MICRO Blog

The Nifty 50 is presently down roughly 11% from its all-time high. Not a crash or a bear market, but enough to unsettle. The ongoing West Asia conflict, inflation fears, a weakening rupee, and economic slowdown chatter have combined to create a steady drip of anxiety for investors – many of whom had grown accustomed […]

For many individuals, buying a home is a lifelong dream, while for others, upgrading to a bigger or more comfortable home may be an important financial goal. Over the years, people usually accumulate savings by investing in various assets such as shares, mutual funds, gold, or property. When the time comes to achieve these goals, […]

In personal finance, the biggest leaks rarely come from market crashes. They come from social obligations dressed up as financial decisions. An insurance policy continues, not because it is suitable, but because a relative sold it. A demat account stays open, not because it is needed, but because a family acquaintance helped set it up. […]

A room filled with curiosity and a flood of questions on a lazy afternoon – that’s how I would describe the investor awareness session I conducted for the staff of LSEG Data & Analytics some time back. During such sessions, I usually ask the audience one simple but revealing question: “If you had to share […]

The latest revisions to India’s National Pension System (NPS) have allowed it to evolve into a flexible, low-cost, multi-choice, tax-efficient, long-term retirement product. For many investors, this could well be a game changer. Especially for those who: This behavioural gap is blatantly reflected in the difference between mutual fund scheme returns and actual investor returns. […]

This table was published recently by popular newspaper Mint. Different investment options have been ranked in order of their return performance – from the highest to the lowest for each calendar year in the 10-year period – 2016 to 2025. They broadly fall under the following 4 asset classes – Fixed Income (debt), Equity, Gold […]

I know people who have created huge wealth from humble incomes and disciplined savings. And, also those earning exceptionally well, yet constantly struggling financially due to poor cash-flow control and negligible investments. That is why, when I sit down to prepare a financial plan for a client, the one figure I pay very close attention […]

Imagine how you use water when there’s a 24/7 supply versus when a municipal water cut is imposed. In scarcity, you automatically become more careful, even saving more than required. The same principle applies to money. During our working years, income flows regularly; in retirement, it dosen’t. When there is a meteoric rise in money […]

There is often a long gap between what we know and what we actually do. Knowing something is not the same as understanding it and putting it into practice. For instance, everyone knows a few minutes of daily exercise is good for health. Yet, how many of us actually walk, stretch, or work out consistently? […]

If you self-reflect on your annual expenses of the past 3 years, I am sure you would observe that your lifestyle has evolved. Your income has risen and so have your aspirations. It could be an upgrade to a better car, a better house, frequent shopping, frequent vacation incl. foreign travel, club memberships, lavish spending […]

While preparing financial plans for clients – I have come across many pain points which otherwise prevent individuals to navigate a healthy, secured and confident financial future. These include huge debt, flamboyant lifestyle, excessive risk taking, no clarity of financial goals, inadequate insurance, juggling major life transitions and many more. All the cases handled though […]

Nominations in mutual funds makes transmission easy for the heirs in the event of the unitholder’s death. Existing regulatory guidelines make it mandatory for new folios/accounts opened by an individual in a single name to make a nomination. In case investors do not wish to nominate, they can explicitly opt out and need to confirm […]

After a relentless market rally past few years, investors have still not gotten used to the persistent sagging trend now. They face a conundrum as markets appear like a bottom less pit. In such uncertain times, investors often take a shortsighted view of their investments through the prism of recent market events. It could unnecessarily […]

The mutual fund sahi hai campaign has resonated well with retail investors over the past decade. This is reflected in the share of equity fund flows which were nearly 60 per cent of the total assets under management in November 2024. Ironically, debt mutual funds are like their poor cousin whose awareness is abysmally low. […]

These anecdotes defy the conventional thumb rules in personal finance. Personal finance is not rocket science but has its own nuanced layers. Every person’s life and financial situation is different including their finances, lifestyle, dependents, family environment, relationships, health status, savings mindset, money habits, risk taking ability, psyche. Thumb rules can be a good guide […]

Over the past few days post-Budget 2024, experts, media, investors have all been scrambling to understand the implications of Budget 2024. Different opinions, narratives also fuelled some confusion about the tax impact on certain instruments. Finally, the dust seems to have settled. To keep it as simple for the readers, I have summed up the […]

Few months back, a client told me to expedite his STP (systematic transfer plan) duration from debt to equity which I had set for 6 months. Reason – he had got the news that Sensex is going to touch 85,000 very soon. Another client, confident about the current government returning to power wanted to over-commit […]

Most financial products bought by customers are through intermediaries and the former pays a commission for the service availed. But the customer does not pay directly to the agent. For e.g., a 30-year old buying a Rs.10 lakh Jeevan Anand endowment policy pays an annual premium of Rs.37,000 for 30 years. This includes 35 per […]

Jim Walis rightly stated: If you are asking the wrong question, it doesn’t matter how good the answer is, you aren’t going to get where you want to go. In the context of personal finance, questions which focus more on the product rather than the solution have a myopic approach. This stems from the fact […]

Post office interest rates are market linked and are revised every quarter depending upon the movement of long & short term market rates in general. The above interest rates are applicable for the fourth quarter (Jan-March 2024) of financial year 2023-24. With RBI keeping interest rates unchanged in the last monetary policy, there has been […]