List of Best Equity Diversified Mutual funds for 2010

POSTED BY Jagoinvestor ON August 30, 2010 COMMENTS (469)

Want to invest in the best mutual funds in India? Read on. I have compiled a short list of Mutual Funds which are top mutual funds in the Equity Diversified category. These are long-term winners in their categories and have proved their performance over the years by beating their benchmark and category average by a good margin. These are non-tax saving Equity diversified mutual funds that are large-cap oriented. Remember that I am giving a list of funds. These are funds that have more than half allocation in large-cap oriented companies and around 50% of their money in the top 3 sectors they hold. Based on these criteria, I am putting 7 best mutual funds along with analysis, some of these are very old and some are relatively newer. (last year list)

List of Best Equity Mutual Funds

Source: valueresearchonline.com

Portfolio & Sector Allocation

All the above funds have returned around 20% or more in different time frames consistently, which is very encouraging when you want to invest in these funds. However our concentration this time is large-cap oriented mutual funds, we are not including funds that have a high concentration in midcap or small-cap funds. Let’s look at these mutual funds share in Large or Giant Companies. My criteria were to have at least 60%+ in Large/Giant Companies and around 50% allocation in the top sectors they invested in. We also have funds expense ratio which is around 2% for each of them. Read Magic of SIP

Source: valueresearchonline.com

Fund Manager and a Brief Overview of Mutual Funds

Past performance is just one of the criteria we can look at, but it’s not enough and not a guarantee of how it will perform in the future. Let’s also look at who manages it and how these funds have done so far overall as per their mandate and investing philosophy. Please note, that we are talking about the Growth option here and not the dividend option.

HDFC Top 200

HDFC Top 200 is one of the most well-known Mutual Funds in the country. It’s an amazing performance of 26% CAGR in the last 14 yrs is proof. 10 lacs invested in HDFC Top 200 since Inception is worth 2.54 crores (non-taxable) today compared to 30 lacs in FD (taxable). Some achievements of funds are that in the 2008 bear market, HDFC Top 200 was able to restrict its fall to 45% only, which was 11% less than its benchmark and 8% less than its category. Prashant Jain is the Fund Manager of HDFC Top 200 and one of the best known and famous Fund managers in the country with a long term experience.

Prashant Jain’s Investment Approach: “The criteria that go into selecting stocks/sectors are quality, our understanding, growth prospects, valuation of businesses and the composition of the benchmark – BSE 200.”. The fund has good 20% allocation in Midcap or small-cap stocks which gives a kicker in returns.

How to look beyond short term returns in Mutual Funds

DSP BlackRock Top 100 Equity

DSPBR top 100 is not a decade old fund, but its performance is strong enough to say that it’s one of the best in the category as of now. The fund has given enough proof of its performance like even in the first year of its launch it gave an amazing 129% return beating its benchmark by an “oh my god” 29% return:). It also showed its capacity to restrict loses in the bear market of 2008  by falling by only 46% compared to its benchmark which fell by 55 %, thereby giving a better performance by 9 %. The best thing I liked about this fund is that this fund has provided very strong performance by mainly focusing on large-cap companies, the fund allocation in Large-cap companies stands at 94% which is outstanding. This clearly shows the competence of Fund manager Apoorva Shah who is managing the fund for the last 3 yrs.

Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity A

This is another winner in the long run. Over the years Birla Sun life frontline equity has consistently outperformed its benchmark by a good margin. During the market falls of 2004, 2006 and the big crash of 2008 and early 2009, This fund was able to restrict downsides better than its benchmark. The fund is largely Large Cap oriented, however the fund is known to take some risks in Midcap space and hence has seen one-quarter and its first year lagging behind its benchmark, but that was not a prolonged behavior, over all it has done great. The main reason it came to top in performance was the entry of Mahesh Patil as the fund manager in Nov 2005.

HDFC Equity

This fund is for long-term investors because HDFC Equity does not hesitate to take risks. Having a good allocation in midcap/small-cap companies, Its performance comes by being invested for long-term, which means short-term volatility in its performance. Being 15+ yrs old fund, have shown its performance over and over again, this one is for people who really like to play with mutual funds on a long-term basis. The fund manager is again star performer Prashant Jain, who took over this fund in 2003 and the fund has never looked back. Just to give you a flavor, the fund in 2009 has given 30% more than Nifty Index and in the last 1 yrs itself, it has given 42% return compared to just 15% from Nifty. You can count this one as an aggressive large-cap fund for investors with a strong heart and long-term vision

UTI Opportunities

As the name suggest, UTI opportunities are for you, only if you a risk taker and like to bet on different opportunities available in the market. As per the mandate of UTI opportunities it looks at the gaps available in the market and the sector and pics the stocks which are really undervalued and might outperform in the future. As per the fund mandate, the Fund manager dynamically shifts between sectors depending on the macro economic outlook and opportunities available in the market. This means the potential of a huge upside as well as the risk of getting wrong. After Harsh Upadhyaya took over in 2007, the fund has done wonders and has given returns double than its benchmark, which is impressive. So if you a kind of investor who likes to take chance on opportunities, UTI Opportunities should be in your Portfolio.

Reliance RSF Equity

Reliance RSF has shown some impressive performance over the last some years. However the fund is fairly aggressive in nature and is known to take risky calls whenever it finds good opportunity, despite being called a large-cap fund, Reliance RSF has large amount (45%)  of portfolio in small and mid-cap stocks at the time of writing this article, The fund did not really do very well when it started, but within a year it came on track and then showed good performance. Remember that this is a risky fund and can be actually compared to mid-cap funds in some sense given its nature of taking risks. So it might not suit you if you like to take long-term calls and want to be on the safe side. The fund is also known to churn its portfolio faster, so be cautious.

UTI Dividend Yield

This fund is really special. UTI Dividend Yield is another gem in the basket of Diversified mutual funds with a different style of investing. This is one fund, which has a woman for a fund manager in Swati Kulkarni, who has done a wonderful job in managing the fund till now. As per the mandate, the UTI dividend yield fund should make an investment of at least 65 percent of the portfolio in equity shares that have a high dividend yield at the time of investment. The fund has managed to successfully deliver on its commitment and has never deviated from its words. That’s called ethics and focus. Due to this, the fund has given a strong performance and because of its nature of strategy, the downfall is always restricted well. Ladies would like to invest in this fund given they like to play safe and it also comes from a lady fund manager 🙂 (Women & Personal Finance in India)

Which one should you invest in?

Remember that you have to take a call based on what your time frame is and which fund suits your requirement, Overall, if you are too confused in choosing the fund, I would say the best thing would be to choose any, randomly and invest rather than delaying your decision because of confusion. Another thing which you should understand that this is not an exhaustive list. There are enough funds other than these which could have been here in the list, but I have not included them as these 7 funds were the one which came on the top as per my criteria and also because I wanted to limit the number of funds to a single digit so that one can choose with less confusion. Also, make sure your asset allocation is correct

Disclaimer:  Note that these funds are pure equity funds and just because they have performed excellently in history does not make them future star performers. This is just an assumption, that they will keep doing great even in the future given their investment style and integrity in management till date. Also, you have to make sure you review your investments every year so that you throw out the laggards and pick better funds. Expect around 12-13% in the future even though they have high potential. This article should in no way be treated as an encouragement to invest in these funds. Your decision is purely yours 🙂

Comments: Which other funds did you expect in this list? Do you have other funds’ names which deserved to be here according to you? Do these funds suit your requirements?

469 replies on this article “List of Best Equity Diversified Mutual funds for 2010”

  1. Rajesh Patil says:

    Hi Manish,
    I have been investing in HDFC equity and UTI opportunities for past 2 years (5000 monthly each). While UTI is performing quite well, the performance of HDFC equity has been consistently going down. Also its crisil ranking / rating has degraded over this period. I am considering to move from HDFC equity to some other fund. I have 3 questions – (1) Would that be wise decision? Should I continue with HDFC equity? (2) If No, can you propose a couple of options in the same category? (3) I have over 1 lac rs invested in this fund so far. How do I move those to new fund – one time or through monthly withdrawal and monthly SIP into new fund?
    Thanks,
    Raj

    1. I need to look at them in detail actually before commenting .

      1. Rajesh Patil says:

        Thanks Manish. Please let me know when you get a chance to look at those. Really appreciate your help and guidance.

        Raj

        1. Rajesh Patil says:

          Hi Manish,
          Waiting for your suggestions on this.
          I have compared some Large cap mutual fund performance over past 2-3 years horizon and think that BNP Paribas Equity Fund (Crisil Rank 1) and Birla SunLife Front Line (Crisil Rank 2) have been quite consistent over the period. I am more inclined towards BNP Paribas Equity Fund. Please let me know your thoughts on these 2 funds.

          Raj

          1. Have not looked at it a lot because I have never heard about them so much. Please start a thread on our forum to discuss it – http://www.jagoinvestor.com/forum/

  2. Aditya says:

    Manish

    I am 37 yrs old and my wife is 34 yrs old and we are into IT and Law professions. Till date we have kept aside 32 Lacs in FDs maturing in 7 years. At present we have liquid cash approx 10 Lacs and unsure where to invest this money in. As you can see we have invested purely in FDs till date. I am thinking of investing 5 Lacs each in one of the above listed MFs for long term (for child education etc). Please suggest.

    Thanks
    Aditya

    1. Yes, Mutual funds would be a good place to invest in , but you need to find out which funds will be better for you in next 3-5 yrs .

  3. B Bhaskar says:

    Sir,

    I am a 43 year old male salaried employee and new to Mutual Fund. A distributor approached me and said for my age I should invest in these following schemes for a period of 17 yrs (i.e., upto my retirement age) at Rs.3,000/- pm.
    a. “UTI Opportunities Fund – Regular – Growth” for Rs. 1,000/-
    b. “UTI Balanced Fund – Regular – Growth” for Rs. 1,000/-
    c. “UTI MidCap Fund – Regular – Growth” for Rs. 1,000/-

    Please advise.

    1. These are good funds overall .. however all the funds are from UTI , means that he has not considered other options in mutual funds , while there is nthing to worry about . Better check with him why he had recommeneded only UTI to you , btw, I hope you know about the commissions in mutual funds – https://www.jagoinvestor.com/2010/04/understanding-different-commissions-on-mutual-funds.html

      1. B Bhaskar says:

        Thank you very much for the information, Sir.

  4. Ashutosh Bhardwaj says:

    Manish,
    Can you share with us the list for 2012? Maybe it will be intresting to see how your choice varies from year on year and which MFs have been in your list consistently 😉

    1. Ashutosh

      Most of the funds will still be same 🙂 .. what is your time horizon !

      1. Ashutosh Bhardwaj says:

        I am looking for the past 5 years…My current portfolio is
        —HDFC Top 200 : 6k SIP
        —ICICI Bluechip: 5K SIP
        —Kotak Gold FOF: 2K SIP

        I was thinking whether I should increase my contribution in the existing or should I pick someother.

        1. I think better not disturb it .. did you review all the funds ?

          1. Ashutosh Bhardwaj says:

            I did and I am choosing to add Birla Sunlife Frontline equity and to diversify adding HDFC Prudence ( hope to get some more benefits from from Mr Prashant Jain :-))

  5. deb says:

    thanx a lot sir for ur information abt pension plan..sir will u please tell me that what i should do for securing my financial future becoz i am working bt dnt have pension option and i am saving 1,00000 per year.my age is 40+. what i do- buy mutual fund or F.D. till now i prefer F.D. bt if u think mutual fund is more good then plz suggest name of some good mutual fund. i want riskless investment.i dont have much financial support. plz help…

    1. If you want risk less investments option , then you go with FD only .

      1. deb says:

        sir, thanx for ur support.

        regards..
        deb

  6. Prem kansal says:

    Hi Manish ,

    Glad to see your suggestions and advices for innocent people in wealth management. I shall be very happy to speak to you personally .

    I shall look forward for your reply soon.

    Regards,

    Prem

  7. Prem kansal says:

    Hi Manish,

    Actually i started investing in some of MF few years back . I have a mix performance from various funds. I didn’t had much knowledge about MF initially . Now I am planning to consolidate my MF portfolio . I am sure i shall able to do much better with your suggestions .I have below funds in portfolio :-
    1. SBI blue chip , NFO allotment. Very bad performance.
    2. ICICI Prulife Life insurance ( Life Time) Maxima …invested so far 1.6 lac , but no much gains.
    3. Fidelity india special situations fund.
    4.Fidelity international opportunities fund.
    5.IDFC equity fund -A
    6. Reliance infra fund – worst performance.
    7. last one year i started investing in HDFC Top 200 , HDFC Equity & HDFC Mid cap.
    I believe this is the high time to consolidate my MF portfolio in 4-5 funds in total and exit from some funds.

    I shall look forward for your reply soon.

    Regards,

    Prem

    1. I think you should just invest in HDFC Equity and IDFC

      1. Prem kansal says:

        Hi Manish ,

        Thanks for your swift response , but i believe i should have 4-5 funds to be on safer side and should select the top ones in , diversified fund , Equity fund, etc. I am in a delamma , whether i should quit from ICICI prudential life time life insurance ULIP, Reliance Infra fund , SBI Blue chip and Fidelity international opportunities fund and divert this money to some good funds. All these funds have occupied my 2/3 MF portfolio and moving very slow. Rather Rel Infra is in -ve zone , by 18-20%. Kindly suggest the best possible route.

        Regards,
        Prem

        1. For detailed discussion , you should be opening a thread on our forum – https://www.jagoinvestor.com/forum/

          1. Prem kansal says:

            Hi Manish ,

            I am not a computer savvy person. That is why i requested for communication through email or phone. My contact no. is 9844010901.

