M. Pattabiraman's Blog, page 107

Should I get rid of my LIC policies and bear the loss or continue paying premiums?

A reader writes, “I am 29 years old and had started a few LIC policies on my parent’s insistence six years ago. I pay an approximate total of 3000 a month for 25 yrs, or so the policy insured sum is 1 lac for seven policies, and the return the life insurance agent said I’d...

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Retirement planning in India is going through a major shift: Are you ready?

Over the last decade, the number of capital market participants (stocks or mutual funds) has increased sharply. Retirement corpora have gradually shifted from 100% fixed-income to higher and higher equity exposure. This shift implies both retirees and advisors must be mentally prepared to face big challenges. An extended rate cut for a good part of...

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A late (and flawed) start, but finally on track to financial freedom

In this edition of the reader story, Gayatri takes us through her personal finance journey, and how she has gradually filled the gaps in her financial planning and is on track to achieving financial freedom. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details about their financial lives for the benefit of readers....

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How I retired from corporate bondage at 46, two years ago!

In this edition of the reader story, here is a short account of a person who achieved financial independence and quit his corporate job by age 46. For the last two years, he has been enjoying his FIRE status and working on select assignments. About this series: I am grateful to readers for sharing intimate details...

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Portfolio Audit 2022: The annual review of my goal-based investments

I evaluate my retirement portfolio’s performance and my son’s future portfolio each year in a personal finance audit. This is the tenth edition. Published from 2013 onwards, these audits provide a sense of accountability and ensure I do not fall prey to fear of missing out, preventing bad investment decisions. They also point out the...

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Stock Portfolio Analysis: December 2022

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 appreciate the context of these investments. I started direct equity investing only after achieving a comfortable level of...

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The Indian bond market now has many options but should you buy one?

The Indian bond market is exploding with options. If you search on Google for “buy bonds in India”, the first hits and the last three hits are ads by bond portals! Then we have portals that exclusively sell via influencer networks and content marketing. These bond portals have different offerings, from gilts to corporate bonds...

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Debt mutual fund screener (Dec 2022) for selection, tracking, learning

This is a debt mutual fund screener for fund selection, fund portfolio 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 and PSU funds etc. The credit quality of the bonds in the portfolio and the bond maturity profile...

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I realized the importance of retirement planning only at 35; is there any hope for me?

A reader says that he has realized the importance of retirement planning only at age 35 and his current net worth is essentially zero. He would like to retire by age 55 and wants to know how to go about it. With twenty years to go, there is a good chance of accumulating enough corpus...

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Aggressive Hybrid Funds vs Multi-Asset Funds: Which are better?

A reader writes, “Which is more suitable for a long-term goal? Aggressive hybrid funds or multi-asset funds?” So in this article, we compare a hybrid portfolio with a multi-asset portfolio to arrive at an answer. We cannot compare these funds because multi-asset funds are quite new. Earlier, we compared CRISIL Aggressive hybrid index (with 65%...

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