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.
When planning for a child's marriage, one often tends to underestimate the amount required. It is said, "marriages are made in heaven but celebrated on Earth." It is the celebration of the formation of a new bond between two individuals and two families. Most parents wish to celebrate it lavishly, but it is equally important that one plans systematically towards such goals.
In the Ramayana; Kumbhakarna is described as having been cursed to sleep for 6 months at a time. If only we investors had the same ability. If we had fallen asleep at the end of February 2020 and then woken up at the end of August 2020, it would appear that nothing much had happened. After all the Nifty 50 closed at 11201 at the end of February 2020 and at the end of August 2020 it was only marginally changed at 11387.
When it comes to investments, one would like to understand how their investments grew, and at what pace, over different time periods. There are many metrics that can be used to calculate the rate of return on investments, but the most common one amongst them is CAGR.
Make volatility help you create wealth
The long journey to major financial goals like buying a home, children’s higher education and retirement, is comparable to a long distance flight or a sea voyage. In Air travel you sometimes experience uncomfortable air pockets and choppy seas in case of sea travel. Of course, we don’t interrupt or abandon those journeys because turbulence is a part and parcel of them.
This is a regular question that I get asked at meetings with investors and mutual fund distributors. It is even more common today as markets have moved up to a record high and valuations have pushed significantly higher. This question presupposes that I have the skills to discern the risks in the market. Blessed as I am with a worrying & skeptical nature, I see risks all the time. But, the problem with risk is that the biggest and market disrupting risks are those that I cannot see. Worse they are the unknown unknowns.
