We all would like to maintain a balance between professional and personal life . Both are equally important to lead a successful, happy and healthier life. All doctors suggest us to eat a healthy balanced diet.
Investing in Balanced Mutual Funds is not much different. Balanced funds are also known as Hybrid Mutual Funds. In this post let us understand more about types of balanced funds and investment returns from these funds (especially equity oriented balanced funds).
What are Balanced (or) Hybrid Mutual Funds?
Mutual funds are broadly classified as either Equity or Debt,based on where the funds are invested.
- Equity funds primarily invest in stocks/shares.
- Debt funds primarily invest in Bonds, Government securities and Fixed interest bearing instruments.
- BALANCED FUNDS invest in both equity and debt instruments.
What are different types of Balanced Funds?
Balanced mutual funds can be Equity oriented or Debt oriented hybrid plans.
If the average equity exposure of a balanced fund is more than 60% and the remaining 40% is in debt products then it is treated as a Balanced Fund – Equity oriented. This means major portion of the fund’s assets are invested in equity.
If the average debt exposure is around 60% and equity is 40% then these funds are treated as Balanced funds – Debt oriented. (These proportions can vary among different balanced funds).
Benefits of investing in Balanced Mutual Funds:
- Diversification : The funds are invested in both equity and debt financial securities leading to diversification of investments.
- Asset Allocation & Re-balance : Balanced funds regularly re-balance the portfolio based on market conditions & asset allocation limits. An investor is, thus, saved the hassle of manually re-balancing the portfolio
- Low volatility : Balanced funds are less risky compared to pure Equity funds. Equity portion will provide the capital appreciation through stock prices appreciation and dividend income. Whereas, Debt portion can provide stability through interest income and appreciation in Bond prices.
- Balanced funds have debt component in their asset allocation. Due to this they may suffer lesser losses during market downturns when compared to Equity funds.
- These funds can be a better bet for first-time equity investors. These are also suitable for the investors who want to protect the downside during market downturns and want to benefit during market upswings. Remember that balanced funds may not out-perform the Equity funds during market upswings (Bull run).
- Balanced funds can be a useful investment option to meet critical Financial Goals like Retirement Planning, Kid’s Higher Education etc.,
Top performing Equity Oriented Balanced Funds 
Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) Returns of Balanced Equity Oriented Funds
The above table gives us idea about the SIP returns. I have assumed the monthly SIP amount as Rs 1,000.
Again, HDFC’s Children Gift Fund (Inv plan) tops the table with annualized returns of around 22% in the last 5 years. One more observation we can make on some of the very old funds. Example – HDFC’ s Prudence fund which was launched way back in 1993. This fund has generated SIP returns of around 23.18% in the last 15 years. The same fund tops the list in 10 year category, with returns of 18.95%.
The above past returns prove that investors will benefit if they stay invested for long periods of time.
What are the average returns of Balanced funds category?
The Below table gives us overall idea about the average returns generated by all balanced funds as a category.
Capital Gains Taxation of Balanced Mutual Funds
In terms of taxation, the balanced mutual funds that invest at least 65% in equity ((Equity oriented) attract no tax liability on Long Term Capital Gains. (The units of these funds should be held for more than 12 months).
The interpretation of data can sometimes be very tricky. For a different set of time periods, balanced funds might have given lesser returns. If our expectations are reasonable then I am sure balanced funds will deliver. I believe returns of 10% and above from a balanced fund (equity oriented) is a bonus.
Everything in life..has to have balance. It applies to investments too. I am sure you agree with me. Do you hold any balanced mutual funds? Share your views..Cheers!
(All the above plans are indirect plans, returns > 1 year are annualized and are Growth plans. Kindly keep in mind, past performance is no guarantee of future results- Image courtesy of Jeroen van Oostrom at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
Sir,
I am Narasimha. The article is very good. I kindly request you to revise the content of this page (along with funds data) with the latest details. This article belongs to 2014 (very old). It will be helpful to the readers if the data presented is the latest data. Please dont mind about my comment.
Thanks !!
Dear Narasimha ,
I have written one more article on Balanced funds (latest one, 2016)..Kindly visit & read …
RAMANA says: 20-01-2017-9PM
Dear Sir,
I suddenly found your blog and really appreciate your service. I am 55 years old.,I will retire ,Dec’16.My retirement fund will be Rs20 Lacs.My two DAUGHTERS are studying in USA& 2ND DAUGHTER BTECH FINALYEAR. I want to invest in Mutual fund 3YEARS. what are the funds to be invested. I am not take any risk. want a regular income of Rs 30,000 for my household expenditure.Please advise me.
