Are you always at a loss while planning your finances? Are you aware of the investment options available in the market?
How best can you plan your finances? What are the crieria for evaluating an investment option?
Are mutual funds profitable investment options? When and how should one buy mutual funds?
During a chat on rediff.com on Wednesday, financial planning expert Sailesh Multani offered some valuable tips on financial planning. Here is the transcript:
Sailesh says, Hi, Goodafternoon everyone, lets start the chat session
ased asked, Hi Sailesh, I am a personal fn customer for the past two years. I would like to know your views of investing through etfs and index funnds rather than direct equity .for choice of index funds and etfs which is preferered and why ?
Sailesh answers, at 2009-05-20 12:45:59Hi, index funds follow passive style of fund management. They buy stocks which form part of either the SENSEX or Nifty and in the same proportion as the index. I would prefer index funds over the direct equity investing as it is easier to buy the entire bouqet of 30 or 50 stocks through index fund. Index funds can be open ended or can be bought as an ETF through a stock exchange
AJNANI asked, SHALL I INVEST IN STOCK MARKET NOW
Sailesh answers, Hi, I would recommend investing in equity funds, the economic scenario seems to be improving and India has now hopefully got a stable government which can take economic reforms forward without any major hurdles
prashant jha asked, i have sip investment plan is it ok
Sailesh answers, Hi, SIP is one of the best investment strategy to invest in equity funds. SIPs inculcate a habit of regular savings and does away with the botheration of timing the market. It also helps in averging the buy price of units over the long term
shashi asked, what do you say about current condition of stock market will it sustain or fall back ?
Sailesh answers, Hi, I cant comment about the very immeditate level of sensesx.However, with a stable government in place, I epxect the stock markets to do well over the next few years. As always, I would recommend that equity investment be done with at least 5 years horizon
Vidushi asked, hi i need to knw about the benifits of the franklin india prima plus plan
Sailesh answers, Hi, Franklin India Prima Plus is a combination of large and midcap stocks. THe fund has done well since inception. If you are invested in this fund, I would recommend that you hold on to your investment
avk16kambli@redifmail.com asked, Good afternoon,Sir I already invest sip mf in HDFC DIVIDEND & RELIANCE POWER DIVERSIFIED FOR 5 YEARS IS IT GOOD RETRUN FOR ME?
Sailesh answers, Hi, Reliance Diversified Power Sector fund is a secotral fund. I will not recommend investment in sectoral fund as the perfomance of the fund is entirely dependent on the perfomance of the sector. I would rather recommend investment in well managed diversified equity fund
ganeshv asked, I have SIPs in DSPBR Top 100, HDFC Top 200, Sundaram Select Focus, DSP Tiger, Kotak Opportunities, UTI Infrastructure and HDFC prudence. Should I hold or increase or exit?
Sailesh answers, Hi, I would recmmend that you exit UTI infrastructure fund. Its a thematic fund and its performance is linked to the performance of the infrastructure sector. I would again recommend a diverisifed equity fund instead of a thematic fund
AshishSaxena asked, i would like to invest 2 laks in the market for the invest horizon of 3 years .. .wat are the best options?
Sailesh answers, Hi, assuming you are willing to take risk, I would recommend a mix of equity and debt in your portfolio. Ideally you can have 50% in equity and 50% in debt depending on your risk appetite
ManojG asked, Hi Shailesh, I am salaried employee, I want to comlete investment of 1 lakh rupees for tax exemption for the current year. I want to invest 75k in Mutual fund. Should I invest in mutual fund right now or wait?
Sailesh answers, Hi, I would recommend that you go ahead and invest in the ELSS funds for tax savings. Though equity markets will be volatile, they are expected to do well over the next few years. Dont wait for the markets to correct
sujal asked, Good Afternoon Sir. Where should i invest this year, in a PPF or MF considering the unstability of the financial market
Sailesh answers, Hi, your tax saving schemes portfolio should be diversified. A combintation of debt in the form of PPF, NSC and FD along with ELSS is advisable. All tax saving schemes have a lock in of 3 years and more. Equity markets may be unstable in the near term but from 3 years perspective they look attractive at the moment
ramamoorthy asked, Can you tell me when will the SBI Infrastructure MF will bounce back? I am not a good analyser. Thank you
Sailesh answers, Hi, the fate of SBI Infrastructure is linked to the performance of infrastructure companies. Once the government starts investing in this sector and the infrastructure companies start making profits, the infrastructure funds will start doing well. Its going to be a long wait. I would recommend a diversified equity fund instead
parveen asked, sir can we hope sensex 50000 in next three years
Sailesh answers, well.. can't say about any specific level... however, you can epxect 15% growth p.a. going forward
Anand15d asked, Hi , Pls tell us about RBI bond in terms of what it is , whether it's good for retail investor , what is the tax implication after the maturity , Thanks
Sailesh answers, Hi, there are no bonds by name RBI bonds. There are 8% Taxable Governemnt of India Bonds. These are for 6 years. I would not recommend that you lock in your money for 6 years by investing in this fund. A lot of banks are offering FDs for 1 year with 8% interest. I would prefer bank FD over 8% GoI bonds
RiskTaker asked, I have 10Lks sitting on my savings bank and willing to take risk. At present I have investments only on Fixed Deposits for 5Lks. Please advise how to invest this 10Lks in equity, MF...or gold. Thanks.
