[S_U_N]

^Thank you for sharing this. Yes. This matter is now laid to rest. My father had been to the SBI branch and was informed the same.
Sometimes the staff is ill-informed about the rules/ features and this causes problems for the common man.
Another case is that the same branch had denied my mother from opening a PPF account when she was around 60, saying that the maximum age was 58 years.
Recently when I checked with her, she said does not have a PPF account since she has crossed the age limit.
I checked this morning, and realized that there is no minimum nor maximum age limit defined by PPF rules.
She will now go and hopefully open up a PPF account.

[sgiitk]

@S_U_N; I have a feeling they want to avoid the hassles of closing an account if the holder dies. Also, remember PPF is a treasury account and SBI looks after it on a commission basis, so their heart is not in it.

[S_U_N]

Originally Posted by chennai-indian

Well - there is no "catch" per se.

I have registered with FundsIndia.com and awaiting account activation.
The site looks informative and has numerous options, maybe a bit overwhelming for me.
Some questions before I can actually start putting in money.
SIP and Flexi-SIP:
I plan to invest Rs. 10000 per month, split across 3-4 MF's each month. However, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to invest Rs. 10000 after 12 months from now.
Is there some minimum period for which I need to pledge the same monthly amount for each fund?
How do I notify FundsIndia to stop investing say a few months down the line?
I have already given an ECS mandate with Rs. 5000 per day maximum limit.

Flexi-SIP allows us to vary the SIP amount. This sounds very good since I can now put in Rs. 15000 in August and Rs. 5000 in September, for instance.
What is the catch?

Gifting of mutual funds:
Is it possible to take mutual funds on someone else's name?
For example, can I buy Mutual Funds and gift it to my sister?
The requirement is that she does not have to be bothered in dealing with any communication, I will do the tracking or management of the same. Is that possible?


Liquid funds:
I am hearing about liquid funds as being better than bank fixed deposits, since they give better returns and good liquidity.
Any step-by-step guidance on how to invest in them, what are the risks etc?
I am yet to find out if FundsIndia can be used for this.


SWP (Systematic Withdrawal Plans):
I am informed that this is the best for those looking at regular income, just like retirement income/ pension.
Anyone using SWP?

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

SIP and Flexi-SIP:
I plan to invest Rs. 10000 per month, split across 3-4 MF's each month. However, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to invest Rs. 10000 after 12 months from now.
Is there some minimum period for which I need to pledge the same monthly amount for each fund?

Each fund house has a minimum instalments required. HDFC is 12 while IDBI is 6! Of course you can give an instruction to stop the SIP at any time. I have never done this so do not know.

[quote]Gifting of mutual funds:
Is it possible to take mutual funds on someone else's name?
For example, can I buy Mutual Funds and gift it to my sister?
The requirement is that she does not have to be bothered in dealing with any communication, I will do the tracking or management of the same. Is that possible?[/quote]
The easiest way may be to invest in the joint name with her as the first holder. Then under the Anyone or survivor mode you will get what you want. Otherwise, you will have problems of third party cheques.

Liquid funds:
I am hearing about liquid funds as being better than bank fixed deposits, since they give better returns and good liquidity.
Any step-by-step guidance on how to invest in them, what are the risks etc?

Liquid funds do tend to give you better returns, esp if you go for growth for a period of > 12 months. Then you get a benefit of indexation prior to the taxation. However, in a dropping interest regime one cannot be sure. [/quote]

SWP (Systematic Withdrawal Plans):
I am informed that this is the best for those looking at regular income, just like retirement income/ pension.

SWP is handy but can be sometimes imprudent. It becomes the opposite of SIP so the benefits or virtues become the losses / negatives here.

[mobike008]

Last year this time I had invested 10K/Month in HDFC Top 200 and 10K/Month in HDFC Equity which I shared on this thread.

When I was asked to renew the investment plan I happen to check its status and was shocked to note that I had gained approximately Rs.1500 in each fund.

I got upset and asked for a reedemption and to my aghast in a couple of days when they actually apply the redeemption value, the NAV went even further down and I actually lost Rs.1500 on each portfolio.

I know MF's are meant to be long term et.all but, what happened to those years when MF's used to give a minimum 20% return YoY

When such top funds cannot give returns, i dont know which funds can.

Anyways, i now plan to reinvest the amount in conservative plans. Enough of MF's as i have already lost enough money in my entire portfolio.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by mobike008

I got upset and asked for a reedemption and to my aghast in a couple of days when they actually apply the redeemption value, the NAV went even further down and I actually lost Rs.1500 on each portfolio.

