[kpkeerthi]

You should design a portfolio based on your risk profile and goals. Only YOU can define these. So instead of seeking investment advice online from someone who has no clue about your needs arm yourself up with the necessary knowledge with the help of these books:

1. Let's Talk Money by Monika Halan

2. Let's Talk Mutual Funds by Monika Halan

Read the below book to understand how much return potential can be lost by NOT investing in Index funds:

3. Common Sense Investing by John Bogle (although the book is centered around US market the core idea applies everywhere)

[wocanak]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

The commission will be the expense ratio right? Expense Ratio mentioned is 1.1% which I infer as some % goes to the Fund/AMC and some % to the Agent through which I have opted the MFs. Is this % of the invested amount or the current value (including the profits) and the frequency is every year?

Yes, the commission paid out is included in the expense ratio of the regular fund. The expense ratio of the direct version of the same fund will be lower and the difference between the two is the commission paid. For example, check the expense ratios of both regular and direct of one of your funds HDFC Balanced Advantage Fund (select regular/direct and scroll down to see), regular is 1.45% and direct is 0.83%, so the commission paid is ~0.62%. The non-commission expenses (i.e. the 0.83%) are things like fund manager salary, transaction cost, marketing cost, etc. and are common for both versions.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

My agent does not give me any kind of value add on top of the already purchased MFs. However, considering he maintains the data and is readily available for any queries then 1% a year to him seems to be ok?

I don't think the agent maintains any data, its all managed by the AMCs and CAMS/Karvy and you can get consolidated statement across mutual funds from either. Many third party websites will import your data using this and give you all the reports you may need.

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Also, considering he is a standalone entity, is there a risk of losing the money in case if anything unfortunate happens to him or his company? (could be really a noob question) I understand he is only the middle man and the actual money is with the Fund House, then withdrawing the money would be a hassle?

The intermediaries (both regular and direct) don't have any access, its all maintained by the fund house. You can freely change the intermediary without them having to do anything. You can easily move to any one of the digital platforms, the fund house website or maybe even through Association of Mutual Funds in India. When you redeem units, irrespective of what you use the money will go to your bank account linked to the folio having the MF units.

[kedar3223]

Are there any reliable ready reckoners for MF to buy within a particular category? An acquaintance is looking to start investing. I have suggested him to diversify into 3 or 4 funds as per appetite. Need suggestions on the following:

1. A large cap index fund. I have suggested an index fund over largecap/bluechip mutual fund.

2. For medium risk allocation, which among midcap/'large and mid' fund is recommended? Is it preferable to go through the direct managed fund route for these over index investing?

3. A small direct mutual fund for high risk allocation.

4. A value fund.

Any pointers or suggestions would be helpful.

[vijaykr]

Originally Posted by kedar3223

Are there any reliable ready reckoners for MF to buy within a particular category? An acquaintance is looking to start investing. I have suggested him to diversify into 3 or 4 funds as per appetite..

While this may not be a popular approach, I believe it is better for your friend to evaluate their goals is investment first and assess the level of risk necessary to reach the goals. Then look at a suitable asset allocation which can be beyond MFs as well. If all of these have been done already and then MFs have been narrowed down as the product category choice within the asset class, then great as he/she is on the right track. Now as to specific MFs, my suggestion would be:

1) Any Sensex/Nifty Index fund instead of a large-cap fund
2) A large and midcap fund instead of midcap fund
3) A flexicap fund instead of a small cap fund
4) An Aggressive Hybrid or Multi-Asset Allocation fund which includes a component of debt to manage risk/volatility

Most important is to start and stick with MF investments over a long horizon of time - say 10 years or more. More than looking for specific well performing funds today which may not be in the top/best performer list after some years, the key is get into mindset of long term investing and staying invested. This is where my initial comments of having a goal based approach might be helpful in not reacting to every positive or negative market event immediately. All the best!

[kedar3223]

Originally Posted by vijaykr

1) Any Sensex/Nifty Index fund instead of a large-cap fund
2) A large and midcap fund instead of midcap fund
3) A flexicap fund instead of a small cap fund
4) An Aggressive Hybrid or Multi-Asset Allocation fund which includes a component of debt to manage risk/volatility

Wont there be a lot of overlap if going with Large cap index, large and mid cap fund and another flexicap?

For risk hedging, the person already invests a portion of his income in PPF, FD and bonds. In this case, does it mahe sense to go with a hybrid fund?

[vijaykr]

Yes, there will be some overlap for sure among these categories, but that's where I think it becomes important to know the goal or timeframe proposed for this investment.

The risk appetite of the investor will dictate how much exposure to equity funds in general and within equity, funds with more volatility like thematic, midcap or smallcap, can be considered. This coupled with current investment into PPF, FD and bonds can be used to determine which side of equity to focus investment into.

Without having a fuller perspective on the lines I've mentioned above, I hesitate to name individual funds. I can share the funds I've invested in, but they come with my biases and hence may not apply generally to every requirement.

[Naetik30]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

So, here is a list of mutual funds that have invested in the mamaearth IPO.

Attachment 2523882

Given everything we have seen in the past 2 years - all MF investors are basically bailing out the venture capitalists and founders. This is just fraud in the name of mutual funds. And we keep harping on 'Mutual Funds Sahi Hai!!!'.

This just brings to the fore the fact that there is no way to question these MF fund managers on their decisions. They can always hide behind a simple answer of 'it is a small exposure'.

I would call for an investigation by SEBI and other regulators on all the fund managers and their relatives. Who bought a luxury car recently, who got a nice appartment in Dubai recently, who went on a world tour may be.

