Intermediate

OWhen chalking out a prudent financial roadmap, one may have several goals. It is always desirable to divide such financial goals into short-term and long-term. Long-term goals may include retirement planning, children's education, marriage, etc. Short-term goals may consist of maintaining an emergency fund, house renovation in the next six months, family vacation, vehicle purchase, etc. While equities are considered for long-term financial purposes, choosing the right investment option for short-term financial goals may be tricky for some investors.

It is a known fact that the purchasing power of money reduces over time. An Rs. 2000 note today will fetch lower value a year later and further lower a decade later. Similarly, a Rs. 100 item will most likely not be available at the same rate a year later and available at much higher rates 10 years later. This happens due to the increase in prices of raw materials, input services etc. In normal parlance, this is referred to as inflation, which reflects the increase in prices of commodities and services across different periods.

The outbreak of COVID-19 is being referred to as a “once in a century event” and has heightened uncertainty for many companies which have to deal with the prospect of a significant drop in their cash flows. The longer the pandemic persists, greater the risks as leveraged businesses might find it hard to service the debt or access credit.

When it comes to investing in mutual funds, data suggests that investors are highly inclined to invest in equity funds. As per the quarterly data for July - September 2022, about 9.2 crore folios featured equity schemes across the mutual fund industry, with the total Assets Under Management (AUM) of ₹14.64 lakh crores. In comparison, the number of folios in debt-oriented schemes stood at around 72 lakh. (Source: AMFI)

On July 31, 2020, the Nifty Pharma index has hit a 52-week high levels. This no doubt gives us great satisfaction considering that the Pharmaceutical sector is the largest overweight sector position in UTI Value Opportunities Fund (the Fund). Even as many of our portfolio companies were battered by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, this index has bounced nearly 79% from its low in Mar-2020.

Gold is regarded as a natural hedge against inflation and currency depreciation. Moreover, the recent volatility in the global financial markets has brought the focus back to the yellow metal as an investment option. As such, gold is generally considered to add stability to an investment portfolio, which is useful during times of market volatility.

New Fund Offer(NFO) refers to the new mutual fund schemes being offered to the investors. This is akin to Initial Public Offering (IPO) made by the unlisted companies for their equity shares, wherein the companies offer shares to the public for the first time. NFOs aim to attract household savings by offering new mutual fund schemes to the investors.

As the fund manager of UTI Value Opportunities Fund, I often wonder if it would be more palatable to many investors if we called the fund ‘UTI Opportunities Fund’ (as it was once called) because the word ‘Value’ in the name of the fund has become unappealing to some.

The 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is happening by around six months’ delay due to pandemic. However, a delayed event is better against a cancelled event for the cricket fans across the country, who keenly wait for the Indian Premier League (IPL) every year. Apart from the entertainment it aims to provide, the cricketing event provides several investment lessons for the investors to follow. 

While retirement planning is often discussed, not many take it seriously. Since the post-retirement phase generally does not have regular cash flows, it is crucial for the investors that their financial plans consider all the eventualities. It is also essential that investors have enough investment corpus to maintain their lifestyle and take care of medical expenses post-retirement.