Categories: Mutual FundsReal Experiences

My New Mutual Fund Portfolio | My Equity MF Investments

The corona-virus pandemic has thrown most of the global economies into a tailspin and shaken financial markets and investors profoundly.

We are witnessing – salary cuts, lay-offs, huge drop in business revenues and professional incomes.

These challenging times, reiterate the importance of ‘core financial planning principles‘ – Asset allocation, diversification, re-balancing, living within means, lower exposure to debt (loans/mortgages) etc.,

This is a real test for us as investors. Some of us are getting jittery because we are watching our overall investment returns deteriorating and some of us are thinking it is an opportunity to add more to our existing investment portfolio.

Every individual is different and that is what makes us unique—some see problems while others see opportunity! It is a right time to relook / review at one’s own investment strategy.

My new Equity Mutual Fund Portfolio 2020

I have been investing in Equities since 2003 and Mutual Funds from 2009 onwards. A major chunk of my investible surplus now goes towards mutual fund investments for two of my important financial goals i.e., my Son’s higher Education and my retirement (wealth accumulation).

Below is the investment planning process that I follow without fail for my financial goals.

Investment Planning Process

My previous article on ‘my MF picks‘ (published in June, 2019) I had mentioned below mutual fund schemes as part of my MF portfolio;

  • Medium Term Goal(s)
    • HDFC Hybrid Equity Fund (erstwhile HDFC Balanced Fund)
  • Long Term Goal
    • Axis Long Term Equity Fund
    • UTI Nifty Next 50 Index Fund
    • HDFC Hybrid Equity Fund
    • Franklin Smaller Companies Fund

Below are the changes made to my Equity Mutual Fund Portfolio;

  • We (my spouse & myself) have decided to opt for ‘new tax regime‘, hence ready to forgo Section 80c tax deductions. So, I have decided to discontinue my future investments in Axis LTE ELSS Tax Saving Fund (will hold on to the existing units though).
  • I have decided to discontinue my future investments in Franklin Smaller Companies fund as well, but, will keep the existing units.
  • I have added one more Equity Hybrid Fund to my MF portfolio – SBI Equity Hybrid Fund.
  • So, I have been actively making investments in three Equity Mutual fund schemes for now;
    • HDFC Hybrid Equity Fund
    • UTI Nifty Next 50 Index Fund &
    • SBI Hybrid Equity Fund
My latest Mutual Fund Portfolio

Some more important points on my investment planning & strategy..

  • You can notice that I am currently not investing in any Debt Mutual Fund Scheme(s).
  • For Emergency Fund, we (family) used to invest in Fixed Deposits & Liquid / Arbitrage Funds. We now prefer to keep the ‘rainy day fund’ in Bank Fixed Deposits only.
  • I follow a combination of SIP + Lump sum investment strategy. Off-late, my SIP amounts are meager and prefer to invest additional sum whenever financial markets give us an opportunity. I have made lump sum investments during March – May 2020.
  • Besides Emergency Fund (Cash Fund), we also maintain a ‘Crash Fund‘ to invest lump sum amount (additional investments) in MF portfolio & Equities whenever there is a market crash/downturn.
  • Whenever I review the performance of my mutual fund portfolio, I give first priority to check my overall Portfolio returns. I do not initially get too worried about the not-so-good performance of individual Fund/scheme.
  • I prefer to compare my Funds’ performances primarily with their Benchmark returns and not with its Peers. Trust me, the best performers list keeps changing every year, so the best strategy is to stick to consistent performers and also the Funds with decent ‘downside protection‘. (Though SBI Hybrid Equity Fund has relatively lower downside protection, it has been performing well during bull-run phases.)
  • I make sure that I keep an eye on ‘who are the fund managers’ of the MF schemes that I have invested in.
  • As much as possible, I make sure that overlap % among my Equity Mutual Funds is reasonable. It should be as little as acceptable because if there is a 50-70 per cent overlap then this diversification (holding multiple funds) is only optical. Actually, there is very less diversification. In case of equity, the least of overlap is more desirable. (But, do note that the Fund Portfolios do change over a period of time, so keep keep a track of overlap %.)