            Regards,

            1. Sir

              We do not make calls to any one other than clients, we only have this comments section to discuss things

  8. Vineet Rajput says:

    Dear manish,
    My age is 24 and i want to invest 4-5 k per month in mutual fund.
    Please suggest me that how much amount will invest in which kind of mutual fund?

    1. Vineet

      If you have an outlook of 5+ yrs .. go for balanced funds like HDFC Prudence !

  9. ANIL KUMAR KAPILA says:

    Hi Manish
    My feeling is that under the present condition of the market it will be better to include some balanced funds also in the portfolio.If we check the performance of diversified equity funds for the last five years we will find that some equity oriented hybrid funds have performed better.By including a balanced fund we can leave the rebalancing to the expert fund manager.
    Moreover, some defensive sector funds like FMCG & Pharma can be part of satellite with around 10% allocation.
    !0% allocation can also be considered for some gold saving fund.
    May be considering these points you can come up with a list of 12 funds for this year.

  10. ANIL KUMAR KAPILA says:

    Hi Manish
    Most of the funds in this list are still among the best.However, there are some funds which have better performance than some of the funds included.Hence I would request you to revisit and update this list. Moreover,do not stick to one number. You can think of increasing the number to 12 in this year.

    1. Anil

      Yes , I will update it soon in next post

  11. Haresh Makwana says:

    Dear Manish,

    1 Principal Personal Tax Saver
    2 Reliance Tax Saver Fund – Gr
    3 Birla Sun Life Tax Relief -96 Fund – Gr
    4 HDFC Taxsaver – Gr
    5 Sundaram BNP Paribas Tax Saver – Gr
    6 SBI Magnum Tax Gain Fund – Gr

    I have total six nos.of SIP(as above ), 1000/- rs/month each,from last 2 years, and return is negative as per bad market condition. Now sugest me that continue investing in all six funds or quit from any fund. also suggest me to make balanced portfolio.

    1. Haresh

      The performance is mainly because of markets , not the funds .. Just continue in HDFC tax saver now and dont put more money in other funds

      Manish

  12. anant says:

    Dear Manish,

    I am planning to go with the following SIP ( approx 8-10 years horizon)

    1) SBI Dynamic Bond Fund (g) 5K
    2) UTI opportunities Fund (G) 5K
    3) Reliance Gold Saving Fund (G) 5K
    4) SBI : Emerging Business Fund (G) 5K

    What do you think of the planned portfolio considering that i plan to retire within 15 years. Risk taking ability : medium – High.

    Thanks

    Anant

    1. Anand

      Why dont you go with equity funds which are well known …

      1. anant says:

        hi Manish,

        can u suggest a few … which can be part of the portfolio ? I thought 2 of the above are equity funds ….

        1. Anand

          HDFC top 200 and ICICI pru discovery are good one’s

          Manish

          1. anant says:

            thanks manish 🙂

  13. Yuvraj

    There is nothing like “best” forever .. for now you can start with HDFC Top 200 and IDFC primier Equity . Increase the contribution as you have it

    Manish

  14. yuvaraj says:

    Manish ,

    I am 30yrs old.
    I would like to start investing 5000 p/m through SIP.
    Can you suggest best funds to me for invest .
    As my time period is of 15yrs.
    Also i would like to know can i increase my SIP value in perticular fund as time progresses?

  15. Deepak Jain says:

    Hello Manish,
    !) Do u have any link for ur advise in investing in shares.
    2) websites or links for Proper plan to purchase a house in Mumbai.
    Regards,
    Deepak Jain

  16. Mr. Prakash P. Joshi says:

    SELECTION OF BEST OPEN ENDED EQUITY MUTUAL FUND SCHEMES AS ON 01st December,2011
    SCHEME NAME CATEGORY
    UTI Opportunities Large & Mid Cap
    ICICI Pru Focused Bluechip Equity Retail.. Large Cap
    ICICI Pru Discovery Mid & Small Cap
    IDFC Premier Equity Mid & Small Cap
    Magnum Emerging Business Mid & Small Cap
    Tata Dividend Yield Mid & Small Cap
    HDFC Equity Multi Cap
    Quantum Long Term Equity Multi Cap
    Tata Contra Multi Cap
    Birla Sun Life MNC Others
    UTI MNC Others
    ALL-WITH ONLY GROWTH OPTION Please!!!

    1. Prakash

      What is your question ?

      Manish

  17. Vikrant says:

    I have SIP of Rs.1000 each in HDFC Top200, HDFC Equity, HDFC Midcap and HDFC Taxsaver. I am planning to invest more in ELSS fund. But i am confused whether to add investment in HDFC taxsaver or go for new fund (Fidelity Tax advantage fund or other fund as per ur suggestion). This confusion arises because all my investments are in one fund house. Please suggest.

    1. You can go with Fidility Tax advantage fund

  18. Anu says:

    Hello Sir, I am new to mutual funds. In June 2011 I have started Reliance Banking Growth Plan SIP for Rs. 1000 per month. However, current NAV is less than that of NAV at the time of investment. Please, advise me whether it is a good fund and shall I continue or discontinue or switch to which fund? If I discontinue or switch what is the loss and how to recover it? I can’t take / withstand risks. Please, advise.

    Thanks,
    Anu

    1. Anu

      If you cant withstand risks , why did you invest insomething which has risk element ? Your mutual funds are going the right way , which is as per market direction , Markets are doing badly and its reflecting in your mutual fund , which is totally normal . If you cant take the risk , better get out of it

      Manish

  19. sai kumar rayapalli says:

    hai,
    iam 35 years married have two children .so advise me to what is the best health insurance plan .which company should i select

    1. Sai

      You can reach to medimanage.com for getting advice

      Manish

      1. Byju says:

        @Manish,
        I came to your blog searching for health insurance advise. But got lost in these interesting discussion on MFs and LIC. Is there any thread on health insurance ? I am looking for a good option for my parents they are 58 and 51 years old? Kindly suggest.

  20. deepti says:

    Hi Manish
    I wish to Invest Rs. 100000/- ( right now in Bank Saving Account) slowly in MF for Vision of around 10-15 years. I can take Risk for good returns.
    Kindly suggest Good Portfolio.
    Also Should I invest these Funds now in any good Debt Fund and slowly do STP
    suggest Debt fund also.

    1. Deepti

      Seems like you are new to mutual funds , I would suggest , better go slow and for nw invest in Balance Funds like HDFC Prudence

      Manish

      1. Deepti says:

        Manish
        I had already Started SIP with HDFC Top 200 of Rs. 2000Pm and DSPBR TOP100 G for 2000/- Pm

        I wish to start SIP for Rs. 10000/- PM for Vision of about 10 years min.

        Should I start One in Mid cap ? If yes then which one?
        Should I start SIP in ICICI Focused Blue Chip Fund ?
        Should I invest in any Gold Related SIP? which one

        Thanks

        1. Deepti

          What is your overall requirement ? What is your target and what is your risk appetite ? On what basis you have choosen to invest in Mind cap and other category of funds you have choosen ?

          Manish

          1. deepti says:

            By reading your Suggestions

            I can take risk as right now no Liabilities of Family
            duration of about 10 years investment
            Good Returns is the motto
            Mid cap gives good Returns?

          2. deepti says:

            Manish

            For Good Returns
            Can take Risk
            No Family liabilities till for next 5 yrs.
            Time Horizon of 10 -15 years for future
            ur Suggestions to others made me to select funds
            Mid cap gives good returns
            Kindly suggest me.

            I wish to start SIP for Rs. 10000/- PM for Vision of about 10 years min.

            Should I start One in Mid cap ? If yes then which one?
            Should I start SIP in ICICI Focused Blue Chip Fund ?
            Should I invest in any Gold Related SIP? which one

            1. Then just invest in equity funds mentioned in this article. .they are good funds for long term

              Manish

        2. Prem kansal says:

          Hi Deepti ,

          Looking at your case , i believe you can go far HDFC Equity fund , which also invests lot in Mid & Small cap companies , but track record is superb. However voletility will be high , but at the end it will give handsom returns , more over it managed by Prashant Jain ( Star Fund Manager ) with solid track record. You have selected excellent two funds already . HDFC 200 & DSPBR.
          All the best !!

          Prem

  21. Deepak says:

    Hello Manish,

    Really nice article.

    Have a suggestion for the website.

    I think paginated comments will help page load time and prevent web browsers from crashing.

    http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/paginated-comments can help

    Thank you
    Deepak

    1. Deepak

      Thanks for the comment .. the only reason I am not doing it is that a lot of people do not know that comments might be hidden in some other pages , so I choose a little more time in loading rather than many people not gettting comments to read .

      Manish

  22. Vijji says:

    Hi Manish,

    I have started(Oct 2010) 3 SIPs(Rs6k) in the below MF’s for 3 years
    HDFC Top200 G 2k
    Reliance RSF G 2k
    DSP BR Top100 G 2k

    Now i want to increase the SIP by another Rs3k/month in the above funds by increasing Rs1k/month in each fund. or Rs1500 more in HDFC & DSP BR, because from 2 years Reliance performance is not so good.
    According to you which option is better?

    Could you please clarify me one question, do i need to stop the ongoing SIP and Start the new SIP again with Rs3k in each of fund?Because initially i have opted for 3 years SIP.

    1. Vijji

      You can increase SIP of 1k in each .. I think its not allowed to increase SIP like that .. you better stop them and redo it ..

      Manish

      1. DMan says:

        Vijji,

        You do not need to stop the SIPs, you have 2 options here. You can start a new SIP for the additonal amont of 1k or wahtever it is, under the same Folio number.
        Or you can stop the exisiting SIPs and create new ones with the desired amount.
        Good luck!

  23. Rahul says:

    Thanks Manish. As per your advise, i think i should continue HDFC Mid Cap Oppurtunities Fund – 1k per mnth along with HDFC Top 200 (G) -1k per mnth & Reliance Growth (G) – 1k per mnth for long run ( 10 Yrs) for getting good return later to meet my goal.

    I Hope i am right. What you say..

    1. Rahul

      Yes, provided your risk capacity is high

      Manish

  24. Rahul says:

    Hi Stock Guru,

    Thanks for the advise. I am investing Rs.1000/- in HDFC Top 200 (G) & Reliance growth (G) from last 1 year for the period of next 10 Years expecting good return. This year i planned to add Rs.1000 per month more. Some collegue advised me to invest in HDFC Mid cap oppurtunity fund. I know HDFC top 200 & Reliance growth both are good fund, but i don’t have idea about Mid cap oppurtunity. Will it be able to give similiar return , what i will get from HDFC Top 200.

    Kindly advise.

    1. Rahul

      Thats a mid cap fund , so more returns at more risk is the possibility .

      Manish

  25. Stock Guru says:

    Sorry manish for reply so frequently but i love to do that.
    @Rahul: I think if you are in for long term like 3-5 years then i prefer Mid-Caps only but if its for less than 3 months then shud go for balanced only not 100-90% equity fund. As if market is crashing then everything will crash with same speed. So for me Mid caps and Large Caps are same for BEAR run but both are having significant difference in BULL run. You can chaeck that. I also prefer Sector funds if you have some knowledge.

  26. Rahul says:

    Hi Manish,

    Thanks for the advise. Yes, I know we should not diversify much our porfolio. But as i have already started it, suggest me should i stop HDFC HDFC Mid Cap Oppurtunity & invest this Rs.1000 per month in HDFC Top 200 only or can continue.

    Please suggest.

    1. Rahul

      I think you can continue for now .. dont add more ..

  27. Raghavendra says:

    Hi Manish,
    Have been reading many of your articles and found it very informative. Have forwarded the same to my friends who are starting their career. Good work. Thanks.
    I had a doubt. I wanted to invest in HDFC Top 200 mutual fund. Suppose I buy for 5000 rupees (which is the minimum), and each NAV is 186 (current price), I will be given 26 units? what happens to my remaining 154 rupees (since I cannot get a NAV)? Can you please throw some light on it 🙂

    1. Stock Guru says:

      @Raghavendra : You will get your Units not in Rounded Interger but it will be in decimal like 26.882 like that. It will be allowed till 3 decimals. I hope its cleared now.

      1. Raghavendra says:

        @Stock Guru
        Thanks. Yes clear now 🙂

    2. Raghavendra

      You will get NAV in decimals .. Dont worry on that

      1. Raghavendra says:

        Thank You Manish for the website,
        I have started investing in 3 funds equally
        HDFC Top 200 – G
        UTI Dividend yield – D
        UTI Opportunities – G
        Wanted to invest in IDFC Premier equity Plan – A, but unable to do so from sharekhan, so opted for UTI Opportunities.
        If you have time, please let me know if I am on the right track. Thanks 🙂

        1. Raghavendra

          Looks good

          Manish

  28. Rahul says:

    Hi Mohit,

    I am investing Rs. 1000 per month through SIP in HDFC Top 200 (G) and Reliance Growth (G)from Aug,10.Now I have planned to invest Rs. 1000 per month more through SIP in HDFC Mid Cap Oppurtunity from Aug,2011. Please suggest me if investing in this fund is the right decision or not.

    Also, I have started Rs.1000 per month SIP for my wife in Fidelity Tax Saver (G) & HDFC Tax Saver(G) from Aug,10. Please suggest me if investing in this fund is the right decision or not.

    Please suggest.

    Regards,
    Rahul.