Reply
Dear RAMANAIAH Ji,
Is it that you would like to invest in MFs for 3 years and also want regular income during these 3 years?
Are you planning to withdraw this corpus after 3 years?
Kindly read: List of best investment options!
Sri Reddy,I will retire this month,Dec’16.My retirement fund will be Rs 80 Lacs.My two sons are studying in Plus2.I want a regular income of Rs 30,000 for my household expenditure.Please advise me.
Dear Rama Rao Ji,
You may consider investing in Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (assuming you are a senior citizen), Post office MIS scheme, set up Systematic withdrawal plan in a Dynamic bond (growth) or conservative MIP fund (growth).
Kindly read:
List of investment options.
Best Debt funds.
Best MIP Funds.
Sir,Please give the formula for Retirement corpus calculation.Not able to find it in your article.
Dear Rama Rao ji,
You may go through this article : Retirement planning & Calculator.
well written article sir. I have a query. Suppose I have invested 50,000 /- Rs in a debt mutual fund on April 2015, then again I have invested 30,000 Rs in say Aug 2016. Now after 5 years in Nov 2021 I want to redeem 100 units amounting Rs 40,000. Then how the tax will be calculated and how indexation will apply here. My doubt is that there is some no of units which will be 5 yr old and some units will be 6 yr old. in this case how i will calculate tax. And please also tell us that in which ITR form this should be shown and where. thanks in advance.
Dear Vivek,
The capital gains will be levied as per ‘First in & first out’ method w.r.t to MF units.
You have to show the gains under ‘Capital Gains’ section.
Kindly read:
MF taxation rules.
Which ITR form to file?
many thanks.
Hi, i want to have 50lakh by 2029. How much i should invest and where to get that amount for my child education.
Dear Aman,
Kindly read this article : Kid’s Education goal planning & calculator @ https://www.relakhs.com/calculate-kids-education-goal-amount/
Dear Sreekanth,
What is the best way to invest Rs 10 lacs with an investment time frame of 1 year, giving me a good “tax free” returns?
Dear Dudeja ..I believe there is no such investment option – 1 year with good tax-free returns.
Kindly note that gains (if any) on equity oriented funds are tax-free if units are held for more than 12 months, but 1 year is a too short to consider Equity funds/Shares.
Read:
List of best investment options!
Dear Sreekanth,
By 1 year i meant that it can stretch upto 1.5 years but not more than that. Considering STP of liquid fund to equity fund for 10 lacs for 1 year period, will it give me a tax free return or liquid fund will be taxed?
STP from “balanced fund to large cap fund”, does it seems a good option?
Transfer of fund from liquid fund to equity fund by STP, will that transfer be considered as exit load for liquid fund? Also, will that transfer be taxed considering it to be withdrawal from liquid fund?
Dear Dudeja,
1 – STPs from liquid fund to Equity fund are considered as normal redemptions, so any gains on Liquid fund units will be taxed accordingly.
Read: MF taxation rules.
2 – Any applicable exit loads on Liquid funds will be levied.
3 – As suggested in previous comment, investment in an equity fund with an horizon of around 1 or 1.5 years is not advisable.
Dear Sreekanth,
This means that every transfer of money from liquid fund to equity fund will push me into tax and further the gains from liquid fund will be taxed on withdrawal. Also, trasnfer of money will be considered as exit load.
Won’t I will have to inculcate a huge amount of taxes/fees? This will make my net return even lower than FDs.
Also, what should be then a best investment horizon for STP?
Hi Sri,
I had one year old child and want to invest 1 lakh rupees in his name.
Is HDFC’s Children Gift Fund opt for long term ( 10-15 years)?
Dear karthikeyan..Though it is a good fund there are certain drawbacks. You may opt for regular balanced funds.
Kindly read: Children’s Gift funds – review.
Thanks Sri,
Can u suggest any good regular balanced funds for my requirement. Am not familiar in this
Dear karthikeyan ..HDFC or TATA balanced funds.
Thanks Sri
New to investment
Planning to start SIP with a amount of 5000 pm from Aug-2016 for long term
Can you please guide and advice me in opting the best available plans.
