth management advice.... more
Rakesh Question by Rakesh on Mar 15, 2024Hindi
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Dear Mr. Sunil Lala, I have been contributing 10,000 INR monthly to the Canara Robeco Emerging Equities Growth Fund for nearly seven years. Recently, I was advised that transferring investments from underperforming funds to better-performing ones is a wise strategy. Following this advice, I switched to the Canara Robeco Blue Chip Fund. However, I've noticed that the returns are not as expected. Should I consider switching back to the previous fund, or would it be more prudent to retain my position in the Blue Chip Fund? Please note, I am not currently enrolled in a SIP for the Blue Chip Fund

Ans: Dear Mr. Sunil Lala,

It's commendable that you've been consistent with your monthly contributions to the Canara Robeco Emerging Equities Growth Fund for nearly seven years. Making informed decisions based on performance advice is crucial, but it's equally important to understand the bigger picture.

Switching to a better-performing fund can indeed be a sound strategy, but it's essential to give investments time to perform and align with market cycles. Short-term performance fluctuations are common, and knee-jerk reactions may not always yield desired outcomes.

Considering your concerns about the returns from the Canara Robeco Blue Chip Fund, it's worth evaluating a few aspects:

Performance Analysis: Compare the historical performance of both funds over various market cycles to gauge their consistency.
Fund Objectives: Understand the investment objectives of both funds. Are they aligned with your risk tolerance and investment goals?
Exit Load and Tax Implications: Be aware of any exit loads or tax implications before making a switch.
If the Blue Chip Fund's performance doesn't align with your expectations, switching back to the previous fund could be an option. However, before making any decisions, consider consulting with a Certified Financial Planner to gain insights tailored to your financial situation.

Remember, investment decisions should be based on thorough research, understanding of fund objectives, and alignment with your financial goals. A well-informed choice will ensure your investments work effectively towards achieving your objectives.
DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information to be as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision.
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Ramalingam

Ramalingam Kalirajan  |11028 Answers  |Ask -

Mutual Funds, Financial Planning Expert - Answered on Jun 20, 2025

Asked by Anonymous - Jun 09, 2025Hindi
Money
I have 10 lakhs in. SBI Blue Chip Direct Growth MF through SIP sice last 10 years. XIPR is 17 % average. Should I switch the fund to another funds. Is fund performance is good. Presently I do not need money. Kindly advise me.
Ans: You have shown great discipline by investing consistently for 10 years.

Let us now analyse your situation in a simple and professional manner.

We’ll assess the fund, its style, structure, and what steps you should take next.

Fund Type and Portfolio Behaviour
This is a large cap mutual fund focused on top 100 companies

It follows growth-style investing with low risk in terms of volatility

Blue chip funds invest in established companies with high market capitalisation

These stocks usually offer stability, but limited return potential in bull markets

Suitable for conservative investors who want slow and steady growth

Direct Plan Consideration
Since you mentioned "Direct Plan", let us address the risk of holding it without guidance.

Direct funds don’t offer any advice or handholding during market fluctuations

No professional rebalancing is done as per your financial goals

SIPs in direct funds often lack review, tracking, or correction support

Investors often miss exit signals, goal re-alignment, and tax-saving windows

If your SIP was through a Certified Financial Planner under regular plan, performance would be tracked and reviewed

A regular plan through MFD gives goal-linked advice, not just scheme suggestion

Evaluating the Fund’s Past Returns
You mentioned an average XIRR of 17% over 10 years

This is excellent performance considering it is a large cap fund

The fund has delivered better than typical expectations from this category

Be proud of your consistency—it matters more than fund timing

However, future performance may not match past due to slowing in large cap space

Hidden Risks of Holding Only One Style
Having only one fund for 10 years builds style concentration risk

Large cap funds miss growth opportunities in mid and small caps

You may miss out on newer sectoral trends and evolving businesses

Inflation-adjusted growth could become low over next 5–10 years

Diversification reduces long-term portfolio fatigue and improves compounding

Should You Exit the Fund?
Not entirely. But continuing blindly without review may reduce your future returns.