    1. Rahul

      Why to invest in so many funds , just limit it to 2 funds

      Manish

  29. Kiran says:

    Hi Manish/Experts,
    I hv been following ur blog for quite sometime and it helped me to stream line my investments/insurance plans.I opened a thread under “Ask a Question” for my insurance planning and Ramesh has helped me on that.
    Now, as I am covered, I am moving towards investment planning.
    Here is my question, which needs your expert advice:
    I have started SIP with Reliance Growth and Sundaram Select midcap in 2007 and both SIPs are stopped by Dec 2010.I have to request for renewal for the same.
    1)I need your advice should I continue SIP with them OR should I hold the units but start new funds.Also advice if its right time to go for redemption.
    2)I happened to walk into Bajaj Capital and I met a guy there. He has shortlisted few of the Tops MFs and he was saying, no charges are levied for the transaction with them and even my existing MFs can be brought under their Service.They do provide assistance to open PPF (post office) with online payment facility.
    He suggested following MFs
    a) HDFC Top 200 (SIP:Rs.2K)
    b) ICICI Focus Bluechip (SIP:Rs.2K)
    c) Reliance Gold Savings Fund(SIP:Rs.1K)
    Can you suggest me on
    Point 1 +
    Point 2 –
    -If I can go with HDFC Top 200 or HDFC Equity?
    -What abt ICICI Bluechip as my second SIP? and
    -Regarding Gold ETF if the Reliance above MF is fine ?Can you suggest any other way of investing in Gold, which you deem as best?
    -Also it helps if you comment on the Bajaj Capital services.I have already a Demat account with Sharekhan and MFs can be transacted with them with no cost. Advice who can be more trusted?
    Also let me know if Sharekhan provides online Redemption facility (Bajaj guys dont provide).
    BTW, I am 35, married, blessed with a baby girl recently.
    Thanks in advance

    1. Kiran

      Can you please ask your questions on forum

      Manish

  30. Girijesh says:

    pls tell me best mutual fund for one time investmnet

    1. Stock Guru says:

      I prefer investing in following though many suggesting that you shud diversify your investment but history suggest that sector funds have generated really really good returns and they are always better in terms of returns than that of Pure Large CAps.

      Now realize that all LArge caps are already blueship and you need to invest in future bluechips and those are in Mid or Small cap. So dont go with those guys who suggest to invest in Large caps.

      – I prefer following
      1. Reliance Banking
      2. HDFC Mid – Caps
      3. SBI Emerging Business
      4. Birla Dividend Plus

      1. Stock Guru

        What would you suggest a person who cant control his emotions and very sensitive to “Fluctuations” in his portfolio ?

        Manish

        1. Stock Guru says:

          What do u mean by Fluctuations? If you have portfolio in 80% equity then every thing will get affected by fall/hike in market rate.
          If you sensitive than you are not investor its trader. Investors are never sensitive about market condition and they always analyze portfolio performance every 6 month/1 year and re-arrange mutual fund scheme if some are not performing better like Reliance Growth, Vision, SBI Magnum Tax Gains those were 5 start rated fund in past but now they are not performing since 2008.

          If you are too much sensitive then Equity is not for you better use Balance Funds especially 40-60 Equity-Debt ratio like HDFC Balanced.

          What would you suggest and why?

          1. Stock Guru

            Yes, I agree with you and thats why the question I aks anyone is how sensitive is he/she with market fluctuations .. For htem balanced funds etc are good option

            Manish

  31. Gkg says:

    Manish, I had started SIPs in most of the funds listed above but all of them are in negative for quite some time now. Its close to two years since I started SIP in these good funds(HDFC top 200, IDFC Premier Equity growth, Reliance Regular Savings Fund ) . I understand it could be due to volatile market scenario but one would think that if you started the SIP as long ago as I did, you should be able to see some positive return. What do you think?
    Please advise if I should discontinue these SIPs or continue to invest. I do not mind continuing these SIPs as long as I can get some returns which are more than that of FDs over a period of 3-5 yrs from now. Also please suggest if I should change any of the funds I am investing in.

    1. Gkg

      As far as they are doing good compared to benchmarks , they are good enough to contuinue

      Manish

  32. Samir Shah says:

    hello,
    I am 26yrs old, married, No Liabilities.
    I am opting for an Aggressive Approach dividing my Investment in 70:30 ratio.

    Please advice the below selected fund are good from a Long term Perspective –
    SIP Monthly – Rs
    AIG World Gold Fund- Growth – 2,500
    HDFC TOP 200 FUND – GROWTH -2,500
    DSP BlackRock Top 100 Equity-Growth – 2,500
    ICICI Pru Focused Bluechip Equity Fund- Growth -2500
    IDFC Premier Equity Plan A -3000

    —————————————————————
    Should i go for STP Flex from HDFC or Should i opt for Value Average Investment Plan (VIP) Option for the investment of MF.
    —————————————————————–

    Please help how do i plan my Debt fund of – 10K per month?

    Need your valuable input.

  33. Deepak Jain says:

    Hi manish,
    I had invested two lakhs in Market plus and one lakh in future plus (LIC ulip plan at rs 10) . Should i sell them or wait. please reply.

    regards,
    Deepak

  34. SK patil says:

    Hi,Manish,

    I have started ULIP investments from October-2009 as fallow, kindly review and suggest

    Plan Name: BSIL dream plan

    Tennure: 20years

    Monthly 2000+1500+1500=5000/ monthly & total 3 policy has been taken,

    Looking at the fund value after 21month i am not happy bcz, the the fund value is almost 25-30% i am losing

    Question:

    1. What is the returns expect from Ulip plan?

    2. If I exit after three years is this make any sense?

    3. Pls. suggest best ULIP at present in the market for 50000/anum investments with 10lack coverage and approximately 15% return.

    Rgds

    SK patil

  35. Jayashankar says:

    Dear Manish
    Recently Reliance RSF and Reliance Growth both SIP Poor performance since 2 years
    Shall i sale or not?
    Please let me know
    Advance Thanks

    1. Jayashankar

      Last 2 yrs have not seen much change in market levels . so its not fund performance , but market performance. Look at their respective returns and compare it with their category average . thats a better way to seen those funds performance

      Manish

  36. Deepti says:

    Hi Manish

    I have invested in these SIP

    HDFC top 200 since Sept. 2010 Rs. 1000/- Pm
    Reliance RSF Equity Sep. 2010 Rs. 1000/- Pm
    HDFC Equity ( Growth ) Rs. 2000/- Pm

    IDFC Premier Equity Rs. 1000/- Recently Started
    ICICI Focuses Bluechip Rs. 1000/- Pm Recently Started

    Is my Fund Selection Right with a view of 10-15 years period.

    1. Deepti

      Yea these are good funds , but on a riskier side , are you ok with the high volatility ?

      Manish

      1. deepti says:

        yes but want some funds with medium risk too suggest me
        should I Close SIP of Reliance RSF Equity Growth?
        what ur opinion abt.

        IDFC Premier Equity
        ICICI Focuses Bluechip

      2. deepti says:

        yes,
        I tried to Blend My portfolio with Mid Cap , & Large Cap & Multi cap Funds .
        but want 1 fund with medium risk too suggest me

        should I Close SIP of Reliance RSF Equity Growth? its not performing well?
        what ur opinion abt it?

        Should I start investing in
        IDFC Premier Equity
        ICICI Focuses Bluechip

        1. IDFC premier equity is a nice fund , but even Reliance RSF is ! , why do you say that its not performing well ? What time frame have you looked at it ?

          Manish

  37. Deepak Jain says:

    Thank you Sir,

    Manish is it advisable(Market is down) to sell these following funds now,
    1 Reliance growth equity fund diversified
    2 Sbi magnum global fund equity diversified
    3 Sbi magnum sector funds umbrella contra e.d.
    4 Icici prudential dynamic plan e.d.
    “””””5Dspml top 100 equity fund e.d.”””””SHOULD I HOLD
    “””””6 Hdfc equity fund e.d.”””””””SHOULD I HOLD
    “””””7 Hdfc top 200 fund e.d.”””””SHOULD I HOLD
    8 Reliance diversified power sector fund e.sector.fund
    9 Dspml tiger fund e.d.
    10 Icici prudential infrastructurefund e.s.d.
    11 Reliance long term equity fund e.d.
    12 Icici prudential equity & deravitives fund
    wealth optimiser plan e.d.
    “””””””””13 Dspml tax saver fund equity – ELSS”””””SHOULD I HOLD
    14 Sundaram bnp paribas select thematic energy oportunities
    15 J p morgan india smaller companies fund e. d.
    16 Uti infrastructure advantage fund series – 1 e.d.
    17 Kotak indoworld infrastructure fund e.d.
    18 Lic -Future Plus
    19 Lic – Market Plus

    Thank u very much. Should I keep some out of the NON SELECTED or my decision is correct. Please suggest.
    Regards,
    Deepak Jain

    1. I think you should keep just 1 , 5 , 6 , rest all liquidate

      Manish

      1. Deepak Jain says:

        Dear Manish,

        Thank u very much.

        Regards,
        Deepak Jain

  38. Deepak Jain says:

    Hi Manish,
    I request u to please guide me in a simple language. I could not understand what action have I to take? Are u recommending me to sell all, then i’ll do so. Than have i to purchase new mutual funds of the whole money which i will get on selling at one go. Please make me more clear as i could not understand ur earlier message.”I am sure you will see enough duplications and hence will not choose them . Do this small exercise”

    Regards,
    Deepak Jain.

    1. Deepak , what I am saying is consider a hypothetical situation ,that you have sold all the funds (you dont have to actually do it in real life) . Just think like that , that you dont have any mutual funds .

      Now if you ask your self again that given a chance again , which all mutual funds will you buy fresh , and build a new portfolio ?

      I am sure you will not choose many ? Now make a list of those and SELL off from your portfolio ,.

      manish

  39. Deepak Jain says:

    Auspicious Manish,
    I am a fan of Jagonvestor . The markets are down , could u please suggest (Sell or Hold) the mutual funds which I am holding for more than two years.
    sr.no. mutual fund
    1 Reliance growth equity fund diversified
    2 Sbi magnum global fund equity diversified
    3 Sbi magnum sector funds umbrella contra e.d.
    4 Icici prudential dynamic plan e.d.
    5 Dspml top 100 equity fund e.d.
    6 Hdfc equity fund e.d.
    7 Hdfc top 200 fund e.d.
    8 Reliance diversified power sector fund e.sector.fund
    9 Dspml tiger fund e.d.
    10 Icici prudential infrastructurefund e.s.d.
    11 Reliance long term equity fund e.d.
    12 Icici prudential equity & deravitives fund
    wealth optimiser plan e.d.
    13 Dspml tax saver fund equity – ELSS
    14 Sundaram bnp paribas select thematic energy oportunities
    15 J p morgan india smaller companies fund e. d.
    16 Uti infrastructure advantage fund series – 1 e.d.
    17 Kotak indoworld infrastructure fund e.d.
    18 Lic -Future Plus
    19 Lic – Market Plus

    Few are profitale and some are not. should I wait or just sell.

    Regards,
    Deepak Jain

    1. Deepak

      Lets take it in another way , If I tell you that your whole portfolio becomes blank (or you sell all of them) and then again have to restart building it . then which all mutual funds will you choose and also give the reasons ?

      I am sure you will see enough duplications and hence will not choose them . Do this small exercise and share the results .The answer is within your actions .

      Manish

  40. MANISH says:

    Hi Manish

    I have invested in these SIP

    HDFC top 200 since Sept. 2010 Rs. 1000/- Pm
    Reliance RSF Equity Sep. 2010 Rs. 1000/- Pm
    HDFC Equity ( Growth ) Rs. 2000/- Pm

    IDFC Premier Equity Rs. 1000/- Recently Started
    ICICI Focuses Bluechip Rs. 1000/- Pm Recently Started

    Is my Fund Selection Right with a view of 10-15 years period.

    1. MANISH says:

      Manish
      I tried to Blend My portfolio with Mid Cap , & Large Cap & Multi cap Funds .
      I May be wrong by choosing 5 Sips instead of 3 funds in my portfolio but in near future i wish to End SIP in reliance RSF as it is not performing well. though i will keep money in it for some more time. Whats ur opinion.

  41. Sujit1711 says:

    Hi Manish,
    I heard from 2 sources that I should stop SIP in “SBI Magnum Sector Fund Umbrella – Contra” as fund mangers are not active. What is your opinion?

    1. Sujit

      Yea , seems like this Fund is not that great now a days as it was always , even though its overall since launch return is good , but over last few years , it has not done great compared to its peers . Its time to jump to new gun !

      Manish

  42. Neeraj Choudhary says:

    Hi Manish,

    Thanks for this great piece of information. It certainly helps.

    I am new to the mutual fund space. I have been investing in PPF and LIC policy till now. Bought 1 SBI life pension policy with an annual premium of 75k but discontinued the same after 2 years because of low return (courtesy 2008 downturn) and high policy administartion charges. Though I have started investing in the stock market with long term objective but still felt the need to invest in the mutual fund as well. My sheer objective is wealth creation for old age needs / child expenses. My monthly allocation would be 10k per month and I am looking at staying invested for atleast next 20 years. Which mutual fund/s shall I pick? Do you suggest more than 1 fund to diversify my investment / pool my risk.

    Appreciate your due education here.

    Regards
    Neeraj

    1. Neeraj

      the funds mentioneed in the article are good enough , but remember that you can have a 20 yr outlook on these MF , you need to review them each year !

      Manish

  43. Mayank Gupta says:

    Hi Kiran B,
    You may look to invest in Mutual funds like HDFC Top 200, Reliance Pharma fund & expect 18% returns over 5 or 10 year horizon which would make your money 6 times in 10 years

    1. Kiran B says:

      Hi Mayank

      Thanks for the input.