Dear Pavan..
Kindly read:
Best Equity funds.
How to select the right MF scheme based on Risk ratios?
MF Portfolio overlap analysis tools.
Hi Sree
I am living outside India, aged 38 and new to MFs. Was thinking about investing in MFs in India and gradually build reasonable investment portfolio in MFs through SIP. Do you think it is it is right approach? How can I start investing, which funds should I consider, how much amount should I consider to start with (my idea is Rs 10,000 pm and learn for a year or so) and after 3 years where should I reach as regards to my investment pm.
Dear Kulbhushan,
May I know your investment objective/financial goals?
Yes, SIP mode is the best way to invest in Equity oriented mutual funds.
Kindly go through below articles;
What are Direct Mutual Fund plans?
What are Large/Mid/Small cap funds?
My MF portfolio picks.
How to create solid investment plan?
Best Equity Funds.
List of best investment options.
Dear Sree
Many thanks for your quick revert and leaving enough of links for me to understand prelims of financial planning.
I think I am sufficiently covered for meeting any emergency or my short term needs. Also I have been investing regularly over years in PPF and Insurance plans and ULIPs. Now I am looking to invest for 10-15 years time horizon where I could beat inflation in India. Ultimate goal is to generate sufficient corpus of funds for one child education (8 years), marriage (15 years) and retirement (20 years).
Could you please suggest me how much to invest in which MFs through SIP route and time limits. May be I can also invest a lump sum amount is a few MFs.
Looking forward for your very useful advice.
Thanks again
Dear Kulbhushan,
If possible, can you share the details of your insurance policies (like policy name, tenure & commencement date).
How much to invest? – Suggest you to go through below articles;
Kid’s Education goal planning calculator.
Retirement Planning calculator.
Yes, you can invest lump sum for your long-term goal like Retirement.
Hi Sree,
I am trying to invest in HDFC MF online. While doing the transaction for HDFC Balanced Fund or Small & Midcap Funds,it is showing Min SIP Amount of 5000. I want to start the SIP of 2000. Is it not possible to start SIP of 2k online ? whereas if I go offline its possible…
Thanks in Advance…
Dear Ashmit..May be thats the initial investment, afterwhich you can invest/SIP with Rs 2k. Kindly check with HDFC MF customer care too.
Hi when u try for lumsum investment min amount is 5000, and for sip min amount is 500 per month.
Hi Sreekanth,
I make it a point to come back to your blog whenever I can. Today I read about Balanced funds and MIP funds.
I have a saving of 10 lakhs which I need to invest for 3-5 years as I do not need the money now.
Please suggest which ones can I go for. Funds that can give atleast 20% annualised returns is something I would ideally want to go for. Please let me know your opinion.
Kindest regards.
Dear Ksam,
20% can be an unrealistic expectation that too for a time-horizon of less than 5 years.
You can consider investing in combination of Short term debt fund + balanced fund (higher allocation for say next 3 years or so) + MIP fund.
Congratulations on completing 2 years with this amazing blog.
I Already have kept some money in Short term debt funds.
What exactly do you advise should be the % distribution of the 10 lakhs.
Eg.
3 lakhs lumpsump In HDFC balanced fund
3 lakhs lumpsump in Tata balanced fund
4 lakhs in birla Sunlife mip plan.
Please advise if this looks fine. Please suggest the best way of investing this hard earned money 🙂
Kindest regards.
Dear Ksam,
Thank you!
You may allocate a bit more to MIP fund if you need this money say in 3 years. Funds are good ones.
Dear shrikanth,
Accidentally hit your blog page and got addicted. Thanks for spreading financial awareness among masses.
My family is blessed with daughters. My two brothers and a sister all blessed with 2 daughters. I want to invest 50k on each daughter to gift them in their marriages. The eldest one is 13 year and remaining 10, 7, 6, 6,5 .I would like to Invest as one time until their marriage. Kindly advice funds name, tax implications if any, I will redeem myself on the respective occasion.
After reading your blog I buy term plan ICICI and may take family floater from star health next week. I will follow your financial planning advice(articles) with basics first, then, I will seek advice for investment after few months.
Thanks
Dear Satish,
Thank you for kind words.
Suggest you to go through below articles and revert to me;
1 – Use calculator available in this article to arrive at approx savings amount : Kid’s Education or marriage expenses goal.