So, are these the only best Mutual Fund Schemes to invest for your financial goals? – The answer is NO. These are just my Picks.

Please note that the above mentioned Mutual fund investments are done based on my financial risk profile and goals. This article is for information & knowledge sharing purposes only. If required, kindly take help of a Registered Investment Advisor in designing a Portfolio that is based on your requirements.

Continue reading :

(Post first published on : 30-June-2020)

This post was last modified on July 12, 2023 5:49 pm

Sreekanth Reddy

Sreekanth is the Man behind ReLakhs.com. He is an Independent Certified Financial Planner (CFP), engaged in blogging & property consultancy for the last 14 years through his firm ReLakhs Financial Services . He is not associated with any Financial product / service provider. The main aim of his blog is to "help investors take informed financial decisions." "Please note that the views given in this Blog/Comments Section/Forum are clarifications meant for reference and guidance of the readers to explore further on the topics/queries raised and take informed decisions. The information provided, therefore, should not be viewed as financial, legal, accounting, tax or investment advice."

View Comments

  • Hello Mr. Sreekanth,

    I am 53 years old now, working in a Pvt. organization. I dont have much experience in Mutual funds except invesing some amount in Kotak Balanced Advantage fund a year and half ago.

    My goals are:
    1. To get some lumpsum amount by 2023 for the use of higher education for my son.
    2. Keep some amount for next 5 years for use after my retirement

    Could you please suggest some funds that I can invest and keep for next 3 years and
    5 years.

    Thanks in advance.

    Srinivasa Rao

    • Dear Srinivasa Rao ji,
      Are you planning to invest in SIPs or lump-sum amount?
      Have you arrived at the required or expected goal amounts for your son's education & retirement? In which asset classes have you currently invested in?
      May I know if you can afford to take risk??

      • Hi Mr. Sreeknath,

        I would like to invest in both lump sum and SIP mode as I have some money right now. I can invest from Nov onwards on a monthly basis as my home loan EMIs (31,000) will be over by then.

        My investments are spread across real estate, EPF, PPF, traditional/money-back insurance policies, and some money in stocks. All these were made without any proper plan.

        My insurance policies will start getting matured from next year. I will get around 2 to 3 lacs p.a for 5 years. This will also gives me money to invest in lumpsum.

        My goal is to have around 50-60 lacs by 2024.
        I can take moderate risk.
        Kindly review and provide your suggestions.

        Thanks in advance.

  • Hello Sreekanth,

    I am planning to start new SIPs and my curent horizon period is 5-7 years. Please advise, if the below funds look good to you.

    1) Parag Parikh Long Term Equity Fund (G) - Direct
    2) Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund (G) - Direct
    3) BNP Paribas Substantial Equity Hybrid Fund - Direct Plan (G) - Direct

    I had also done some lumpsum and SIP investments (stopped from last 1 year) in SBI Magnum Multicap (G) Direct, Kotak Standard Multicap in last 5-6 years, HDFC Hybrid Quiry and SBI Euqiry Hybrid funds. Does it make sense to withdraw all the units from these funds and invest in above three funds.

    Best regards,
    Hemant

    • Hi Sreekanth,

      Apologies for typo in my above comment. Quiry and Euqiry are Equity.

      Just to make clear, I am trying to restructure my portfolio and currently my horizon is 5-7 years. Could I have SIPs in BNP Paribas Substantial Equity Hybrid Fund – Direct Plan (G) – Direct as well as SBI Equity or just one of these 2. Overlap between these 2 funds is 32% approximately.

      Regards,
      Hemant

      • Dear Hemant,
        Are you satisfied with the returns generated on your existing portfolio??
        May I know why do you want to switch to the listed three funds?

        • The returns are also not satisfactory. I am also trying to trim down my portfolio by removing the funds with the same categories.

          Appreciate your recommendation.

          Best regards,
          Hemant

          • Dear Hemant,
            No fund will stay at No.1 forever..
            Do not kindly go by recent performances. Instead, give priority to consistent performers.