Keep the existing investment as is—no need to withdraw immediately

Switch only the future SIPs into a diversified mix of active mutual funds

Don’t exit from this fund just to chase short-term high performers

Large cap should form only a part—not the whole—of your portfolio

Suggested Action Plan
Keep existing Rs 10 lakh in same fund (don’t redeem if no immediate need)

Stop SIP in this direct plan and reroute SIPs to diversified funds under regular plans

Select actively managed flexi-cap, mid-cap, and balanced advantage funds

Choose regular plans through a Certified Financial Planner, not through direct mode

Link every SIP to a specific life goal like retirement, child’s future, etc.

Why Not Index Funds?
Some investors move to index funds at this stage. That may not help much.

Index funds only mirror the market—there is no active decision-making

They underperform in falling markets since they can’t shift sectors or stocks

They overexpose you to heavyweight stocks like HDFC Bank, Reliance, Infosys

Sector-specific risks are not managed actively in index strategies

Actively managed funds respond better to economic and political events

Fund manager insights are valuable in uncertain market phases

Asset Allocation Perspective
Review if you have other equity fund categories in your portfolio

A proper mix of flexi-cap, mid-cap, and balanced funds is ideal

Don’t over-allocate to large caps even if performance has been good

Review allocation every 12 months with a Certified Financial Planner

Diversification protects not just returns—but also peace of mind

Taxation Factors (if you redeem)
If you withdraw, the new capital gains tax rules will apply.

Since you’ve held the fund for 10 years, it qualifies as long-term

Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) above Rs 1.25 lakh will be taxed at 12.5%

If gains are below Rs 1.25 lakh in a year, no tax is due

No need to redeem now unless you have a new allocation strategy

Switching SIPs doesn’t create tax—only redemptions do

What You Should Avoid
Don’t make hasty switches due to short-term fund rankings

Don’t move to index or direct funds thinking they are cheaper—they lack support

Don’t mix insurance and investment again—stay away from ULIPs and LIC policies

If you hold any old LIC, ULIP or endowment plans, consider surrendering and moving into mutual funds

Don’t assume past returns will repeat—market cycles change styles

Role of a Certified Financial Planner
At this stage, your fund is fine—but your plan may not be complete.

A Certified Financial Planner will map all goals to right asset mix

They track fund performance, review asset allocation, and optimise tax

They suggest fund rebalancing based on market condition and age profile

They review portfolio during market fall and recovery—not after damage is done

CFPs also consider cash flow, emergency fund, risk cover, and lifestyle goals

Next Steps
Keep your Rs 10 lakh investment untouched

Stop SIP in direct fund immediately

Start SIPs under regular plan via Certified Financial Planner in diverse active funds

Ensure you diversify across market cap and fund styles

Plan for each life goal—don’t leave funds without a purpose

Finally
Your fund has done well. But future growth needs better strategy, not just fund loyalty.

You don’t need to exit now. But change your SIP direction immediately.

Don’t depend only on large caps. Add flexi-cap and mid-cap exposure.

Avoid index and direct funds—they lack guidance when needed most.

Continue your journey with a broader, actively managed mutual fund strategy.

Take support from a Certified Financial Planner to keep your portfolio healthy.

Best Regards,
K. Ramalingam, MBA, CFP,
Chief Financial Planner,
www.holisticinvestment.in
https://www.youtube.com/@HolisticInvestment

..Read more

Reetika

Reetika Sharma  |541 Answers  |Ask -

Financial Planner, MF and Insurance Expert - Answered on Feb 03, 2026

Money
Sir, I am a 44 years old male and have made following investments in Mutual Funds, which are as follows, please let me know if it is good to go: DSP India T.I.G.E.R. (The Infrastructure Growth and Economic Reforms Fund) Direct Growth (Rs. 1,000) Nippon India Small Cap Fund Direct Growth (Rs. 1,500) Axis Silver FoF Direct Growth (Rs. 1,000) LIC MF Gold ETF FoF Direct Growth (Rs. 1,000) Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund Direct Growth (Rs. 1,000) Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund Direct Growth (Rs. 500) SBI PSU Direct Plan Growth (lumpsum - Rs. 7,000) Aditya Birla Sun Life PSU Equity Fund Direct Growth (lumpsum - Rs. 6,000) I urge you to review my above portfolio as a whole and thereafter appropriately guide me whether I need to switch any of the above SIPs or stay invested as it is, particularly I am more worried about ‘Nippon India Small Cap Fund Direct Growth’ (keeping in consideration that my SIP becomes more than 1.5 years old with this Fund), it has generated negative returns more often, which now becomes my cause of concern, as a result sometimes I felt that I had invested in a wrong fund. My intent for the above investment is to create sufficient wealth, till the time of my retirement. Now, I seek your valuable guidance over the above, enabling me to reach to a decision. Thanks & regards, Ashish
Ans: Hi Ashish,