Enough of MF's as i have already lost enough money in my entire portfolio.

Thats classic case of wrong decision (unless you needed money). MF returns are linked to market returns themselves and markets havent been on fire for a year so you didnt see those 20+ something returns.

There are no guarantees with market instruments, hence the emphasis on long term horizons and systematic investments.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Thats classic case of wrong decision (unless you needed money). MF returns are linked to market returns themselves and markets havent been on fire for a year so you didnt see those 20+ something returns.

True. But, when your entire MF portfolio is in negative its best to exit earlier than later as there is no guarantee that markets will improve as time progresses. I have 6 MF portfolios and almost all of them are in (-)

Whereas one of my earlier sound decision of investing a rather large sum is giving me a return of 10.25% YoY with additional interest on its interest taking the rate of interest even further.

Originally Posted by joslicx

There are no guarantees with market instruments, hence the emphasis on long term horizons and systematic investments.

< 5 years ago, MF used to return anywhere between 20% to 50% returns YoY and I have repead those benefits as well. Going by the current volatile market, not sure if MF is really such a great investment.

[chennai-indian]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I have registered with FundsIndia.com and awaiting account activation.
The site looks informative and has numerous options, maybe a bit overwhelming for me.
Some questions before I can actually start putting in money.
SIP and Flexi-SIP:
I plan to invest Rs. 10000 per month, split across 3-4 MF's each month. However, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to invest Rs. 10000 after 12 months from now.
Is there some minimum period for which I need to pledge the same monthly amount for each fund?
How do I notify FundsIndia to stop investing say a few months down the line?
I have already given an ECS mandate with Rs. 5000 per day maximum limit.

There is no minimum period - however, suggest that you specify 12 months and you can call them and put a stop if required any time. Better would be to go for an amount that you can afford to invest on a monthly basis. Remember, invest for the long term 5 years or more

Flexi-SIP allows us to vary the SIP amount. This sounds very good since I can now put in Rs. 15000 in August and Rs. 5000 in September, for instance.
What is the catch?

I think the catch is that you have to login and initiate the investment instead of it being automatic. Please give a call and check with them.

Gifting of mutual funds:
Is it possible to take mutual funds on someone else's name?
For example, can I buy Mutual Funds and gift it to my sister?
The requirement is that she does not have to be bothered in dealing with any communication, I will do the tracking or management of the same. Is that possible?

Not sure about this

Liquid funds:
I am hearing about liquid funds as being better than bank fixed deposits, since they give better returns and good liquidity.
Any step-by-step guidance on how to invest in them, what are the risks etc?
I am yet to find out if FundsIndia can be used for this.


SWP (Systematic Withdrawal Plans):
I am informed that this is the best for those looking at regular income, just like retirement income/ pension.
Anyone using SWP?

fundsindia has a "financial advisory" service that you can book free of cost and you can ask all these queries to them. You can book it on their website. Suggest that you try it out.

Originally Posted by mobike008

< 5 years ago, MF used to return anywhere between 20% to 50% returns YoY and I have repead those benefits as well. Going by the current volatile market, not sure if MF is really such a great investment.

If you are looking for returns like that YOY, then MF is NOT the way to go. MF is for building wealth over say 10 year periods and more.

[S_U_N]

[quote=sgiitk;2856179]Each fund house has a minimum instalments required. HDFC is 12 while IDBI is 6! Of course you can give an instruction to stop the SIP at any time. I have never done this so do not know.

Thank you. I will read the terms and conditions of the selected MF to find this out.

Originally Posted by chennai-indian

fundsindia has a "financial advisory" service that you can book free of cost and you can ask all these queries to them. You can book it on their website. Suggest that you try it out.

Ok. I will check with them for some of these things once my account is activated.

@mobike008: Some of these posts scare me. I am about to put in a large amount (by my standard) for the next five-ten years and your experience is not very encouraging.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by S_U_N

@mobike008: Some of these posts scare me. I am about to put in a large amount (by my standard) for the next five-ten years and your experience is not very encouraging.

Until exactly 3 years ago, I made decent money on MF investments. But, since past 3 years, it's a tough fight to get your own money back at the end of each year.

Either the invested amount remains exactly the same ( which itself is not a good sign) and in most cases they have declined.

IMO, if your tight pressed and dont know if you can continue investing for a longer period for decent returns then please look elsewhere for a investment plan which atleast provides guaranteed returns albeit at a lower percentage.

Warning: Absolutely do not invest in unit-linked insurance plans as thats a sure shot loser for short term ( 3 years or below). My 3 year ULIP's are under severe loss at the moment

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Until exactly 3 years ago, I made decent money on MF investments. But, since past 3 years, it's a tough fight to get your own money back at the end of each year.