  44. Kiran B says:

    Hi Manish

    I guess I was late coming to this website (Hope I am not that late).

    I have the following MF in my portfolio:

    A) FI Blue Chip (D) – 2500 (I started this in 2007)
    B) HDFC Tax Saver – 3500 (Started in April 2011)
    C) HDFC Equity – 2000 ( From July ’11)

    I just completed 29 last April and planning on my retirement (Not thought about my marriage 🙂 ). Considering my retirement, does my above portfolio do any better?

    Can you suggest, what more needs to be added if I get married and plan to have 2 kids 😀

    I am a novice on these MFs and dying to get help from people who know about the market stuff.

    Any help is really appreciated.

    1. Kiran

      You have not provided all the information to give any comment , you have told the speed of the car , but you have not mentioned , where is the destination , how far is it , how soon you have to reach there and how important that destination ? Also you have not said that would you like to drive fast so that you can reach the destination easily ?

      Manish

      1. Kiran B says:

        Hi Manish

        Sorry, I guess I proved my ignorance here :D.

        I am planning to retire at 60 and assuming my then monthly expense could be 10K and inflation at 9% and I have 1lac saved for my retirement.

        I was wondering if I need to opt for any other MF schemes that would help me in my retirement goal.

        Please let me if I am clear in explaining my novice question to you, also please let me know if I can give you more details?

        I am just beginning to explore the vast world of MFs.

        Thanks in advance for your valuable reply

        Cheers
        Kiran

        1. Kiran

          I have put a retirement calculator here : https://www.jagoinvestor.com/calculators/html/Retirement-Calculator.html

          Look at how much you need to save and choose some good mutual funds , do SIP

          Manish

  45. Vishal says:

    Manish,
    Thanks, I will sold that fund & as i have not that much invested in that fund.
    Yesterday I saw a new equity fund Sundaram Equity Gold plus, is it a good fund to start with the very small investment, what is your suggestion.

  46. Vishal says:

    Manish,
    Above your information is very useful, I have been investing in one MF Reliance Diversified power sector fund dividend plan -dividend from one year can you please let me know the whether to stay or sell this. As i am very new to invest in MF.

    1. Vishal

      just because you said that you are new , I recommend you get out of this sectoral fund which is risky one . better you go with some thing balanced like HDFC prudence

      manish

      1. Vishal says:

        Manish,
        Thank you for your reply, i will initially plan to invest in balanced funds but right now shall i stay or clear this reliance power fund

        1. Vishal

          If I were you , i would have just sold it and started a new life 🙂 . much better to clear old mess and then restart

          manish

  47. A V Gosavi says:

    Many thanks for few Best funds. Your experience speaks about these funds easily and friendly. It appears as if my friend is speaking with me.
    Of course, I am going to invest but not before checking for my self NAV, etc of these funds.
    I am looking forward basically to be well informed, knowledgeable and conversant about Funds through your guidance.
    I have no good experience with ICICI prulife.

    1. AV gosavi

      Nice , what will you do with NAV . I hope you know that NAV does not give you much info .

      Manish

  48. Sravi says:

    Hi Manish,
    Thanks for sharing very useful info. After reading this blog, i understood the importance of financial planning.Now i made below portfolio for me and my husband aswell. Please suggest me any changes required.
    My Portfolio:
    1) 6000 rs SIP: HDFC Top 200, HDFC Equity and DSP BR top 100, 2000 rs per month in each SIP (started recently)
    2) 5000 rs per month into PPF.
    3) 2000 rs per month for GOLD

    My husband Portfolio:
    1)Planning to take 5000 rs sip for HDFC top 200 and DSP BR top 100 fro 2500 rs each.
    2) Planning for one sip balanced fund (HDFC Prudence, after reading ur recent post:)) for 2000 rs per month.
    3) 70000 per annum in PPF.

    Please suggest me, these two portfolios looking ok or any changes required.
    Do’nt you think we have more sips in HDFC AMC. Is it ok to have more with same AMC or is it risky. If not can you please suggest ne where i need a change.
    I am looking for long term goals, especially retirement and children marriage.
    Looking forward to hearing from you.Thank you.

    Cheers,
    Sravi

    1. Sravi

      You are jumping directly on the funds which is not the way . Follow this cycle

      – First think about your financial goals in life . Think real hard, set target amount, target dates
      – Second understand how much risk you want to take into your financial life and how much portfolio of yours should be in equity (risky and high return) and how much in debt (safe and less return)
      – Once you are decided on this , then comes the part of understanding how much to invest per month year
      – Then decide on the funds / investments avenues .

      Coming to your point , your portfolio look good to me , your fundband portfolio will be high of Debt , are you guys in your 30’s ?

      Manish

      1. sravi says:

        Hi Manish,
        Thanks for the reply. As per other posts and calculator in JI, i kept goals(Retirement, Children Marriage) and target amount and date.
        And i am 25 yrs and my husband is 28 yrs old with 3 months old kid.
        We both are working and earn one lack take home and not started investments till now.After going through this website , i came to know my mistakes and started my financial life and made below portfolio.

        Started 12K monthly SIP on below MF.
        1. HDFC Top 200==3000
        2.HDFC Equity==3000
        3.DSP BR Top 100==2000
        4.Franklin Templeton Bluechip–2000
        5.IDFC premier Equity(goin2 start next month)–2000

        PF–5000 monthly (Myself)
        PF—-5000 monthly(My husband)
        This year we started above PF contribution as we dont have other investments to show TAX.

        We are buying a home in couple of months ,so want to keep 50K as EMI(30L loan). and taking 50L Term insurance(LIC+Kotak Epref) for both.
        Please let me know hw my portfolio is and any changes i need to do?
        Here my Debt component is high as 12k in MF and 10K PF. How can i rebalance this component. Here if i remove PF contribution then what can i show in 80c as i stopped paying my ULIP and LIC.

        Note: My complete portfolio is prepared by using your posts in JI.
        I feel lucky to see this blog and many thanks to you.

        Cheers,
        Sravi

        1. Sravi

          Just choose 3 equity mutual funds (not 5) .

          Also what is tht “PF” , is it PPF or your company PF ?

          Also , your MF port is “Equity” component and not “debt” . Considering your EMI would be 50k , then you will be left with just 50k for your expenses and other investments , just finalise your home first and then start other SIP , to get a better picture of your cash flows .

          Manish

          1. Sravi says:

            Hi Manish,

            Thanks for the update. It is PPF, started recently. Actually, our monthly expenditure is 15K and below are my investments.
            Max 50K is for home loan EMI
            12k is for MF SIPs fro long term
            10k(5k for me+5k husband) in PPF for long term
            5k in RD for short term goal.
            and remaining 10k in bank as back up money.
            Other than this i dont have any investments.

            Do you think this profile looks ok or any change need to make?
            please suggest me Manish.

            In my MF portfolio is for very long term goals that is for more than 20 yrs. So i am concentrating on Equity and chosen PPF for debt component. DO you think i need to make any changes for MF portfolio aswell?

            Thanks for ur valuable time.
            -sravi

            1. I can see you are more heavyweight on Debt , if you guys are around 30 age , then i would suggest putting most of the investments in Equity , it can be Euqity funds , balanced funds or Index funds , whatever

              Manish

  49. Ritesh Kumar says:

    Hello Sir,
    I want to long term (Years 10 or 10 +) invest in SIP equity Fund worth Rs. 1000/- per month. I want to know, which one MFs is Better for me & How can I invest them?
    I am in Patna, Bihar.

  50. Raj says:

    Hi Manish,
    Your articles are very clear and easy to understand for everyone. I am starting to invest in MFs.If I can allocate 50000 a month.Could you please give me a list of funds that should be my MF portfolio with 80:20 equity and debt. I am slightly confused since you said to keep the list within 4-5 and not more.
    Thanks very much in advance.

    1. Dominic says:

      DSPBR Top 100
      Fidelity Equity
      HDFC Top 200
      IDFC Pre Plan A
      DSPBR Small and Mid
      Canera Rob Income

    2. Raj

      I would recommened 2-3 Equity diversified funds and some other funds in debt category .

  51. Sunil says:

    Also, Sorry for posting a different comment….

    In a Cose-Ended MF, can i stay invested even after the Lock in period or i will be forced to take my money back once i complete the lock in period.

    And, Can i still cntinue investing in it (now making this as open-ended, as the lock in period is over). I wanted to know this as my Closed ended fund is perfomring as per my expectations and i want to saty invested but want to have a feasebility of taking mymoney whenever i want.

    Thanks in Advance.

    1. Sunil

      No , close ended funds will close a point in time .

      Manish

  52. Sunil says:

    Hello Manish,

    During my subscription to couple of MFs through SIP, I had opted for 5 years contribution and filled up the bank ECS form for 5 years too.
    And now, I think to achieve my long term goal, I must stay invested for 10-15 years.

    So how to extend my SIP contribution duration without hampering to the MFs ???

    1. Sunil

      Why dont you just start your SIP again after 5 yrs ? That should be ok

      Manish

  53. Madhu says:

    Hi Manish,
    I am confused about choosing the options in mutual fund ( Divedent, Growth,Divedent-investment).
    How is growth options different from divedent options. if i chosse divedent i’ll get frequently some amount but how this divedent will be paid in growth options.
    can you please explain the MF options and also which is the best options to choose for higher returns.(growth,divedent)

    Thanks in advance

  54. Madhu says:

    Hi Manish,
    I am confused about choosing the options in mutual fund ( Divedent, Growth,Divedent-investment).
    How’s is growth options different from divedent options. if i chosse divedent i’ll get frequently some amount but how this divedent will be paid in growth options.
    can you please explain the MF options and also which is the best options to choose.(growth,divedent)

  55. Haresh Soni says:

    I have Rs.8 lacs in my Bank A/cs. and I have to invest in MF’s
    will you suggest me the schemes? I am Conservative Investor.

    Haresh Soni
    Ahmedabad

    1. Haresh

      What is the tenure you want to invest in ? If its more than 5 yrs , I would recommened balanced funds to you

      Manish

      1. Haresh Soni says:

        Manish,
        Thanks for reply.
        I am 51 Yrs, nearby retirement @ 59. i want to invest for my post retirement expances.So pls advise appropriate.
        haresh

        1. Haresh

          retirement planning is not as simple as it sounds , It can be suggested on comments section . A basic version of retirement planning is here : https://www.jagoinvestor.com/2009/07/6-steps-of-doing-retirement-planning-by.html

  56. Sunil says:

    Dear Manish,

    Can you please suggest some Closed Ended Mutual Funds for Tax Savings… This should help us save tax… Thanks in advance.

    1. HDFC tax saver and Fidility tax saver are good one’s

      manish

      1. Sunil says:

        Many Thanks…..
        Have a wonderful day.

  57. Mukund says:

    Hello Sir,
    I am planning to invest SIP in some shares(2000-3000/month) for 10-12 months for a timepriod of 2-3 years can you please suggest some good counters where in i can get some good returns.

    1. Mukund

      the funds mentioned in this article are for long term as they are equity funds . For a short term you can look at balanced funds like HDFC Prudence or DSP Balanced

      Manish

    2. Mukund

      the funds mentioned in this article are for long term as they are equity funds . For a short term you can look at balanced funds like HDFC Prudence or DSP Balanced

      Manish

  58. Sunil says:

    Dear Sir,
    Would you welcome the idea of investing in GOLDBEES at 1 unit month?. I am doing it from last 3 months so wanted to get a suggestion.
    Also i am planning to invest 2000 every month into “PSU Bank Bees” apart from the GOLDBEES. Is this wise investment?

    1. Sunil

      You can have some investment in Gold , see that it does not become more than 10% . PSU bank bees will invest in Banking related companies , i would say dont take bet on a single sectore if you dont understand it .

      Manish

      1. Sunil says:

        Thanks Manish for your prompt reply.
        Can you please analyze my portfolio and suggest me any good options for investment.

        Investment in GOLD = 1 unit/month
        Investment in Closed Ended MF 3000/month
        Investment in ULIP (ICICIPINNACLE) 5000/month
        LIC (Term Policy) 6000/year
        Share Market – 5000/month

        I strictly follow this every month and now i am planning to invest additional 5000-6000 in Mutual Funds (Both Open Ended/Closed Ended), i have gone through your article anf picked up the HDFC Equity, HDFC Top 200 and DSP BR for immediate investing (through SIP).

        Can you please review my investement mentionde above and can you suggest if i need to take any immediate action or its going fine for me?

        1. Sunil

          Review is done against the financial goals in life . How do I tell you if this will lead you to your financial goals or not . You should look at something called as Financial Audit which will give you a complete idea on how does your financial life looks like , Its like a financial health checkup

          Manish

          1. Sunil says:

            Ok Manish. Thanks a ton for your reply.
            Can you please let me know how is the prospectus for ICIC PRU PINNACLE.

            1. Its a highest NAV plan , Not recommended if you are looking for wealth building for long term , learn more at : https://www.jagoinvestor.com/2010/03/how-do-highest-nav-guarantee-plans-work.html

              Manish

  59. ruaninvestor says:

    Thanks , seems like you have done too much of thinking on your portfolio . dont make it so detailed and look complicated .

    1. Ruaninvestor

      Which portfolio are you talking about ?

  60. bunty says:

    new entrant or older funds are better for sip plans

    1. Bunty

      There is no strong answer for this , Its like old friends are good or new friends . You can always get a good friend out of a new person or an old one . But old has some history so it gives us some data to analyse

      Manish

  61. bunty says:

    sir.in sip we add a particular amount every month.but we can add more &more money when mkt is going down. tell me the name of funds

  62. jig says:

    I have small query Manish,
    For long term ( 5 to 7 years ) equity funds are suggested but should we go with Large cap or Multicap equity funds?

