Hike SIP amounts by 5% every year to meet future goals, retire early

Not many investors know whether they have invested in the right funds and if their fund portfolio is on track. The Portfolio Doctor assesses the health of the fund portfolio, examines the schemes and their suitability with regard to the goals and, if required, recommends corrective measures. The advice given is based on the performance of the funds, the risk profile of the investor as well as his financial goals.

D. Rastogi and his wife are saving for their son’s goals and retirement. Here’s what the doctor says:

PORTFOLIO CHECK-UP

• Have been investing in a mix of equity and debt funds for the past 5-6 years.
• Early start has helped build a sizeable corpus.
• Goals are ambitious, but regular investing can help reach them.
• They hold too many funds, and need to junk underperforming schemes.
• Shouldn’t invest in new funds. Just 7-8 funds are enough.
• Must reduce VPF contribution to avoid breaching the tax-free limit.
• Instead of VPF, they can open a PPF account to build taxfree corpus.
• Should buy a Rs.2 crore life insurance to secure all the goals.

Note from the doctor

• Fund portfolio has mid- and small-cap skew. Be ready for volatility.
• Avoid recurring and fixed deposits.
• Debt funds are more tax-efficient.
• Review investments and rebalance at least once in a year.
• Reduce risk when goal is near so that you don’t miss the target.

WRITE TO US FOR HELP
If you want your portfolio examined, write to etwealth@timesgroup.com with 'Portfolio Doctor' as the subject. Mention the following information:

• Names of the funds you hold.
• Current value of the investment.
• If you have SIPs running in any of them.
• The financial goals for which you invested.
• How much you need for each financial goal.
• How far away is each goal.