Investment strategies to buy a house in three to five years

I am a 32-year-old, employed professional. Recently, I started investing in mutual funds with a debt:equity ratio of 35:65. What strategies would you suggest if I have a goal of buying a property three to five years from now? Shall I restrict myself to maximum seven to eight funds? Any suggested portfolio from your side as per my needs?
--Paras Saxena

Harpeet Singh, Founder, Vserv Capital Services, responds:

You have not mentioned your goal - that is, the value of the property you want to buy nor have you mentioned the amount you have invested. It's not clear whether you have invested a lumpsum or you are investing via SIPs. The advice that I can give is:


i) Invest in 4-5 funds and evaluate their performance every year. Don't over-diversify and make things complicated.

ii) You may have to wait longer than three to five years for the markets to give you decent returns.

iii) If the market moves up, you should increase your exposure to debt and only when Nifty/Sensex PE comes below 20, you start moving from debt to equity.

You should approach a qualified financial planner for better and personalised advice.