            SBI Magnum Multicap (G) Direct, Kotak Standard Multicap, HDFC Hybrid Equity and SBI Equity Hybrid funds..

            I believe the above mentioned funds are decent choices..

        • Hi Sreekanth,

          The return seems to be better on these 3 funds as compared to what I currently have in my portfolio.

          Please advise.

          Regards,
          Hemant

  • Dear Shrikant

    I am 52 now . I am early retired person . My present investment is in EPF and PPF which is 60 percent of my accumulated corpus. Rest amount i.e. 10 percent in Parag parikh fund. I wish to further invest remaining 30 percent in some relatively low risk equity fund . Please some good fund invest the same for next five years.

    For my expenses I can withdraw from PPF on yearly basis and put in saving account.

    Thanks

    • Dear Dushyant Ji,
      How about adding a large cap index fund? (if you can afford to take risk)

      • Thanks Shrikant ji

        Since I have lump-sum. Is it ok to invest one go or STP will be better.
        Kindly suggest the largecap index fund and timeframe of STP .

        • Dear Dushyant,
          Ex : UTI Nifty index fund.
          May I know if your living expenses for the rest of your retirement life are adequately planned/covered?

  • Hi Sree
    Need your suggestion for below portfolio> My Goals are Kids education (18 years from now) and for wealth accumulation (20 years from now).
    Fund Name SIP Amount Time since inception
    SBI Blue Chip Fund Direct Plan Growth 4000 4 years +
    SBI Small Cap Fund Direct Growth 3000 1 Year+
    SBI Equity Hybrid fund Direct Growth 2000 6 Months
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund 5000 4 years +
    Mirae Asset Emerging Blue chip fund 2000 3 Years+
    HDFC Mid Cap Opportunities 2000 3 Years+
    Axis long term equity fund 2000 1 Year+

    All the above are direct plan with growth option
    I am currently making a loss of 17% on total investment I have made in FISCF.

    Can you advise if i need to reassign some of these funds or continue with the above

  • Hi,

    I have made below investment in Mutual Funds since last 2 years & my plan is for SIP term for 15-20 Years.

    1) ICICI Prudential BlueChip Fund Direct Plan - Growth - 9000 Rs
    2) Franklin India Prima Fund direct Growth - 9000 Rs
    3) Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund direct plan Growth Growth. - 9000 Rs
    4) ADITYA BIRLA SUN LIFE EQUITY FUND - GROWTH-DIRECT PLAN - GROWTH - 9000 Rs
    5) Kotak Standard Multicap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth - 5000 Rs

    Could you please review & let me know your valuable comments about as per current scenario do you suggest to change any Mutual funds as per long term goals OR any further suggestion.

    Thanks.

    • Dear Nilesh,
      As of now, you may continue with your investments.

      (One observation : When you have a dedicated large cap and a mid-cap fund, a large+midcap fund like mirae emerging may not be required.)

      • Hi Sreekanth,

        Could you let me know any alternate Mutual Funds instead of Mirae Emerging Fund.

        Even is there any alternate option which you can suggest looking at Long term goal even to add anything.

        Thanks

        • Dear Nilesh,
          You may continue with it, but the large+Mid-cap fund's portfolio Vs a typical large cap fund's can have higher overlap %.
          How about adding a fund with some international exposure? Like Parag Parikh LTE Fund?

  • Hi Shrikanth,

    Hope you are doing good!

    Could you please check my portfolio and suggest your expert comments?

    Goal – Child education. 13 years. Started 3.5 years before, so about 9.5 years are remaining.

    Below is the portfolio. Started with lesser SIP amounts 3.5 years back and have been increasing the amount. Below are SIP amounts for respective funds as of today. Also mentioned portfolio % for each fund as of today.

