Q. I am 23 years old. I started working in an IT company in August. My gross monthly salary is ₹20,000 and the net monthly salary is ₹15,000. After all the spending I still have £10,000 left. I have some knowledge of stock markets and mutual funds. So I would like to ask where and how much should I invest? and how much risk should i take?
Vishal Ghodake
A How much risk you take depends on how much you want to preserve your capital and when you need the money back. If you have more than 7 or 8 years for your money to grow, then stock markets and stock funds will work. If your time frame is less than say 3 years, this will not be the case. If it’s somewhere in between, use a combination of stock funds and options like FDs, PPF, and so on.
If your time frame is long, consider investing around 50% of your salary in stock index funds like the Nifty 50, Nifty 500, and Nifty Midcap 150.
Invest the remaining 50% in traditional options like PPF, EPF and FDs. You can slowly increase exposure to stock index funds. Do this for a year or two and start watching the stock market and then see if you can measure stock volatility directly. If so, start with stocks of blue-chip companies and slowly expand your research to other companies by reading company annual reports and news events.
Q. I’m 23 now and want to invest ₹10,000 per month. I look for less risky options and moderate swings. Which investment funds/savings models are right for me?
rakesch
A If your time frame is more than 5 years, then consider putting about 30-40% in equity index funds like the Nifty 50 and the rest in hybrid balanced advantage funds and ultra short debt funds. Only do this if this is your first time investing in traditional options like PPF or have some FD in quality banks. That gives you a basis.
Q. I am a senior. I’ve been investing in mutual funds for 8 years. About a couple of years ago, I made significant investments in some of SBI’s regular growth funds. I also have good returns. But I have very serious doubts about the way these types of funds are managed. From the description of the fund’s name, I concluded that it will reinvest income from operations, ie dividends, profits from occasional sales of some stocks, around the increase in the price of shares of individual companies (which are part of each fund category) and maybe realization of bonus shares and allocate me more shares that can bring me more income from my investment. But nothing of the sort happened.
No additional shares have been issued since inception. So what are the mutual fund companies doing with my money? make money for yourself?
I have had no income for two and a half years. I had to sell some stocks to take out some money.
The sad thing is that I was not able to get an answer to my question from either MF representatives or SBI staff.
VH SUBRAMONEY
A I’m afraid you’re confusing mutual funds with stocks. Mutual funds pool all the money they receive from investors like you and invest it in stocks or bonds. As stocks grow, your NAV grows. When stocks fall, your NAV falls. There is no promise of a dividend or bonus. Everything they get from the underlying stocks they invest in is ultimately reflected in your NAV. Mutual funds are trusts and they can’t do anything with your money. We encourage you to read more about mutual funds here: https://www.mutualfundssahihai.com
/en/what-is-a-mutual-fund And most importantly, whether it’s a mutual fund or an insurance policy, please make sure you understand the product you’re investing in. It is best not to invest if the product structure is not clear to you.
Q. I’ve been an avid reader of Peppystores for 10 years. I am 40 years old and work in a PSU. My net monthly salary is ₹75,000. I have no savings as a lot of it went towards medical expenses to start a family of my own. Now I have two boys aged 2 and 1 year. Could you please suggest a financial action plan for my children, me and my family? There are no relatives now.
Paramesh
A Please ensure you have term life insurance (pure life insurance) of approximately 8 times your annual income plus any loans. This will be helpful to your family when an unwanted incident happens. Start PPF for your kids for 15 years while investing 50% of your savings in stock mutual funds — index funds like the Nifty 50, Nifty Midcap 150, and Nifty 500. Don’t try to be lured into selling multiple mutual funds. keep it simple
As savings increase, you may consider investing more in these index funds so that you have 60-70% in stock index funds. Use SIP and don’t react to market fluctuations and stop SIPs. SIP does not guarantee high returns, but rather disciplines your investment. This is necessary since you start late. Have a financial plan created with a paid planner to record goals related to education and retirement and how much savings are required to meet those goals.
(Advisor is co-founder, Primeinvestor.in)