    What exactly difference in these two?

    Currently i have started two SIP.

    HDFC 200 G 5500 monthly
    RELIANCE MIP G 4500 monthly

    more 10000 per month i wana invest . Your suggestion is highly valuable for me. my horizon is minimum 5 years.

    Regards

    Jig

    1. LArge cap means all the big companies ,which are really big with high market capitalization , they are more stable .

      Multicap , means all kind of companie ,s large cap , mid cap ,small cap .. they are relatively more volatile

      Manish

  63. Prashanth says:

    Ha Manish, After going through the eye opening articles of yours on ulips and endowment policies, i have stopped them and have taken a term policy and ppf account. I have decided to invest the remaining amount of 1,50,000 in diversified equity mutual funds. The problem now is, am unable to understand how n which mutual funds should i select for a long time horizon of 20 years. plz suggest how do i invest them.

    1. Prasanth

      You have to choose equity funds for long term , choose some good 2-3 funds from the long term winners and review them each year

      Manish

  64. Jayashankar says:

    Dear Manish,
    Thanks for your valuable article and Truly Appreciate!! Great going Buddy.
    I plan to invest Rs 1000 in equities through SIP to Reliance MF launches Gold Savings Fund! Is it good or not? what is it protfolio? protfolio from companies or gold?
    Advance Thanks
    Jayashankar

    1. sreedhar says:

      Hi Jayashankar,
      Reliance Gold Fund does not invest in equities..Reliance Gold Savings Fund is the first gold fund of fund in India which opens a new avenue for investing in gold as an asset class. The Fund seeks to provide returns that closely correspond to returns provided by Reliance Gold Exchange Traded Fund (RGETF) which in turn invests in physical gold. It enables to reap returns of gold in paper form without the need of a demat account. It is a passively managed fund which would enable an investor to save for gold in a convenient manner either through lump sum investment or through systematic investment – the mutual fund way from a long term perspective. It will give investors the opportunity to participate in the bullion market in a relatively cost effective and convenient way…..

  65. Mandy says:

    Dear Manish,
    Thanks for your valuable article and I am amazed to see you have replied to each one of post. Truly Appreciate!! Great going Buddy.
    I plan to invest 40 K in equities through SIP. I have done some research on the returns of the funds and reached to the following conclusion. I have divided them based on Market cap and I am looking at 20 -25 year investement horizon through SIP. Please let me know your view point.

    Large Cap – 61%

    HDFC Top 200 Fund (G) 10000.00
    Fidelity Equity Fund (G) 8000.00
    DSP BR Top 100 Equity Fund (G) 6000.00
    Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund – Plan A (G) 4000.00

    Multi Cap – 26%
    ICICI Pru Dynamic Plan (G) 8000.00
    HDFC Equity Fund – (G) 4000.00

    Mid Cap – 13%

    Reliance Regular Savings Fund – Equity (G) 4000.00
    Sundaram Select Midcap – (G) 2000.00

    1. Mandy

      Thanks , seems like you have done too much of thinking on your portfolio . dont make it so detailed and look complicated .

      Just get 3 funds . HDFC Top 200 , DSP BR top 100 and Sundaram Select midcap . That should be 98% same as your earliar portfolio 🙂

      Manish

      1. Mandy says:

        The Investment is combined for me and my wife. Do you suggest we take the same set(3) of Funds or take another combination of three out of the ones mentioned above so that it will be easy for review and comparison year on Year.

        1. Mandy

          If you both are one portfolio combined, then you go for just 3 funds

  66. Shekhar

    Its good in general , but I cant say if they are best for your situation and your requirements .

    If you want to invest for long term and can take risk , then go for them

    Manish

  67. shekhar says:

    Hi Manish
    An agent has suggested to invest in the following diversified equity oriented mutual funds through sip:
    1.HDFC Equity Fund
    2.Reliance regular savings schemes
    3.SBI magnium multiplier plus
    4.SBI contra
    please advise if these are good or suggest any other

  68. Ahmed says:

    Hi Manish,
    I have a list of funds that I came up with some complicated calculations, please match it up with your calculation and tell me if it stands the chance to be included in the top funds:
    1 – Reliance RSF – Equity
    2 – Taurus Ethical Fund
    3 – Sundaram Select Focus Fund – Equity
    4 – Sundaram Select Midcap Fund
    5 – DSP BlackRock Top 100 Equity Fund
    Two of them are already in your list, please check the others as per your calculations and advise. Thanks.

    1. DSP BR 100 is one i like . 3rd and 4th are also good , but they are on riskier side !

      Manish

  69. Rinks says:

    Hi Mansih,
    First of all Thanks for writing this artice which is really helpful to an investor.

    Want to share some of my investments ( Which are my choice for long term and investing in it regularly since April 2008) and need you review so that if required then i can replcae it with some other funds.

    I am investing 30000/- P.M. in total 6 funds with following details
    HDFC Top 200: 5000/- (Investing 1500/- Per week) – Large Cap
    Quantum LT Fund: 5000/- (Investing 1500/- Per week) – Large Cap
    Reliance Regular Saving Balance: 6000/- (Investing 1500/- Per week) – Balanced
    HDFC Predence: 6000/- (Investing 1500/- Per week) – Balanced
    IDFC Premier Equity A: 4000/- (Investing in 1000/- per week) – Mid/Small Cap
    HDFC Mid Cap Oppor: 4000/- (Investing in 1000/- per week) – Mid/Small Cap

    If you think that something is going wrong and i need to change my allocation then please let me know so that i can have a chance to stop that fund and start in new in this falling market.

    Thanks,
    Rinks.

    1. Rinks

      You should not stop your SIP’s just because markets are falling, have a long term view … The funds are good enough , but still you can choose just 3 of these and get rid of 3 .

      manish

  70. rag says:

    Could u plz tell me some MIP funds in which i can park my money till the time market corrects ?

  71. Jayashankar says:

    Dear Manish
    My planning to invest rs 5000 through SIP
    Reliance RSF rs 1000
    HDFC Equity Fund Rs 2000
    HDFC Top 200 fund Rs 2000,
    Are those good?
    Please suggest me,
    Thanks advance

    1. Jayashankar

      You will get better answer at https://www.jagoinvestor.com/forum/

      Manish

  72. Jayashankar says:

    Thanks Info

  73. Jayashankar says:

    Dear Manish
    My dad is pensioner and He had deposited Senior Citizen Saving Schemes! Is it good? Please suggest me! Thanks Advance

    1. JayaShankar

      yes , Its a good option , however it will be active for max 8 yrs 🙂

      Manish

    2. Dominic says:

      My father has Post office SCSS and Varishtha Pension BIMA Yojana and both gave 9%. He had invested in Postoffice MIS too.

      1. yogesh says:

        is there any TDS on these scheme “SCSS and Varishtha Pension BIMA Yojana “? or there is not TDS i post office schemes.

        In MIS there is no tax deduction

        1. Dominic says:

          If your dad submits Form 15g (I think) then there will not be any TDS. The LIC’s Varishtha policy is not available right now, please check.

          1. Dominic

            Thanks for the clarification !

  74. Ramanujam says:

    Very Great Site. Very Helpful. Iam planning to invest in these funds through SIP for 2 years. Kindly suggest your opinion.

    1.DSPBR Top 100 Eqt Reg
    2. UTI Dividend yield
    3. BSL Frontline Equity
    4. Reliance Banking Retail- (Sectoral)

    1. Ramanujam

      Yes these are good funds , just make sure you want 4th one or not , its a sectoral fund

      Manish

  75. Praveen says:

    Hi Manish,

    This is the first time I am going through this website it was very informative, i have a query I am into SBI Magnum SIP since last three year with Rs.1000/- per month and its for a period of 10years, after three years it has a 34% of CAGR, what do u suggest shall i withdraws the amount till date and continue or wait for long run.

    Praveen

    1. Praveen

      Is it 34% total till date or 34% year after year . if its 34% CAGR , your money might have doubled , I would say better sell it off for now and take the profit and reinvest in another tax saving product in coming months when markets are down 🙂

      manish

  76. satish says:

    Hi manish

    which one you suggest me in these 3 for next 20year
    1. HDFC Top 200
    2. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Equity
    3. Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity A

    regards
    satish

    1. Satish

      Any of them is fine , its irrelevent to further list them down as “Recommended” and “not-recommended” , you have to review them every year anyways .. so just go with any one .

      Manish

  77. Mr. Jain says:

    I have come across this page the very first time and I really Thanks 4 a Gr8 and a healthy site. I want to invest a sum of Rs.5 lacs for a long period in Mutual Funds-equity- growth. Which would be the suggested funds (long period) and what should be the investment way i.e. SIP, STP or Lumpsum. I doubt the funds which have given a good return, will they continue with positive returns even for the future.
    Looking for your reply at the earliest.
    Regards,
    Mr. Jain

      1. Mr. Jain says:

        Thank u very much.

  78. satish says:

    Thanks for the list. But should we invest in ‘growth’ or ‘dividend’ funds?

    1. sreedhar says:

      Hi satish,
      If you are looking for long term wealth creation, go for growth option. If you need occasional payout of money, then opt for dividend option. However, as per the DTC (comes in force from Apr 1, 2012) dividend payouts from mutual funds would be taxed at 1) 5% , if you fall in 10% tax bracket 2) 10% , if u fall in 20% tax bracket 3) 15%, if u fall in 30% tax bracket . Hence , the choice is yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  79. yogesh says:

    thanks sreedhar

  80. yogesh says:

    Which is more safer fund category large cap , medium and small cap ?
    I think large cap as it has big companies and they will more stable/secure than
    meduim and small companies,correct?

    1. Sreedhar says:

      Hi yogesh,
      You are right.. Large caps are safer (less riskier) than mid/small cap companies.. Volatility of large caps is less than that of mid/small caps..

    2. Yogesh

      Yes , in a way you are correct ,however even some small and mid cap companies can be more secure compared to some large cap company depending on their management , their vision , their area of operation .

      So you should not take a general decision like this ,better compare company to company , but at mutual funds level , yes large would be safer (read less volatile) than mid/small cap

      Manish

  81. D. Singhi says:

    Here are the mutual funds purchased almost 3 years back advised by my friend who is actually an agent , I feel they are not on the track??
    Any suggestions??
    I want to sell them off and purchase good mutual funds or stock by my self but I have nil knowledge of these investments? Will you please guide me.
    1)SBI one India fund
    2)Reliance Naturals
    3) Sundaram BNP Paribas Energy opportunities fund
    4) UTI Infrastructure Advantage fund Series I
    5)Kotak Indoworld Infrastructure
    6)Birla Sun life Special situation fund
    7)Franklin Asian Equity fund
    8)JPMorgan India smaller companies fund
    All are opted for growth and at the time of their NFO.
    I have invested all my salary savings till today in these funds and in rediff portfolio it always shows me a negative folio. I want to invest in good funds and do not want to repeat the earlier mistake again.
    Regards,
    D.Singhi

    1. D. Singhi

      These funds are not heard of a lot , so better get out of them and restart a new investment journey in mutual funds . Get into top rated equity funds .

      Manish

      1. D.Singhi says:

        Thanx a lot for the gr8 advise. But How would I come to know about the top rated equity funds? Even please suggest atleast 10 good funds where in I can invest a good amount . 1) Childrens education And Retirement Purpose. 2) My duration of investment of goals is atleast more than 10 years 3) Risk appetite and risk tolerance is that I am ready for the risks. But I hate Investments in Mid cap and small .

    2. sreedhar says:

      Hello D.Singhi,
      The funds you have invested in are poor performers and are sectoral funds. Seems your agent has marketed NFOs to you. All your funds have fared badly since inception and are also high-risk funds. So, book losses and exit the funds soon.
      Your wish to invest in good funds is commendable. Your selection should be based on 1) Your goals (like retirement corpus, child’s education, marriage etc) 2) Your duration of investment for goals 3) Your risk appetite and risk tolerance.
      Once you have evaluated 1) 2) and 3) above go for scrutinizing the MFs that have good track record. Your portfolio should be split into core portfolio and satellite portfolio. Your core portfolio should comprise large cap equity diversified funds/flexi-cap funds/ mid cap funds . Your satellite portfolio can be used as a diversifier, and can have funds like sectoral/opportunities funds and funds that have ‘value investing’ style.
      Use valueresearchonline.com , morningstar.co.in , crisil.com to evaluate funds performance and rankings. For large cap funds you can choose funds like HDFC Top 200, BSL Frontline Equity -Plan A, DSP Blackrock Top 100, Principal Large Cap fund etc.. For flexi cap funds you can go for HDFC Equity, DSP Blackrock Equity, Fidelity Equity Fund, Reliance Regular savings fund etc.. For mid cap funds go for IDFC Premier Equity fund, Birla MidcAP FUND, Sundaram Select Midcap etc…
      Hope this helps……

  82. shahaha says:

    helo

  83. Dominic says:

    Few months back I started reading these articles and user comments. The first thing I did was to reduce the number of funds. Earlier I had about 30+ funds and now I have about 17 funds. I need some basic help in quiting next set of funds. Here I have given % of allocation and funds and SIP status.
    11.70% Fidelity Equity Fund – SIP
    11.24% HDFC Top 200 Fund – SIP
    9.57% FT Balanced Fund – SIP
    8.85% SBI Magnum Sector FU CONTRA
    8.80% TATA Infrastructure Fund
    8.45% Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Focus
    7.94% Reliance Vision Fund – SIP
    7.03% Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Midcap – SIP
    5.20% ICICI Prudencial Discovery – SIP
    4.48% HDFC MIP Long Term – SIP
    3.41% Birla SL Top 100 Fund – SIP
    3.15% Reliance MIP – SIP
    2.04% HDFC Capital Builder Fund
    2.04% Reliance Long Term Equity Fund
    3.56% Sundaram BNP Paribas Financial Services
    1.63% DSP BlackRock Equity Fund – SIP
    0.92% HDFC Prudence – SIP

    Appreciate your time and help.
    Regards Dominic

    1. Dominic

      Its a tough job to removes things from here as all are good , now how do you remove ? The best thing is to ask for voting, just like a team captain chooses his team ,you have to ask which one will you choose 1st , then 2nd .. and so on … and once you are done with 4-5 . STOP !