2 – Gifts & Tax implications.
Thanks Sreekanth,
I went through both the articles. This is gift investment, a reasonable and safe instrument will do. I read your best Debt mutual funds in India article. Therefore my understanding as follows,
For 13 year old daughter I will opt for short term debt and remaining all, shall I make a balanced fund like HDFC/TATA.
Should I do it lump sum or SIP as I have surplus cash. Is it advisable to do in one investment rather than dividing in each daughters name? If so, can I withdraw partial amount whenever occasion arises.
Appreciate your guidance and advice.
Thanks
Dear Satish,
The target goal year even for the eldest kid can be around 7 years (minimum) right?
If so, you may consider investing in a balanced fund for say next 2 to 4 years and afterwards you may switch /invest in safe investment avenues (FDs+RDs+Debt funds etc).
You can make lump sum investments in balanced funds. But kindly understand the risks associated with equity oriented funds before investing your funds.
Sreekanth,
Indebted to you for the advice.
Cheers….
Dear Srikanth,Your article on Top Balanced Mutual Funds is about one and a half year old.Kindly update with latest return on these mutual funds.
Dear Dr Bansal..The returns might have changed but as of now my picks are same as far as Top balanced funds list goes.
However, let me re-check the list again and will surely consider your suggestion. Thank you!
Hii kumar
i am new investor in SIP ,Having a son 10yrs old,me 40yrs
want to invest in 5000 Pm for 5years .please suggest me which fund i suppose to opt & get good return after 5years.
Awaiting for your kind suggestions.
thanks & regzrds
Ganesh
Dear Ganesh..Consider Balanced fund HDFC Balance fund/ TATA balanced fund + one large cap fund like Birla Frontline Equity fund.
Read:
Kid’s Education Goal Calculator.
Retirement Planning goal calculator.
Hi,
I am Kumar age 46 wish to invest a lumpsum of Rs.25 lakh in Tata balanced fund for a term of 10 years. Is it a wise decision or I should opt STP route and a start a SIP in balanced funds ? Please suggest ?
Kumar
Dear Kumar..Why do you want to invest in only one fund, any specific reason?
STP can be a better way.
Hi,
No specific reason. I am confused ,how to invest lumpsum (with low risk) in longterm to get a good return during my retirement age.Please suggest some good funds/a good investment plan for longterm.
Dear Kumar,
Kindly go through these articles;
Best Investment options in India.
Retirement planning calculator..
Financial planning pyramid.
Dear Srikant,
I am Investing HDFCLife Pro Growth Plus Balanced fund 5000Rs per month since July’2014.
Shall i continue in this plan or should quit?
Please help because now my asset only 91K where i invest around 1Lkah.
Dear Ravikant,
It is a ULIP (unit linked policy) where in they collect your premium and invest in the fund (balanced fund) chosen by you. They also deduct certain charges from the premium and then the remaining balance is invested in the funds. One needs to stay invested in ULIP through out the policy term to get any decent returns.
If you discontinue it now, you can get the fund value after 5 policy years and nominal interest rate would be provided.
Do you have any other life insurance polices?
I have two LIC Policies.
My question you to pls suggest whether i should continue to pay premium in HDFC Life Pro growth Plus Balanced fund or stop now…
Also my doubt about Suknya Samridhi yogna(for my 1.6 Yr daughter) or PPF investment?
Dear Ravikant,
I have given you the required details, its your call to discontinue it or not. Personally, I do not invest in ULIPs.
I prefer mutual funds to ULIPs.
Read:
Sukanya Samriddhi A/c review.
Dear sir,can u please tell the top PPF funds.are they good with regard to interest rate and short term
Dear Surekha ..May I know what do you mean by PPF FUNDs?
Are you referring to Debt mutual funds?
Public provident fund sir
Dear Surekha ..There are no top PPF funds as such. You may visit nearest Post office branch to open PPF account. It is one of the best debt investment option.
Hey Sreekant,
I follow your blogs before making any investment plan.I found it really helpful in making decisions.
I recently bought axis LTE for my tax saving just by reading your blog on ELSS funds.
I am 25 year old and I wish to make an investment portfolio.Now I can manage to invest rs.5000/month or 60,000/-year lumpsum which I will be increasing every year at 10 % .
