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My Mutual Fund Portfolio – My MF Picks

Last updated: May 9, 2018 | by

I have been tracking Indian Stock markets since 2003, from my MBA days. I still remember about my first stock investment (in 2004) and how I lost my hard-earned money. My first investment was in Ashok Leyland scrip and sold it for a loss. I had invested in this stock without doing any research.

I lost money by doing day-trading (short-term trading) also. I have lost money trying to make a quick buck. I have burnt my figures and later realized that this is not the right way to invest in stocks. (I realized that Making your money work for you is not a Make Money Fast in Four Weeks crash course. It takes time.) (Read: ’10 reasons to avoid Short-Term Trading in Stock Markets’)

All this happened during 2004 to 2007. Fortunately, I was not fully invested in stocks during 2008 stock market crash. I did not predict the crash 🙂 . It was just coincidental.

During this period, I realized that the best way to create long-term wealth is by investing in Equity Mutual Funds. Initially invested in whole lot of schemes, panicked when NAVs fell, sold few schemes at knee-jerk reactions, made short-term capital losses….what not!

Since 2009, I have been following a more refined and balanced approach. Instead of analyzing ‘where to invest’, I started analyzing ‘why should I invest?’. Started giving more importance to identifying and setting realistic financial goals and then mapping right financial products (like mutual funds) to achieve the set goals.

Below is the investment planning process that I follow judiciously.

My investment planning process

My Mutual Fund Portfolio

In this post, I would like to share the list of mutual funds that I have currently invested in.

I divide my goals into short, medium & long-term goals. My definition of investment horizon for my financial goals is, short term (less than 3 years), medium term (less than 3 -7 years) and long term (> 7 years).

Short-Term Financial Goals

I am holding Birla Sunlife MIP II Wealth 25 Plan (Growth) for the last one year. I have allocated this fund to one of my short-term goals. I had invested lump sum amount and have not created SIP. I prefer investing in this fund to fixed deposits. This fund has given returns of around 20% in the last one year, which is way beyond the returns that I would have got by investing in bank fixed deposits.

Medium-Term Financial Goals

For medium-term goals, I have invested in HDFC Balanced Fund and Birla Sunlife MIP II Wealth 25 fund. Holding these funds since 3 years. (Read my article on Top Balanced Funds)

Long-Term Financial Goals

For the goals which are after 7 years from now, I have allocated monies to TATA Balanced Fund (Plan A), Axis Long Term Equity Fund (ELSS fund for tax-saving) and UTI Mid-cap Fund. I have been holding TATA & UTI funds for the last 6 years or so. The percentage of allocation among these funds is 40:40:20 (UTI : Axis : TATA funds respectively).

SIPs are active for TATA Balanced fund & UTI Mid-cap fund. One of the thumb rules that I follow is, I buy additional units when broad indices (Sensex / Nifty) are below the 200 DMA (Day Moving Average). I am currently investing in ELSS fund manually (no SIP). (For Ex- Click here to view Simple Moving Averages of Nifty 50 Index.)My mutual fund picks

I have invested in the above list of mutual funds based on my financial goals. Also, you might have observed that I invest heavily in balanced funds. As of today, I am happy with my investment style and decisions.

Depending on your financial goals try to identify and invest in the best mutual funds. After all, we are talking about PERSONAL Finances, so customize and build your own mutual fund portfolio. You may read my article on ‘Top Equity Funds‘ to know about some of the top performing funds.

I have recently added (May-2016) ‘Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund – Monthly SIP‘ to my Long-Term MF Portfolio.

I have started making additional lump sum investments in Franklin Smaller Companies fund – (Updated on 14-Oct-2016)

What are your picks? How do you select mutual funds? Do you invest in mutual funds when market falls (or) do you prefer SIPs only? Share your views 🙂

Continue reading :

(Image courtesy of iosphere at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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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 7 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. These should not be construed as investment advice or legal opinion."

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  • Dear Srikanth,Kindly update on performance of funds in your portfolio.
    have you partially booked or enter new funds after correction.
    Reply.

    • Dear Mr Bansal,
      I am making additional lump sum investments in funds like HDFC Hybrid Equity (balanced), Franklin Smaller Cos fund and Axis LTE fund.

      And in Birla Tax relief ’96 fund – for my spouse’s tax planning and accumulation goal.

  • Dear sreekanth,
    I have ongoing following sip started from June2017
    1, ABSL Frontline equity fund Rs 10000
    2,ICICI pru value discovery fund Rs 5000
    3, HDFC Balance fund Rs 5000
    4, HDFC midcap opportunity fund Rs 5000
    5, ABSL small cap fund Rs 5000

    My investment horizon is 10 to 15 years which is for my retirement corpus. My age is 40. I am also planning to add 20000 in SIP.
    Can you please suggest and review my present portfolio.

    Thanks & Regards,
    Prasad

  • Hello Sreekanth,

    Good Day !

    I have ongoing SIP’s (12 K) in DSPBR Micro Cap fund which is now DSPBR small cap Fund for the last 2 yrs.

    With Blackrock ending their partnership with DSP and top management changes at DSP etc……..what is your sincere opinion and advice?

    Thanks & Regards,
    Roy

    • Dear Roy,
      Suggest you to continue with this fund for next 1 year or so and then decide. Do you hold any other Small-cap fund?

      • Dear Sreekanth,

        I follow a goal based portfolio .As far as DSP small cap goes i have allocated:

        7k-towards retirement with a 15-20 yr horizon
        3k-towards a pilgrimage with a 8 yr horizon
        2k-towards a important family celebartion with a 12 yr horizon

        All the above sips have been active for the last 2 yrs.

        I do hold franklin smaller co’s fund too:
        3k-towards elder daughters PG with a horizon of 10 yrs(active since 3 yrs)
        6k-towards younger daughters PG with a horizon of 15 yrs (active since 2 1/2 yrs)

        Pls advise

        Thanks & Regards,
        Roy

        • Dear Roy,
          Its ok to invest in these two small cap funds for your long term goals. However, it is prudent to diversify your investments (SIPs) across other fund categories as well like – Multi-cap, Hybrid funds etc.,

          Related article : Best Mutual Funds to invest in 2018-19

          • Dear Sreekanth,

            I do diversify my investments.Current split is 43:57 in favour of mid/small caps & Large/multi/hybrid/elss respectively.

            Wanted to have a sense check on the mid/small caps which i have sips of 30 k per month for long term goals:
            Hdfc midcap:9k
            Franklin Smaller Co’s:9k
            DSP small cap:12 k

            Do you suggest i wait for a yr in the case of DSP small cap or allocate the same towards HDFC midcap and Franklin Smaller co’s or another fund category .

            Thank you for the much awaited 2018/19 best mutual funds update.Neat and simplified explanation on the changes too.

            Thanks & Regards,
            Roy

            • Dear Roy,
              I dint get your point – ‘Do you suggest i wait for a yr in the case of DSP small cap or allocate the same towards HDFC midcap and Franklin Smaller co’s or another fund category .’???

              • Dear Sreekanth,

                Good morning!

                What i meant was should i wait for a year or should i exit DSP small cap right away and allocate the ongoing DSP small cap SIP amount towards HDFC midcap and Franklin Smaller co’s or another mutual fund category altogether , keeping in mind a long term view.

                Thank you and have nice day.

                Thanks & Regards,
                Roy

                • Dear roy,
                  You may allocate the funds to HDFC mid-cap, Franklin Smaller and any multi-cap fund that you have in your portfolio.

  • Hi ,
    There are several ways to invest in MF via online. They are
    1) Through MF web sites like UTIMF, HDFCMF, Franklin websites.
    2) Through Sharekhan
    3) through Funds online, MF utility
    4) camskra, karvy

    All are very much confusing for a general investers like me.

    Can you suggest which one is simple and easy to work – without fees
    Work means –
    1) Start SIP – (lumpsum+monthly + time to time purchase + Step SIP for the same sip)
    2)Stop SIP
    3)Switch SIP

    I am looking/exploring – Sharekhan – is this good to solve these issues.

    Thank you,
    /shankha

  • Hi Sreekanth,
    I closely follow your concept of investing.
    Since market in the last 7 month have gone down and then up by 20% do you still make addition lumpsum to franklin smaller or do you suggest to switch for balance/multi cap?
    If you have change anything in your portfolio then kindly let us know so follower like us can better understand about it. Do you still make lumpsum in franklin smaller?

    I am having SIP in HDFC balance, franklin smaller, DSP BR micro, HDFC mid cap, Axis ELSS, ICICI pru value discovery and I would like to have some additional lumpsum investment, I am waiting from last 1.5 month but market keep on going up and up, making me more nervous with my lumpsum investment

    • Dear Prem,
      I have currently active SIP for Mid & Small Cap funds.
      And, I am making lump sum (additional) investments only in Balanced fund, as of now (last few months).

  • I am following your blog for quite sometime..Been helpful alot..I would like you to review my mutual funds portfolio..
    1) Reliance small cap fund (g) -5k
    2)birla SL dynamic bond fund(g)-3k
    3)icici Pru value discovery fund (g)-3k
    4)kotak select focus fund (g)-2k
    5)mirae asset emerging blue chip fund (g) -2k
    Thnks ..

  • Hi sreekanth,
    I have invested in the following for my goals:
    1. short term (2014) 1 – 3 years: birla sunlife mip II wealth 25
    2. Medium term(2013) 3-7 years: hdfc balanced fund

    Now 4 years have passed, now my medium term goal has become short term goal, should i sell by hdfc balanced fund and shift the money to birla sunlife mip?
    I would like to know how do you rebalance your portfolio?

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    Your blogs have always been very informative. Indebted to you for them.

    Sreekanth, can you kindly please suggest me investment tools for my investment time horizon of 2-3 years for the following cases:

    1. I want to invest monthly for 2-3 years regularly.
    2. Make a lumpsum investment now, which I would use after maturity in 2-3 years.

    Thanks…

  • Hi Vipin,

    Great article! Kudos for such informative articles.

    I just want to check whether I am going right or is there scope for recalibration in my holdings?

    Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund – Growth 2K/month
    DSP Black Rock Micro Cap Fund – Regular Plan – Growth 2K/month
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund – Growth 2K/month
    Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund – Growth 2K/month
    ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund – Growth 2K/month

    Total – 10K/month

    Investing horizon – 5-6 years
    Risk appetite- High
    Age 26
    Plus I hold lumpsum in Canara Robeco Emerging Equities – Regular Plan – Growth & L&T India Value Fund – Regular Plan – Growth of about Rs. 20K.

    Is there change required due to demonetization? Or should I continue like this?

    Thanks

  • Hi Sree,

    Season’s Greetings!
    I am an avid reader of your blogs. I have started investing in equity mutual funds from this financial year. My horizon is 10-15 years from now.

    For debt, I depend on PPF , EPF and NPS.

    My portfolio allocation is as follows:
    ELSS : 15% (Franklin India Tax Shield )
    Large Cap : 20% (SBI Blue Chip and Quantum LTE)
    Diversified : 25% (ICICI Pru Value Discovery and Franklin India High Growth Companies)
    Mid and Small Cap : 35% (Mirae AEB, BSL Pure Value,Franklin India Smaller Cos and DSP Blackrock Mirco Cap)
    Balanced : 5% (ICICI Pru Balanced Fund).

    All the funds are in direct – growth option. My SIP : Lumpsum ratio is 70:30 . I invest in Lumpsum whenever some black swan incident happens (e.g. surgical strike by India against PAK) or when the indices run near or below 200 DMA (e.g. now).

    I had initially opted for many funds without prudence(Total list was 15), but finally I have trimmed down to these 10 active funds. However, I am persisting with the holdings in those discontinued funds for the time being without any fresh investments.

    Regarding the overlap , Franklin India Tax Shield has around 35% with SBI Bluechip but all other funds have around 10-20% overlap with other funds in the same category.

    But in spite of my efforts, I have around 2% loss (CAGR of 4.3% as of 20.12.16) in my portfolio 🙁 Can you please provide your valuable opinion ?

    Thanks in Advance,
    Sayak

      • Dear Sayak,
        As you have been in the market for less than a year, kindly dont worry too much about the negative returns, as your investment horizon is 10+ years.
        If you are holding Duds in your portfolio, identify them and switch to your active funds.
        I somehow feel that even 10 funds are on the higher side (number of funds). But if you have conviction, kindly stick to your analysis.

  • Hello Sir/Mam,

    I am 32 yrs old business person, hence I do lumpsum investment rather than SIP, whenever possible in these funds as suggested below with mentioned portfolio and divide the lumpsum investment in the following Funds as per the mentioned %age . I prefer PPF instead of ELSS fund , hence I haven’t included ELSS Fund in my portfolio .
    Is my portfolio good ???

    Please advise me so that I can improve my portfolio…
    My goals are long term, 10-15 yrs

    % Allocation Class FUND
    ===================================================
    35 % Large Cap
    ====================================================
    ————- A) 18 % SBI Bluechip Fund
    ————–B) 17 % Birla Sunlife Frontline Equity Fund
    =====================================================
    20 % Mid Cap Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Equity Fund
    =====================================================
    20 % Small Cap
    ====================================================
    ————-A) 10 % DSP Black Rock Microcap Fund
    ————-B)10 % Frankline India Smaller Companies Fund
    ====================================================
    10 % Multi cap ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund
    ====================================================
    15 % Balanced HDFC or ICICI Pru Balanced Fund
    ====================================================

  • SreeKanth,
    I am reading alot about BITCOIN now a days, Is it a good investment option? how would you rate that?

  • Dear Sir

    Today I have many questions:

    1. Recently I received the maturity amount of my LIC policy. How it would be reflected in income tax return?

    2. After demonetization, the mutual funds are propagating Debt funds. What are their benefits and how a good debt fund would be selected?

    3. How to show the gains/losses in income tax return?

    4. One previous question, Kindly write a blog on how to evaluate the performance of mutual fund portfolios.

    Regards
    Maninder Singh

  • WHATS THE BEST FUNDS – MF LUMPSUM TO INVEST IN THE PRESENT SCENARIO…THIS MONTH ….
    HAVE GOT SIPS IN 5 DIFF FUNDS AND LUMSUM IN 2 DIFF FUNDS.

  • Dear Sir
    Kindly read the following scenarios:
    Scenario-1 Suppose I invested in a fund by SIP for 72 months.
    Scenario-2 In the same fund, Firstly, I invested by SIP for 36 months and then I started new SIP for another 36 months (in the same folio) so that The Total Units in the end have been same in both the scenarios.
    Whether there would be a difference in Total Corpus in the end? Whether there would be the differences on Compounding?

