M. Pattabiraman's Blog

How should I plan to retire comfortably by 55

A 35-year-old individual is inquiring whether it is feasible to retire comfortably by age 55 and the steps necessary to accomplish this goal. He is married to a 30-year-old homemaker. When he reaches 55, his wife will be 50. So, we shall plan for retirement income until she (the younger spouse) reaches 90. Therefore, he...

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Why I Chose to Become a Fixed-Fee SEBI-Registered Investment Advisor

In this article, Dhilip Krishna discusses why he became a fixed-fee-only SEBI-registered investment Advisor. He is a member of Fee-only India*. Dhilip can be contacted via his website: Apta Investment Advisors. * Fee-only India is an informal association of SEBI RIA that charges a fixed fee or a flat fee (independent of AUM). Recently, BSE...

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Should I pay tax if I am second holder in a MF portfolio?

A reader says, “I read your blog on financial planning where you mentioned that it’s better to invest in mutual funds through a joint account as the transfer of units is easier than via nomination. But there is a lot of confusion regarding its taxation”. “I read about a couple online who handle their mutual...

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Can I invest a lump sum in equity MFs to increase my equity allocation from 45% to 65%?

A reader asks, “Can I invest a lump sum in equity MFs to increase my equity allocation from 45% to 65%?” A 65% equity exposure is not that high, but what matters is, do you have a strategy to reduce risk progressively as you head towards the goal deadline? As we have shown, this can...

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10-year active large cap MF Rolling SIPs vs Nifty 100 TRI

Recently, someone on X referenced a trailing 5,7,10Y SIP returns comparison of direct plan large cap funds vs the Nifty 100 TRI and concluded that most active funds beat the index. They also noted that using SIP returns avoids the bias introduced by trailing returns. I responded that using a 5Y or 10Y SIP is...

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Am I financially independent if I have achieved my FIRE corpus but am still working?

Last Updated on November 25, 2025 at 8:14 am A reader says, “I am part of a private forum of FIRE (financially independent early retirement) seekers.  We share each other’s FIRE journeys from time to time. I recently achieved a 40X corpus (= 40 times annual expenses) and stated that I continue my job as...

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My Stock Portfolio Analysis: Nov 2025

This article compares my stock portfolio with an equivalent investment in a Nifty index fund and the Nifty 100 Low Volatility 30 TR index. We post this comparison each month. Before we begin, new readers need to understand the context of these investments. Update: We recently added a new tool to the freefincal investor circle...

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Does it make sense to buy a 25 Lakh base health insurance policy?

After reading the details of our family’s health insurance policy – Why we purchased the United India Super Top Up Policy with 95 lakhs sum insured – a reader wanted to know, “if it makes sense for him to buy a 25 Lakh base health insurance policy?” We have a Rs. 25 lakh individual cover from...

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How do I invest a lump sum I don’t need for the next 5-7 years?

“How do I invest a lump sum I don’t need for the next 5-7 years?” is a question most often asked to us or other social media forums. The best way to eliminate this confusion is to rephrase the problem statement. Better still, if one has a proper goal-based financial plan, the answer to this...

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Debt and hybrid mutual fund screener (Nov 2025) for selection, tracking, learning

This is a debt mutual fund screener for portfolio selection, tracking, and learning. It also includes hybrid funds that invest in bonds. It will satisfy investors who wish to invest in money market funds, banking PSU funds, etc. The credit quality of the bonds in the portfolio and the bond maturity profile can be tracked....

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