You have long 16 years till your retirement and proper guided investment can do wonders with your monthly SIPs.
Your concern regarding Nippon Small Cap fund is genuine but this is exactly how markets work. One cannot expect their money to double in an overnight. It needs patience and proper plan to generate even bare minimum of 12% annual return.

I see all the funds you invest in are direct funds. while direct funds are more preferred as they have lower expense ratio of about 0.5%, regular funds are better as they come with proper plan and guidance throughout.
Generating 2-4% returns in these types of direct funds v/s getting 12% return in regular funds - there is always an option.

However, continue with Nippon small cap, Parag Parikh Flexicap, and Motilal Oswal Midcap fund. Stop SIPs in other funds and work with a proper advisor to redirect these funds into better new funds.

Hence do consult a professional Certified Financial Planner - a CFP who can guide you with exact funds to invest in keeping in mind your age, requirements, financial goals and risk profile. A CFP periodically reviews your portfolio and suggest any amendments to be made, if required.

Let me know if you need more help.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/

..Read more

Latest Questions
Reetika

Reetika Sharma  |541 Answers  |Ask -

Financial Planner, MF and Insurance Expert - Answered on Feb 12, 2026

Money
Sir, How can we reduce the Commision on Regular MF ?What is Steps to avoid the Tax if wants to Switch from Regular to Direct?.
Ans: Hi Amit,

Your concern regarding commision in regular funds is quite genuine and common these days due to the misleading content shared by some people.
You should understand that a whilst regular funds have comparatively lower expense ratio than direct funds, and this has risen to the direct fund popularity. But in actual a direct fund portfolio is only good if you know all ins and out of the market, have proper knowledge and knows the correct way to invest perse your individual profile.

There are few benefits of regular fund portfolio which is highly overlooked:
- a professional builds your portfolio keeping in mind your detailed profile, funds selction are done based on your risk profile
- a professional knows the best time to invrease your investments, to hold and to shift. They constantly monitor the same and periodically review them

And a regular fund portfolio definitely beats the direct fund portfolio made with random tips and zero or less knowledge.
Hence I would not suggest you to switch from regular to direct funds if you are working with a professional.

Also switching from regular funds to direct will attract tax, there is no way to avoid the taxation.

However, you can get your portfolio reviewed from another advisor and ask them to guide you to make necessary changes.

If you do not have an advisor, connect with a professional Certified Financial Planner - a CFP who can guide you with exact funds to invest in keeping in mind your age, requirements, financial goals and risk profile. A CFP periodically reviews your portfolio and suggest any amendments to be made, if required.

Let me know if you need more help.

Best Regards,
Reetika Sharma, Certified Financial Planner
https://www.instagram.com/cfpreetika/

...Read more

Naveenn

Naveenn Kummar  |249 Answers  |Ask -

Financial Planner, MF, Insurance Expert - Answered on Feb 11, 2026

Asked by Anonymous - Dec 11, 2025Hindi
Money
Hi there, I am 53 years and retiring on 31/12/2025. I hvae a daughter and son, both studing and un-married. I am curently holding mutual fund (investment only) of around 15lacs. I am doing a SIP of 12000/- PM. Beside this, i have an equity investment of 15.50 lacs. I do have 65lacs in FD and the same amunt is expected upon retirement. I have a own house and there is no loan obligations currently. i have another 50lacs given to relatives and there is no timeline when I will be receiving this amount. I have around 100000 monthly expense and ofcourse the marriage expenses of my daughter and son in next 3-4 years. Kindly advise the best strategy and utilization of funds. Thank you.
Ans: Hi sir ,
You are entering a very sensitive financial phase where protection of capital becomes more important than aggressive growth. At the same time, you still have 30 plus years of life expectancy to fund, along with two large near-term goals children’s marriages and ongoing household expenses. So the strategy has to balance income, liquidity, and moderate growth.