    Regards

  • Hi Sreekanth,
    I am new to MFs, but I wanted to know of the tax implications of various categories of the funds such as Large Caps, Small Caps, etc.
    In addition, I wanted to ask that for the cases when Capital Gains Tax (Long Term or Short Term), would it be a TDS or do I have to pay it separately??

  • Hello,

    I would like to invest 50K on the name of my 6 month old baby. Please provide your option where should I invest?

    it would be better, If I get TAX benefit of out it.

    Thanks,
    Santhosh

  • Hi
    I am investing on “HDFC prudence fund – regular plan -Growth” for last 14 months with monthly SIP 5000/~.
    Current Value is 78 thousand… For a 7+ years investment plan I think this is ok – right
    This fund has some good reputation

  • Dear Sir,

    I am 41 year(NRI) old and I wish to invest in SIP montly for 15000 Rupees. Kindly suggest me best funds that I can invest? Also suggest me short term deposits( 2 Lakhs).

    Thanks and Regards
    Hussain

  • I started MF investment around 5 month ago. Now my investment is down by 5-7% due to US election and recent domestic news. I am still doing SIP that I already planned for 10+ years. Do you suggest to put more lumpsum to decrease my averaging now or you suggest to wait for more correction and do it later or may be to do 25% now and wait for further fall?
    I have HDFC balanced, HDFC mid cap, Franklin smaller, ICICI value discovery with 25% each?
    and second question is in case of further fall do which funds you suggest to do lumpsum? large, mid or small at this time?
    My risk appetite is moderately high.
    Thanks

    • Dear Ramesh,
      More or less correction in store? No one can predict it. But advisable to start making additional investments starting now and for the next couple of months.
      For a 10 year horizon – if you would like to take moderate risk, you may consider to make lump sum investments in balanced fund & multi-cap fund.

      • Dear SreeKanth and Manja,
        Thank for your kind reply.
        For equity exposure- I have made additional lumpsum allocation to HDFC Balance (40%) and HDFC mid (40%), franklin smaller (20%)

        For Debit fund- I have invested in following.
        Franklin Low duration Fund- Short term
        Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund-Super Institutional Plan- Ultra short term
        ICICI long term plan direct growth- Dynamic fund

        Whats you view on that?
        Thanks

    • I would make lumpsum investments now as the markets are low. My choice will be HDFC Mid Cap & Franklin Smaller as they have great potential. ICICI value discovery has shown sluggish growth even during peak market times this year. You may not want to do lumpsum investment there.

      Also, do invest in the Debt Short Term / Long term funds as they will shine due to the current financial scenario.

  • Hello Reddy,
    I am investing in following funds from last 6 months. I plan to invest them for a long term 10+ years. Please review and suggest any changes.
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund (G)-Rs.1000
    Axis long term equity-Rs.1000
    Canara Robeco Emerging Equities (G)-Rs.1000
    SBI BlueChip Fund (G)-Rs.1000
    L&T India Value Fund (G)-Rs.500
    ICICI Pru Exports and Other Services Fund (G)-Rs.1000
    ICICI Pru Discovery Fund (G)-Rs.1000
    SBI Magnum Global Fund-Rs.500
    SBI Magnum Balanced Fund-Rs.1000
    Thanks,
    Tanmoy

  • I have ELSS for taxation as : Reliance Tax Saver & Axis Long term Equity. For baby higher education and marriage about 15 years from now, ICICI top 100, ICICI focused blue chip, ICICI Value Discovery & Reliance vision fund. apart from these, for around 10 years tenure, Birla Pure value & SBI Bluechip.. Please suggest.

  • i have been thinking of your picks and i have goal which is less than 2 years , will your pick will still be profitable considering the exit load which is there if there is redemption below 3 years as it is debt conservative fund ( BL SL WEALTH 25 )

    • Dear Anurag,
      Do you have plans to redeem the units (if invested) before 1 year? Then exit load is applicable @ 1%.
      If your investment horizon is less than 1 year then suggest you not to invest in aggressive MIP Fund.
      Read: Best MIP Funds.

  • Hi Srikanth,

    Your blog is very informative. Thank you!

    I am planning to buy a flat after 2.5~3 years for which I need approx 1 Crore. My annual income is approx 11 lakh. I have approx 3 lakhs now and want to invest it along with monthly investment so that I can have atleast 20 lakhs for first installment of Flat after 3 years from now.
    1. Please suggest how should I invest 3 lakhs altogether
    2. Please suggest which MF and amount I should pick to invest monthly
    3. Also for tax saving, I show 1 Lakh rent/year, I invest approx 30k in LIC, 30k HDFC ULIP Plan and PPF account per year. Should I stop LIC and PPF and start investing through ELSS? Which one should i pick?

    • Dear Alok,
      If you would like to accumulate Rs 20 Lakh in 3 years from now, you may invest Rs 3 Lakh and around Rs 40k for next 3 years, assuming the returns are around 9% from MIP Mutual fund (growth option).
      Suggest you to track the performance of the investment every year and if it is not in-line with expected return of 9% you may switch to safe bets like FDs in the last year (after 2 years).
      Read:
      1 – Best MIP Mutual Funds @ http://www.relakhs.com/best-monthly-income-plans-india-mutual-funds/
      May I know LIC policy details (Plan name, commencement date & tenure)??

  • Dear Sir

    As per the knowledge attained from your website, I am going to make my LIC policy Paid Up and going to buy a Term Plan.

    The money I was investing earlier in LIC (around one lac per year) will now be diverted to Mutual Funds suggested by you on web portal; but as mutual funds investments are also risky, I am a bit scary. How to get rid of that? Can you suggest me some book to read ?

    Also, one question: suppose that I am investing in a MF for long term goal (for example Axis Long Term Equity Fund) and this fund gets out from your next years list, the investment shall be continued or it needs to be switched to the other listed fund. I hope that you get my question.

    Regards

    • Dear Maninder,
      1 – Kindly first buy a term plan and then discontinue your existing policy.
      2 – If a fund is not in the list, generally I will disclose whether to remain invested or hold the current investment in such fund and make future investments in some other fund. Kindly note that it is very tough to be with the best funds always. Consistency of returns is very important and we need to give some time (may be at least 2 years) before we make the switch. Also, we need to keep an eye on the fund’s performances if there Fund manager is changed (at least for 1 to 2 years).
      Kindly read:
      MF investments are subject to market risks – My Opinion!
      How to select the best mutual fund scheme!
      My MF portfolio.

      • Dear Sir

        1 – Kindly suggest or if possible write a blog on – How to monitor mutual fund investments?

        2 – Further, you mentioned an investment process to chalk out on your MF Portfolio, but there is no any guidance to how to allocate the resources for the goals of different time-frames. For example you yourself invested heavily in balanced funds even for long term goals? Why not purely equity funds? On Freefincal.com also, the writer has the advice for only 60% investments in equities even for long term goals and advice for 40% debt which may be fulfilled by PPF.
        A novice investor like me probably really needs this for efficient investment planning.

        Regards

        • Dear Maninder,
          1 – Will surely try to write an article on the suggested topic. Thank you for the post idea 🙂
          2 – Kindly note that there is no thumb rule as such. It all depends on the time-frame, your current economic profile, expected return etc.,
          Suggest you to go through below articles and you can get rough idea about setting up goal amounts and then working back-wards on how much to save for the set goals…
          1 – Kid’s education goal planning & calculator.
          2 – Retirement goal planning.

  • Hello Sir,

    Thanks a lot for the valuable information. I am 31 years old and recently started to invest in Mutual funds
    I have categorized as below

    Long term goals: (about 20 Yrs)
    ICICI LOng term MF – ELSS (Tax Saving) – SIP
    HDFC Mid Cap Mutual fund – SIP
    Planning to buy Tata Balanced Fund – SIP

    Medium Term Goal (5-10 Yrs)
    ICICI Balanced Fund – Lumpsum (Please suggest whether its a good fund or shall i change to sum other)
    Please suggest 2nd Balance fund – Lumpsum whether HDFC Balance or SBI magnum balanced

    Short term Goal: (2-3 Yrs)
    Nothing yet – as i was thinking of FDs But can change it to MF

  • My son is 15 now. I want to make a lump sum investment of 1 lakh in mf each year till he becomes major. He will be the holder of the account and I will be the guardian till he becomes a major. I want it to be in his own name so that when he becomes a major he can invest more on his own without the requirement of a guardian. the purpose of this investment is to earn a good amount after 30 years ie when he will be in his 40s.
    Q1) If i invest in elss, can i claim benefit for income tax purpose till he becomes a major.?
    Q2) I have read somewhere that if the goal is long term( as in this case 30 years) them lumpsum investment will give greater return than SIP. Is it correct.?
    Q3) can you suggest some equity / elss funds suiting my tenure of investment? also should I go for dividend reinvestment of growth option?

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    Thanks for your very good work.
    I want to completely ignore bank FD because of low interest rates.
    Can I invest my 100℅ savings in mutual funds only with mixed of debt and equity.
    I mean instead of FD can I choose debt and mip plans.

    Asset Allocation:
    Equity: 40℅
    Debt and Mip: 60℅

    What’s your views? Please suggest.

    Thanks
    Rajesh

  • based on the consistently high returns of Axis long term equity fund growth i am investing from Jan 2016 in SIP @ 5000 pm. my investment objective is to accumulate money for my sons marriage about 12 years from now.but this year it is giving dismal performance. what should I do?

    • Dear Aniruddha,
      10 months is a very short duration to judge its performance.
      Personally, I too invest in this fund.
      You have a long-term goal, so you may stay invested in this fund and may give some more time to take a final call.

  • Dear Sir

    How do you invest in SIP; i mean to say whether you use some platform such as Fundsindia or myuniverse for ECS, or you invest directly in each mutual fund house using separate ECS forms for each mutual house.

    Regards
    Maninder

    • Dear Maninder,
      As of now, I have login accounts with Fundsindia and ICICIdirect.
      I have to open account with MF Utility.
      (Kindly note that above services are my disclosures and do not consider as my recommendations).

      • Thank you

        Kindly also tell about 200 dMA and how to identify it?

        I have asked this question on 17 Oct also, but it is not showing in the comment section.

        Regards

        • Dear Maninder,
          I judiciously follow markets and when I see the indices are below 200 day moving average (or) if I believe that markets have fallen too much (personal judgement), I invest additional lump sum amounts.

          • As I am also confused with this question, So posting my query as well here. May be relevant to What Maninder asked.

            I notice in some Financial portals about SMA (Simple Moving average). It is the same.

            For Example:-
            Simple Moving Averages
            30 Days : 8,746.29 50 Days : 8,704.37 150 Days : 8,250.56 200 Days : 8,043.05

            Thank you

  • Dear Sreekanthjee,

    Very good information indeed. I wish to know also your pick in Term Insurance and Health Insurance. If possible kindly do share.

    Thank You a lot Sreekanthjee.

    Best Regards,
    Suman

  • Dear Sreekanth,

    I had been referring your various articles on financial planning and am much impressed with the way, you communicate the ideas in a very common man’s language.
    I am retired person from a Bank and need to invest about 25 lakhs in various mutual funds. I had been investing through SIP in 7-8 equity funds for the last 6-7 years. Based on the information gathered from your articles, I propose to invest the amount as follows with an investment horizon of mimum three years, which may be extended to another 2-3 years. All investments are in direct and growth option
    1. L&T Gilt fund 1.5 lakhs (lump sum)
    2. Birla Sun Life (BSL) Frontline Eq Fund 1.5 lakhs
    3. ICICI PRU Focussed Blue Chip Fund 1.5 lakhs
    4. ICICI PRU Value discovery Fund 2 lakhs
    5. Quantum long term Eq fund 1 lakh
    6. Franklin smaller co. fund 1.25 lakhs
    7. DSP BR micro cap fund 1.25 lakhs
    8. Quantum Tax savings fund 1.5 lakhs
    9. Franklin India Tax Schield 2 lakhs
    10. ICICI PRU Balanced Fund 2.5 lakhs
    11. HDFC Balanced Fund 2.5 lakhs
    All above investments (except no. 1) will be done through 36 STPs by keeping total amount in liquid/ ultra short ter or short terms debt fund of respective AMC

    12. 1.5 lakhs lump sum each in Birla sun life Dynamice bond fund and Tata Dynamic Bond Fund – both under direct and growth scheme

    Request your e pert opinion in the above proposed onvestments

    13. 2.5 lakhs lump sum each in Birla sun life MIP II wealth 25 and ICICI PRU MIP 25- both under direct and growth scheme

      • Dear Sreekanth,

        I may not be dependent on these investments as I have invested some amount in SCSS and bank FDs, which will generate interest income, besides pension available to me.

        Investment is solely for the purpose of wealth generation, where the returns are over and above the inflation rate.

        Since I have retired this year, where I am under 30% bracket, it is proposed to start STP only April’17 onwards, when My total income may fall in 10% bracket so the income from STPs.

        Keeping above in view , may I request you suggest suitable funds for investment.

        Regards
        Kashyap

        • Dear Kashyap ji,
          I could notice that you have selected good funds (two) from each fund category.
          All these are good ones.
          Kindly go through the suggested articles in my previous comment and compare the risk ratios of the funds from the same category (large/balanced/mid-cap/ELSS) and pick one fund from each fund category.
          Kindly stay invested for long-term.

  • Dear Sreekanth ,
    This very informative article. i need your help to choose MF first for my lumsum amount of 8 lak and another i want SIP of 40000 which will be 10000 per MF. for lumsum i choose below MFs. Please help me out.

    Birla Sun Life Pure Value Fund – Direct Plan 10%
    HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund – Direct Plan 10%
    Birla Sun Life Advantage Fund – Direct Plan 10%
    SBI Bluechip Fund – Direct Plan  10%
    SBI MAGNUM MIDCAP FUND – GROWTH 5%
    DSP BlackRock Micro Cap Fund – Direct Plan 10%
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund – Direct Plan  10%
    Kotak Emerging Equity Scheme – Direct Plan 10%
    DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund – Direct Plan 10%
    Birla Sun Life Balanced ’95 Fund – Direct Plan 5%
    Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund 10%

    and For SIP
    HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund – Direct Plan
    DSP BlackRock Micro Cap Fund – Direct Plan
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund – Direct Plan 
    Kotak Emerging Equity Scheme – Direct Plan

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I am looking to invest into SIPs from SBI/ICICI. I want to spend around 15k per month with 5k in 3 funds (short term – 5 yrs, medium – 10 yrs and long term-15yrs)
    I have a couple of questions :
    1. Once the time comes to close the account will the total amount be taxable or tax free?
    2. When to know that a particular fund is not performing well as they say for Equity funds the fund value will eventually grow after 3-5 years?