My goal is to get returns every fifth year interval.I choosed this return plan so that I can use money as and when required.(let us assume my personal goals – at the age of 30–house , 40- year child education, 60-retirement and so on)
I want to get returns at the above intervals and I want to be rich when I am retiring.
My goals are short term(3 to 5 years from now) -in which I can take high risk), midterm(10 to 15 years- moderate risk) and long term(more than 20 years-low risk) as well.
Please help me to make my portfolio depending on my goals.
Will be extremely helpful for your kinf advice on the same.
Dear Amin,
For short-term goals, you have to invest in less risky investment options and you can take high risk for long-term goals.
Do you have any family member(s) who are financially dependent on you? Do you have health insurance cover & Personal accident insurance cover?
1 – Save money for ‘Emergency or for short term purposes’.
Read : List of best investment options to build Emergency fund.
2 – For long-term goal like ‘retirement’, invest in EPF/PPF & as much as possible and as frequently as possible in Equity oriented products.
Read :
Retirement goal calculator.
My MF portfolio.
Financial planning Pyramid..
Dear Srikant,
Thanks for reply!!
Yes..I my parents are dependent on me.
We have health insurance policy….(New India for my parents)(for myself employer is providing Medical insurance)
I too personally have accident insurance cover…bought from HDFC.
I am planning to invest in
1.ICICI prudential vlue discovery-
2.DSP black rock
3.TATA balanced fund
4.Birla sunlife MIP
Are ther above mentioned MF are good ??
Do MF carry exit loads and whether tax is applicable on the mature amount.
Dear Amin,
1 – Kindly buy a Term insurance plan. Read : Top term insurance plans.
2 – You may look at enhancing your health insurance sum assured through a Super Top up health insurance plan.
3 – Selected funds are fine. Name of DSP fund?
Generally exit loads are applicable if redeemed within 12 months.
Read: MF taxation rules..
Dear Shrikant,
Thanks for your kind advice!!
ICICI prudential considered for Term insurance.
DSP-BR Micro Cap Fund – RP (G).
Also, Is there any over lap between any of the MF selected?
Whether MF house charge any percentage on the mature amount??
I went through “Bsst investmest options”, there I came across Liquid debt mutula fund schemes : Can you suggest me any good Scheme in this cateegory??
What is the best alternative of savings bank account for keeping money ?
Regards,
Amin
Dear Amin,
Kindly read :
MF overlap analysis tools.
Generally if the units are redeemed after 12 months, the exit load can be NIL on most of the equity funds.
Read:
MF taxation rules.
Best Debt mutual funds.
Hi sree, I’m bharat age 24. I just started my career and I would like to invest rs.5000 every month for next 20yrs through sip. Your guidance would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
Dear Bharat,
You may consider investing aggressively in an Equity diversified fund, Mid-cap/Small cap fund.
Ex: ICICI Value Discovery fund & Franklin Smaller companies fund.
Kindly read:
Best Equity mutual funds.
Dear Bharat,
If u have just started investing, the first thing u should do is to ensure that your tax-saving options are exhausted before looking at other investment options. So in your case, you can look at ELSS (tax saving MF schemes) to begin with. At your age and phase of life, this is by far the best option. You have a limit of Rs. 1.5 lakh/year which will give u tax benefit also.
So technically u should first invest Rs. 12,500/pm in ELSS schemes and then look for other long-term investments.
Thank you dear Dinesh for sharing your inputs.
Dear dinesh, thanks for the advice.
Hi
I am trying to analyse balanced fund, what is your take on Franklin India Balanced Fund-G ? I thought it was more consistent?
Thanks
JJ
Ignore the previous question, because –
I was planning to invest in a diversified fund and a balanced fund (Investment horizon around 4-5 years, lump sum investment of 1 L in each). For tax benefits I have already invested in Axis LTE fund (1 L in 2015) & SBI magnum tax gain (50K in 2014).
For a diversified fund, I am thinking of Franklin India Prima Plus fund. Let me know your thoughts here.
So for my balanced fund, I should not think of Franklin Balanced since the overlap of that fund with Franklin India Prima Plus is like 60+%. Please suggest me a balanced fund.
Also is SIP better compared to lumpsum ? Or may be a lumpsum then continue with SIP of 1000 for the balanced fund?
Btw, I am using your suggestions and fundpicker site to analyse and decide. Your articles are very useful. Thank you 🙂
Thanks in advance.
