[.sushilkumar]

Originally Posted by nowwhat?

Finally, do explore the possibility of investing in direct plans.

Something i has learned on this thread . Now I open a small investment in respective fund house via my existing broker. Once done simply create a login on Fund house website using folio number from existing broker & start SIP there with auto debit. It is pretty simple process. Did same for axis & works well .

Only exception to above is Mirae asset where they were not selling online via my existing broker (I am sure they do not sell via major brokers like ICICi direct or kotak) so has to use services of their agent for initial folio number.

Now i invest in direct plans only .

[adithya.kp]

I beg to differ. No offence meant. Not targeted at your post. But a general view. I dont agree to this text bookish approach of large cap fund is a must. Its the quality of the MF that matters. (I mean the quality of the companies in the MF portfolio. Not necessarily the perception about the companies. But things like return ratios, earning visibility, scalability, past sales/eps growth rate, management quality, debt to equity,competitive advantage etc) Almost all the so called financial planners or the fund ratings, go by the fund's performance in the recent past.( They don't understand or evaluate the holdings of MF).

The other point I want to make is that, one shouldn't complicate things by having goals like child plan, marriage plan, retirement etc. Instead, treat everything as one investment. Your goal should be being able to generate X% CAGR and/or reach certain net worth (which you think is enough to achieve financial freedom)

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Have one MF SIP for a particular goal for eg: Child's education, Child marriage, retirement etc. And then invest accordingly to achieve that goal. Your MF portfolio must be a mix of Equity - Large Cap, Equity - Midcap & Small Cap and Balanced funds. Check Value Research online to short list the top performing funds over 5 yrs range and then choose accordingly.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by .sushilkumar

Only exception to above is Mirae asset where they were not selling online via my existing broker (I am sure they do not sell via major brokers like ICICi direct or kotak) so has to use services of their agent for initial folio number.

Now i invest in direct plans only .

Nice to know!

Here in Bangalore, a Mirae employee will come home and pick up the forms for direct plans.

These days I simply print out the form and enclose a cheque and PAN card copy and send it by post to the AMC usually in Mumbai. Takes some time, but works fine and beats having to hang around the crowded CAMS office for hours.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by adithya.kp

I beg to differ. No offence meant. Not targeted at your post. But a general view. I dont agree to this text bookish approach of large cap fund is a must. Its the quality of the MF that matters..

The other point I want to make is that, one shouldn't complicate things by having goals like child plan, marriage plan, retirement etc.

agree on both counts. Many multicap funds have done very well. HDFC Equity is Multicap as is ICICI Pru Dynamic. IDFC Premier started a SME and debuted on ValueResearch as a 5*. At the moment following the exit of Andrade it is 3*.

As for the second point, you may be able to define the time frame more accurately, thai is all. If you are looking at five years plus then this too does not matter. Only I may be a bit more inclined towards balanced funds in the worst case where the horizon is say 3-7 years.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by adithya.kp

The other point I want to make is that, one shouldn't complicate things by having goals like child plan, marriage plan, retirement etc. Instead, treat everything as one investment.

Agree with you on a number of points.

Personally I find keeping things simple works best for me. I invest as much as I can depending on my monthly investible surplus and sometimes my outlook of the market. If my outlook is optimistic, I divert all available funds such as FDs into MFs. I also keep some SIPs so that the investment happens regardless of my outlook.

I have never made a goal, retirement or otherwise. And I find setting up MFs for child plan, marriage plan is taking things too far. But maybe it works for those who are more disciplined than I am. My general plan for life is that I will pay for all of this at that time from my overall investment. I do not have any grandiose plans to send my child on a capitation seat to massage my ego. In the end, whatever is left is what my wife & I will have to live on for the rest of our lives. In all of this, I am reminded of my father who saved and scrimped most of his life, but passed away just 5 years into retirement.

One point I disagree with is picking an MF based on its portfolio. Many MFs churn their portfolios on a monthly basis, so this is not a yardstick that is of much help. Moreover if one was so good in picking a portfolio, s/he would not need a MF in the first place.

A good large-cap fund is generally a necessity as the flagship of an MF portfolio because their beta is closely co-related to the Sensex/Nifty which in turn does not fall as much as mid-caps or small-caps in a down market. Not many people have the appetite to lose 50% or more of their savings which I myself experienced in 2008.

[S_U_N]

I just redeemed money from DSPBR MIP Fund-Reg(G). I had invested 3 years ago - when I was just tasting the waters of mutual funds - and got an annual return of 10.20%

I will have to pay LTCG tax on the money made, but isn't this still better than bank FD?

[S_U_N]

I have got emails from BNP and Mirae for submitting FATCA & CRS ANNEXURE FOR INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS

Has anyone else also got the same?

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I have got emails from BNP and Mirae for submitting FATCA & CRS ANNEXURE FOR INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS

Has anyone else also got the same?

I got from Mirae, but I am one of those skeptical types and am not going to do a thing.

[pankaj_sachdeva]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I have got emails from BNP and Mirae for submitting FATCA & CRS ANNEXURE FOR INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTS

Has anyone else also got the same?

I am getting regular emails for last 2-3 months from Quantum MF and Mirae has followed suit from last 2 weeks for submission of these forms.

Haven't actioned them till now and surprisingly no phone call from either of these for submission of forms till now.

[nowwhat?]

This is the definitive information I read on FATCA in the Mint newspaper today.

According to the Fatca guidelines, this information needs to be collected only from those investors who have opened “accounts” on or after 1 July 2014 or if they have an account as on 30 June 2014 wherein the value of investments is above $50,000. “Accounts” here mean folios in MF parlance. The details asked are very basic. All your fund house needs to know is your country of birth, the country in which you live (yes, most of you will say India), and whether you pay taxes in any other country apart from India.

More info at http://www.livemint.com/Money/RPIISb...nvestment.html

This explains why I got the FATCA email only from Mirae. I just wish they and the others could do this on their website instead of having to submit physical forms to individual mutual funds.

[S_U_N]

I have a loss of about Rs. 8000 from Franklin India Feeder - Franklin European Growth Fund (G). This is the only Franklin fund that has given me loss.

I am planning to exit this now and take a loss. Investment duration has been 15 months.

This is an international equity fund and considered as debt fund from taxation perspective in India.

Can I set-off the loss with some short term or long term capital gain from debt fund or equity fund (any restrictions?)

[sgiitk]

@S_U_N; The Euro has taken quite a hit so I am not surprised. This is hedging some markets go up and some down!

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@S_U_N; The Euro has taken quite a hit so I am not surprised. This is hedging some markets go up and some down!

True. I was hoping it recovers back to where it was last May, but it seems unlikely in the near future. So, it is better to take the loss and invest somewhere.

Luckily we can set-off the loss with some profit made in other capital gains.

I am still trying to find out specifics from taxation perspective.

[saildrive]

I read some where that one should invest atleast 50k per year in a NPS (scheme). Do you think it is a good idea to park 50000 year on year for sometime as a one time investment?

If yes, let me know which is the best NPS scheme one should invest such an amount.

Would love experts / experienced investors to help me find a viable option.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by saildrive

I read some where that one should invest atleast 50k per year in a NPS (scheme). Do you think it is a good idea to park 50000 year on year for sometime as a one time investment?

If yes, let me know which is the best NPS scheme one should invest such an amount.

Would love experts / experienced investors to help me find a viable option.

You can tax benefit of maximum of rs. 50000 in NPS. This is not a minimum amount.