Just no stop to this nonsense. I am an honest tax payer (pay for every penny without fail) and just gets me mad that everyone in this god forsaken country can take advantage of us.

So, the honasa IPO was successful. And witin 4 days, it has lost 15%. Wow. What a surprise!!!

And there was severe criticism of the way mutual funds invested in this IPO. And as planned, there were a few highly known finance websites and newspapers that came to the defense of mutual fund managers. And their defense - It is a small exposure in the grand scheme of things.

@MF Fund managers - If you eat a little garbage - It is still garbage. The only problem is, you used my money to spoon feed me garbage, and in turn pocketed a hand some amount.

[dsnaveen21]

Hi Guys,
Iam planning to invest in below fund with of the help of broker.
Tata Large and Mid Cap Fund Regular Plan.

It says in the email, Divident Option - Not applicable for this fund.
Any reason why it like this.
Thanks,

[Naetik30]

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Hi Guys,
Iam planning to invest in below fund with of the help of broker.
Tata Large and Mid Cap Fund Regular Plan.

It says in the email, Divident Option - Not applicable for this fund.
Any reason why it like this.
Thanks,

Why would you want to invest in a Regular plan, when there are a ton of ways to invest in the same Direct plan? The regular plan has expense ratio of 1.87% and direct plan has expense ratio of 0.85%. Does not make sense.

Dividends in MFs are of no use. You might as well just redeem the units you need whenever you need funds.

[srsrini]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

Why would you want to invest in a Regular plan, when there are a ton of ways to invest in the same Direct plan? The regular plan has expense ratio of 1.87% and direct plan has expense ratio of 0.85%. Does not make sense.

Dividends in MFs are of no use. You might as well just redeem the units you need whenever you need funds.

And to add, if the person recommending this regular plan has not told you about the dividend, then stop using that person. MF dividends are for dinosaurs!

[Maverick Avi]

I had started my mutual fund journey in 2019 via SIPs and till then had only been investing in PPF exhausting the yearly limit. There were also a few FDs here and there. I have come to realize that MFs are a good option to invest and continue increasing my SIPs by around 10-15% each year.

Wanted to know from experts that whether its advisable to have MFs as your major investment option(more than 90%)? I keep on seeing my family and friends buying real estate and advising me to do the same but I am not interested at all and was wondering whether only MFs can suffice as the main source of wealth creation in long term?

[skchettry]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Wanted to know from experts that whether its advisable to have MFs as your major investment option(more than 90%)? I keep on seeing my family and friends buying real estate and advising me to do the same but I am not interested at all and was wondering whether only MFs can suffice as the main source of wealth creation in long term?

I was in a similar dilemma when I started SIPing which started in 2007. To reduce over exposure to equities, I started investing in real estate; fortunately, these investments happened to be in the golden era and my investments have seen good appreciation, but the value has almost plateaued out since last 3-4 years. Since the rental yield is quite low, I am planning to start disposing my RE assets gradually. Then there is a small portion of debt funds in my portfolio and since last couple of years, I have started focusing more on FDs than equities. So currently, my investments are in equity funds (47%), Debt funds (10%), Real Estate (27%), FDs (12.5%), Direct equities (3.5%).
Not sure whether it's good enough for someone who has taken retirement, but for sure I think too high an exposure to equities causes a lot of anxieties especially during crashes and major corrections.
Regards

[rx100]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Wanted to know from experts that whether its advisable to have MFs as your major investment option(more than 90%)? I keep on seeing my family and friends buying real estate and advising me to do the same but I am not interested at all and was wondering whether only MFs can suffice as the main source of wealth creation in long term?

Ideally one should keep 50-50 in equity and debt investments. But it’s not a constant value and a lot depends on other parameters like your age, net assets etc etc.

Both FDs and PF investments can be considered as part of debt investments and if you are contributing a good amount monthly to PF or already have a good corpus then I think you should be okay with only equity MF investments.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Wanted to know from experts that whether its advisable to have MFs as your major investment option(more than 90%)? I keep on seeing my family and friends buying real estate and advising me to do the same but I am not interested at all and was wondering whether only MFs can suffice as the main source of wealth creation in long term?

I'm not into real estate either. There is nothing wrong with just MF investments. However, to reduce risks, maintain a 50/50 mix between debt MF/PPF/FD and equity funds.

Also within the world of mutual funds, you can explore Gold/Real Estate (REIT)/international equity fund investments.
https://www.valueresearchonline.com/...fund-category/

[mayuresh]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Wanted to know from experts that whether its advisable to have MFs as your major investment option(more than 90%)? I keep on seeing my family and friends buying real estate and advising me to do the same but I am not interested at all and was wondering whether only MFs can suffice as the main source of wealth creation in long term?

Very much so.

However see your portfolio as a whole. E.g. consider your PPF as a part of your Gilt and FDs as fixed income. At that level you can maintain a better balance of your portfolio (than seeing MF in isolation). This way you'll also realize that you have more leeway to increase your equity / equity MF exposure.

While the desirable proportion of equities varies from person to person a thumb rule is 100 - age into equities. (Of course, don't take this as a hard rule.)

Don't do too many redemptions to rebalance portfolio - considering the tax implications. Instead you can adjust the course of further investments. Rebalancing is more to set a discipline than a hard and fast goal.

Real estate: to the extent you are going to utilize it, is fine. E.g. if your work location and native family location are different or someone in your family runs a small business or profession etc. - in such cases you can go for additional properties.