      I vote for HDFC Top 200 , DSPBP equity , Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Midcap , ICICI Prudencial Discover

      Note that there is nothing wrong and right here .

      Manish

      1. Dominic says:

        Thanks Manish. I am going through various portals and suggestions and I am planning to remove (or start a STP) Select Focus, Contra, Tata infra and Rel Vision.
        Thanks Again Dominic

  84. neet says:

    Dear Manish ,
    I found the exchange of comments between Sunder and you very useful in deepening my understanding of the macro factors influencing the markets.Thks for encouraging him to participate more.
    @Sunder-Sir , thankyou for sharing your FP’s and your own perspective and I hope you will continuing doing the same if not through a guest post then through your comments. Since you also invest in commodities I would appreciate it if you could share your views on gold keeping in mind that you have pointed out the formation of BIG bubble.What are your views for the metal that is everyone is betting on?
    Regards to both of you,
    neet.

    1. Neet

      Great to here that . Gold is very high , I dont want to bet on

      Manish

  85. Ryan Fernandes says:

    Manish,
    thank you for the information.
    Just reply for a query. May be its very silly.
    At present as the sensex is all high i.e., 20k+, is it good time for invest in MF’s? Does it effects on the corpus?
    Regards,
    Ryan.

    1. Ryan

      You know there can be right or wrong answer on this , If you can take risk , invest else dont . Its a high time and I would refrain from investing for long term , but certianly for cautious investors they can ride the trend on small corrections

      Manish

  86. Ryan Fernandes says:

    Manish,
    thank you for the information.
    Just reply for a query. May be its very silly.
    At present as the sensex is all high i.e., 20k+, is it good time for invest in MF’s? Does it effects on the corpus?
    Regards,
    Ryan Fernandes

  87. Ryan Fernandes says:

    Manish,
    thank you. Just reply for a query. May be its very silly.
    At present as the sensex is all high i.e., 20k+, is it good time for invest in MF’s? Does it effects on the corpus?
    Regards,
    Ryan Fernandes

  88. Ryan Fernandes says:

    Hi Manish,
    thanks a lot for reply.
    I am Indian citizen. I purchased a Bajaj ULIP 3 yrs back. But now I got the knowledge from your articles that the ULIP’s are not made for me. I will come out of it. & I want to go for Term insurance, health insurance and the diversified MF’s.
    Tell me sir, Hows that..?
    Regards,
    ryan Fernandes

    1. Ryan

      yes , that would make sense 🙂 . Go for term + MF + health insurance

      Manish

  89. Ryan Fernandes says:

    Hi Manish,
    You are doing a wonderful job. Keep it up. And I also recommended this website to some of my associates (200 people). They got lots of knowledge from your site.
    Manish, I have a query. Please guide me. I am 25 years old & working in Mlm Company as an associate. My income is 40k/month. I want to invest 25k/month in mutual funds through SIP. I don’t have any dependents right now. My goal is to build an amount of 10 Cr. In next 30 years. So please suggest me the best 2-3 MF’s.
    I also need Life Insurance. Which is good for me? I was waiting for your guidance. Please guide me.
    Thanks & Regards,
    Ryan Fernandes.

    1. Ryan

      Are you foreign national or indian resident , because getting insurance might be different in both cases , dont have details with me .

      Also you can choose 2-3 funds from the best funds running right now , but you cant rely on those for all 30 yrs , you have to keep reviewing and shifting from them in every 2-3 yrs at max . If you dont want to get into active management (twice in a year) , then you should be good in ETF or Index fund. https://www.jagoinvestor.com/2010/08/list-of-best-equity-diversified-mutual-funds-for-2010.html

      Manish

  90. Joseph says:

    Hello Manish,
    1) At what rate will long term capital gains from MIPs (under growth option) be taxed under the new DTC?
    2) Will dividends distributed by MIPs be tax free under the new DTC? At what rate will DDT be levied??

  91. Darshan Shroff says:

    Come 2012. The big blow to mutual fund investors is the fact that income distributed by mutual funds to unit holders of equity-oriented fund or that distributed by life insurer to policy holders of an approved equity-oriented life insurance scheme will be taxed at 5 per cent.

    What does this mean ? Is this about the dividend option, wherein the dividend is currently tax free. It wont be so post DTC. ?

    1. Darshan

      Yes , this 5% tax is only on Dividend option . Right now you dont pay any tax if you recieve dividend from mutua funds, but post DTC you will pay 5% tax on that too . But if you choose growth option of MF , this 5% tax is not applicable .

      So the best thing would be to look at growth option and not dividend incase you dont require dividends .

      Manish

      1. T. Yatin says:

        Manish,

        Most importantly there is no standard for date of entry and date of exit for any of these sites. Even one month at the start or end of each market cycle run, at either end can make a huge difference. Are all talking if identical dates? you may see some fine print – bit not for all! 🙂

        e.g. Do I take 1st Janaury as start or 1st april as start?

        Yatin

        1. T. Yatin

          data is taken from valueresearchonline . So its same for all .. whatever it is 🙂

        2. T. Yatin says:

          Dear Manish,

          Ref # 233.

          I was responding to Darshan Shroff’s message # 229. So even if you use a calculator; there has to be a standard period for annual returns calculation e.g. january to December or financial year April to March. If you have a market correction at either end it willmake a huge difference.
          regards,
          Yatin

  92. Darshan Shroff says:

    Each website moneycontrol.com, valueresearchonline, smartinvestor.in have got their different return figures for same Fund Scheme. Which one to trust ? And how come they are different ?
    For. e.g HDFC Top 200 G as per its own website has annualized returns of 17.54% over 3 years ,
    (http://www.hdfcfund.com/Products/SchemeDetails.aspx?SchemeID=f52bc715-0cfc-4a6a-941b-9a2618e62511) that
    Valueresearchonline – 21%
    moneycontrol.com – 60% ??

    I am clearly doing some mistake ?

    1. Darshan

      Different websites might have a little different way of calculating it .. So you should not take them too much seriously . Moneycontrol might be showing obsolute return and not annual return .

      The best person to rely is your own calculations , take NAV of two dates and apply CAGR formula , thats the best thing , I would trust valueresearchonline.com most for this .

      Manish

  93. SK patil says:

    Hi, Mr. Manish,

    Can pls. Suggest me on followings
    Best SIP for 8K
    Best MIP for 6months and amount 200K
    Best Term/company FD for interest rate would be 15-18% for 6 months to 1year horizon
    Rgds
    SHIVAKUMAR

      1. Uma says:

        Plz share it with us here too, It will be our wake up call–;)

        1. Uma

          I didnt give him suggestions , I told him that its takes time to find out that and takes dedicated effort , so its not free 🙂

          Manish

          1. Uma says:

            Yes Dear Manish, Nothing comes free and nothing should come free to in life. If it comes free then it means we have already paid for it.
            Thanks anyway, yours articles itself make us think in the right mode, and it spurs us into deep thinking.

  94. Joseph says:

    Hi Manish,
    I have availed the services of two financial planners. I have started investing in equity diversified funds from Jan 2010 with a 20 year perspective. One Financial planner wants me to book profits whenever market(and NAV) rises and transfer the gains to a debt scheme. The other financial planner wants to stay invested irrespective of the market(and NAV) and reap on the benefits of ‘Power of Compounding’ and wants me to withdraw the money during any bull run after 15 years. Whose advice should I follow as both advices seem to be good???

    1. Joseph

      Actually both of them are good 🙂 . But just like anything its perspective and their style of suggestion . The first planner suggestions are more active one’s and require you to take actions based on markets movement , This is active management of portfolio and hence can give you superior returns over the second planner suggestions . This also means that your decisions can degrade the returns quality , For example if markets are at 20k now , and you sell it and move to equity and then suppose markets move to 25k in next few month , which is more likely , then you loose out on the returns badly . So the first planner suggestions are for a client who is actually ready to be active participant and have some understanding . First planner is more of a fund manager kind of planner it seems 🙂

      However second planner suggestions are for a client who is more of a passive person and just wants to keep investing and thats all , regularity in investments will take care of good returns in future .

      So the end question is who are you ? If you see your self in mirror , which planner resembles more into you 🙂 . Choose the advice of one who is more like you , because he was successful in understanding you as a client 🙂

      Manish

      1. Darshan Shroff says:

        So the end question is who are you ? If you see your self in mirror , which planner resembles more into you 🙂

        Nice.. 🙂

  95. Rohit Jaiswal says:

    Hi Manish,
    Wanted to ask you that how should a person like me age 27 yrs should plan their investments. Currently, I don’t have any MFs. Is it worth to invests all the funds on HDFC 200 or DSP blackrock as they both are large-cap focus?? How should a person like me should make its MFs portfolio??

    1. Rohit

      At a root level . it boils down to understanding your risk appetite first and deciding on how much of Rs 100 are you going to put in high return products (but risky in short term) and how much in safe things .

      Then you have to plan for each of your goal and plan for it .

      Manish

  96. T. Yatin says:

    (a) Could you have included Quantum Long Term Equity Fund, though it has completed 4.5 years, Value Research gives it a 5-Star rating.
    (b) Could you look at complementary Diversified funds within an person’s portfolio, so that scrips do not get repeated and diversification occurs with least number of funds rather than max. funds? How many diversified funds (large) should one have, in what proportion?

    Overall, great article!

  97. Uma says:

    Hi Manish and Sunder,
    It appears to me that we should stay away from equity funds for the moment, or go for it in the SIP mode only, and invest only in Debt funds for the time being seeing the volatile nature of the market. Have I grasped it correctly?
    Or is something else that I have missed?
    Regards and thanks again.

    1. Uma

      Depends .. agreed that markets are at their high , but this “High” can be high for next 1 yr 🙂 . It can happen , too much fear and conservative ness is also bad , it depends from person to person how he wants to take this situation as, One can say its overvalued and now he wants to stay away , on the other hand one can say that I still want to ride it and take some more profits , but i will be extra cautious and will get out on more indications of potential downfall .

      Strong momentum like one we are seeing right now are rare , they come once in a while and its more easy to ride the trend in these times . So using the opportunity can be a way to go 🙂

      Manish

      1. Sunder says:

        I strongly feel it is time for MIPs. Unfortunately in most MIPs the fund manager does not lower equity component as per market condition. He keeps them almost near the mandated top. But only one fund which takes agressive calls is Reliance MIP which I am sure will keep equity to zero if need arises. HDFC MIP Long term another good fund will not lower his equity in any market condition. UTI MIS is another good one. Birla MIP is also reasonable. But the current star is ICICI MIP with his large cap equity holdings is doing exceptionally well. So you can choose which ones to go depending upon your need.

        1. Sunder

          Nice information from your side :). Do you study these on your own , You can write a nice post on this blog for other readers 🙂

          Manish

          1. Sundar says:

            I have picked up all these from my FP who is half my age. We have long sessions every Sunday. He showed me a awesome graph recently of Federal Fund Rate Vs. Nasdaq Bubble and Housing Bubble, which indicated that you don’t get a really good bubble going until Fed Starts raising the interest rates. This time around the bubble will be BIG (Brazil, India and Gold) and the peak should come somewhere around 2 to 4 months after fed starts raising rates. This bubble may take sensex even beyond 30k and will crash like Nasdaq. Let us see. But one should ride this bubble if one wants to make big money in the market.

            1. Sundar

              Thats quite a good info :). Why dont you compile your learnings and do a guest post 🙂

              Manish

            2. Sundar says:

              Dear Manish,

              thanks for your offer. Frankly I am a lazy person. I am into retirement. My needs are limited (No drinking, Vegetarian etc.) but you may call me an HNI. I just get macro picture from my FP and decide things on my own. Hence my post will not appeal to your readers as my needs/plans will only appeal to miniscule audience. Hence I do not want to put boring posts. I play for time pass in Futures/Options/Commodities and Currencies. Bulk of my savings are in MFs for which I do tactical asset allocation and rebalance when the markets are high or low in my opinion. This will not suit many other investors as they follow strategic asset allocation. Most importantly I try to be truthful to myself about my risk tolerance. This brings self discipline and I will not get carried away by market conditions. Those who make the fundamental mistakes of not known their own true risk tolerance will fall into the trap and will lose in the long run.

  98. Sundar says:

    Dear Sir,
    I asked him but he says strictly NO. He has many HNI and FII clients in his business and he likes to keep his profile very low. But you can ask me whatever you want as he stays next door and he is like my close relative. He has bigger ambitions in life probably.
    I am very sorry for the same.

    1. Sundar

      Thats fine 🙂 . Not an issue . I was just checking 🙂

      Manish

    2. ramgee says:

      Sundar,
      I have been looking for a well recommended FP, but haven’t had much luck. Since, I am keen to start late (40 yrs), with large funds, I would like to take the time to find the right one.
      If I am lucky, looks like your FP could be the way to go. My email is mohangayatri@yahoo.com. I do appreciate if I can be contacted.
      Best regards,
      Mohan

  99. Sundar says:

    My financial planner had given me very interesting suggestion recently:

    Since I am nearing retirement and markets are high, he says do not invest more than 20 to 25% of your portfolio in Equities. In my case since I have achived my financial goals, he strongly advises me to keep the gains. Instead he strongly advises to go for MIPs. When there is a market down turn he would like me to enter Equity Funds but not exceeding 40% of the Portfolio.