    Mirae Asset Tax Saver – 10K (35% allocation of current portfolio value)
    Franklin Focused Equity – 6K (15% allocation of current portfolio value)
    Canara Robeco Emerging Equities – 8K (23% allocation of current portfolio value)
    Franklin Prima – 4K (15% allocation of current portfolio value)
    SBI Small Cap – 8K (12% allocation of current portfolio value)

    My plan is to continue with above SIP till December 2020 and additionally invest more lumpsum amounts in same funds between now and December 2020 keeping the overall % allocation same. By doing this, I will be done with my investment for this particular goal. I will not continue with these SIP after December 2020 for this goal. The expectations is that this investment will grow with 10% PA return so that I will have my required amount in hand after 9/10 years from now.

    I will be continuing with the investment for another goals starting Jan 2021. I have not yet planned for that portfolio.

    Overall what is your view on the funds and their allocation % and the investment strategy?

    Specific to Franklin funds, both of them have not performed well recently but I know their long term track record is good. Wanted to check with you is it okay to stay invested in those, in the context of my invest plan mentioned above?

    Any other suggestion that you have?

    Thanks,
    Amit

    • Dear Amit,
      May I know your Equity : Debt allocation %?
      If investing in Debt securities, in which products??

      Are you going to opt for new Tax regime this FY?

      • Hi Shrikanth,

        For mutual funds, I have investments only in Equity Funds. For debt part, I have EPF (my EPF and wife’s EPF), PPF for both and RD. Current total of this investment is equal to about 70 % of current investment in MF portfolio.
        My current investment in MF portfolio mentioned in my earlier comment is 60 % of the total investment I plan to do for this goal. Remaining 40% I plan to invest partially over next six months in same funds.

        I am opting for old tax regime. I have done old vs new comparison and I can save more in old regime. I have home loan, health insurance(self and parent), etc. which makes it to go for old regime.

        Thanks,
        Amit

        • Dear Amit,
          A Focused equity fund may not be required.
          As you have 9+ years, how about adding a multi-cap fund with some international equity exposure. Ex : Parag LTE fund??

          • Hi Shrikanth,

            I had started in it when it was multicap fund named as Franklin High Growth fund and continued with it after reclassification of fund categories. I am anyways thinking for stopping it since months but didn’t actually worked on it. I will stop the new investment in it. Do you suggest to sell existing investment also and switch to other fund?

            Thanks,
            Amit

  • Hi Srikanth,

    I follow your blog regularly. Below is my MF portfolio. Could you please suggest me which funds should i switch and which funds to continue ?

    1. Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund - Direct Plan (G). Overall Gain : 5.86%. Currently running SIP of 3k

    2. Nippon India Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan (G) (40). Overall Gain : -6.36%. Currently running SIP of 3k

    3. ICICI Prudential US Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan (G). Overall Gain : 11.67%. Currently running SIP of 3k

    4. DSP Natural Resources and New Energy Fund - Direct Plan (G). Overall Gain : -22.62%. Invested way back in 2018 as lump sum. Has been loss ever since. [This was a bad investment]

    5. DSP Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan (G). Overall Gain: -12.37%. SIP has been stopped by MF in this

    6. HDFC Equity Opportunities Fund - Series 2 (May 2017) - 1126D - Regular Plan (G). Overall Gain : -16.09%

    if you suggest a switch, which ones would you suggest ?

    TIA
    - Karthik

      • Hi Sreekanth,

        Investment horizon is for 10 to 15 years. Solely for Investment purposes.

        Thanks!
        Karthik

        • Dear Karthik,
          I believe that your portfolio has a very high risk profile, with two small-cap funds, one thematic fund, one international fund.
          Suggest you to consider churning your portfolio.
          You can instead consider adding - a large cap index fund, a pure mid-cap fund and an equity hybrid fund.

          • Thank you Sreekanth for the analysis. I did start off with Very High Risk kept in mind as i had other investments which very low risk. Couple of clarifications, hope you dont mind to answer them

            1. In the current funds, would you recommend to stop SIP or redeem any of them ?
            2. Which funds would you recommend to start investing in the ones that you have mentioned in above comment ?

          • Dear Karthik,
            I would advise you to have a relook at Small cap funds and thematic fund (DSP).
            Can add one index fund. If you would like to take aggressive call, can consider Nifty Next 50 index fund.

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    Thanks for sharing your updated MF portfolio.