Whats your strategy like? Do you have specific yearly targets in mind and then you redeem funds once they are met?

As chennai-indian has said in couple of posts above - MFs are meant for wealth accumulation over an extended period of time and are NOT good for short term profiteering as market returns are unpredictable. Over a reasonably long period of time markets tend to go upwards in most scenarios (otherwise that country would be in a long term recession). A good MF should be seen as your savings bank account - put money in it that you do not want to touch (and that you ultimately want to see grow). You might want to accumulate this kind of wealth for retirement purposes or for buying a house or kids marriage etc.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Whats your strategy like? Do you have specific yearly targets in mind and then you redeem funds once they are met?

My strategy : When I started investing in MF's my goal was to make yearly profits and take the profit out and reinvest in a new fund to ensure spread of portfolios and accumalation of wealth. I never wanted to touch or had the need to use these funds.

Therefore, I started 6 funds as follows :-

1. Two funds with a large sum invested in each upfront with a minimum lock-in period of 1 year

2. Two SIP's for 10K each in two flag bearing funds

3. Two SIP's in ULIP's with a decently large amount per month in each from last 3 years

And, I ensured that I covered various aspects of fund where they invest like Infra, Liquidity etc to have a decent spread incase anyone of the industry tumbles more than other.

However, from my experience in last 3 years, all my funds have given me either zero or negligible returns.

Therefore, its safe to say that looking at the returns in 3 years which is almost zilch i am developing cold feet as a considerable amount is going into them. So I am seriously contemplating other instruments which are highly conservative but, atleast offer minimum guaranteed returns.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by mobike008

its safe to say that looking at the returns in 3 years which is almost zilch i am developing cold feet as a considerable amount is going into them. So I am seriously contemplating other instruments which are highly conservative but, atleast offer minimum guaranteed returns.

+ 1 to that, have been on the same boat. Initially the returns were mouth watering with some 5 star rated funds in my portfolio. But now the returns are in the lower rung of the single digits. Hence have started to stop the SIP which have completed the tenure and shifting towards PPF for a monthly contribution same as SIP amount.

You can look to Liquid funds or pure debt funds to minimize the risk but take a hit on the returns

[quadra]

I too invested in top funds 2/3 yrs back (3 MF + 1ULIP) which are now showing a negative balance. I don't entirely blame the fund house for this, i was also not keeping track of the market regularly (actually i never tracked them). I was looking for a invest-it-forget-it kind of investment which i realized later that it is a myth.

Those plans are now reported as looser plans as per moneycontrol.com which has a speedometer like rating system for funds. They actually now say not to invest in that fund

Anyways, the plan is now to redeem everything and start fresh. I know the plan to redeem but can anyone share some expert advice on how to invest and track your investment?

I have few questions based on the investments:

1. How much % should be set aside for investing? Out of the total income?
2. Now that we know the amount to invest, what % should be invested and where? What combination works best? Example: 20% MF + 30% Shares + 50% FD
3. Tracking investments? Edelweiss.com has a paid portfolio mgt feature wherein you can track all kinds of investments. Any other vendors out there which can track your investment automatically. Citibank (online) has few fund houses listed for which you can invest, track and redeem online.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by quadra

I too invested in top funds 2/3 yrs back (3 MF + 1ULIP) which are now showing a negative balance. I don't entirely blame the fund house for this, i was also not keeping track of the market regularly (actually i never tracked them). I was looking for a invest-it-forget-it kind of investment which i realized later that it is a myth.

Those plans are now reported as looser plans as per moneycontrol.com which has a speedometer like rating system for funds. They actually now say not to invest in that fund

Anyways, the plan is now to redeem everything and start fresh. I know the plan to redeem but can anyone share some expert advice on how to invest and track your investment?

I have few questions based on the investments:

1. How much % should be set aside for investing? Out of the total income?
2. Now that we know the amount to invest, what % should be invested and where? What combination works best? Example: 20% MF + 30% Shares + 50% FD
3. Tracking investments? Edelweiss.com has a paid portfolio mgt feature wherein you can track all kinds of investments. Any other vendors out there which can track your investment automatically. Citibank (online) has few fund houses listed for which you can invest, track and redeem online.

It's not going to be easy for you. There are a lot of basics to learn.
Start with a good balanced fund like HDFC balanced via the SIP route. Track it regularly on Valueresearchonline.

Read up about asset allocation, Debt/Equity ratio and contingency fund allocation.