Sailesh answers, Hi, I would recommend that you invest in atleast 4-5 well managed diversified equity funds. You should invest via SIP i.e a fixed sum of money is invested in a particular fund on a specified date. I would also recommend that you consider gold in your portfolio. Allocation to gold should be atleast 10%
jev asked, Hi Sailesh i have started inesting in reliance vision growth fund from february of this month. if the sensex reaches 20k by next year. do you want me to continue my investment or exit the fund.
Sailesh answers, hi,I would recommend that you dont invest with a sensex level in mind. For investment in equities, you should ideally have 5 years time horizon. Also, the decision to exit from a fund should be guided by your need for money at that point in time rather than the sensex level
prasad2k asked, Hi, I would Like to invest in mutual fund and want tax benifit, tell me some good mutual funds, SIP Enable is best suited for me.. Thanks
Sailesh answers, Hi, consider investing in funds like Franklin India Taxshield and Fidelity Tax Advantage
piyushA asked, Hello Sir, I am planning to invest through SIP in the following funds. Please guide about the same. 1)DSP ML Top 100 Equity Fund - Growth 2)DWS Alpha Equity Fund - Growth 3)Franklin India Bluechip Fund - Growth
Sailesh answers, Hi, I would go only with DSP BR Top 100 and Franklin India Bluechip Fund
sandeep Mitra asked, I've got aroung 30 K to invest ..Looking for safe returns . Pls. guide me where to put the money ..
Sailesh answers, Hi, you can consider bank FDs if you are looking for safe returns. Mutual Funds, bother equity and debt are asubject to market risk, Hence may not be an ideal fit in your portfolio
Jacquline asked, Sir, which are the best equity funds that I can invest in? Also, the best SIP plans, for a long period of time?
Sailesh answers, Hi, you can consider funds with track record like Franklin India Bluechip, HDFC Equity and DSP BR Top 100
parvatikar asked, i want to invest about 4 lacks in such a manner that i can withdraw atleas the interest when i require, and withdraw the money fully
Sailesh answers, Hi, Liquid funds are the best option for your needs. You can opt for dividend reinvestment option. Liquid funds can be redeemed within 24 hours
MADHAVAN asked, Is SIP is available in open ended mutual funds
Sailesh answers, Hi, SIP is available only in open-ended mutual funds
GaneshPisal asked, Hi Sailesh, Please suggest me investment option. I want to invest for 2 year time horizon. Want to buy house by that amount on maturity.
Sailesh answers, Hi, you should consider bank FDs for your investment needs. If you are willing to take some risk, then monthly income plans(MIPs)from mutual funds should be an ideal fit in your portfolio. MIPs invest 20-25% in equities and balance in debt instruments. Since the returns from MIPs are linked to equity and debt markets, they can give you higher returns compared to FDs. The returns from MIPs are not assured
Mahendra asked, after considering last 3days market condition, which investment option you suggest? SIP or Mutual fund?
Sailesh answers, Hi, SIPs are advisable irrespective of the sensexd levels. If you have lumpsum to invest, I would recommend that you go ahead and invest
saju asked, Hi Shailesh I have 4-5 lakhs Rs sitting idle which I dont need for 2-3 years, where should I invest the money
Sailesh answers, Hi, assuming you are willing to take risk, for investment with time horizon of 3-4 years, balanced funds woudld be ideal. Balanced Funds invest atleast 65% in equity and rest in debt.
Pankaj asked, Presently in which sector we can invest
Sailesh answers, Hi, rather than lookng at any particular sector, I would recommend that you invest in diversified equity funds
Sailesh says, Thank you all for participating in the chat session. If you have any queries, you can write to me at info@personalfn.com