    I just want to know your opinion and inputs on Index based and International MF for short term horizon of a year or even less. It would be great if you can suggest one for each segment.

    Thanks,
    Prashant

    • Dear Prashant,
      Suggest you not to pick these products if your investment horizon is short-term..

      • Ok Sreekanth,
        What would be the least duration required for such investment.
        Also what are the good MF options in this?

        • Dear Prashant,
          The key point is- the amount of risk involved in these products especially equity oriented ones is high, especially if the time-frame is short-term.
          May I know your investment objective? Why do you want to pick these for short term?

  • HI Sreekanth,

    i am investing in Franklin smaller companies via SIP from 2016 onwards , and the performance is getting bad from last 1 year ..Is it worth to continue the SIP (so as to average the cost/unit ) , or move to any other fund ?

    Also what is your opinion abt SBI focused equity fund ( Focused fund category ) ??

    thanks
    thomas.

    • Dear Thomas,
      May I know your investment horizon and if possible, you may share the other MF Scheme names that you have invested in (if any) ??

      • Hi Srikanth ,

        My investment Horizon is 10 -15years (4 years already over via SIP in below )

        Apart from Franklin Smaller Co.s , i have ongoing SIPs in DSP microcap, Kotak Select focus(multicap), Aditya Birla Sunlife equity (large cap) , ICICI pru value Discovey(Contariian) , HDFC opportunities ,SBI large cap , Mirae Emerging Bluechip , Tata Hybid and HDFC Hybrid, Reliance Small cap

        .UTI index fund (started SIP 3months back)

        So I wonder whether starting a SIP in SBI focused equity now in this downtime would be good (in diversification as well as returns perspective)..?

        thanks.

        • Dear Thomas,
          You may stop future investments in Franklin Smaller cos fund and can divert to other small cap fund(s).
          Looking at your portfolio, you may better off not to add one more fund (especially a focused one).
          Make your multicap, large cap and hybrid funds as part of your core portfolio.

  • I like your MF portfolio

    When Share Market will crash, which Mutual fund you shall invest lumpsum

    • Hi Shaymji,
      During the recent Market correction (Mar - May), I have invested lump sum amount in UTI Nifty Next 50, HDFC Hybrid Fund and SBI Hybrid Equity Fund.

      I have some investments in Direct Equity as well!

        • Dear Arun,
          Yes, lot of changes!

          Did momentum trading (delivery based) during April - June. Most of the trades turned out to be profitable as markets recovered pretty quickly.

          Now, almost 60% in cash (investible surplus allocated for Direct Equity).

          What about your investments strategy?

1 2 3
Leave a Comment
Share
Published by
Sreekanth Reddy
Tags: 200 DMAmutual fund portfolioMutual Funds Taxation Rules FY 2020-21Mutual Funds Vs ULIPsportfolio overlapPortfolio Tracking & its importanceTop 15 Best Mutual Funds 2020
July 12, 2023

Recent Posts

ITR Belated vs Revised vs ITR-U – Which One Should You Choose?

Filing your Income Tax Return (ITR) is not just about meeting deadlines—it’s about choosing the…

April 29, 2026

Best Pension Schemes in India (2026) – EPS, NPS, APY Explained

Retirement planning in India is often misunderstood. Many people think any long-term savings or investment…

April 24, 2026

Property Valuation Guide: How Your Home Is Really Valued

You’ve probably seen the same property quoted at different prices. One person says ₹60 lakh,…

April 21, 2026

Moratorium Rule in Insurance – When Can Insurers NOT Reject Your Claim?

Buying insurance is easy. Getting your claim settled—that’s where the real test begins. For any…

April 15, 2026

Immovable Property Gifts Above ₹45 Lakh Now Under SFT: What Changes from 1 April 2026?

Gifting immovable property—like land, plots, or houses—is super common in India. Families often do it…

April 11, 2026

The ETERNAL Financial Planning Framework: A Practical Approach to Building Long-Term Wealth

Most people believe that investing alone is enough to create wealth. But in reality, many…

April 9, 2026

This website uses cookies.