    Appreciate your help.

    Thanks
    Rajesh

      • Hi Srikanth,

        I am referring to the MF portfolio or the fund in which we invest. As per your Advice, I have decided on 2 funds for medium(3 yrs) and long term(10 years) : HDFC Balanced Fund and TATA Balanced Fund.
        Do you suggest any Equity fund for long term investment rather than a Balanced Fund?
        I was looking for a Balanced Fund to minimize the risk with a little bit of investment on Debt funds too.

        Appreciate your help.

        Thanks
        Rajesh

  • Sreekanth sir good morning,
    First thanks your response .
    Sir I want invest lampsun amount 6 – 10 lakhs for 4-5 years . Debt fund with stp . I dont want any risk . So suggest best debt fund I want to invest. Whenever markets go down then debt -> equity transfer like this stp’s are there . Plz suggest best stp debt fund .

  • Hi srikant,

    Your blogs are very helpful. I am planning to invest lump sum of 7 lakhs in a short term bcoz I want to take it back after one year. I have short listed the below:

    1. Franklin india small companies fund
    2. Dsp black rock micro cap
    3. Mirae asset emerging blue chip fund
    4. Principal emerging blue chip fund
    5. Icici pru top 100 mf
    6. Birla sl front line equity

    Could you please suggest me some options to go ahead and invest lump sum amount split into three mfs instead of in only one mf..I am thinking to split say 2lakhs in three mfs

    Also can I invest lump sum and start sip on same mf. is it advisable?

    Thanks in advance!

  • Hi Shrikant,

    I am following your blog since many days ..its really informative and i decided i will correct my mistake whatever i have done .Thanks for guiding us. now please give your review on my future investment.

    Short term goal (1yr)
    Birla SL floating rate long term growth -6200 SIP

    Child education after 15 years – goal-50lac
    Birla sun life tax relief 95-5000 SIP
    Tata tax saving fund -5000 SIP

    Retirement 30 years – goal 2cr
    Motilal oswal MOST focus multicap 35-5000 SIP

    Please review and suggest
    Thanks

  • Hi sreekanth, I have Franklin Smaller and ICICI Pru Discovery as of now and want to invest in one more fund. I am considering DSB Black rock mirco. What do you suggest? is it a wise choice.

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    Thanks for all this informative info. I just want to know if I want to invest Rs25000 every month through different SIP schemes, so how much approx amount should I invest in Equity-large cap/diversified/mid & small cap funds? I know there is no thumb rule but what are your suggestions,how much amount or % a person should invest in these funds? And my goals are long term only.

    Regards,
    Saurabh

      • Thank you sir. Why every mutual fund shows good growth in 3rd year and less growth in 5th year? If any fund has given good return in 3rd year,is it advisable to exit from that fund and re-invest that money in any new fund?Because if I continue till 5th year most probably the return will be less .

        Regards,
        Saurabh

        • Dear Sarabh ..Not necessarily, you may take different three year period (say 2008-2011) your interpretation may change.
          Also, past performance may or may not be exactly repeated in the future.

      • Thank you sir. But why mutual funds show good growth in 3rd year and decline in growth in 5th year? If any MF gives good returns in 3rd year,so is it advisable to exit from that MF by redeeming the amount and re-invest that money in some other MF.

  • Hi,

    I am 26 yrs old and an aggressive investor. My target is to hold for at least 5 years. For the past 1 yr, I have been investing Rs. 10,000 pm in the following:

    1. ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund – Growth
    2. DSP Black Rock Micro Cap Fund – Regular Plan – Growth
    3. Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund – Growth
    4. Franklin India High Growth Companies Fund – Growth
    5. Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund – Growth

    Equally 2,000 in each. Plz advise if I need to calibrate or keep same as my target is long term. Is it too risky or there s chance for major growth?

    Thanks
    FR

  • Dear Sreekanth

    Thank you for excellent web portal on investment and much more.

    I am a very young investor (32 years) and has started investing in mutual funds from September, 2016 by SIP.
    I am investing in Axis Long Term Equity Fund and Birla Sun Life MNC fund (1000 each by SIP) through MyUniverse. Although I am investing quite a small amount, my time frame is quite long (probably more than 5 years).
    I have little concern about Birla Sun Life MNC fund. Is it really a good choice and in long run would be a worth choice or not?

    Rest, thank you for sharing Best Mutual Funds for 2016 on website and also your portfolio. A person learns many things from such a beautiful depiction and advice.

    Regards

  • Hello Mr. Sreekanth,

    Good Morning to You and to all blog readers as well. I need one advise from you. To make retirement corpus I have selected SIP in SBI-Magnum Global. But after going through different blog readers comment I understand that I haven’t chosen the right fund for the purpose. I have checked that same SIP can be switched to another fund under same fund house. Pls advise me in which fund can it be switched.

    Thanks in advance.

    With Warm Regards,
    Suman

  • hello Reddy sir,
    I am following your blog since many days ..its really informative and i decided i will correct my mistake whatever i have done .Thanks for guiding us. now please give your review on my future investment which i have made after reading your blog .

    Sr. No Investment Scheme Percentage of Portfolio

    A Short Term Plan ( For 1 years and below) 50.0%

    1)Birla Sunlife MIP II Wealth 25 Plan (Growth-Direct) 16.7%

    2)Birla Sun Life MIP II -Savings 5 Plan (G)-Direct 16.7%
    3)Franklin India ultra-short term bond fund super Institutional plan. 16.7%
    4)Tax Shield: Franklin India Tax shield fund. As need basis

    B Medium Term Plan (For 3 to 5 Years ) 37.5%
    1 Balance fund :
    HDFC Balanced Fund – Direct Plan (G) 37.5%

    C Long Term Plan ( Above 5 Years) 12.5%

    HDFC Balanced Fund – Direct Plan (G) 4.5%

    HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund (G) 4.0%

    ICICI Prudential Value discovery Fund-Direct 4.0%

    Questions :
    Above my portfolio is good or need to change?
    1. What are general precautions and key issues to be taken care while Investing in Mutual Fund.
    2. Is this Portfolio conservative and risk averse. Main intention is to minimize losses in case of Market crash.
    3. Please confirm ,Taxes on Returns in above debt fund (Sr.noA) will be ONLYas per the Tax slab for resident Indian?
    4. Is the Selected Balance fund in which majority of Investment done safe and will ensure good returns.?

    • above percentage of 40 lakhs..one time investment now…. whenever get chance i will do SIP in long term plan ,is it ok ?

        • Hello Sir ,
          Thanks for your prompt reply . It was very helpful

          1. The reason for investing higher % for short term is that they are debt based and more secured. I am waiting for market to consolidate around levels of 8400 to 8500 and then I will move 50 % part of my Short term corpus to Equity based Mutual fund.

          2. With reference to Short term parking of fund for span of 3 -6 months :
          a. Can you please recommend whether I should go for Liquid or Ultra Short term debt fund.
          b. Should I take dividend or growth option for fund parked less than 6 months. I have read growth option is better for more than 1 year due to indexation .
          c. Dividend distribution tax is 25 % on liquid and 15% on Short term debt fund I dont know how growth option will work for short term , will all the returns in G option will subjected to my Tax income slab.

          I have more inclination on Ultra short tern debt fund but not sure ……..please help me in it.

          • Dear amruta,
            The dividend income received by a debt fund unit holder is also tax free. But, the mutual fund company has to pay a dividend distribution tax (DDT) before distributing this dividend income to its Unit-holders. DDT on Debt Mutual Funds (all types of debt funds) is 28.84%.
            If you have horizon of 6 months you may consider ultra short term fund.

  • Hi,
    May I ask any particular reason you have very limited exposure to mid and small caps?

    Also i have been on sip for last 1 year of
    Birla sun life mnc fund
    Dsp blackrock micro fund
    Franklin india smaller companies fund

    I am going to continue with this for 30 years since I am young.

    Am I being too aggressive in my pickings? Or is it fine according to timeframe.

    I only put 20% of my savings each month into these.

    • Dear Manish,
      Based on my requirement, I have recently added Franklin Smaller companies fund to my MF portfolio as mentioned in the article.
      Now including UTI mid-cap and this small-cap fund, takes the percentage of allocation of mid/small cap segment to around 35 to 40% of my portfolio.

  • Hi Shreekanth,
    How much overlapping is fine between 2 funds? I want to create SIP portfolio as follows :

    Axis long term : Rs. 4000 (for more than 7 yrs.)
    Hdfc balanced : Rs. 3000 (for more than 5 yrs.)
    Icici value discovery : Rs. 3000 (for more than 7 yrs.)
    Franklin India smaller companies : Rs. 2000 (for more than 7 yrs.)
    ……….
    There are Reliance growth and Reliance equity opportunities (1000 and 2000 respectively from 6 yrs.) They are SIP Insure funds. That is why I want to continue in them for another 5 yrs. Is it ok?

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    First of all, Congratulations and Thank you for maintaining such a knowledgeable and informative blog site.
    Need your advice on the following

    1) Is it the right time to invest in mutual funds (Lumpsum) as the markets are at its all time peak or should we vait for some correction.
    2) Would you recommend investing Rs. 25000 in each of the following funds as of now. I have a long term horizon (May be 10 years timeframe). I need your help in short listing the best 5,6 MFs out of my shortlisted finds which are as follows
    Franklin India Taxshield
    Axis Long Term Equity Fund
    ICICI Prudential Long Term Equity Fund – Tax Saving – Regular Plan
    TATA Balanced Fund
    HDFC Balanced Fund
    UTI Mid-cap Fund
    Franklin Prima plus
    ICICI Prudential Dynamic Fund
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund
    ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund
    DSP BR Microcap Fund
    Birla Sunlife Frontline Equity Fund

    BR// Amit Sharma

  • Dear Sreekanth,
    I have just started earning one year back and have burnt my fingers trying to earn fast in Intraday. But no regrets, experience teaches. I read many financial blogs then and found your articles one of the best explained, lucid and easy language, to the point and clears what need to be cleared. After reading your articles I realised that best way for me would be mutual funds as I have long term plans, have high risk apetite but lack the time need to be given if investing in stocks. Thank you for your excellent articles and wishing you all the success and many more followers.

  • Hi Shree
    Why holding two balanced funds ?are they not overlapping? Why HDFC for short term even though its 70% equity?
    Please shed some light

    • Dear Saleem. The overlap is less as per my requirement. Short-term? Its for medium-term goal.
      Kindly note that this is as per my risk profile, time-frame & goals and this is for information purpose only. Not a recommendation.

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I am new investor in MF. I am 37 years old and wanted to invest 40,000 (10000 each * 4 MF) . My Goal 1) retirement , 15yrs and looking some were 3cr 2) House to be built (need 1Cr) with time 10 years, 3) Daughter Education need 2 cr ( time 12-15 years) , 4) Daughter Marriage 20 years from now. 2 cr each .

    how much i need to save and which MF is I should select?
    Please help me with information.
    Regards,
    Shashi

  • Hi Sreekanth,
    Thanks a lot for all your advice.
    Could you please share your views in MF i have invested in, with 2000 INR per month(SIP) for last 6 months:
    1> Axis Long Term Equity
    2> Franklin India Blusechip
    3> Franklin India prima Plus
    4> HDFC mid-cap opportunities
    5> HDFC Balance fund

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    Thanks for the Blog

    I have 10 lakhs lumsome to invest in the Mutual funds for future needs say >10 years for kids education.
    Following is my plan for portfolio distribution

    Long term >10 years

    BIRLA MIP II WEALTH 25 PLAN 200000
    TATA BALANCED FUND 100000
    HDFC BALANCED FUND 200000
    Franklin India PRIMA PLUS 100000
    ICICI PRUDENTIAL VALUE DISCOVERY FUND 100000
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund 200000
    Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund 100000

    Also planing to create SIP monthly 5000 on each of the following
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund,
    HDFC BALANCED FUND,
    ICICI PRUDENTIAL VALUE DISCOVERY FUND
    Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund

    I checked the portfolio overlap for these funds and all are less then 20%.

    May be i will closed BIRLA MIP II WEALTH 25 PLAN in 2,3 years use that for the SIP’s

    Also let me know if i get extra lumsome in which fund i should top up for long term >10 year

    Please let me know is this plan good or Any changed needed.

    Thanks
    Jk

    • Also let me know Is this portfolio more aggressive ? Should i add Debt MFs or Balanced Conservative MFs.

      In this MFs list i have dilemma between Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund vs UTI Mid Cap Fund plz suggest

      Thanks
      JK

        • Hi Sreekanth

          Thanks for the reply.Appreciate your help.

          Sorry to ask again.Being an first timer little concerned.your word gives more confident

          1, Plz let me know Is this portfolio more aggressive ? Should i add Debt MFs or Balanced Conservative MFs. Because in this all are Equity and Diversified Fund being 52 weeks high now .
          Is it ok to invest lumpsome in equity oriented funds now.

          2, Also let me know if i get extra lumsome in which fund i should top up for long term >10 year

          Thanks
          JK

          • Dear JK,
            All of us invest in Equity oriented funds with a hope that we see new 52 week highs in long-term 🙂
            So, kindly go ahead with your plans.
            Also, I could observe that you have balanced funds & MIP fund also.
            One suggestion I could give is, you may have STPs (Systematic Transfer plans) for Small or Mid-cap funds, if you are really worried.

  • Hi Sreekanth,
    Since ELSS and Multicap funds both invest in diversified equity, is it wiser to include one big ELSS in my portfolio instead of both ELSS and Diversified and dividing the amount?
    Thanks and Regards,
    Naba.

  • Hi Sreekanth Sir,
    Thanks for your valuable suggestions.
    How to buy sbi stock. How to withdraw SIP amount. How many years we invest through SIP we will get high returns.
    I am 31 years. Which is the best health insurance policy in 1000 -1500/-range monthly premium. Please suggest me sir.

  • Dear Sreekanth,

    My Story of Burning fingers is similar to your’s….me to fed up with trading,stock investmentsfrom 2000 to 2009,finally started investing through SIP’s in 2009 like you….though not great returns like stocks,but i am happy i am not loosing money.

    Which is best for ELSS….Lumpsum or SIP?