Dear JJ,
Franklin Prima Plus is a good fund with consistent track record.
Balanced fund my picks would be : TATA/HDFC Balanced fund.
For longer period, sip Vs lump sum does not really matter. If you have surplus money (lump sum), just invest and stay invested 🙂
Thank you Sree.
As a thumb rule, when investing in equity MF, it is always advisable to invest thru the SIP route irrespective of the period (I am assuming that if u have decided on equity MF, the investment period is bound to be long-term).
if u have a lump-sum, then after deciding on the equity fund to invest, u can invest the lumpsum in a liquid fund of the same fund house and then start an STP from that liquid fund into your chosen equity funds. This way, u will get the best of both worlds – liquid fund will give u returns higher than your savings account and u will also balance the market volatility thru the SIP route.
Thank you dear Dinesh for sharing your inputs.
Dear JJ – Do have an eye on Tax implications. Money withdrawn via a Systematic Transfer Plan (STP) is considered a redemption in a fund.
Hi Sree,
I am new to the world of Mutual fund investments. 10 years from now, I wish to start a portfolio in MFs.
I am 28 years old. To begin with, I plan to invest 2,00,000 INR as of now, for a period of 3-5 years.
From what I read in your articles, I understand that Balanced Mutual Funds are a safe bet as I am new.
– Could you advise me which is the best plan for me. Should I carry on with just Balanced MFs or any other options?
– In Balanced also, Equity oriented is better or Debt oriented is better?? can you name me few in both categories … please!
– Should I invest the whole amount (2 Lkahs) into one MF? Or should I break it down into two – three categories. If so, kindly advise which are the best options for me?
– How much period should I decide upon? I was thinking three years!
– Should I pay it all in one go or should I pay in monthly schemes? (sorry for the of silly question)
– Once I decide on the scheme of MF, what is the step 2, step 3 extra?
I know you are a busy person. Your guidance will be much appreciated!
Thanks in advance!
~
VV
–
Dear VV,
10 years from now you would like to invest in MFs or is it your investment horizon is 10 years starting from now?
1 – Since you are new to MFs & you have a time-frame of around 5 years, balanced fund can be a better option.
2 – Equity oriented funds example : HDFC balanced fund or TATA balanced fund.
Debt hybrid oriented funds : Kindly read below articles;
Best MF MIPs.
Best Debt oriented balanced funds.
Best Debt mutual funds.
Dear Mr Sreekanth,
I want to invest about 25 Lakhs for 5 years. I am 44. Appreciate if you can suggest good funds.
Dear Mahendra,
You may consider one balanced fund (say 75%) & one MIP aggressive fund (25%).
ex : HDFC Balanced fund & Birla MIP II Wealth 25 fund.
Read : Best MIP funds.
Dear Sreekanth
I am naresh,I am very much new to the investment and interested in investing in MF by SIP of Rs:2000pm,with the time horizon of 20yrs
Can you please help me out which are the funds need to be am invested in
Main aim behind investing is good returns in long term which can be useful as am just 20
Thank you well in advance
Dear Naresh,
If your investment objective is wealth accumulation + tax savings, suggest you to invest in ELSS Funds.
Read : Best ELSS funds for 2016.
Else, you can consider investing in a diversified equity fund like Franklin prima plus & one mid-cap fund like HDFC Mid-cap opportunities fund.
Read : Best Equity funds for 2016.
Hi Sree – i am 34 and new to investments, i want to invest on long term basis for my childs future who is months old – my monthly investment range is INR 5000 – 10000, at this stage and shall increase YoY. Pl suggest some feasible options or combination of options please.
Dear usha,
Kindly read : Kid’s education goal calculator.
Kindly start investing in a balanced fund and a mid-cap fund.
Read : Top Equity funds for 2016.
Do you have sufficient life insurance cover?
Hi Sree,
I have started investing 1 lac pa for 15 yrs from 2014 in HDFC Balanced Fund.
Is it a good option. Will i get enough corpus after 15 years.
Dear Ranjith,
It is indeed a good fund. You may consider investing in one more fund especially a mid-cap fund, considering your long-term view.
Kindly read : Best Equity mutual funds for 2016.
Kindly let me know what is ELSS Funds
Dear somashekar,
ELSS are equity oriented funds, wherein the fund corpus is invested in stocks/shares (min 65% of fund corpus) and the remaining in debt securities.
