Mutual funds ... Yes all the way !!!!

A little planning  can  some times take   you to a place  far beyond your own imagination . I started investing in mutual funds as soon as I got  my first salary .To be frank I had no financial goals to fulfill , I was just doing it for the sake of  investment .I started with a modest amount of Rs 2000 per month in a SIP(Systematic investment plan ).A year later i tripled that amount , still with a vague idea that I might use that money some day . By the end of 2007 my marriage  was on cards and realized that I had quite a bit of moolah in my kitty . Suddenly I felt like a super hero (heroin I guess :) ) and declared that all the money for my marriage expenses would come from  my pocket  . My Mom I guess wasn't very amused but my Dad supported me . After engagement ,jewelry and saris expenses I was short of money for the marriage venue expenses as I still had some money locked into the taxer saver plan , which had a locking period of 3 years and my parents were against of taking it out …I felt really good paying for marriage if not all of it … 

Enough bragging lol…. The point I  am  trying to say here is  thats how I got totally hooked on to the mutual funds  ….. 

Since marriage we have increased the investments a zillion times . Three years later when we look at the our investments and the returns , we are just beyond thrilled . It's just amazing how much money you can make by not working hard but thinking  smart !!! 

I do not want to reveal the actual figures here but ,  will do the maths using imaginary figures.. 

We have so far got 45%  returns for our investments with a 55:45 equity:debt ratio and a average locking period of 15 months .

Let me explain,  what exactly the above statements means .  Lets say we have invested $100 over a period of three years .We have 55% of our funds in equity which have a higher risk and rate of returns associated with them and 44% in  debt/liquid funds . We have been  investing pretty much at the same rate over the three years irrespective of the market ups and downs . This money has been invested from May 2008 to Dec 2010 which is like 30 months so the average time for which the money is sitting is 15 months .The best part the returns on the equity are totally TAX FREE !!!

At the end of the 30 months we have  $145 in our hands . Thats like 45% returns. When you invest a big amount so are the returns which is what we did...

I  came across this article on the net about the investment about mutual fund and the guy pretty much nailed it. Thats exactly  how  we do it , very clear and simple. Spending a day and two arounds different funds and there performances should give an idea about where to begin.

http://valueinvestinginindia.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/selecting-mutual-funds/#comment-139

To tell you very frankly even after spending a portion of the returns on shopping and travel we still have larger portion of it left out .We realized that we have been playing pretty safe all this while and recently decided to change the equity:debt to 70:30 and by the end of this year , we are planning to achieve that . As a rule, our equity related investment should not exceed 100 – your age (in terms of %) , so planning to achieve that .It might mean more shopping and vacations the next year !!!! I hope to get even more staggering returns next year .

Our investment portfolio is quite diversified .We have our investments in real estate ,insurance,stocks, fixed deposits, chit funds and gold (quite a little in it) . The mutual funds beats all these far far behind but that being said we will still invest in those investment as , investing in one thing is never a wise investment .I do not say that this is the best investment option but it's certainly the better one given the returns with the time and energy spent .It is like out sourcing your stock investments . Investing directly in stock market is again a good option but let me not not get into how much time and effort it requires , I am not even talking about maintaining a sanity level !!!


I always felt investing in the stock option is not only good for me but my social responsibility too . Our economy needs our money for our better future , if you do not trust your own country and it's people's abilities , then who will ? Frankly speaking I do not know many people in my age group who invest in stocks/Mutual Fund in india , there is huge lack of awareness . I tried to do my best to explain MF here , hope our example at least serves as a case study :) . I am providing a list of funds in which we have invested.
If you have any questions regarding anything contact me , I will be glad to help . I can show you our investment portfolio too with the exact figures and returns , I can do that at my home only due to the highly confidential nature of the information lol ….

e - Equity funds
d - Debt/liquid funds

ICICI Dynamic e
HDFC MIP d
HDFC Equity e
HDFC MIP d
HDFC Prudence e
SBI MIP G d
SBI Contra e
Birla Savings d
Birla Equity e
Birla Frontline e
Rel MIP d
Rel Growth e
ICICI Tax Plan e
HDFC Taxsaver e
ICICI Dynamic e
HDFC MIP d
HDFC TOP200 e
HDFC High-Int d
HDFC Equity e


You can check the performance of each fund here for the last three years .(I have shortened the name of funds )

http://www.mutualfundsindia.com/fundfactsheet.asp