Ask ET Mutual Funds: Can I bank on SBI Small & Midcap Fund?

I am 23 years old, and currently unemployed. I have been investing Rs 1,000 every month in SBI Small & Midcap Fund - Regular (Growth) through an SIP since August 2015. I want to remain invested for a long time, say, 25-35 years. Is this scheme good to build a decent corpus in the long run? - Bhaskar Buragohain

Prakash Praharaj, promoter and chief financial planner, Max Secure Financial Planners, responds: The first thing that comes to my mind is how can you maintain an SIP when you are unemployed. However, if you could contribute regularly, SIPs are the right way for long-term investing. SBI Small & Midcap Fund is a good fund on three-year parameters, but the performance is not encouraging lately. It has slipped in rank because of this. However, we advise you to keep a watch on it and switch to a good largecap fund later. In future, you should set your goal, have your risk appetite assessed, invest with an asset allocation and undertake periodical re-balancing.

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