    • Dear MALLIKARJUNA ..Personally, I prefer to invest lump sum ie 3 to 4 times in an year in ELSS fund.
      The reason is units allotted under ELSS fund are locked for 3 years and it can be very confusing thing when redeeming the units.
      If you are not comfortable investing lump sum amounts, SIPs are also fine.

  • Dear srikanth ji,

    I want to invest 05 to 10 lakh rupees for 01 to 02 years without risk or very little risk. As i am in 30% tax bracket FD is not suitable for me. kindly suggest me investment portfolio.

    regards

    Sharad kumar

  • Hi Sreekanth Sir,

    i invested 1000/- per month in HDFC Balanced Fund (G) for 25 years. starting from 01/07/2016. any tax problem
    is there? how much returns will get in future? please suggest me.

  • Sreekanth,

    Thanks for sharing your portfolio of MFs

    Need to know how can one exactly pump in more money in MF running on SIP when the indices are down?

    And also what u mean by manually operating a MF?

    • Dear Deepak,
      Acutally there are no hard and fast rules..When I am investing for long-term goals, I just believe that it is a right opportunity to invest additional sums when indices (benchmarks are down).
      For ex- During BREXIT (when UK opted out of European union) day, markets were down , that particular day I bought some additional units.

      Manually means – No active SIP. Whenever markets are down by say 0.5% to 1%, I invest.

  • hi sreekanth,
    i have a FD of 5.5lacs which i want to break and invest in MF short pd of 3 yrs with returns more than 20% medium risk.
    i have chosen birla sunlife MIP II wealth 25 plan and axis long term equity fund direct and mirae asset emerging blue chip
    are my options correct or please suggest atleast two best to fulfill my requirement to covert 5.5 lacs to become atleast 8.5lac in 3yrs to pay for my sons mba fee.

  • Hi,

    I am 24 year old and have 10k to invest.

    1) 3000-PPF
    2) 3000-ELSS for 15 yrs . how much return i can expect in 15 to 20yrs?
    3) 4000-ICICI prudential value discovery fund for 15 to 20 yrs? how much return can i expect.

    Does the allocation looks fine or i need to change it?

    If i want 7 lakhs-10 lakhs in next 3 yrs then how much SIP should i start and in which fund should I start investing?

    please guide me.

    Thanks

    Pamella

  • Dear Sir,

    I am a new investor and have expenditure in a period of 1) 5 years – child 1 edn 2) 12 yrs – child 2 edn and 3) 19 yrs – retirement planning.
    I am planning to build a portfolio as below:
    1) For 5 yrs:
    HDFC balanced Fund (G) – 5000
    ICICI Pru balanced Fund (G)- 5000
    2) For 12 yrs:
    ICICI pru value discovery fund – 3000
    Birla SL Frontline equity fund – 2000
    3) For 19 yrs
    Franklin India Smaller comp – 3000
    UTI Midcap fund – 2000

    Is this portfolio is balanced enough? I can proceed or any modifications required? If so, please suggest.

    Thanks in advance.

  • Hello Sreekanth,

    I have started investing in MFs through SIP from February 2016.Here are my current holdings–
    DSPBR Micro-Cap Fund-Reg(G)–2000/-
    SBI BlueChip Fund-Reg(G)–1000/-
    SBI Magnum Balanced Fund-Reg(G)–1000/-

    My plan is to hold for long term.Please suggest if the above suits for long term or should I navigate to any other funds.
    Also I am planning to invest 1000/- more per month.Kindly suggest which category should I follow as my current portfolio mostly based over Equity.

    Best Regards,
    Debaditya

  • Dear Shreekant,

    My UTI ULIP policy has matured . I need to know following
    1 Is it possible to switch ULIP to UTI Midcap fund?
    2 Should I switch whole amount ?

    Pl let me know how to proceed

    Regards,

    Samir Joshi

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    Thanks for all the valuable advise you have been giving to the readers. Your columns are indeed helpful to get insights on personal finance.

    My query is regarding a lump-sum investment of Rs. 5 Lacs for medium term ( 3-5 years). Would it be advisable to put all the money in a balance fund at current high levels?

    If yes, which fund would you suggest and which option ( dividend or dividend reinvestment)?

    And if no, what would be your advise for alternative investment?

    Regards, Rajat

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    Appreciate your article depicting the reasons behind respective MF choices you’ve made. I, on the other end, am one of worst nightmares for financial planner like yourself, since I don’t fail at the first step itself of planning i.e. Identifying a financial goal. Its not that I’m completely clueless for e.g. to have (buy/build) a house in short term, say 2-3 years, would be nice.

    The problem for me, I think, is ‘investable’ monthly income of around 1.25L. I started taking interest into (direct) Equity about 2 years back and have some good, solid scripts. Though, don’t want to extend my exposure. With MFs, I have got 6 MFs with SIPs totaling 30K/mon: BSL 95 Fund, SBI Blue Chip (50% in 2 Large caps), HDFC Mid Cap Opportunites, ICICI Value Discovery (30% in 2 Mid-Caps), Reliance Small Cap and UTI MNC (20% in 2 Small-Caps-ish) through a distributor. But after reading your article about Direct plans, I’m considering direct plans only for lump sums/SIPs. Coming back to the original purpose of the post, what would be the best MFs to go for with that sort of disposable income and with what percentage of allocation? Thanks in advance.

  • Hi,
    Greetings from me. I have a query. I have a MF portfolio and although all of my funds are doing well but after doing some research I found that there are some funds within the category which have performed much better and thus I’m thinking of changing scheme (not switching so no worries about load/taxes). I tracked the returns keeping a minimum time period of 3-4 months and found the other fund is better both in terms of risk as well as returns.
    So, if I continue following such strategy ( or I may call it a “habit”) will it have any adverse effect on my returns/investment (assuming that I shall never loss anything due to loads/taxes or switching after 1 yr).
    In nutshell, does such ”habit” is good?

    thanks 🙂

    • Dear Mayur,
      Kindly note that how many of us have consistently got FIRST RANK when studying??
      It’s ok to be at NO.2 . Consistency of returns should be given more importance.
      May turn out to be a bad strategy 🙂

  • Dear Sreekanth.
    How are you?

    Kindly suggest a good midcap fund for 10 years horizon.
    Which will be better for me, a balanced or midcap fund. If former , then suggest one.
    Rrgards

    Sanjeev Gargish

  • Sreekanth,

    Age 40, I have recently started investing into MF SIP. Expectation is to get 15-20% in next 10 yrs. Current investment –
    Total – 25000

    ICICI PRUDENTIAL VALUE DISCOVERY FUND – GROWTH – 6000
    SBI BLUE CHIP FUND – REGULAR PLAN – GROWTH – 4000
    UTI UTI MUTUAL FUND – GROWTH – 3000
    Franklin India TAXSHIELD GROWTH – 3000
    Franklin India PRIMA PLUS GROWTH – 3000

    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund GROWTH – 3000
    DSK BlackRock Micro CAP Fund Growth – 3000

    I am planning to invest in bottom 2 for 12 months. All the MF selected are based on 3-5 yr performance and rating’s.

    Let me know, if my approach is right. And, How do I decide to switch MF’s, if a particular one is not performing.

    Regards,
    Raj

  • sir thank you for your reply. bus itna bta dijiye sir. direct plan me invest karun ya regular plan me

  • sir my name is pardeep rathi I am in 12 th I have a sip in sbi magnum midcap fund (view for long term) but now I want to invest 1 lakh lumpsum in sbi magnum midcap fund for nearly about 7-8 years till my marriage .now nav of this fund in high (66). to sir kya m market / nav niche aane ka wait karun or kitna wait karun .ya abhi invest kar dun . Thank you

  • Hello sir, I just started my job and earn around 40k per month.. Please help me in suggesting which would be best mf plan for tax saving and investing horizon for 3-4 years and other 10+ years.. I would be able to take high risks.. Where should i start investing with… please help! Thank you.

  • Hi Sree,

    I have been investing in below funds since 1 year. Can you kindly let me know if these are good to go(for next 5-10 yrs) or require any switch(in any fund).

    1. HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund(G)
    2. ICICI Pru Focused BlueChip Eq Fund(G)
    3. Kotak Select Focus Fund(G)
    4. Mirae Asset India Opportunities Fund-Reg(G)
    5. Tata Balanced Fund(G)
    6. UTI Equity Fund(G)

    Regards,
    Surendra.

  • And Also please tell me whether “Liquid Mutual Fund” is a better option than Recurring Deposit.

    Thanks
    Bharghav

  • Hi Srikanth,

    I am planning to invest in TATA Liquid Fund Regular (G), every month 20,000 as an SIP.

    I have chosen the liquid fund because I will using this amount to increase my downpayment for my house.

    Please let me know if this TATA Liquid Fund Regular(G) is a good option to go for, if not please provide some alternatives maybe with the reason could be helpful as well.

    Thanks in advance

    Regards
    Bharghav R

  • Dear Sree,
    I have been investing Rs.1000/- per month in below mentioned MF schemes since last six month & want to continue till 5 years. Request you to suggest if any changes require.
    1. AXIS Long term equity fund-Direct
    2. Birla Sunlife Manufacturing Equity fund-Direct
    3. DSP Black Rock Micro Cap Fund-Regular Plan
    4. Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund-Direct
    5. Franklin India Balance Fund-Direct
    6. HDFC Small & Midcap Fund –Regular Plan (G)
    Pls note I want to continue one fund till 15 years which would be the best fund from above list.

  • Hi ShreeKanth,
    Sorry to trouble you again.
    Since market is down today, would you suggest to put lumsum investment for long term now?
    I already have SIP for HDFC balance fund, HDFC mid cap opp, Mirae.
    I want to put some lump some, is it good time and which fund please for long term?

    Thanks again

    • Dear Prem,
      For long term goals, I believe that any time is a good time to invest 🙂
      Yes, when market falls you can surely think of investing additional sums in the existing MFs.

  • Dear Sreekanth,

    Asking you the same question that everyone else asks, is my portfolio any good 🙂

    How do I re-balance my Indian Mutual Fund Portfolio?

    Currently my Portfolio is Rs. 0.92 Crores.Aim is to get Rs. 10 Crore in 12 years.I will be able to increase the current SIP amount by about Rs. 25K every year.I am risk tolerant & can invest Rs. 40 Lakhs as a lump-sum in next 24 months.Thanks in advance.What changes should I make to reach the Goal?

    # Fund Monthly SIP
    1 SBI Magnum Balanced Fund (G) ₹5,000.00
    2 Franklin India Prima Fund (G) ₹27,000.00
    3 ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund (G) ₹27,000.00
    4 Franklin India Flexi Cap Fund (G) ₹27,000.00
    5 DSP BlackRock Micro Cap Fund – Regular Plan (G) ₹5,000.00
    6 Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund (G) ₹5,000.00
    7 SBI Blue Chip Fund (G) ₹5,000.00
    8 SBI Magnum Multicap Fund – Regular Plan (G) ₹27,000.00
    9 SBI Small & Midcap Fund – Growth ₹27,000.00
    10 UTI MNC Fund (G) ₹5,000.00
    Grand Totals: ₹160,000.00

  • Hi sreekanth,
    I am about to do following investment, mainly on basis of your portfolio. could you please tell if it make sense or do you me to modify something?

    Lumpsum- Is it right time to make lumpsum these investment?
    1) Birla sunlife MIPII wealth 25 plan- 40K for 4-5 years
    2) Franklin India smaller companies fund- 40K for 10+ years

    1) HDFC balanced fund- 4K each month SIP- 6+ years
    2) Birla sunlife MIPII wealth 25 plan- 2K each month SIP- 4+ years
    3) Mirae Asset Emerging Blue-chip funds- 20%- 2K each month SIP- 15+ years
    4) Franklin India smaller companies fund – 3K- 10+ years

    Thank You!

    • Dear Parimal,
      Kindly note that my financial goals / requirements can be totally different to yours. Above portfolio is only for information purposes.
      You may kindly go ahead with your plan.

  • DEAR SIR,
    From Last 1 year I am investing in 4 Mutual fund scheme which are as below:-

    1.ICICI PRU VALUE DISCOVERY FUND.
    2.HDFC BALANCED FUND
    3.FRANKLIN SMALLER COMPANIES FUND
    4.FRANKLIN BUILD INDIA FUND.

    My investment Horizon is of 5-10 Years from now.How you Scale my Portfolio and What suggestion/advice From your Side to make a about my Portfolio.

  • Dear Sree,

    You are doing a tremendous job of educating others on various aspects of investments.
    I have been investing in DSPBR Top 100 equity and HDFC equity fund for the last 4 years but have stopped the SIP 4 months back due to some sudden financial commitments. The above investments are for higher education of my children who are studying in VII and III standards.
    I believe that the above funds have not performed in the last 1-2 years compared to its peers . I would like to switch to other better funds with an investment horizon of 4-5 years.

    I would like to know your recommendation of funds to which I should move to.
    Also please advice whether I should redeem and divert the amount to new funds or stay invested and start new SIPS in other funds.

    Thanks

    Santosh

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I would like to invest 50k lump sum amount in mutual funds. Please could you suggest which fund would be the best to invest.

    Moreover can you please suggest if investing monthly makes sense or else investing lump sum is fine.

    FYI- this is for long term saving purpose.

    Thanks in advance.

    Regards,
    MP

  • hi Sreekanth,

    I would like to invest around 5k per month in Mutual funds.
    My goal would be that it should server for my retirement and my children higher education, which would be around 15 years from now.

    Can you let me know about how should i plan for that?

    I am very novice about mutual funds/stocks concepts. So let me know what route I should take.

    Regards,
    Madhu

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I am 30 years old.

    I plan to buy a house after 3 years worth Rs. 40 lakhs. Currently I have a corpus of 5 Lakh, of which i have invetsed 1 Lakh in ELSS(40K Axis long term equity fund, 40 K in Franklin India taxshield and 20K in Birla SL Tax relief 96) and 3 Lakh in Fixed deposit @7.5% and 1 Lakh lying in savings account. I need to continue investing 1 Lakh per year in ELSS funds for tax benefit. I have also taken a 50 Lakh term plan from HDFC life.

    My queries are:

    1. Are these ELSS funds OK or should I look for other funds for my this fiscal years investment.
    2. Should I divert my FDs in to short term mutual funds.
    3. I can also invest Rs. 20000 per month. Should I do it in any of MFs in SIP(as per your suggestion) or in RD.

    Please guide me.

    Regards,
    Kumar S

  • Hi, I need your valuable advice please.

    – I am investing for Retirement. (My current age 28 and retirement approx 50 years)

    To achieve it, i am investing in PPF = 40% , Small Mid Cap = 40%, Large Cap = 10%, Diversified (Multi Cap) = 10% .

