Most investors typically aim to generate alpha on their portfolios. They usually strive to save every possible rupee in taxes. And they tend to focus most of their attention on the rate of returns their portfolios generate. But investors who are genuinely mature typically tend to view these aspects differently. This is what is likely to help them stand out against most other investors around them. I will therefore throw light on these views in today's post. The Mature View On

Managing money is one of the most important jobs for any couple. In India most households have traditionally been single income households. The husband was typically the one who would earn money for the household. And the wife was simply expected to manage the household with whatever money she was given by the husband. But times have changed today. Most households today are double income households, where both spouses work and earn. It is also a lot more common to see partner

When we plan our finances we do a lot of groundwork to supplement our efforts. But there is still one essential aspect of financial planning that we ignore. I'm talking about the preparation and maintenance of relevant documents pertaining to our finances. Proper financial documentation seems unimportant at first glance. But the absence of the right financial documents could have serious negative implications. A lack of sound financial documentation could bring the ownership

When planning for retirement, we may make certain unfounded assumptions. These may seem logical in theory. But in practice they are often falsified. Planning our retirement based on such assumptions can irreversibly derail our chances at a comfortable retirement. Therefore today I am going to look at each of these assumptions in detail. I will delve into the reasons why we make them. I will also show why each of them are poorly founded. My Expenses Will Drastically Reduce Pos

Some questions in portfolio management are easier to answer than others. It is simple enough for anyone to calculate how much money we have made or lost on their portfolios. Calculating the portfolio's annualised return would also not be a challenge. But ask someone how diversified their portfolio is, and they would struggle for an intelligent answer. Most investors equate diversification to the number of asset classes in their portfolios. Greater the number of asset classes,

A risk profiling exercise can offer a number of insights into the investment behaviour of an individual. Their inherent personalities can also do the same. The Bailard, Biehl and Kaiser (BB&K) investor personality model is quite helpful in this regard. And in today's blog post I'm going to focus on the various aspects of the BB&K model. I'm going to list out the various types of investor personalities and the peculiar nuances of each group of investors. I will end by showing

The title of this post sounds like something we would typically ask our friends and classmates the day our exam results were announced. But I assure you that this post has nothing to do with exams or scores. It has everything to do with retirement planning. When we plan for retirement, we usually end the calculations when we arrive at the monthly and annual investment targets. But we rarely check to see how much these targets would constitute as a percentage of our take home

Having a source of passive income is something that most people aspire towards. The prospect of being able to generate money without having to work for it is hard to turn down. But the concept and relevance of passive income is not understood by everyone. And fewer people understand how to generate it the right way. Therefore in today's blog post I will delve into the right way to understand and build passive income. Meaningful Passive Income Simply generating passive income

An issue that faces almost all individuals with one or more outstanding debts is : Invest for the future or repay outstanding debts? This proves to be a tricky trade off. Both options come with pros and cons that are significant and pervasive. In most cases we tend to make extreme decisions, placing a disproportionate amount of emphasis on either repaying or investing. But such approaches rarely prove to be optimal. Therefore any decision taken in this regard must come after

The markets have been quite volatile for the past few months. They bounce up high one day and crash down the next. The geopolitical situation in the Middle East doesn't seem to show signs of improving. Being a financial planner, I have recently been flooded with the same question from my clients : The markets are volatile. Should I make a change or stop my investments. And my answer has essentially remained the same. It is normal for the skies to turn cloudy every now and aga

The last 10 years before retirement is when most people start taking retirement seriously. I am not trying to imply that this is when they begin investing for retirement. Just that this is when most people actually take stock of how ready they are for retirement. A good way for one to do this would be to calculate their Initial Withdrawal Rate (IWR). The IWR is normally used to assess the adequacy of an available corpus at and after the point of retirement. But it can also be

A considerable part of my job as a financial planner involves giving honest, logical answers to questions clients ask. I firmly believe my job is to tell clients what they need to hear and not what they want to. I therefore prefer to remain responsible with my answers to their questions. Needless to say such answers rarely go down well with my clients (at least on first hearing). But every responsible answer is always backed by logic. And today I will throw light on the logic

In last week's post , I touched upon the major reforms brought in by the SEBI circular released on February 26th 2026. At the end of that article I had promised a separate article on lifecycle funds. I had promised to explain the structure, advertised benefits and potential risks of such funds. In line with that promise, this article is going to delve deep into the subject of lifecycle funds. Fundamental Concept Lifecycle funds are largely similar to target date funds. These

On 26th February 2026 Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) issued a circular that carries multiple pervasive implications for the mutual fund industry. Needless to say, there is just as much for mutual fund investors to take away too. The circular mostly focuses on categorisation of mutual funds. It also impacts the way certain categories of mutual funds operate. There is a lot to unpack. And that is going to be the focus of today's post. I am going to highlight and

Reviewing our portfolios regularly is key to effective money management. This is even more true when following a goal based approach to investing. Most investors focus on returns and performance when conducting a review. But there is a lot more required to make a review effective. Therefore today I will talk about the principles that govern an effective portfolio review. These principles are given assuming that the investor has followed a goal based approach to money manageme

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a material impact on most things that we do today. And it will soon impact everything we do. This is no different when it comes to investing and financial planning. Most investors today use AI when managing their money. AI is also starting to play a role in the way financial planners impart advice. Therefore it is important for both parties to understand how AI impacts them. And this is going to be the focus of today's post. AI And Investors A

Over a number of my previous articles I have discussed the benefits of passive equity portfolios. I have also spoken about ideal product options to build such portfolios. But I have never really touched upon how these various options actually go together in a portfolio. I will therefore touch upon this today. Passive equity portfolios are usually considered to be ideal for young earners and new investors. But they are actually suited to anyone looking for a simple, low mainte

So far in this series on the NPS we have understood the taxability and exit rules as applicable in 2026 . We have also understood the Multiple Scheme Framework (MSF) . One of the major selling points of the MSF is the option to allocate upto 100% to equity. This may sound like an exciting proposition from the standpoint of expected returns. But holding any degree of equity within the NPS is fraught with risk. And in today's post I will explain why. The Illusion Of Passivity E

In last week's post , we looked at the applicable taxability and exit rules of the National Pension System (NPS). These are in light of the regulatory changes notified in December 2025. Another important change that came about last year was the introduction of the Multiple Scheme Framework (MSF). And the MSF would be the focus of today's discussion. I will talk about what it is, how it works and the right way to use it. What Is The Multiple Scheme Framework (MSF)? The MSF is

The National Pension System (NPS) is a popular defined contribution plan for retirement. A defined contribution plan is one which allows an individual to periodically invest money into a product throughout their careers. A final lumpsum amount is then redeemed when they retire. NPS is usually a good option for government employees. It is also quite popular among non government subscribers. But, the shortcomings of the NPS mostly outweigh the benefits it offers. And non gove