    He strongly advises me to sell Nifty Futures or buy Nifty put options whose underlying value to be equal to my equity fund holdings since he feels market is at peak and it is time to protect equity holding by futures and options.

    I have great respect for my financial planner. Any advise on this strange advice.

    1. Sundar

      Yes, your planner is correct . You should concentrate on consitent growth at the moment rather than aggresive growth in your money , because now you are at point in life where growth is not the primary concern , its secondary .

      Now you have accumulated your wealth and its the time to enjoy it and bear the fruit , so you have to make sure your money tree gives fruits longer and successfully . MIP’s would give you regular income (not necessarily monthly , as name suggests) .

      Markets are indeed on high , but you cant say that it would fall in next 1-2 months , this upside can continue for couple of months more , may be 6 months also :). His suggestion of buying Puts is good as he is trying to save your portfolio from a big downfall . I would also suggest same , but i would suggest you to start buying puts a little later , may be after 3-4 months , as I feel that markets have stamina to go upto 21000 and may be then fall , Not that its “may be” . We can go much higher also

      Manish

    2. Sundar

      What is the name of your financial planner , he seems to be a good one 🙂

      Manish

      1. Sundar says:

        My financial planner does not want me to reveal his name as he is working privately but has regular job with a big broking house. He gave me following 3 ideas in current market scenario:

        1. He told me to either sell all my equity funds and go for MIPs growth option. He feels when market falls MIP Nav will be negative and so there will be mostly nominal short term capital loss which he says you can carry forward for next 8 years and adjust against short term capital gains subsequently. In this plan he does not ask me to buy a put option or sell futures. He said just bear the small/short pain in your portfolio.

        2. In his second suggestion he told me not to sell any mutual funds but only hedge it with futures and options. Tax wise, gains in futures/options will be treated as non speculative gains and can be adjusted against any short term capital loss from equity and debt mutual funds if any which he says to do just before the end of this financial year.

        3. In his third suggestion he told me to sell all my equity funds and claim long term and short term gains. Sit in dynamically managed debt funds, since interest rates are around 8%. Wait for the market to crash and enter again with 40% allocation to equity funds. But he says you should always be invested in the market at least to the tune of 20%. He feels since interest rates have peaked it is good time to use debt funds for gains. Last one year debt funds performed badly but now he expected debt funds to give good returns. But personally he does not like this suggestion.

        So I wanted to seek your informed opinion on his views. By the way this gentleman told me in Dec. 2007 almost the same things as above and I followed his first suggestion and my portfolio survived nicely from Jan 08-Mar 09. Actually I made good gains in FY-2008-09 in debt funds. He is very good.

        1. Sundar

          I like the first option , unless you are hard core fanatic about equities and like to see movements in markets ,you should have very limited investments in equity , that too in index fund so that you dont have to watch it.

          I am not sure about his comment on clubbing of losses from options with gains from equity , as per my knowledge , F&O is treated as speculative activity and you cant club, not sure if things have changed recently .

          over all the crux is same , you should be high on debt with stability in income and low on equity . It should such that if all your money wipe out from equity , you still dont get heart attack 🙂

          Overall , your financial planner is good one and you should trust his words . Dont leave him

          Manish

          1. Sundar says:

            He told me since 2005 F&O gains have been changed from speculative to non speculative as per fine prints of Income Tax act. He is sure. As a matter of fact many of his HNI clients are using this mode to reduce their short term capital gains/losses.

            1. Sundar

              Great to hear that, i didnt knew this . So in that case even 2nd point he made looks good now .

              Manish

            2. Sundar says:

              But regardig F&O he told me if you make any gains you will be charged as business income. But if you make loss you can adjust against short term gains from Equity and Debt mutual funds. But he is afraid the final call to take on this matter will be taken by the ITO . Depending upon your intention and your frequency of trading in F&O he will decide if it is business income or loss which can be adjusted against short term gains. So he told me to tread this matter carefully.

            3. Sundar

              In that case , I would suggest go with first option . Better come back once markets are deep down 🙂 . Dont complicate

              Manish

            4. Sundar says:

              Dear Sir,

              Thank you very much for your time and advise. Very much appreciated. My FP told me that he agrees with your view that markets will run further. He says till the US Federal Reserve does not raise interest rates, FIIs will pour money into risky assets. So he told me to take action only when US fed raises interest rates. Till such time he says take the ride to eternity with 40% tank full.

            5. Looks good 🙂

              Can you ask your financial planner to contact me . I would like to talk to him over email or phone . He seems to be one of the good people around and he can also add his contribution to many readers here .

              Let me know .

              Manish

  100. Saurabh Pandey says:

    Hi Manish,

    Thanks for your effort to educate “AAM NIVESHAK” like us.
    I am planning to invest 25K in HDFC Equity,20K in UTI Divedend yield and 15K in DSPBR Small and Mid Cap regular plan. Keeping current market conditions in view, should i go ahead with it. I have long term investment horizon (15yrs+).

    1. Saurabh

      You have not provided enough data for me to comment , Its all about “Are you ok with that kind of allocation” ? . all the funds you mentioned are good at this moment , Its all about High equity and being comfortable with high equity and ready to accept a downturn of even 60-70% in worst cases . Can you take that ?

      Are you ready mentally to accept that kind of downfall in your portfolio ? Make sure you are , because that can happen .

      Manish

  101. Jayashankar says:

    Dear Manish,
    Thank you for your selfless work in helping others and blogging! God bless
    Excellent article on a list of excellent equity diversified mutual funds
    I was invested SIP to Reliance growth fund rs 500 since 2008 but now NAV 512+
    I had invested SIP to other schemes are HDFC Top 200 Fund,ICICI pru disco,Reliance RSF,
    Shall i redeem for Reliance Growth Fund now or not?
    Thanks advance
    Jayashankar

    1. No keep invested , do it for long term .

      Manish

  102. Harpreet Kaur says:

    Dear Mr. Manish,

    I have invested 25K each in HDFC Equity and Reliance RSF Equity today in growth option for a long horizon like 10-15 years (incase these funds keep performing till then).

    My agent never said don’t invest now. Now, another agent is saying you should have waited as the market is at its peak. There are chances of capital loss. Is it really so?

    Moreover, I wanna invest another 50K. When should I invest? Should I wait for Sensex to get back to 17000?

    Please check the following link, where Mr. Nilesh Shah is suggesting that Sensex may touch 21000 by Deewali and 25000 by 2011. What are your views?

    http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/market-outlook/sensex-may-hit-21k-by-diwali-25k-by-2011-end-nilesh-shah_484883.html

    1. Harpreet

      Its true that markets are at high point , but it can go more high , its a tough thing to predict it , But you can expect volality in your value , it might go down also , but as you are investing for long term , you dont have to be very cautious , however it was not the best time to invest lumpsum , you could have either done an SIP or waited for next bear market .

      Manish

  103. AAKASH says:

    I AM AN AGGRESSIVE INVESTOR.
    AMONG SMALL CAP – MID CAPS FUNDS, WHICH ONE DO YOU FEEL IS BETTER, MID-CAP OR A MIX OF SMALL-MID CAP. ALSO TELL ME WHICH FUND HOUSE HAS THE BEST MID CAP & SMALL CAP FUND.
    THANKS

    1. Aaakash

      Mis of small mid cap would be less risky then pure small cap , so its your decision to see how much risk do you want ?

      You can go for Birla sun life mid cap or DSPBR mid cap fund .

      Manish

  104. Thennarasu says:

    What is your view on this article ,Is their view is correct kindly throw lights with some ststistics SIPs long term performance, i’m little bit confused about SIP after reading this article link given below.
    “While the fund industry was hell-bent on promoting the SIP idea because it was yet another marketing trick, we had warned that you should be careful about having blind faith in SIP”
    “The media, which spreads financial illiteracy, also mindlessly broadcasts the notion that SIPs are always good for you.”

    http://www.moneylife.in/article/81/2034.html

    1. Thennarasu

      No , they are not wrong , and when one says “SIP is good ” even that is not wrong , it all depends on the situation .

      Understand that more lazy and disinterested investor you are , the more easy and comfortable your investing should be . So if you are a person who wants to just invest and never look back , SIP is for you , but if you are more concerned for your money and are ready to take some time off to look at the situation , markets etc ,then you can play with the strategy .

      The moneylife article talks about the situation which had a crash in between , so definately SIP would mean investing in high and low , and in short run you wont gain anything , but if you were a concious investor you can realise that in 2006 markets had already seen 3 yrs of running , so now SIP would not be the best thing to do as markets were on its peak or near its peaks, the best time to do the SIP is when you have no idea what is going to happen or when you want to invest for 15-20 yrs and dont want to look at markets .

      Manish

  105. Anwesha says:

    Hi Manish,

    Very nice and informative postings!
    I have been investing in the following Mutual Funds through SIP for the last 8 months:

    HDFC Prudence (G): 1000
    HDFC Top 200 (G) : 2000
    DSP BR Equity (G): 1000
    Reliance Regular Savings Equity (G): 500

    I have not invested in any Debt funds yet. Rest of my investments are through PPF and FDs.

    Could you kindly review my small portfolio and suggest some more funds (Equity Diversified Funds, preferably mid/small cap funds) in which I can invest an additional 1500/- per month.

    Thank you very much.

    Anwesha

    1. Anwesha

      DSPBR Mid/small cap fund is a relatively high risk/return fund incase you want to take risky investment call . overall your current portfolio looks good , but on higher equity side if you are ok with it . Dont invest in more funds , just increase the investments in these .

      Manish

  106. saurabh says:

    i am planning to invest approx 10000 in the begining and then upto 3000 pm as SIP. can u suggest whether this is right time to invest and which funds i shoud invest in, I am new to investments.

    1. Saurabh

      If you want to invest for long term , you can choose Balanced funds in the start

      Manish

  107. Uma says:

    Dear Manish,
    Where do we park our lump sum investment and then go for SIP. It is tempting to go for equity funds at one go, but your constant advice to go for it in the SIP mode deters me now,So what is the recourse, where shall we park the funds and then go for systematic SIPs,
    As usual, thanks in advance,and regards

      1. uma says:

        Thanks for the link.
        Another question, I have heard about Product life cycle, would like to know whether it applies for mutual funds too?
        If it applies then when and how do we exit from a fund? and what should be our goal in a perticular mutual fund investment?
        Thanks in advance

        1. Uma

          What do you mean by that “Product Life cycle” ?

          Manish

            1. Uma

              Generally mutual funds will let you know when they close if you are the unit holder . at that time you can redeem the amount .

              Manish

    1. Dominic says:

      I understand that you want to hold a lump sum money in a MF and then do a STP (SIP) to other equity fund. Is that right? I am in a similar situation.

      1. Uma says:

        yes, very true!!!

        1. Uma & Dominic

          STP is your solution ? No ?

          Manish

          1. Uma says:

            I would like your suggestions for STP, which funds to park in initially and then do the STP to these top equity funds,
            Any suggestions, and is UTI mahila fund doing well now also?
            thanks

            1. rag says:

              Hi Manish

              Any updates on funds in which we can park our money and then do STP ?

  108. Joseph Anand says:

    Hello Manish,
    I have been investing in mutual funds (via SIP) for the past 9 months, with an investment horizon of 25 years. My present SIPs are :
    1) HDFC Top 200 — Rs. 1000/- p.m
    2) UTI Opportunities — Rs. 500/- p.m
    3) Sundaram S.M.I.L.E Fund — Rs. 250/- p.m
    Please suggest whether my fund selection is good. Also I am planning to invest another Rs. 3000/- p.m via SIPs . Could you suggest some good equity diversified funds for the same?

    1. Joseph

      What do you mean by “Good” ? can you define it ?

      Manish

      1. Joseph Anand says:

        Manish,
        By ‘good mutual funds’, I intended to mean equity diversified funds (with high sharpe ratio, low expense ratio, AMC reliability etc…) that can be relied upon for a long term investment. Can I consider Birla Sunlife Frontline Equity fund – Plan A, DSP Blackrock Top 100 Fund and Reliance RSF- Balanced Option taking into account their past performance??? Is Birla Sunlife Dividend Yield Plus worth investing , considering its low risk ???

        1. Joseph

          You cant say like that for any MF with 10 yrs in perspective, MF investing is with review every year. So next 2-3 yrs looks good to me , but you have to keep doing the review and be open to change them later .

          Manish

  109. apsara says:

    Is it is still possible to reap benefits for freshers to invest in these funds now?

    1. Apsara

      Yes , Mutual funds are not like shares , You can invest in these anytime , Mutual funds is just about collecting investments and then using them to take investing decisions . thats all .

      Manish

      1. Dominic says:

        Only SIP is good now (and anytime) and not bigger lump sum investment. Correct me if I am wrong.

        1. Dominic

          No , you are wrong , Nothing is bad or good. One time investment would be excellent if markets start rising and keep on going for long , as you will then buy at the lowest point .

          However as generally one should not time the markets , SIP would work out better for most of the people .

          Manish

  110. Harpreet Kaur says:

    Dear Mr. Manish,

    I am planning to put 50,000 in Equity Diversified Mutual Funds for long term and would opt for growth option. Should I put in two of 25k each. What funds you suggest?

    1. Harpreet

      You can choose any two funds , I have put what kind of funds they are and whom does it suit .