    – I am investing for other long term goal that will come in 5 to 7 years.

    To achieve it, i am investing in Small Mid Cap = 60%, Hybrid-Equity Oriented MF (equity part- 70%) = 40% .

    – I am investing in ELSS for tax saving, but i will be using these amount to pay my home EMIs that will come around 2-3 years later. And in this financial year, i am doing SIP in ultra short term debt fund so that i can redeem it in January and invest in ELSS. I do not want to lock my amount by investing in ELSS in start of financial year.

    Note: I have invested in top performing schemes which are recommended by you or on my own research.

    Query: After investing for 2 years my portfolio return is around 2% only, so i am re balancing it.
    I think my Equity proportion is too much and on High Risk.

    So now i am thinking to invest future amount as Equity:Debt = 70% : 30 %. So this 30% i will be investing in Hybrid-Debt Oriented Fund (Aggressive).

    My formula to achieve long term goals was to invest in top performing equity like Mid Cap.

    Please help.

    Thanks.

  • Dear Shreekanth,
    I am a 29 yr old. I want to invest Rs. 15,000/pm in MF (Salary Rs.45,00/pm after tax). I am keeping aside Rs. 7,000/pm for RD.
    *My main goal is child’s education (2 months baby). I read somewhere its better to go for SIP + Term insurance instead of Child plans..is it so? For that I am planning to invest for phase 0f 10, 15 and 20 years. Please suggest me best funds for different periods.
    *I have a Term insurance of Rs. 25.00 lac and wants to increase it somewhere 75.00 lac .Which is the best plan?
    * I also want to have an ELSS in my portfolio…plz guide!
    *I also want to invest for very short periods.i.e. in liquid funds as and when I accumulate some amount. Plz guide? but I read somewhere it is taxable under short term capital gains.

    Need ur valuable advice.I am also going through ur articles side by side as suggested to other people above.

  • Hi,

    I am a 23 year old guy, I would like to invest 5k per month in a elss scheme (I am confused btw axis long term equity and franklin tax shield) also I would like t invest another 5k every month in a normal equity fund ( with a time frame of atleast 10 years ) please suggest.

    • Dear Rapu,
      You may go ahead with Axis LTE and Franklin Prima Plus Fund.
      If you would like to build an aggressive portfolio then you may consider Axis LTE + Franklin Smaller companies Fund.

      • Thank you for the reply.

        My package is 3.1L and since it is 60k above the tax slab, I arrived at a figure of 5k per month for Elss Scheme(no other option since ppf interest rate went down ), but do you feel at my age(23) I should invest that money (5k) in an another normal equity fund instead of an elss ? if so then should I go with franklin prima plus fund +franklin smaller companies fund or some other combination.

        Also , what do you mean by an aggressive portfolio ?

        Thanks in advance.

        • Dear Rapu,
          PPF is a long-term savings product, the interest rate can climb say after 5 years. So, selection of financial products should be based on your financial goals and time-frame.
          If your investment objective is to accumulate wealth + tax saving then ELSS is a good choice. You may go ahead with ELSS fund like Axis LTE / Franklin Tax-shield.

          Small cap funds can give higher returns when compared to say large-cap or diversified equity funds over longer period but at the same time they are high risk oriented plans.

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I am not new to investments but try to play safe with it. Just to give you a brief, Last year i had invested rs.5000 SIP for 1 year in Axis long term Equity plan (Jan’15 – Dec’15) with lock in of 3 years. I have also done few FDs in the past for a period of 1 year to 500 days. For this financial year again i am looking for instruments 1. For tax saving 2. To save for short term goals (travel plans) 3. to save for my kids education. (my son is 3+ years) . One thing which i have learnt from my research is that you should never mix life insurance and investment. Second Kids plan are not worth and the money should be better invested in MFs etc.

    In total i want to invest Rs.10K / month in the above goals. The things which look good to me are elss, balanced, ppf but don’t have much knowledge about it. Also i have savings of around 2 lakhs which is laying idle in my bank account giving me quarterly interests. Thought of starting FD but don’t’ want to fix the money for long and, if required, should be available to me in a day or two.

    Kindly guide me so as to how can i build wealth by putting money in different short and long term instruments and which ones. This Saturday I have called an ICICI Direct Executive to discuss about my goals, but while searching i came across ur blogs and they really seem to be informative. I don’t want to get trapped in their sells which ultimately wont be suited for me.

    Thank you so much in advance.
    Regards,
    Asma Kapoor

      • Dear Asma,
        I too endorse your views.
        It is prudent to avoid traditional life insurance plans like Endowment / money back plans and also Child oriented insurance plans. Term insurance plan is a better option, if one is looking for life cover.
        Short Term goal(s) : You can consider FDs only as safety of capital is more important than extra returns. In case if you are not sure of the exact time-frame then you can consider investing in a portion of your existing surplus money in a Short-Term Debt mutual fund too.
        Read:
        What are different types of Debt Mutual Funds?
        Best Debt Mutual Funds 2016.

        Kid’s Education Goal: Kindly read this article : Kid’s Education planning & calculator.
        Target goal year is around 13 to 15 years from now. So, you can consider investing in a Balance Fund + Mid-cap fund + Diversified Equity fund for this goal.
        Read:
        Top Balanced funds.
        Best Equity funds.
        Direct Plans Vs Regular Mutual fund plans : Comparison of Returns.

        Have you planned for your Retirement Goal? Do you have sufficient life & health cover?

        • Dear Sreekanth,

          Thank you so much for your valuable time and inputs. Liquid Funds seem to be a good option. Would it be wise to invest 50K each for a month in Axis and HDFC Liquid fund? (or any other)

          Yes you are right that I have around 15 years to invest for my kids higher education. To be safe can i opt for HDFCs Children Gift fund or start a MIP? What is a better option – to put one shot in surplus or monthly SIPs?

          Also for tax planning can i renew my SIP in Axis long term equity ELSS scheme as i have stopped paying it after one year.

          I have a 2 lakhs health cover from my company so haven’t taken any separate health policy. About life insurance, i tried shortlisting few term plans and left it in between as got confused with so many extra riders. I was not able to decide which one to opt and which not. As the prices vary depending on the riders selected.

          Thanks & Regards,
          Asma

          • Dear Asma,
            1 – You may do so. But kindly be aware of the MF taxation rules as well.
            2 – SIP would be a prudent choice. For 15 year goal – You may consider combination of funds as suggested in my previous comment.
            Read: Childrens Gift Funds – Review.
            3 – Axis LTE is a decent fund for long-term wealth accumulation and also to save some taxes under section 80c.
            4 – Suggest you to buy an independent mediclaim policy. You may consider a family floater plan for self & kid (dependents excluding senior persons).
            Read: Best Family floater health insurance plans.
            5 – Term plans are the simplest form of insurance. Suggest you to buy a term plan with basic cover and then a stand-alone Personal accident insurance policy.
            Read:
            Best term insurance plans.
            Best Personal accident insurance plans.

            • Dear Sreekanth,

              Thanks once again. Will surely go through all your feedback in detail and try to make wiser decisions now. It was a great financial advice which i was looking for. I will make sure to follow all your articles from now on. Will get back and bug u incase I get stuck somewhere. Thanks a ton.

              Regards,
              Asma

              • Dear Sreekanth,

                Hope you are doing good. Based on my last conversation with you, I have decided to go with the following plans:

                1. Axis Long Term Equity Plan : Renew for 3000 / month SIP – for how many years should i continue investing in this?
                2. HDFC Balanced Fund – 3000 for 5 + years or more?
                3. Birla Sunlife MIP 2 Wealth plan: (2-3) years – Is it better to put 50K lumpsum or start a SIP of 2000 for 3 years?
                4. Axis or HDFC liquid fund – 50K for 3 months
                5. Max New York life Term plan – Term plan with income option i.e (75lakh SA +40 Lakhs ADB Rider + 30000/ month for 10 years) – with premium of rs.12000 / annum – Does a low premium makes a plan vulnerable ?

                Still not able to decide on health plans. Kindly guide if i am in the right direction.

                Also i need your advice on how to invest wisely taking the annual salary increment into consideration.

                Thanks a Ton,
                Asma

                • Dear Asma,
                  1 – Link it to your long term goal like Kid’s Education or Retirement planning.
                  2 – Invest for any medium term goal.
                  3 – You may invest lump sum amount.
                  4 – Any one should be fine. My pick : HDFC Liquid fund.
                  5 – No, as long as you disclose the information accurately and honestly in the Proposal Form. But instead of ADB as a rider, my suggestion would be to buy a stand-alone Personal Accident Insurance plans.
                  Kindly read: Best Personal Accident Insurance Plans.
                  6 – You may consider taking a Floater health insurance plan. Suggestions : Check out Apollo Munich / Religare / Max Bupa /Star plans.

                  • Dear Sreekanth,

                    Is it better to take term insurance policy till 65 years or 75 years, if given a choice?

                    Regards,
                    Asma

                    • Dear Asma,
                      It depends on an individual’s expected retirement age, till what time he/she can expect to have financial liabilities and financial commitments etc.,
                      One can think of taking two term plans at two different points of time (life stages). Again this depends on what stage of life an individual is in.

                    • Dear Sreekanth,

                      Hope you are doing well. I have an urgent query. Need to invest 1.5-2 lakhs for just one year. Please suggest best possible options. is it better to invest in a FD or go for liquid funds. if yes, then which one to consider considering 1 year lock in. Would appreciate a quick response.

                      Thanks & Regards,
                      Asma

                    • Dear Sreekanth,

                      I am being doing a lot of reading to find out the best short term debt fund. My main concerns are:

                      1. 1 year investment
                      2. better than FD
                      3. can divide in 2-3 funds

                      Please suggest top three funds to make my life easy or even 1 good fund will do. only for a year though.

                      Thank you so much.

                      Asma

  • Hi Shreekanth,

    I’m IT professional & planning to buy a home in Next 3 Years in Mumbai (Andheri) but before that want to keep ready a big down payment thru SIP so that i can afford to buy home in Andheri. My target/goal amount is ~18-20 Lacs by Investing 35K per month thru SIP.

    So Could you please suggest best (as per your analysis and experience) MF & categories? So that I can start SIP asap.

    Thanks again
    Sonal

    • Dear Sonal,
      If you contribute Rs 35k per month for next 36 months and at an assumption rate (ROI) of 10%, you can accumulate around Rs 14.6 Lakh.
      So, to acheive your target amount of Rs 20 Lakh, you may have to either increase your savings amount or increase the contribution period. I believe that expecting returns of more than 10% in 3 years can be unrealistic.
      If you can afford to take risk, you may consider investing a portion of your savings in a Balanced fund like HDFC Balance fund for next 2 years and then switch the accumulated fund value to safe bet like FD.
      Remaining portion can be invested in FDs + Debt Funds (Short Term Debt Fund) + Aggressive MIP.
      Read:
      Best Debt mutual Funds 2016.
      Best MF MIPs.
      List of best investment options in India.

  • Hi Shreekanth,

    I am 27 years old.

    I am willing to invest, 20,000 a month for next 25 years. Can you please help me in selecting a Equity Fund which according to you would return a good yield if I stay invested for this long duration?

    Request you to help me with this request at the earliest.

  • Hi Mr Reddy,

    I want to invest through SIP in MF. I am an NRI so 80 C tax exception is not required at this time. My goal is long term for 10 to 15 years. Please suggest MF and also tax implications at withdrawals after 10 years. Should I invest as an NRI or Indian resident…which is more advisable to avoid tax at withdrawals after 10 years?

  • Hi

    I want to start SIP of 2 K per month and i would like to divide the same into 4 mutual funds and one should be the tax saving fund so basically INR 500 each per month in 4 mutual funds.I am having long term investment plan and can continue with the same for next 10-15 years.

    Can you please suggest that in which 4 funds i should invest.

    Thanks

    Regards

  • Hello. Sir,
    . I m interested to invest in mutual fund, but I dont know about it,kindly guide me the basic..

  • Hi Sreekanth

    Can you please explain – 200 dMA ? how do you find for a given fund ? The strategy you use to invest a little more when you have some extra money in your hand ?

    Thanks
    Janani

    • Dear JJ< It is simply a security's or Index's average closing price over the last 200 days.
      I keep a track of markets and if I see any news mentioning that markets are at say below 200 day avg closing price, then I prefer to invest additional amount in my MF portfolio during that period.

  • Hi sreekanth,
    Im new to MFs. Now I would like to invest in tax saver mutual fund monthly SIP for 3-5 years. My budget is 2K to 5K per month and my age is 29 years .

    Please suggest me how to invest and in which fund I should invest?
    and please clarify whether Demat account is mandatory or not?

    Thank you.

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I have SIP in L & T Business cycle fund.

    Pl suggest whether I should continue with same

    Also suggest wealth creation for long term

    Regards,
    Samir

  • Hello,
    I am 18 years college student and have a/c with axis bank. Actually I wanted to invest in FD but bank suggested me to invest in axis long term mutual fund. The big problem is I don’t understand anything about mutual fund. So is it easy to understand?? Should I invest in mutual funds in this age where I even don’t know m of mutual fund. If yes if it is easy and if I can invest then HOW MANY SHUOLD I INVEST AND IN WHICH SCEHME FOR HOW MANY YEARS?????
    PLEASE REPLY

    • Dear Rasika,
      You can always learn about mutual funds, its surely not a rocket science.
      But let me know why do you want to invest in FDs? What is your investment objective/purpose? When do you require this money?

  • Dear Sreekanth,

    Please suggest two best ELSS funds for corpus investment of 48k for next 10 years for tax saving.

    Warm regards,

    Krishna

  • Hi Sree,

    I am very much new to investments and have PPF account and LIC. I have to invest about 60k for tax savings this year and I am looking for long term say 10 years for this investment.

    Please let me know the best ELSS funds where i can invest. Should I invest in one fund or more funds. Also, I would like to know if we require DMAT account to invest in ELSS or what is the way.

    Thanks for your guidance.

    Warm regards,

    Krishna

  • Hi,

    I have the following portfolio in SIP, i started investing from the year 2014 and installing as monthly in all these portfolios, Please let me know your thoughts on the portfolio.

