Archive of posts from November 2018


  • Nov 29, 2018

    How to Choose a Mutual Fund

    We've all heard it -- don't choose a mutual fund just based on past performance or star rating. Then, how does one go about choosing a good fund? That is the question I want to answer today. While I am not expert at picking a good mutual fund, I did have my share of bad pickings and hence have had some wisdom knocked into me. So here are some tips on how to choose a good mutual fund based on my experience.

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  • Nov 22, 2018

    Are Index Funds Better Than Active Funds?

    In the US, index investing is all the rage. John Bogle who started the first index fund, contends that an index fund beats almost all actively managed mutual funds (after accounting for fees) in the long run. But does it work in India? That was the experiment I set out to conduct in early 2012.

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  • Nov 15, 2018

    The Gilt Experiment

     You've probably heard about the inverse relationship between bond prices and interest rates. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall and vice-versa. How can we use this information to make some money without a lot of volatility? Read along about my experiment with interest rate cycles.

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  • Nov 8, 2018

    My Asset Allocation

    I have discussed the 70:30 asset allocation in my previous 2 posts. However, I did not really follow the rule, not because it did not work for me, but for the simple reason that I wanted to learn market cycles and take risk while doing my investments. I would not suggest anyone play with investments like I did (unless you know what your are doing) and risk losing money. Instead follow the boring simple rule of 70:30 and it works. This is more of a case study of my investing style.

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  • Nov 1, 2018

    The 70:30 Asset Allocation

    In my previous post, I talked about about allocating 70% to equity and 30% to fixed income and just keep that ratio irrespective of which stage you are in your life. But does it really work? Lets work out some examples to see how it might work under various conditions.

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