M. Pattabiraman's Blog, page 82

Export mutual fund CAMS statement to a CSV file with this free tool

On 12th Aug 2023, Sudheer Tammini announced that he had developed a “simple Free & Open source software that I have developed to export Mutual Funds CAMS statement data onto a nice CSV file”. We asked him to share more details with us. Cams2CSV could be helpful to users of the freefincal MF portfolio tracker...

The post Export mutual fund CAMS statement to a CSV file with this free tool appeared first on freefincal.

ETF tracking error screener Aug 2023

This ETF screener is based on tracking errors and tracking differences (ETF return minus index return). The screener will help users evaluate how efficiently an ETF has tracked its underlying benchmark. Update: 76 ETFs are now covered. The tracking error is the ETF’s standard deviation minus index monthly return differences. The lower the tracking error,...

The post ETF tracking error screener Aug 2023 appeared first on freefincal.

Why we need to use this feature of PPF more often!

When it comes to the Public Provident Fund (PPF), investors typically focus on its tax-free, risk-free, and tax-saving benefits. Even those who cannot afford it often scrounge for Rs. 1.5 lakh for PPF investment within the first five days of the financial year. See: Investing Rs. 1.5 lakhs in PPF before April 5th may not...

The post Why we need to use this feature of PPF more often! appeared first on freefincal.

How REITs and InvITs will be taxed from 1st April 2023

In this article, we shall discuss how REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) and InvITs (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) will be taxed from 1st April 2023 (FY 2023-2024 or AY 2024-2025). REITs and InvITs invest in commercial real estate properties and infrastructure assets via special purpose vehicles (SPV) through equity or debt instruments. This allows investors to...

The post How REITs and InvITs will be taxed from 1st April 2023 appeared first on freefincal.

How should I plan if I want to retire in 20 years?

This article discusses a retirement plan for a 30-year-old who wishes to retire by age 50. We shall use the robo-advisory tool to create this retirement plan. Let us outline the inputs and assumptions employed in this analysis. Kindly note that all the inputs and outputs in this research pertain to a situation (of a...

The post How should I plan if I want to retire in 20 years? appeared first on freefincal.

How to financially prepare for climate change

You probably feel grim and despondent if you have tracked factual climate change articles over the past few years. What was earlier academic debate now seems like a matter of time. Can we financially prepare for this? How? Here are a few articles that remind us of the kind of mess we are in now....

The post How to financially prepare for climate change appeared first on freefincal.

Can I use P2P lending as a fixed income investment in my portfolio?

A reader wants to know if he can use P2P lending as a fixed-income instrument in his portfolio. Many portals that facilitate P2P lending flash double-digit returns with slogans like “better return that FDs”. But are they worth your time and money? P2P lending, or peer-to-peer lending, is a method of borrowing and lending money...

The post Can I use P2P lending as a fixed income investment in my portfolio? appeared first on freefincal.

How I struggled to change MF unitholder status after a death in the family

Over the years, there have been innumerable discussions in AIFW (Facebook group, Asan Ideas for Wealth) about various aspects of mutual funds – their kinds, where to use them, what to buy, when to sell, how much returns to expect, SIP or not, active vs passive, etc. Yet one topic does not seem to get...

The post How I struggled to change MF unitholder status after a death in the family appeared first on freefincal.

Redeeming MFs in Demat form can be a pain if you close your broker account

The following is an account of an ordeal to redeem from mutual funds in demat form. As mentioned several times earlier, holding mutual funds (except ETFs) in demat form makes no sense. Mutual fund units are already in electronic form! Unless an investor wants to (or rather tries to) sell closed-ended mutual funds before maturity,...

The post Redeeming MFs in Demat form can be a pain if you close your broker account appeared first on freefincal.

Can NPS Tier 2 be used as a replacement for debt mutual funds?

After the debt mutual fund taxation change from 1st April 2023, many readers have asked us if they can use NPS Tier 2 as an alternative—a discussion. We had previously discussed a related idea: Can I use NPS Tier II as a low-cost index fund? All NPS pension fund managers provide portfolio details under “statutory disclosures”...

The post Can NPS Tier 2 be used as a replacement for debt mutual funds? appeared first on freefincal.