    1.)DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund – Regular Plan – Growth – (Tax saving fund)
    2.)Axis Long Term equity fund – Growth (Tax Saving Fund)
    3.)L&T Midcap Fund – Growth
    4.)Tata Balanced Fund Regular Plan – Growth
    5.)Tata Equity Opportunities Fund Regular Plan – Growth
    6.)ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund – Growth

  • I have these sip to start with for 8-10 years horizon..
    Axis long term equity fund-4000
    Birla tax relief 96-3000
    Hdfc/icici balanced fund-5000
    Uti mnc/birla mnc-2000
    Sbi pharma-2000
    Icici value discovery fund-2000
    Uti equity/birla fdontline equity-2000
    Please analyse my portfolio and see what option i should choose in this and if any change neeeded,please suggest,awaiting ur reply…

  • Hi Sree,

    I am new to investment , want to start investing in Equity Funds with 5000 per month for span of 5 years.

    I am not looking for tax planning just want good return.

    Can you please suggest me with

    1.What is to be consider while making a portfolio.
    2. ( I have gone through your article ” Best Mutual Funds to invest in 2016 (Equity Oriented Funds)” I wish to invest 1000 x 5 Funds ,

    Is it advisable to invest this way ,if yes can you please suggest me 5 best return fund.
    If no , then please guide me how much and in which equity fund i should invest 5000 per month.

  • Dear Sree,
    Thanks for the useful in information. I read your posts and recommending to my friends also. Here are my details and portfolio. Kindly review and provide suggestion.

    Time horizon-5to7 years
    Financial Goal- no specific goal.Wealth creation.
    Risk appetite-moderately conservative

    Portfolio:

    SBI blue chip – lumpsum
    Axis long term equity fund – SIP
    Tata balanced fund – SIP
    Franklin India prima plus- SIP
    Icici pru value discovery fund – SIP
    Birla sun life mip ii 25 – lumpsum

    I have checked portfolio overlap between each funds and it is within 30%.
    I do have PPF.
    Now,
    1) Does my portfolio looks good? Is it balanced and diversified?
    2) I want to add one more fund in equity side. Which category should I go for and which fund? I am thinking to go with uti mnc fund or franklin India high growth companies fund or franklin India smaller companies fund or franklin India prima fund. What would you recommend without much overlap?
    3) If I need to increase debt portion, which one you recommend?

    Thanks in advance.

    • Dear Udayakumar,
      If I am not wrong, we have already discussed about your model portfolio in another post ‘Best funds for 2016.’
      1 – The selected funds are fine.
      2 – You have already selected 6 funds, too many funds may not be beneficial.
      3 – Instead of two multi-cap funds franklin prima plus / ICICI discovery, you may drop one of it and invest in one mid-cap or small cap oriented fund. May be Franklin Smaller cos fund.
      4 – You may increase allocation for birla fund.

      • Thanks Sree. You are right we discussed a similar portfolio(not same)in a different post. I understand that there are two many funds but i believe i can manage. I will choose a mid cap as you said. Thanks

  • Hi Shreekanth

    I am new in MF’s. Started investing in jan’2016.I have invested in 3 SIP schemes.

    1. UTI MNC Direct Growth Rs. 3000/.
    2. UTI Midcap Direct Growth Rs 4000/
    3. UTI Equity Direct Growth Rs 4000/-

    Also intrested in ELSS. Axis long term equity fund. Should i start 10000 per month sip or invest lumsum.
    Whats your view on above 3 schemes. Should i continue with these schemes or switch to somethong else.

    My investment period will be of 20-25 years and primary goal is long term wealth accumulation.

    Please advice

  • Hi,

    I am 31 yrs old and would like to invest in 6 funds of 5000 each. I have selected Axis Long Equity for 80C. Also I have selected ICICI Pru Value Discovery Direct Growth and DSPBlackRock Micro Direct Growth.
    Please help me out with 3 more funds. One of them may be retirement plan.
    Many Thanks.

  • Hi, I am new to investments and tax planning. My age is 35, Due to lack of knowledge on this subject matter, I could not start tax planning and investing at earlier age, but I am serious now. I plan to use Rs. 10k each month for saving/investments/tax planning. Considering that, I have a responsibility of 11 years old child, can you please help me to have a good mix portfolio (PPF/NSC/Tax saving FD/Mutual funds etc.) Thanks

      • Hi Sree

        I have health insurance cover upto Rs. 5 Lacs. No insurance policies so far. I am thinking of taking term insurance.. In line with my original question, can you help me with a comprehensive port folio that will be suitable for me. My current earnings are Rs. 12 lacs 50 thousand per annum. Monthly take home Rs. 90K (After deducting tax of 10k as I have no investments to show other than house rent and child tuitions fees). I have not opted for PF in my current organization. I have one PPF Account with SBI where I deposit money regularly. Other than that, I am currently at zero level when it comes to tax planning or investments… Can you please help.. I am keen to start on a serious note, so that my tax is saved as well as I will have sound investments for child’s future.

        • Dear Deepasvi,
          1 – Get yourself adequate life cover. Buy a Term insurance plan. Premium paid can be claimed u/s 80c.
          Read : Best Online term insurance plans.
          2 – Buy a Personal Accident insurance plan.
          Read : Best Personal Accidental insurance policies.
          3 – Start investing in ELSS tax saving fund. This can be for your retirement corpus.
          Read : Best ELSS funds.
          4 – Consider investing in a balanced fund & MIP mutual fund for your Kid’s higher education goal. You may continue these investments for 3 to 4 years.
          Read:
          Best Balanced funds.
          Best MIP funds.
          List of best investment options in India.

          • Thanks Sree..

            I have read your blogs and I must say, your information is “No-nonsense” , purely beneficial one to all those who are looking for a good guidance on the subject matter. I have engaged one financial advisor for my portfolio and yesterday I had discussion with him in line with my tax planning and investment goals. We covered child education as well as retirement planning. Emergency fund is also important to create, so he has advised me as follows –

            1. To take one term insurance (I prefer from LIC, amount Rs. 1CR) – I have stopped smoking since past three months and I was an occasional smoker before. I do not intend to start smoking again, so please guide If I can declare myself as non-smoker while filling up term insurance form.

            2. To start investing every month on liquid funds – Please suggest me a some good ones. This will help me to create emergency fund. It is my experience that, if money is in the saving account, it gets spent. So I think putting it in liquid funds which will give better returns than saving, is a good idea. Offcourse, I am not planning to withdraw them however, I want to have comfort of being able to withdraw in case of emergency, so I am avoiding lock in period here.

            3. Currently, I am having HDFC Ergo health insurance for myself till Dec 2016, for amount of Rs. 5 Lacs. Do you think I should renew the same or are there any better options. My advisor suggests to go for Bajaj health insurance with an option of portability, so that there can be continuity of benefits from the previous insurance tenure. Please advise the best health insurance, I am thinking of adding my Son, in it, How much health cover will be sufficient to both of us (I have not undergone any major surgeries so far as well as I am in sound health, Touchwood 🙂

            4. I will start SIP in ELSS (Axis or any other, I will refer your suggestions)

            5. I will also also start with MIP & Balanced funds as you suggested.

            Is this good enough? Or anything more to be covered. Please let me know..

            I must say, I feel confident now, that I am at least on right track in knowing what I want to do in terms of tax planning and investments. All credit to you (I fumbled at your site just when I was looking for a good advisory help)

            (Spare me for a long letter, Being a beginner, I have lot of queries , you know)

            Regards

  • Mr. Reddy,

    i am planning to start SIP of 3000 p.m. for long term at-least for 15 years.

    if i am looking for maximum return which fund you will suggest me ?

  • Hi

    I would like to invest in Birla Sun Life MIP II -Wealth 25 Plan . I have couple of questions –

    1. Is SIP better or lumpsum better ? (Around 1 / 1.5 L would be my investment in this)
    2. Its said short term – what is the tenure you would suggest ?
    3. What is the tax implications ?
    4. Can I invest in this directly ? I am not able to find Birla site for this.

    Thanks
    Janani

  • Dear Sreekanth,
    Please accept my appreciation for your valuable advise. I have been connected with you for more than a year and half now, and find your trend analysis and advisory on new developments very focused which helped me develop a healthy portfolio. Especially the way 2016 has started, your advice has been valuable in decision making to fight the fears and continue investing.
    Keep up the good work !
    Shrihari

    • Dear Shrihari,
      1.5 years means, its almost from the time I started blogging 🙂
      Thank you so much for your appreciation and motivating words.
      Kindly share the articles with your friends and keep visiting!

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I am planning to invest 10000 per month

    2000- Franklin India blue chip fund
    3000- uti mid cap
    2000- Icici pru value discovery
    3000- Icici Pru balanced fund

    Equity: debit is 70:30

    i am considering balanced fund as a debit .

    Time frame is more than 12 years
    Is Debit portion enough???
    If not then ideally what much should be the debt portion??

    Thanks in advance

        • I am moderate risk appetite investor for long term (15 years). The above allocation of funds are fine me???

          If not then should I infuse some more amount to balanced fund which could increase debt portion as well???

          Thanks in advance

          • Dear Jitendra,
            If you want to invest in pure debt funds then you have to invest in either hybrid-debt funds or MIP funds.
            But as your have a long-term investment horizon, you may consider investing more monies in balanced fund rather than investing in pure debt funds for long-term.

            • 40% of investment in balanced fund would be fine for 15 years horizon???

              2000- Franklin India blue chip fund(20%)
              2000- uti mid cap(20%)
              2000- Icici pru value discovery(20%)

              4000- Icici Pru balanced fund (40%)

              Please suggest!!

  • Hi Srekanth,
    Very nice article and wish i had seen this before, no issues i will follow your blog from now on words.

    I am married , non smoker, 1 child with a spouse. Both are working professionals as of now.

    currently i am holding life cover of SBI life but in Jab 2016 i am switching to Aegeon Reliagare for more coverage and i am also having PPF, EPF and Home loan as well

    Now coming to my Mutual Fund question. After much reading i have choosen “Axis Long Term Equity Fund” and want to Invest as SIP Rs 2500 monthly.

    1)Is this a better option? Is it good to choose for 3 years or to invest as 5 years?
    2) I also want to invest some lumpsum amount say rs 50 thousand in any ELSS Tax saver fund for investing in lump sum for my 5 year goal. Can you suggest any good one ?

  • Thanks for the nice article.
    I have the following mfs
    1) hdfc balance
    2) hdfc midcap oppurtunities
    3) axis long term equity
    4) reliance mip
    5) reliance pharma

    I am a long term investor have sips of 2500 in hdfc balance and hdfc midcap. Whenever market is down I buy additional units of axis long term equity.

    Any changes required, do I need to include any debt fund.

    Regards,
    Pradipta

      • Thanks for your comments, as of now Reliance MIP is balancing my portfolio, but this investment was not planned , in fact I had a FD got matured and the return was very less, so did some internet search and invested in the same. After wards I saw your article and was happy.

        regards,
        Pradipta

  • I am 30 years old, I have following sip per month 1) birla sun life mnc- 5000 2) icici value discovery- 2000 3) hdfc midcap- 2000 4) axis long term- 3000 5) motilal oswal long term- 3000

  • Dear Srikanth,Your model portfolio is followed by many of your fans.If possible ,analyse mid year performance of mutual funds in your portfolio.

  • I have 3 sip for 10 yrs
    1.hdfc top 200 g
    2.hdfc mid cap oppertunity g
    3.icici focus bluechip g
    Is the selection is ok for wealth creatio .pls suggest

  • Hi,
    I am seeing Balanced funds in both your short term and long term portfolio. Balanced funds are usually mix of equity and debt. Do you believe in mixing asset classes or investment objectives? In some of your articles you are mentioning about not to mix insurance with investment. I guess because of mixing of asset classes most of the ULIP products fail out of favor. If you really want to safeguard against the market volatility why don’t you have diversified mutual fund product in your portfolio.

    I am asking these question out of curiosity. I am still learning about tricks of the trade regarding investment and wealth creation. Currently my mutual fund portfolio consists only Axis LT Equity Fund(G) ELSS plan with a monthly variable SIP upto 10,000 and PPF contrubution of about 10000 per month.

    Your quick response will help me in taking informed decision about further allocation mutual fund.

    • Dear Soumya,
      Yes, I believe in having a balanced portfolio. I wish to get the benefits of both the worlds : Equity and the debt. Do note this investment strategy is as per my financial goals.
      In ULIPs (as mentioned by you), you are paying high premium for low life cover and only a portion of your premium is invested in financial securities. Hence, it is not advisable to mix insurance with investments.
      In my long-term portfolio, I do have ELSS fund (diversified) and also one Mid-cap fund which I believe are giving the much needed scope to get decent returns. The mid-cap oriented fund has higher allocation of monies.
      Considering your investments, I believe you too are following a ‘balanced strategy’. Axis fund + PPF (debt). Do share your views??

  • Hello Mr. Sreekanth,

    I would like to invest in mutual funds on a long term perspective. My time horizon is > 10 years.

    I am 29 years old and new to mutual funds. I am planning to invest 25000 per month and my risk appetite is a bit higher than moderate

    Can I please request you to suggest the type of mutual funds I should invest and the % split for each please.

    Thanks heaps !!

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I am 30 yr old and I have a 2 yr old son. I am planning to invest Rs.8000 per month on mutual funds for my sons education and for my retirement corpus(long term plans).
    Following are the funds I have shortlisted for investing.

    Tata Balanced Fund-G – 3000
    Axis Long Term Equity Fund-G -2000
    Franklin India Smaller Cos Fund-G  -1500
    ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund (G)-1500

    I have picked Axis Long Term Equity Fund-G(ELSS fund) though I really don’t need any tax benefit from this fund as I already have a Housing Loan for for tax exemption.

    Please suggest if any addition/modification to be done on above investment.

    Thanks in advance.

    • Dear DV,
      If tax saving in not one of your investment objectives, you may consider not to invest in an ELSS fund. Kindly note that units allotted for each SIP will have 3 year lock-in period hence it can be bit cumbersome at the time of redemption.

      The other three funds are good ones. You may allocate ELSS SIP amount towards Franklin fund & ICICI fund.

  • Expecting your advice

    Sir,
    I have a following SIP portfolio: 1) ICICI FOCUSED BLUECHIP FUND : 1500 RS 2) ICICI VALUE DISCOVERY FUND – 1000 RS. 3) HDFC BALANCE FUND: 1500 RS. I want to invest another SIP of 1000 Rs from any of below fund so there is no overlapping with my existing fund

    Pl. advice which fund to select and suggest one fund so no overlapping
    1) Franklin india hign growth
    2)SBI magnum multiplier
    3)UTI MNC Fund
    4) Reliance equity opp fund
    5) franklin india prima plus

    Rgds,
    AP Patel

  • Hi Srikanth, Could you please brief about TIP plans.