The fund units have a lock-in period of 3 years. The investemnts made in ELSS funds are eligible for tax deduction u/s 80c.
Kindly read:
Best ELSS Funds 2015.
Best ELSS Funds 2016.
I want to invest in tax saving mutual fund ? please suggest 2 3 best funds right now.
Also PPF is better of Mutual Fund ?
Dear balram..Let me know your investment horizon??
Hi Sree,
I want to invest 20-30K for 3-5yrs time period. Please suggest any plan which can help me in tax saving as well.
Is FD of 25-30K for 5yrs is good option?
Dear Sneha,
ELSS funds are good for long-term investments & for tax saving. But considering your investment horizon, balanced funds could be a better option. But do note no tax benefits is available.
Kindly read :
Think beyond taxes.Why one should avoid investing in FDs for longer period?
Thanks for your response Sree.
Yes, I am planning to invest in Balanced Fund, however, do want to invest in some Tax saving areas as well. Please suggest some links for ELSS funds.
Dear Sneha,
If you can remain invested for atleast 5 years or so, do consider investing in an ELSS fund.
Kindly read : Best ELSS funds.
Thanks Sree. Visited HDFC and they shared details about HDFC Life ProGrowth Plus. what is your suggestion on this ? Request your to pls help.
Dear Sneha,
Whom did you contact? HDFC Life insurance (or) HDFC Mutual Fund (or) HDFC Bank?
Hi Sree,
I contacted HDFC Bank.
Dear Sneha,
The plan suggested by hdfc bank is life insruance plan. Kindly do not buy it. You can visit hdfc mutual fund website directly and buy a balanced fund.
Kindly read : How to invest in direct plans of MFs.
If you are not comfortable buying online or direct, you can invest in MFs through online distribution platforms.
Great.. Thanks for all your help.. will go through it, and will let you know if any more help required.
Thnx…i have no knowledge about marketing and fund invest.i read your article and saw some pics of mutual funds..will you please clarify me 53.27% return for 3yrs…is it 53.27% per year or 53.27% for complete 2yrs?
Dear Ajay..The returns mentioned for the above funds are annualized returns.
Hi Sreekanth,
I am interested to start investing in Balanced Equity SIP’s. I would like to know weather i will be able to monitor in which shares they are putting my money if i start investing in them? Please let me know.
Thanks in advance
Sivakumar.k
Dear Sivakumar..Yes, you can track fund(s) portfolios by visiting respective company website or on information websites like moneycontrol.com (or) valueresearchonline.com etc.,
Hi,
I am 34 years.
My salary is 18k.
I want to start my first mutual fund investment via sip for my kid.
Pls advice which fund to choose?monthy 1000 rupees.
Time horizon is 15 years.
Pls name few mutual fund to choose.
Dear Raju,
You may start your investments in MF with a balanced fund. Ex – HDFC Balanced fund / TATA balanced fund.
Thanks…shree
i have 2lacs in closed my RD…i do investment for 3years lumsum invest which is best mutual fund for short term and best return….
Dear Javed,
Suggest you to kindly read below articles and may revert to me;
Best MF MIPs.
Debt MFs – Types & Benefits.
Thanks…but invest sip which format is best regular or direct plan….plz clear my confusion..
Dear Javed..Suggest you to go through my article on ‘Direct plans of Mutual Funds‘.
shri…1) i have 1 lic money back policy 20 year term ….i want my retirement pension 1lacks per month after 30 years
2) i accumulated for my future good wealth…
Dear Javed,
Suggest you to invest in equity mutual funds for long-term instead of invest in NPS.
Kindly read my articles;
LIC money back plans review
Term insurance Vs traditional plans.
Thanks…shri..
for reply…plz..tell me how to open nps account my rural area national bank avoid open my nps account plz…tell me can i open online nps account ..or other way to open nps account… plz reply
Dear Javed,
You have not answered my questions.
By the by why do you want to open NPS? Your investment objective?
Hi shri… maine kuch research kar axis long term equity me 1000 sip suru ki h…maine aapko mail kiya ..but no reply… meri age 30 year hai mai meri retirement aur child education ke liye amount jama karna chahata hu
maine lic ki policy li h -1000month
apy-600month
ppf-1000 month
post Rd-1000month 5year
axis elss-1000month
aur1500 ki sip karna chaahta hu plz muje suggest me good fund for my children education after 15 year and my retirement after 30 years…suggest me good fund…plz
Dear Javed,
May I know the LIC policy name(s)?
