Vipin Khandelwal

Do you want to talk about this?

October 14, 2015 by Vipin Khandelwal

Over the past few weeks, I have been working to understand the experience in buying various financial products – from a simple savings bank account to a mutual fund, insurance, ULIP, post office schemes, real estate and stocks.

I have had some experiences by myself. I have heard from my friends, family and colleagues too.

Some have had harrowing experiences, almost like an ordeal. Most experiences though were a mixed bag – different for different products.

But today I want to listen to your voice.

What has been your experience? The good, the bad and the ugly, all of it.

And there is a purpose behind it.

We got to make financial decisions better and products simpler, faster, smoother and convenient. Your answers will lead to understanding to build the change that we all want.

The 3 investment mistakes of my life

October 12, 2015October 12, 2015 by Vipin Khandelwal

“Have you seen the movie Kai po che?” Vijay suddenly threw this question at me. We had just finished seeing another movie and were driving back home.

“Yes, I have. It was on TV a few weeks ago.” I replied casually.

“Did you like it?” he asked.

“Yes, I did. A lot.”

“Do you know it is based on Chetan Bhagat’s book 3 mistakes of my life?” he continued.

“Oh! I didn’t know that. I haven’t read the book, in fact, none of Chetan Bhagat’s books.” I said with a tone mixed of curiosity and surprise.

“Even I haven’t read it. I got the information from one of the reviews of the movie,” said the movie buff with a twinkle in his eyes. I smiled.

There was a short pause.

I got thinking. I turned to Vijay, who was driving, and asked, “What about the 3 investment mistakes of your life?”

The curious case of Index Funds

January 30, 2017October 10, 2015 by Vipin Khandelwal

No one wants to buy index funds

The concept of Index funds has not worked in India, at least not so far. They are super hit in countries like the USA but not in India. Vanguard in the USA, the largest mutual fund company, has all its products as index funds.

Further read: Founder of Vanguard, John Bogle’s 8 Rules to build your mutual fund portfolio

Less than 1% of the overall investments in equity mutual funds in India are in index funds. That says it all.

The one word that would come to anybody’s mind who is picking mutual funds is ‘performance‘, which again, for index funds, is nothing to write home about.

There are several ‘other funds‘ that have delivered much better returns. And is that not what we want – more returns?

The ‘other funds‘ are the ‘actively managed‘ funds compared to the ‘passively managed‘ index funds.

Having said that, there are some key benefits of using index funds as a part of a long-term portfolio. Let’s explore them here.

Mutual fund – Even Baba Sehgal has it!

October 3, 2015 by Vipin Khandelwal

What’s the connection between Baba Sehgal and mutual funds?

Well, he has done something that probably no one has ever done before.

No one will be able to convince you better than Baba Sehgal as to why you need a mutual fund.

He has made a hilarious rap video on mutual funds.

It will not only make you laugh and wonder but also ensure that you have mutual fund on your mind.

Absolutely must watch!

Balanced Mutual Funds: Balancing the upside and the downside

May 13, 2016October 1, 2015 by Vipin Khandelwal

The doorbell rang, twice. I open the door and I see Sachin, my neighbour, standing there. He stared at me and then quickly walked into my house.

“Vipin, I read your posts on equity mutual funds and debt mutual funds. I also read about asset allocation and diversification.” Sachin said, as he took a seat.

“But you know, I still can’t figure out how to build my portfolio of debt and equity funds. It is all getting too confusing – choosing equity funds, then debt funds.

Can you tell me just ONE fund that can take care of both debt and equity investment?” I now understood the purpose of the sudden visit.

“Ah, my friend, I understand your pain. I guess even the mutual fund houses understand it too. So, they made something to solve exactly your problem.” I replied.

“You mean to say something like that actually exists. That’s great! What is it?”

The Acid Test for your Investment Portfolio

September 28, 2015 by Vipin Khandelwal

“How do you know if your investment portfolio is doing well?”

I usually get a range of responses to this question. They start from “ummmmm (which means I have no idea)” to “when it delivers the best returns“. The latter also means “I have no idea” but with an attempt to sound smart.

Very few investors are aware of what makes their investment portfolio worthwhile. Let alone that, they don’t even know what is their portfolio return. They know their FD return, PPF return, NSC return, but portfolio return?

You would realise that the ‘portfolio return’ is one of the key numbers that tells you if your investment portfolio is really working for you or not.

Today, let’s set aside all our excuses and do an acid test on your investment portfolio.