    How is the performance of these plans ?
    Which fund company is good to invest in TIP ?
    Will capital gains effect for TIPs?

    Thanks & Regards
    Suresh Kotapati

    • Dear Suresh,
      Target Investment Plans are not any seperate mutual fund scheme. It is a value added feature offered by online platforms like ICICIdirect.
      The way the Target Investment Plan works is that instead of specifying a fixed amount that will be used to buy mutual funds every month – you specify a target, a rate of return, and time frame in which you want to get to that target.
      I believe that TIPs can also add a layer of complexity.

      Instead of TIPs, create regular SIPs and when you have surplus money/when you think market has fallen too much, you can go ahead and buy additional units.
      Do you agree with my views? Do share your opinion.

      • Hi Sreekanth,

        Thanks for your suggestion. Sorry for delay in response. I am currently having below SIP portfolio stared from Aug’15. My monthly accumulations are 18K. Below are the funds currently I am holding. Please suggest any thing to add are discontinue…. I can invest another 7-8K monthly and can continue 15 to 20 years.

        1. Axis equity Saver (G)- 1000
        2. Axis equity Saver Monthly (D) – 2000
        3. Axis Equity Saver Quarterly (D) – 2000
        4. Birla Sunlife front line (G) – 2000
        5. Franklin High growth (G) – 1000
        6. Franklin high growth (D) – 1000
        7. HDFC midcap opportunities fund (G) -1000
        8. ICICI Pru focused blue chip equity fund (G) – 1000
        9. Reliance equity opportunities fund (G)- 1000
        10. SBI Blue chip Fund (G) -1000
        11. UTI mid cap fund (G) – 1000
        12. UTI opportunities fund (G) – 2000
        13. Franklin india prima plus (G) – 2000

        Thanks & Regards

        • Dear Suresh,
          If your investment objective is long-term wealth accumulation, you may consider coming out of ‘Dividend’ plans and re-invest the amounts in Growth plans.
          1/2/3 – There are better Hybrid / Balanced funds than this fund.
          4 – Fine
          5 – Fine
          7 – Fine. You may keep either 7 or 11
          8 – You may keep either 4 or 8 or 10
          12 – Fine
          13 – Fine
          Most of your invested funds are good ones. But I can observe that you have invested in multiple funds from the same fund category, for ex: 3 funds from Large cap (bluechip) category. This may not be required.You can surely try to trim your portfolio.

          Read my articles:
          Mutual fund Portfolio overlap analysis tools
          Top Balanced funds
          Top Equity funds
          My MF portfolio picks

          • Hi Sreekanth,

            Thnaks for your suggestions. I will discountinue the existing divided plans and start new SIP in growth plans. I think discountinued SIP funds have to keep till one year to avoid exit load and short term capital gains.

            Out of 7 and 11 which one better to continue
            Out of 4, 8 and 10 which one is better to continue.

            Thanks & regards
            Suresh Kotapati

  • Sir,
    I have a following SIP portfolio: 1) ICICI FOCUSED BLUECHIP FUND : 1500 RS 2) ICICI VALUE DISCOVERY FUND – 1000 RS. 3) HDFC BALANCE FUND: 1500 RS. I want to invest another SIP of 1000 Rs from any of below fund so there is no overlapping with my existing fund

    Pl. advice which fund to select and suggest one fund so no overlapping
    1) Franklin india hign growth
    2)SBI magnum multiplier
    3)UTI MNC Fund
    4) Reliance equity opp fund
    5) franklin india prima plus

  • Hi,

    when I search for – TATA Balanced Fund (Plan A) it shows in internet Tata Balanced Fund – Regular Plan (G)
    Is both are same ?

    If not can you please provide the link ?

    I will start SIP on this as 4000/~ for 7-10 years.

    Thank you,

  • Hi Sreekant
    Such a nice article . Although my queries is not relevant to this article. But your guidance could be worth for us.
    My parents is having Lump sum 6 Lakh rupees. They want to invest in such a way that her monthly need can be fulfilled with the lump sum and same time money should also grow .
    I have chosen Quarterly SWP plan in Two Mutual Fund scheme.

    1) TATA Balanced Fund/ ICICI Balanced fund ( Quarterly SWP ) Duration 5 year. 5000 INR throughSWP.
    2) Birla Sunlife MIP II wealth Plan Duration ( Monthly SWP) Duration 3 year . 2000 INR through SWP.

    Would you please guide me. Is this idea is worth for my parents. We are ready to take moderate risk.

    K B Pandit

  • Dear Mr.Reddy,
    Your advices are really helpful for people like me who do not know anything about finance management.thanks a lot.
    Sundar

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    My MF portfolio is like below

    1) Birla sun life top 100 (Large cap) for 5 years started 5 months back with SIP 5000

    2) HDFC Equity Fund(Diversified Equity) for 5 years with SIP 3200 and it is going to end in Sep 2015. But this not at all performing good. which MF do you suggest me to switch this MF if at all I want to keep it for next 2 to 3 years.

    3) ICICI Prudential Value Discovery(Diversified equity) for 5 years with SIP 2000 and going to expire in Sep 2015. Can I continue with this and increase my SIP for next 2 years?

    Along with this I want to Invest SIP 10K for next 10 years. Which MF’s do you suggest me?

    Thanks & Regards,
    Chandrashekhar Machineni

  • Hi,

    I recently started investing in MidCap’s (Axis MidCap etc) …. the returns seem good – Annualized 42%
    (not sure what Annualized means)

    But what I saw is a profit of 18 K, in some 3 or 4 months and booked it (redeemed partially), keeping the principal invested as is (and that grew again).

    I know, what I did is not correct – cause I would have to pay Short Term Capital Gains tax (but even if I were to pay 33% highest slab – it is better than bank fixed deposits – so I did not care)

    Not sure, what other mistakes I could be making.
    Can you enlighten me/ us, on taking this kind of approach?

    thanks
    jeevan

  • dear sreekanth , i already invested in sbi midcap fund with an sip 1000rs, i wish to continue about 20 years,is this fund is good for long term investment? or i switch to better funds?

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I have been following your blog very closely and find it very helpful.
    Could help me in understanding how to calculate my returns . My bank gives me statement which indicates the gain percentage over the years in IRR which I do not understand. What is it and how can I compare the same to my returns from FD’s

    Lastly when is right to exit a particular investment in MF and where is better to invest the returns . For example : I have had investments in IDFC Premier equity ( both SIP and lumpsum) for past few years which by now has yeilded decent returns and the taxation period is over, But I do not know whether it is right time to exit or hold for further enhancements . And after exit where to re invest . There are similar one in different MF’s too.

    Regards
    Tridib

  • Hi,

    I am 35 years old. My Home loan EMI completed.
    I want to invest my EMI amount (12,000) to SIP for future.

    (Note – I already check your future calculator, but I can invest only up to 15 ,000 in this moment)

    My plan 10 + yrs –

    Franklin India Prima Plus Fund (Diversified/Multicap/Large & Mid) – 4000
    UTI Mid Cap (Mid and Small Cap) – 4000
    Tata balance fund Plan A (Balance) -4000

    UTI Opportunistic fund – 2 years on going (2000)

    1) Is this choice is fine according to my limitations ?

      • Hi,

        1) Do you advice any specific percentage of allocation among these funds (x:y:z) or 4000/~ each is fine?

        2) Increase SIP for any running MF is possible ?

        3) Should I go with MF utility or invest individually to each of the 3 funds ?

        Thank you,
        shankha

        • Dear shankha,
          Your investment time-frame is >10 years, so you can allocate more monies to UTI midcap fund.
          Yes, it is possible, but this feature can be dependent on the investment platform that you are using.
          3 – It is your choice. If comfortable, invest directly (i believe MFU is still not accepting investments in direct plans)

          • Thank you.

            Can you please explain what is the approach you are suggesting ?

            Should I call UTI / TATA MF executives to collect the documents and check from me to start the SIP ?

            Because for UTI Opportunistic fund – 2 years on going (2000) , I went to SBI and there is an bank staff , who took the doc to start the fund.

            Please suggest how I will go ?

            Thank you,
            shankha

  • Hi Sree,

    Your articles are very informative. I am a beginner in the field of mutual funds. I am 28 and married for a year. The combined monthly income of me and my husband is Rs. 73000. We have only done RDs (5000/- monthly) and FDs (50,000/-) so far. We also have recently started a home bank where each of us puts Rs.100/- everyday for emergency measures. I like your idea of investing according to short term, mid term and long term goals. We are also thinking of starting a family in the coming two years. Can you suggest the amount of money we should be investing in short, mid and long term plans? My husband also needs to invest in a tax-saving plan

    • Dear Pratirupa,
      I believe your RDs/FDs can take care of your Emergency fund. So, you may start allocating the Rs100 per day amount to your other high priority goals.
      Do both of you have term insurance? What about your health insurance? Do you have any other family member(s) who are financially dependent on you? Do you have any financial liabilities?

      • Dear Sree,

        We do not have any insurance, term or health. We do not have dependant family members as well. Parents are still working. My husband has to pay Rs. 6000/- pm for a loan. But the loan was taken by his brother before our wedding. It was some co-operative where interest rates were low. The loan payment will continue till March 2016.

        • Dear Pratirupa,
          Your high priority action item is to take a Family floater plan (for self & your spouse). You can include your kid(s) to a family floater plan in future.
          Then, both of you can take a Term plan for say Rs 50 Lakh cover for each of you. Kindly read my article : Best online term insurance plans.
          Regarding tax saving plan – Your husband can consider investing in a ELSS SIP . Go through my article : Top ELSS Funds.

  • Hi Sree,

    Have invested in MF since 2011,some discontinued(completing their tenure) few continued,5 funds taken as new in last 3 months, all in growth option.

    Current Portfolio and SIP

    HDFC Top 200 – 500
    Birla Sunlife MIP – 1000
    SBI FMCG – 1000
    ICICI Pru focused blue chip – 1000
    Franklin India Smaller comp – 1000
    HDFC Balanced – 2000
    Franklin India High growth comp – 1000
    Mirae India Asset oppurtunity – 1000
    UTI Equity – 1500

    Total invested 10000 in SIP.

    Can I continue this for long term,I need a corpus of 50lacs in 10 to 15yrs period, funds already invested in MF till date is 2.5lacs ,my approx. investment in MF would be 15lacs in next 10 yrs atleast.I need this 50lacs only from MF.
    Have invested in FDs,Life insurance(ULIP,Traditional) as per my requirement,but request not to consider these.

    Thanks in advance,
    Kannan

  • Hi,
    I need your support as i have booked one MF in canara robeco emerging equities-direct plan on 07th July.but after received the account statement its showing regular plan insted of direct plan ..so pls help me how to complain the same or what is the procedure to change the plan.i ahve also call to customer care for same but i am not convinced his answer.I have booked this MF through canara bank.kindly guide me for further action.

    • Dear Nikhil,
      What is the answer that you got from Canara customer care?
      Did you invest this offline?
      Most probably, the bank would have ticked ‘ Regular scheme’ option in your application form.
      You can directly visit canara MF website and invest in Direct scheme with the same Folio number. Do note that switching from Regular plan to Direct one will be treated as Redemption.

      • Thanks….but for existing plan i.e currently regular plan is going on so we still continue with the existing one or stop the sip .pls guide me for this regular plan.

  • Good evening Sreekanth,
    Recently came across your blog. Impressed with it.
    Self, 42 years, serving defense personnel of 16 years to retire. Have a family of 4, Wife – Housewife, 2 children 8 and 4 years. Had been naïve to recent trend of wealth management and banked upon the traditional ways.
    Medical aspects for self and family looked after by organization.
    Will like to request you for the same.
    Firstly the assets –
    1. Net home salary 70K pm,
    2. Residential properties 2 (One for self n another on rent, home loan balance amount 7L), another one in the procurement stage (Finances already managed)
    3. Residential plot with future prospectus of about 20L (75 percent Finances already managed)

    Current investments –
    1. EPFO/ PPF (through salary, 4.5 L annually), Current accumulation of about 10L
    2. LIC policies 3 (First two – 15K annually will be over by 2020 and third one Jeevan Suraksha Pension Plan, 10K annually)
    3. ICICI Prudential ULIP based Insurance scheme 24K annually, since 8 years
    4. Kotak Mahindra Insurance policy in Wife’s name (and Elder son being beneficiary) 50K annually, since 5 years (again, ULIP based, frankly not satisfied with the progress)
    5. Online demat account with Shares worth 2.5L.

    Plan –
    1. Like to switch part of PF contribution for MF SIPs
    2. Will like to invest in MF SIPs @ 1.5 L to 2 L annually (as I think it is flexible, transparent an can be revertible) – Horizon 7-10 years (In view of 12 the Std of Elder child)
    3. Insurance cover for younger child
    4. Retirement plan (although some part [50%] of salary will be there as Pension)

    Can you please guide me about the Best strategy in my case?
    1. Types of Mutual Funds with allocation proportion.
    2. Suitable Insurance Plan for children.

    Thank you n Regards…

  • Dear Reddy,

    Your blog is quite interesting and informative.

    Almost every AMCs have described in their website the benefits of an SIP. Mainly Rupee – Cost Averaging and Compounded returns. Every AMC has explained well about the Rupee – Cost Averaging.. But not much about Compounding.

    NAV for a particular fund is constant and can be traced everyday. Units purchased are also constant. At any point of time, the maturity value of the fund = units purchased * NAV at that particular day. So where does this compounding factor come from?

    Or is it like the Units purchased will be compounded every year? Please clarify.

      • I meant to say that NAV remains same through out a day. Lets say my SIP date is 15th of every month. From 16th till 15th of next month, the units purchased are not changing. And it goes on. So the final units at the time of redemption will the total units purchased. Do this final units include any dividend, even if the mutual fund is under a Growth option? Otherwise there wont be any compounding for the redemption amount. I hope i could make it clear.

  • Over the months tried to put money in large cap, diversified and midcap funds. Any suggestions to reduce the clutter.

    Thanks in advance
    Dominci

  • Hello Sree,

    Nice article, I have been into MF for around 3 yrs now.
    Please review my SIP for the long term around 7-10 yrs

    Franklin India Prima Plus Fund 5000/-
    Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund 4000/-
    BNP Paribas Equity Fund 2000/-
    ICICI Prudential Dynamic Fund 4000/-

    IDFC Premier Equity Fund 2000/-
    HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities Fund 2000/-
    ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund 2000/-
    Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund 2000/-

    ICICI Prudential Focused Bluechip Equity Fund 2000/-
    Franklin India Bluechip Fund 2000/-

    HDFC balanced 3000/-

    Axis long term equity 3000/-

    Thanks in advance.