Your investments are mainly in safe and secured options.
Do not invest in RDs for long-term. You can use RDs for short-term goals or to accumulate any emergency fund.
Kindly read : Avoid investing in FDs/RDs for long-term.
For kid’s education goal – consider a balanced fund like TATA balanced fund. For your retirement goal – you may consider Franklin Prima plus & UTI mid-cap funds.
Kindly read:
Retirement planning goal.
Kid’s education goal .
Top Equity funds.
Hi SreeKanth,
I am new in Mutual fund investment and 36 years old.I have a plan to invest 15000 per month for next 10 years.so could you please suggest the best option for me.
Thanks in advance.
Dear Jacob,
You may select 3 funds – Equity diversified, Mid-cap oriented and a Balanced fund.
Ex : Franklin prima plus, UTI mid-cap & HDFC Balanced fund.
Kindly read:
Best Equity funds.
MF portfolio overlap analysis tools.
My MF picks.
Hello Mr. Srikanth,
Like to invest 30 lakhs saving to mutul fund. Can i do on lum sum basis if so please suggest.However please
consider that am already nearing 60.
Appreciate your best possible investment solutions
Dear Govindan,
More than the age, its your investment objective & investment horizon which matter the most. So kindly let me know about them.
I am new in investment. My bank is Axis bank. They insist me to invest in their Hybrid fund 27 series? what is your opinion?
Dear Suresh,
Do you have any existing mutual fund investments? Let me know your financial goals??
Kindly avoid it. It is New Fund Offer.
Hi…shrikanth. .first thanks to ur informative articles.m 28 years old….I have to invest 5000 rs per month for 3 years through SIP. .having medium to low risk fund. .I have shortlisted some plans. .kindly give me ur opinion on that plz..i. e., rel top 200,Birla sunlife equity n frackline india.eagerly waiting ur reply. ..
Dear Priti..if your time-frame is around 3 years, consider investing in a balanced fund.
Hi SreeKanth,
I am new in Mutual fund investment and 33 years old.I have a plan to invest 2500 per month for next 10 years.so could you please suggest the best option for me.
Thanks in advance.
Dear Sumit..You can consider one balanced fund and one diversified equity fund to start with. (Ex : HDFC balanced fund and Franklin Prima plus fund)
Hello sir i m new in investment i want to invest in MF SIP basis but when i try to invest there are a lot of confusion to select funds.where to invest open/close ended, either in debt/equity/balanced, either in growth/divedent either in large cap/mid cap/large cap.little bit confusion on return % while surfing money control for ex. 34% is it given benefit of 34% or assurance of 34% return of my invested money.and how to select time period like in money control for XYZ fund its shows 1 year 42% for 3 year 31% and 5 year 24% then what time period should i have select.kindly guide me to select and invest in MF.finally how to invest though money control or same/ direct website/broker..does they charge anythingmight be my questions will be very foolish and basic but truth is i don’t know anything about MF. I want to invest 100000 fro FD and 5 year plan. Sugesst me how can investment. I can also invest 2000/-₹ monthly.. Which is better option . waiting for your valuable response.
Hello sir i m new in investment i want to invest in MF SIP basis but when i try to invest there are a lot of confusion to select funds.where to invest open/close ended, either in debt/equity/balanced, either in growth/divedent either in large cap/mid cap/large cap.little bit confusion on return % while surfing money control for ex. 34% is it given benefit of 34% or assurance of 34% return of my invested money.and how to select time period like in money control for XYZ fund its shows 1 year 42% for 3 year 31% and 5 year 24% then what time period should i have select.kindly guide me to select and invest in MF.finally how to invest though money control or same/ direct website/broker..does they charge anythingmight be my questions will be very foolish and basic but truth is i don’t know anything about MF. I want to invest 100000 fro FD and 5 year plan. Sugesst me how can investment. I can also invest 2000/-₹ monthly.. Which is better option . waiting for your valuable response.
Sir, Thank you for your great article.I am a student.I want to invest in HDFC/ICICI balanced mutual fund.I cn spare 2000/3000 monthly.Can I invest for 3-5 years?? And can you tell me what are the returns I will b getting after 3 and 5 years??