Let me break this down in a practical way.

1. Where you stand today

Assets available / expected

Mutual Funds approx 15 lakh

Direct Equity approx 15.5 lakh

FD 65 lakh

Retirement proceeds expected approx 65 lakh

Money given to relatives 50 lakh uncertain timeline

Own house no loan

Total financial assets (excluding relatives money)
~160 lakh

If relatives repay, corpus rises to ~210 lakh but we should not depend on it for planning.

2. Monthly expense reality check

You mentioned ?1,00,000 per month = ?12 lakh per year.

Assuming 6 percent inflation, this expense will double in ~12 years.

So retirement planning must create income + growth, not just fixed income.

3. Immediate financial buckets to create

Think in 4 separate buckets instead of one pool.

A. Emergency + Liquidity bucket

Keep 18–24 months expenses.

?20–25 lakh
Park in:

Savings + sweep FD

Liquid / money market funds

Purpose: medical, family, urgent needs without breaking investments.

B. Marriage funding bucket (3–4 years)

Do not keep this in equity markets due to time risk.

Estimate requirement realistically. Suppose:

Daughter marriage 25–30 lakh

Son marriage 20–25 lakh

Total say 50 lakh

Park in:

Short duration debt funds

Bank FD ladder

RBI bonds

Capital safety is priority here.

C. Income generation bucket

This is the most critical post-retirement engine.

From your corpus, allocate ~70–80 lakh.

Options mix:

Senior Citizen Saving Scheme (SCSS)

Post Office MIS

RBI Floating Rate Bonds

High quality Corporate FD

Debt mutual funds with SWP

Target blended return: 7–8 percent.

This can generate ?45k–?55k monthly income.

D. Growth bucket (Long term)

You still need equity to beat inflation.

Allocate 25–30 lakh minimum.

Continue SIP (even post retirement if possible).

Suitable allocation:

Large Cap funds

Balanced Advantage / Dynamic Asset Allocation

Multi Asset funds

Time horizon: 10–20 years.

This bucket funds late retirement and healthcare inflation.

4. What to do with existing investments
Mutual Funds (15 lakh)

Keep invested. Review fund quality. Shift to:

Balanced Advantage

Large Cap / Flexi Cap

Avoid small cap concentration now.

Direct Equity (15.5 lakh)

Gradually reduce risk.

Move profits into hybrid funds or debt over 12–18 months. Do not exit in one shot to avoid tax and timing risk.

5. Retirement corpus deployment illustration

Here is a simple structure using your ~160 lakh corpus:

Bucket Amount Purpose
Emergency 25 L Liquidity
Marriage 50 L 3–4 yr goals
Income 60 L Monthly cashflow
Growth 25 L Inflation hedge

If relatives repay 50 lakh later:

Add 20 lakh to growth

Add 15 lakh to medical reserve

Add 15 lakh to income bucket

6. Monthly income gap

Expense: ?1,00,000

Income possible:

SCSS + MIS + Bonds: ~?50,000

SWP from debt / hybrid: ~?20,000

Equity dividends / growth withdrawal later: ~?10,000–?15,000

Gap may still exist initially.

So you may need:

Part time income / consulting (even ?25k helps)

Delay large withdrawals till age 60 when senior schemes expand

7. Important risks to manage
Healthcare

Take a family floater + super top up if not already.

Longevity risk

Plan till age 90, not 75.

Relatives money

Treat as “bonus”, not retirement funding.

Document repayment if possible.

Inflation

Do not over-allocate to FD.

That is the biggest mistake retirees make.

8. Action checklist

Finalize marriage budget realistically

Create 2-year emergency fund

Invest in SCSS immediately after retirement

Restructure equity to hybrid orientation

Continue SIP from surplus if feasible

Arrange health insurance buffer

Write a will and nominations

...Read more

DISCLAIMER: The content of this post by the expert is the personal view of the rediffGURU. Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related document carefully before investing. The securities quoted are for illustration only and are not recommendatory. Users are advised to pursue the information provided by the rediffGURU only as a source of information and as a point of reference and to rely on their own judgement when making a decision. RediffGURUS is an intermediary as per India's Information Technology Act.

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