The amount of health insurance coverage required is a function of prevailing healthcare costs and inflation thereon. For any major city in India, the ideal coverage amount advisable would be Rs 20 lakh per member of a family. This equates to a total coverage of Rs 60 lakh for a family of three and Rs 80 lakh for a family of four. This represents the amount of coverage required in one's personal capacity. It can be purchased as a combination of a base and super top up policies

Most investors would wish to include mid and small cap equity in their portfolios. But the right way to approach mid and small cap investing is still not properly understood. A number of questions need to be answered to gain a holistic understanding of the subject. Are mid and small caps a necessity in an equity portfolio? Are the pros of including them worth the cons? What is the right way to include mid and small cap equity, if warranted? What must investors keep in mind wh

Human behaviour plays a vital role in investing. In fact most investment errors can be traced back to human behaviour at some level. Flaws related to the human behaviour in investing are of two kinds. These are cognitive flaws and behavioural biases. Cognitive flaws are tied to blind spots in the way we think and decide. Behavioural biases are tied to blind spots in the way we act. Cognitive flaws and behavioural biases are therefore closely related. Behavioural biases are al

Across a number of my past articles I have spoken about the major benefits of investing in index funds. But there are a number of other benefits to holding index funds. These usually go unnoticed. But they contribute just as much to the effectiveness of index funds. Therefore in today's post I am going to be talking about these less apparent benefits of index funds in detail. Complete Transparency And Control Over The Controllables We have little or no control over the way in

The past five years have seen a number of young Indian individuals enter the financial markets. Today such investors would have a basic understanding of the way financial markets and instruments work. This experience is often enough to give them the confidence to mouth certain statements. These statements may make them sound intelligent. But very often, young investors make such statements without understanding the gravity and truth behind them. Therefore today I will look at

In last week's post I began the discussion on multi asset passive FoFs by looking at their pros and cons. Today I will delve deeper into the construction and working of multi asset passive FoFs. I will then offer my opinion on the relevance of such funds to our portfolios. Most multi asset passive FoFs are built and work on the basis of common principles with subtle differences. This can be understood by looking at a couple of such funds in detail. Zerodha Multi Asset Passiv

Multi asset passive fund of funds (FoFs) are the current topic of discussion amongst most investors. These are instruments that offer exposure to a variety of asset classes through passive funds. They are therefore touted as a one fund portfolio and a substitute for asset allocation. But is that the whole truth about such funds? Or is there more that investors must bear in mind before they add such funds to their portfolio? My next two posts will provide the answers. This wee

Equity is the favourite asset class of almost every Indian investor today. This is even more true when equity exposure is combined with...

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Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are one of the most popular passive investment products. They allow access to a variety of indices and asset...

So far we have understood how to set goals , cover for risks and put a framework in place for our portfolios . The final step is to fill...

Previously in this series, I have covered the nuances behind setting goals and meeting insurance requirements . The natural next step...

In last week's post Finer Nuances Of Financial Planning Aspects - I : Setting Goals , I covered the nuances involved in setting,...

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Individuals have always aspired to retire early. And such aspirations would definitely continue to exist in the future. But most of the...

Retail investors who manage their portfolio on their sometimes consider becoming full time DIY investors. At first glance, making this...