    Dominic

  • Hi Sree,

    Can you plz explain how the gains/profits are calculated in case of SIP’s. I am taking the below example,so if you can explain taking the same example.
    Note: Example taken is for 6 months only just for simplifying the calculation and NAV rates are taken keeping in mind some real market NAV changes(eg. Axis long term equity fund).

    Lets say some one bought 100 units of 30 nav as the start of SIP(3000 rs. Monthly),
    In next month NAV went up to 31, in next month falls down to 30 then next month 32, then 29, 31.

    In above example , if he has invested as lumpsump of rs 18000(3000*6) will give me 18600=600 profit(100 units* 1 Rs profit overall).

    And sip +100-100+200-300+200=100 profit.

    Can you plz let me know what went wrong in above example as SIP’s return are way lower to return of lumpsump, and if calculation logic is wrong what is the correct way to calculate return for SIP’s, if you want to share any existing link for the same , that will also help me out.

    It will be really beneficial for all readers out here.

    Thanks !

    • Dear Prashant,
      You do not get same no of units for each SIP if NAV varies right? Let us consider below example;

      1/1/2015 3000 30 100 (units)
      1/2/2015 3000 31 96.77419355
      1/3/2015 3000 30 100
      1/4/2015 3000 32 93.75
      1/5/2015 3000 29 103.4482759
      1/6/2015 3000 31 96.77419355

      So total no of units = 591. Profit if units sold at nav of 31 ….31*590= 18321-18000= Rs321.
      Profit through lump sum is Rs 600 (same as given by you).
      In this example, Lump sum investment is the winner.

      • Thanks a lot Sree,.

        Can u plz share any example or link which clarify SIP’s giving better returns., As i am unable to get to that even after taking a long term(3 year) horizon.

        • Dear Prashant,
          It depends on the period and state of markets. If someone who invested Lump sum at the low end of market (say in 2008), his/her investments may give better returns than an investor who invests through SIPs.
          You may visit moneycontrol.com – mutual fund section. Search for any of the MF scheme. Go to SIP returns calculator and lump sum returns calc. Observe the differences for different periods of time.

  • Dear Sreekanth,

    Lovely article’s on investment, absolutely love it.

    I am currently 31 and planning to invest 2 lacs every month for next few 5 years on various investment tools. Below is my current investment

    – PPF (Self and Wife) and SSA(Daughter) have been taken care with 1.5 lac investment each.
    – Jeevan Anand Policy(15 years) – 25K Per year already paid for past 10 years, planning to continue for 5 more years for closure.
    – HDFC SL ProGrowth Super II – Diversified even across Equity, Debt and Balanced funds equally – ULIP – 50 K per year – from past 3 years- performing better. Planning to continue investing for full 10 years term.

    Considering low risk and security, planning to put 1 lac per month a period of 5 years under FD with 9% return (Quarterly Interest Reinvestment Plan) through my wife’s account so that there are no TAX deductions since she is not an earning member and money can be pulled out if required for emergency.

    And for remaining 1 lac planning for SIP in Birla Sunlife MIP II Wealth 25 Plan for 3 years, Axis Long Term equity for > 6 years – with a 20:30:50 ratio respectively.

    Kindly suggest if any other funds that i need to look into or any suggestion to maximize? Investing directly in stocks is not an option for me considering the time and follow-up required.

    Thanks,
    KK

      • Hi Sree,
        Yes, already have term cover of 1cr.
        20k – birla sunlife MIP wlth 25
        30k – franklin midcap/small companies
        50k – Axis equity or icici blue chip large cap mainly.

        So instead of FD do you suggest any debt funds or MIP for high gain and low risk?

        Thanks,
        KK

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    For the MIP Plans, as they fall under debt schemes, there is a tax implication …right? Then how is it benificial?
    Can you pls clarify.

    Thanks,
    Pavan.

  • Hi,
    Can you please explain the following points as discussed in above threads

    1) Long term goals (10+)– Consider mid-cap fund (HDFC midcap /UTI Mid Cap /Franklin Ind. Smaller comp. Fund) than balanced fund

    2) For medium term goals (less than 10 yrs) consider balanced fund Like TATA/ HDFC Balanced etc

    2) For LONG term (How it differs from point no -1 ) Diversified Equity + Mid-cap funds will be better option than Equity.

    Is (Diversified Equity + Mid-cap funds )== mid-cap fund (HDFC midcap /UTI Mid Cap /Franklin Ind. Smaller comp. Fund) .

    Thank you

    • Dear Shankha,
      Are you referring to previous comments?
      If so, I would have suggested as per the blog reader’s query.
      Generally, for long-term goals, allocate more monies to mid-cap fund (thts the fundaa)

      • Hi,

        Sorry, Actually when I write the question , Comment box comes at the bottom, thus I refer “above mentioned comment”.

        Actually in the conversation , you suggested to one person –

        “In the long-run, mid-cap oriented funds generally outperform large-cap funds.”

        That is why I am asking …

        1) Long term goals (10+)– Should I Consider mid-cap fund (HDFC midcap /UTI Mid Cap /Franklin Ind. Smaller comp. Fund) than BALANCED fund

        2) For medium term goals (less than 10 yrs) should I consider BALANCED fund Like TATA/ HDFC Balanced etc

        Thank you,
        shankha

  • Hi Sree, Thanks for providing this info. its really helpful.
    I found a contradiction in your saying though .. “The percentage of allocation among these funds is 40:40:20 (UTI : Axis : TATA funds respectively). SIPs are running on all these three funds”.

    And at last you have said ,” I am currently investing in ELSS fund manually (no SIP).”

    1.) Can you plz update which statement is correct !!
    2.) As per my opinion, i dont find investing in ELSS(tax savers) with SIP, as it has a lock-in of 3 years,so better to go lumpsump in such case. Whats your view on this.

    • Dear Prashant,
      Thanks for identifying this..
      I have been holding TATA and UTI fund for the last 6 years, whereas ELSS (Axis) fund, recently booked SIP, but currently PAUSED it..trying out manually 🙂

      That is why I have mentioned ‘currently investing in ELSS fund manually”.
      Hope this clarifies your doubt ..

      • Yeah Clarified,
        plz also put your points regarding below –

        2.) As per my opinion, i don’t find investing in ELSS(tax savers) with SIP, as it has a lock-in of 3 years,so better to go lumpsump in such case. Whats your view on this.

        3.) Moreover, i dont even like the fixed date concept of SIP, it better as you are doing it manually , so you can buy when market falls a bit.

        • As understood, there are two ways of investing into MF’s.
          a.) SIP – where you invest on a particular frequency(monthly,quaterly, etc.)
          b.)Lumpsum – where its just one premium at the start.

          a. ) If a lumpsum done every month, is that equivalent to SIP ?
          b.) Isn’t it better to invest in SIP manually(no ECS, no particular date), as and when we see market fall in a month or a quarter ? Plz suggest.

          • Dear Prashant,
            a) If you are investing in a fund every month, then it is an SIP (quantum of money doesn’t matter).
            b) If an investor has the time and interest to track markets, he/she can definitely consider investing in mutual funds whenever market falls.

            • Thanks Sree.
              But i have heard SIP can be done Quaterly/Annually as well. So how an SIP done Annually and An lumpsum invest Annually is different or it has the same meaning.

              • Dear Prashant,
                The word ‘systematic’ is important here. How frequently you do it, depends on the investor. The period can be every day, monthly, quarterly….:)

                • It would have been better if you have answered my question directly :), your diplomatic revert still left me unanswered.
                  an SIP done Annually and a lumpsum investment Annually is different or it has the same meaning, if different, which is better.

  • Dear sreekanth,

    Taking a term insurance and investing whole part of savings money into only mutual funds is a good strategy else i should invest little portion of my savings into ppf,rd etc

    • Dear Prasad,
      Are you a salaried invalid? Do you contribute to EPF?
      Yes, its always advisable to invest in different avenues. In MFs too, you have debt funds, MIP funds, hybrid funds etc., to diversify your portfolio.

      • I contribute EPF . Being a regular reader of relakhs.com 🙂 came to know any LIC or other endowernments policy will yeild just 6% -7% return also investing in FD , RD’s are taxable so planning to take a risk trusting mutualfunds will yield atleast 9% returns also no tax deductions for long term gain. How do you see this strategy and how to diversify portfolio

        Is it okay 60% equity funds,20% hybrid and 20 % savings to ppf plan. Kindly advise on it.

        Also i could see you prefer small and mid cap companies more than large cap companies on a long term basis can i know reason behind it..

        Thanks in advance. You are doing a great job !!!! 🙂

        • Dear Prasad,
          Your allocation of 60:20:20 may work, stick to the plan and stay invested.
          In the long-run, mid-cap oriented funds generally outperform largcap funds.

  • Good article Sreekanth. You are holding balanced fund, which is good and it could be as per your risk appetite. My personal suggestion is for long term one should hold large cap and diversified funds as they would tend to perform better. I have invested in several large cap funds and able to gain 12% to 15% returns.

    • Dear Suresh,
      I partially agree with your suggestion. I do not prefer investing in Large cap funds, if the investment horizon is long-term. Diversified Equity + Mid-cap funds can be a better choice (my view..).

  • Hi Sreekanth,

    I was hoping that you might provide such an article related to your personal portfolio and it was really helpful. Thank you for this article. However, I have a few questions/observations for which i need your inputs :

    a.Can ELSS (which is a diversified equity fund) serve as a long term capital appreciation tool along with a balanced fund? Eg. Axis LT Equity Fund has a good balance of Large/Mid/Small Caps and so does Tata Balanced fund. Do we need any additional flexi cap or mid cap or large cap fund??

    b. How do you maintain your emergency fund ?? In mutual funds or bank (fd/savings/rd)?

    c. I dont have any lump sum to invest for short term debt funds or MIP, and I do not want SIPs locking for 1 year in MIPs and STFs. Can i go for Ultra Short Term funds for short term goals and emergency fund. If yes , how do avoid STCG as I fall in 20% bracket.

    • Dear Bhanu,
      A – It depends on ones goals & ability to accept the risks. ELSS + Balanced fund + Multicap + mid-cap can be the best combo. I personally do not like investing in Large-cap fund if the investment horizon is longterm.
      B – Cash at home + Short Term FD + Savings A/c Balance + Conservative MIP Scheme.
      C – If you redeem your units in less than 3 years, you have to pay STCG tax. But, if you are in high tax bracket, you may opt for dividend payment option. Read my article on “Mutual Fund Taxation rules“.

      • Hi Sreekanth,

        After about 3 months of research , this is how I have designed my portfolio based on my current income and expenses :
        Equity/Debt Exposure in medium and long term : 70/30 , my age is 25
        1. Short Term (0-5 years) : Axis Liquid Fund (zero equity exposure) , I’m not going for MIP because I don’t have lump sum to invest and also i want liquidity without any exit load.
        2. Medium Term (5-10) : HDFC Balanced Fund
        3. Long Term (10-15 years and beyond ) : Axis LT Equity fund (for 80C) , PPF
        4. Term Insurance : 1.48 crores (Monthly income plan ) for 35 years from Max Life
        All funds are direct mutual funds. Please comment.
        Do I need to keep some funds in mind to add in future when my income grows , or should I just increase the proportionate investments in these funds only?

        I also have a question regarding expense ratio : Assuming expense ratio of 2% for a particular fund , it will mean that someday when my corpus in that fund is around 1 crore , i will be paying the fund 2 lakhs per year to maintain it. Is there any way around this ? Or the returns that I will be getting ( which are already adjusted as per expense ratio) will more than compensate for this loss.
        The reason why I am asking this is ULIP are discouraged everywhere but due to expense ratio of funds , ULIPs catch up to mutual funds after 10 years are so, provided returns are same in both cases ( http://www.iaspire4.com/blog/2012/04/ulip-plan-cost-vs-mutual-fund-cost/). What is your take on this?

        • Dear Bhanu,
          4 – Why did you opt for Monthly Income option of Max Term plan?
          Selected funds are fine. You may allocate the monies to the existing funds itself.
          Yes, the NAV is adjusted with expenses.
          I prefer Mutual funds to ULIPs. MFs give you more flexibility, liquidity and they are more transparent..

          • Its actually an additional cover , 1 crore sum assured as lump sum and 40ooo per month for next 10 years , total cover amounting to 1.48 crores. I opted this plan for this additional benefit and premium was reasonable.

            Is there any disadvantage associated with this plan of additional monthly income?

            Also , is there any case where Max insurance can increase my premium in future apart of changes in service tax and all?

  • I am looking for tax saving, my age is 27 and just got married, what is suitable for me.. PPF or ELSS or direct invest in Equity marklet? i am looking long term prospective. around 10 to 15 years.i want to invest 10 to 20k lum sum in one fund and also want to start SIP in ELSS or PPF. please suggest what is best for me.

    thanks in advance
    deepak garg
    9812245215

  • Dear sir,
    I planned to invest thro SIP for 3 years. (Short term) in Franklin smaller cos fund for Rs.3000/- . U mentioned that u r watching market from 2003. Its a very long tenure!! Pls help me with ur experience.

    -Jayanth

  • I am planning to invest 2k in tax saving fund and 3k in other funds to get good interest around 3-5 years.
    I prefer SIP and lock in period of 1 year due to sudden emergency.
    I am planning to invest on your selected funds.
    Please advise if I going right and also please help me with a tax saving fund

  • Hi Sree,

    Right now Me & my wife planning to invest Rs. 84K every year in MF. After reading your articles, decided to invest in below schemes.

    long term ( for 10 years):- HDFC Balanced Fund (Rs 2,000), Axis bank Long term equity fund (Rs 2,000)
    Mid term ( for 5 to 7 years):- Religare invesco tax plan(Rs 1,500), HDFC capital builder/ HDFC mid cap(Rs 1,500)

    Will it be fine.

    • Dear Sivaram,
      For medium term goals – consider balanced fund instead of mid-cap (or) allocate less monies to mid-cap fund.
      Long term goals – Consider mid-cap fund (HDFC midcap fund is fine).

      • Hi sree,
        your post is very valuable for all the beginner of mutual fund…I would like to know one thing regarding this matter..i want to invest in MF for 10-15 years.pls suggest me which one is better b/w below them:

        1) UTI mid cap or UTI MNC fund.pls respone asap

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