      Manish

  111. Mithlesh says:

    Excellent article on a list of excellent equity diversified mutual funds. Anyone who wants to invest in MF for long term can pick from the list for very good returns. I have already been investing through SIP in HDFC Top 200 , Birla Sunlife Frontline equity and Reliance regular savings and also in some other midcap based and ELSS funds.

    Thanks a lot again Manish. Keep up the good work to help retail investors taking informed decisions reading your posts.

    1. Mithilesh

      Great to hear that . Keep reading

      Manish

  112. Dominic says:

    Which is good fund to start a SIP for a young invester? Now the markets are at its peak and shall I suggest a balanced fund like HDFC prudence?

    1. Dominic

      For a young investor any of these funds would be a good choice . You can invest for time being in HDFC Prudence and then put money in these funds once markets are down

      Manish

    2. Mithlesh says:

      Hi

      Its a very good idea to pick some aggressive funds via SIP for a young investor. Balance funds are more towards safety and a young investor need not worry about the time frame. You could have a look at funds like IDFC Premier equity -A , DSPBR small and mid cap , UTI opportunities etc.

      1. Dominic says:

        Thanks Manish/Mithlesh. This is for my nephew. I thought of suggesting 2K in HDFC prudence and 2K in IDFC Premier equity-A. But IDFC the required minimum application (first) amount is 25K which may not workout at this point. It is not there in my list but its a very good fund..

        Thanks for your suggestion. Regards
        Dominic

        1. Dominic

          ok , you can also try DSPBR midcap fund incase you want to be aggresive .

          Manish

  113. kamlesh says:

    informative post.

    can we all discuss about good debit,liquid/liquidplus, floating rate mutual funds and review them on this blog.

    1. Kamlesh

      We will do that in later posts . Wait for it 🙂

      Manish

  114. abhay says:

    Hi Manish,

    Nice & highly useful article. I want to start SIP in HDFC Equity or Top 200 MF for my retirement fund (long term investment for min 25 years). My age is around 35 years.

    Kindly suggest which one suits my need?

    1. Abhay

      Any is fine , also put money in 2 funds, HDFC and DSPBR looks good as of today

      Manish

  115. AAKASH says:

    Also suggest me, I am holding the following funds;
    1. RELIANCE GROWTH FUND – GROWTH
    2. RELIANCE BANKING
    3. RALIANCE INFRASTRUCTURE
    4. RELIANCE DIVERSIFIED POWER
    5. RELIANCE PHARMA
    6. IDFC PREMIER
    7. HDFC TOP 200
    I am an aggressive investor and time frame is 5 to 20 years.
    Anything to add or minus.
    Sectoral funds, I am hold for another 3-5 years (pharma, banking, infra & Power) others i am planning to hold for 10 to 25 years.
    My age is 30 years and putting 1000/- SIP in each of these funds

    Kindly advice to hold all of these or change my portfolio a little.

    Thanks
    You are doing a great job

    1. Aakash

      I might not be able to comment much on the sectoral MF , but if you are aggressive , why dont you try midcap/small cap MF like DSPBR midcap/small cap MF . That would be better .

      Have less funds .

      Manish

  116. Aakash says:

    Funds like Reliance Growth Fund and IDFC Premier Fund is not added in the “List of Best Equity Diversified Mutual funds for 2010”.
    Both the funds have given excellent performance.

    1. Aaakash

      They are nice funds , but they do not do not meet the critria of being mainly large cap oriented funds which 60-65% in Large cap

      Manish

  117. Tarun says:

    Hi Manish,
    Good to see your Top 7 for the year 2010.
    I must say your analysis is amazing, especially the eye-poping Rs. 10 lacs growing into Rs. 2.54 crores 🙂
    Based on your 2009 Top MFs list and some digging here and there, I started investment in 4 MFs through SIP of Rs. 2000 each(i.e. Rs. 8000 p.m.)
    – HDFC Top 200 – G
    – HDFC Prudence – G
    – DSP BR Top 100 Equity – G
    – Sundaram BNPP S.M.I.L.E.

    What do you suggest about this portfolio?
    Seeing the performance in recent months, BNPP S.M.I.L.E. is a bit lagging, what do you say?

  118. Harpreet says:

    Dear Mr. Manish,

    Just wanna take your view point. My close associate took Can Robeco Multicap (G) in Feb 2007 and the current NAV is 16. He benefited nearly Rs.78,000 over his investment of 1.25 lacs in three years. Today only we checked with the agent (and also on moneycontrol website) but agent says to close it and take new one. Moreover, on moneycontrol website the mutual fund meter says AVOID for this fund.

    Please guide whether to continue with this or not? Is the agent right or wrong (may be he is saying so for his personal interest)? Why the mutual fund meter on moneycontrol says AVOID (instead of a return of Rs.78,000)?

    Just wanna enhance my knowledge which I got from your website and also to help my associate take right decision.

    Thanks & Regards,

    Harpreet

    1. Harpreet

      The fund has done fair , but not exceptional . There are better funds than these , The agent might want to sell you some other NFO now , as it seems like he sold this NFO to your friend. Overall your friend might continue this fund , if you want to just be with “ok” fund and not want to explore a “better” fund .

      Understand that the way you are looking at return is wrong , in obsolute terms 78000 profit on investment of 1.25 lacs is AWESOME , but what is the return from similar fund ? What has been the return of its benchmark , Can you get same returns with less risky fund ? These are all the questions you have to ask ?

      Manish

  119. Uma says:

    Here is my pick of funds based on my experience, Is it on track??
    Any suggestions??
    UTI-MASTER VALUE FUND 2000
    UTI – DIVIDEND YIELD FUND 5000 pm through SIP monthly
    UTI – MIS-ADVANTAGE PLAN GROWTH PLAN 200000
    Canara Robeco Infrastructure Growth Fund 5000
    HDFC Prudence Fund 20000
    HDFC Top 200 Fund through SIP Monthly 2000
    RELIANCE MONTHLY INCOME PLAN (GROWTH) 10000
    RELIANCE REGULAR SAVINGS FUND-EQUITY PLAN-GROWTH OPTION 3000
    BIRLA SUN LIFE MONTHLY INCOME-GROWTH 60000
    BIRLA SUN LIFE DIVIDEND YEILD PLUS-DIVIDEND 5000 Monthly STP from BSL Monthly Income growth
    UTI opportunities fund 5000
    Thanks in advance for any suggestions given

    1. AnjiReddy says:

      Hi Manish,
      I have a small query,
      is there any difference between ELSS(tax savers) and other mutual funds
      except the lock in period?
      I heard that in ELSS monthly SIP is not possible,only Quarterly/half-yearly/yearly is possible.
      How much it’s true.

      I’m planning to start a ELSS from this month onwards

      1. Arudra Kumar says:

        Anji Reddy,

        SIP for ELSS is definitely possible. I myself invested in 2 different ELSS Funds through SIP last year. However, its always better to start a SIP for ELSS in the beginning of the financial year (that is April) so that you can get the tax benefit for the entire financial year.

        Regards,
        Arudra.

        1. Anji Reddy says:

          Thanks Kumar

        2. Darshan Shroff says:

          Hmm That’s right Arudra..

          But i kind of missed out to start this Apr. So should i be waiting to start next april and till that time invest in non-tax savings. Considering it would be a yearly cycle with 3 year lock in.

          However there is a fact that if i start next april, i will have only 1 year as come 2012, it wont be tax saving any more.

          Also on a different context, i wanted to know that if one starts in April with an SIP, corporate companies usually need the proofs latest by Say October or November or they start deducting tax thereafter.
          So if i am doing an SIP of say 1k per month, in October can i avail tax saving of only 6k or for the entire year. As if its a lump-sum amount of 12k i invested in April, i could avail the whole thing in April itself.

          Manish, your expert comments are also awaited.

          1. Darshan

            You Dont have to worry about the documents for the SIP’s which you are going to do in coming months, most of the companies are fine with a declaration letter that you are going to do the SIP’s and anyways you will have a proof that you have started the SIP .

            So from tax documents declaration point its not an issue .

            Manish

            1. Darshan Shroff says:

              ok..

              And what about the timing.. i want to do 2 SIP’s, one of them tax saving. Should i be waiting till April next year or should i start right now itself.

            2. Depends on your tax exemptions for the year . what ever you invest before Apr , will be counted in current year and rest in next year , So work out how much is remaining in 80C

              manish

      2. Anji

        ELSS are from the class of Equity Diversified mutual funds, so they are same to other equity diversified funds which are non-tax savers like HDFC Taxsaver or DSPBR top 100 in structure , but just that ELSS have lock in , other wise there is no difference.

        You can do monthly SIP in ELSS . I did SIP in 4 ELSS Funds

        Manish

        1. Anji says:

          Thanks Manish.
          I’ll start monthly SIP from this month onwards.
          Can U tell me some good ELSS funds(I confused of the large data available on ELSS),I am planning for long term investment(5+yrs)

          1. HDFC Tax saver , Sundaram BNP or Canara are good

    2. Uma

      Too much of diversification , cut down the funds

      Manish

      1. Uma says:

        Thanks again, but which ones, I do not want to go for equity funds with all my funds, so am using some balanced funds to park the amounts,
        Which ones do u suggest that I get rid off, but I can only do it next year or else the 2% redemption charges apply,
        thanks and cheers again for the great work that you are doing,
        Regards,
        uma

        1. Uma

          I would encourage you to find out the bad one’s using the way I have come up with the best one’s , filter the one you find out are not the best one .

          Manish

  120. Shari says:

    Hi Manish,

    Iam an avid reader of your blog and find your articles extremely educative

    I have the following SIPs started recently..Could you please let me know if iam on track
    FRANKLIN INDIA INDEX FUND NIFTY PLAN – DIVIDEND SIP 2000
    HDFC PRUDENCE FUND – DIVIDEND PLAN SIP 5000
    HDFC TOP 200 FUND – DIVIDEND PLAN SIP 5000
    BIRLA SUN LIFE FRONTLINE EQUITY FUND – DIVIDEND SIP 2000
    DSP BLACKROCK TOP 100 EQUITY – DIVIDEND SIP 2000
    IDFC IMPERIAL EQUITY FUND DIVIDEND SIP 2500
    RELIANCE DIVERSIFIED POWER SECTOR FUND – DIVIDEND SIP 3000
    Reliance Growth Fund Dividend Plan – Payout SIP 5000

    1. Shari

      There is too much of duplication in your portfolio , you are getting what u can get with 3-4 funds only

      – HDFC top 200
      – DSPBR top 100
      – Birla frontline or Reliance growth

      these 3 funds are enough .

      Manish

      1. Shari says:

        manish
        Thanks a lot..

        Regards
        Shari

  121. Uma says:

    Hi , I stumbled upon this useful guide for novices. Check it.

    http://www.personalfn.com/mfguide2010.pdf

    Hope this is useful and adds on the great and useful information given by Manish here.
    Hats off to him,

    1. Uma

      Nice link . Thanks for sharing and keep it up

      Manish

      1. Darshan Shroff says:

        Great share. I just finished with the whole thing. Pretty informative.

  122. Nitin Sharma says:

    Hi Manish,
    A very wonderful article.
    I had two SIP running for last 7 months
    Rs 1000 for BSL frontline Equity Plan A (G)
    Rs 500 Franklin Bluechip

    How is my small portfolio?
    Also i am looking forward to invest another Rs 1500 in Equity divesrsified funds.
    Please let me know 2 funds with Highest returns with least risk.
    Shall i go for Franklin Prima Plus?

    Thanks ,
    Nitin Sharma

    1. Nitin

      Your portfolio looks good . You can try HDFC Equity or Top 200

      Manish

  123. mitesh says:

    Manish what exact combination should hav for 15-20 yrs investment in eq d.fund of L,cap, M cap, S cap???

    1. Mitesh

      First one has to find out the asset allocation , say for exaple 25 in debt and 75 in equity . After this one has to define as per his risk taking capability how much he wants midcap and large cap .

      Its your situation , how can I tell 🙂

      Manish

      1. Darshan Shroff says:

        Nice..

        Its your situation , how can I tell 🙂

  124. mitesh says:

    G8 article manish…

    I have quite confuion about my ULIP plan. i have 3 ULIP plan which was purchased before 3 year. now All heavy charg is already charged to my plan. now may i continue this plan or start SIP in MF (Tax or Diversify E.fund.) what will be good in long term (say 15-20 year).

    Awating for your eye-opner answer.

    1. Mitesh

      ULIP’s should be continued only if you can use switching facility well , else its of no use much . Better invest through SIP

      Manish

    2. Dominic says:

      I have to ULIP’s running for the past 4 years and I calculated the total investment and the current fund value.
      ICICI Pru life gave 30% and above and
      Tata AIG Invest Assure gave -12%.
      So now i stopped AIG and pushing the same amount in a additional SIP to HDFC top 200. ULIPs are great in a longer term but AIG actually sucked all my blood in the first 3 years (still continues as I am used to that pain now) and no hope that it’ll go positive in next few years.

      I have done major changes in my investments in the last 6 months I am reading more and more from sites like jagoinvester and valueresearch etc.
      Regards
      Dominic

      1. Dominic

        Was the charges in AIG much more than ICICI ? Can you share that , I think the reason you have less in AIG is purely for Charges , else the performance should be similar .

        Manish

        1. Dominic says:

          After seeing your message I am going thru my policy doc and there were “4 pages” full of charges 🙂 and almost all charges are there till first 72 months of policy period. The growth fund performance is also not that good, otherwise I would have seen +ve return.
          ICICI on the other hand charges were little less compared to Tata AIG and it was there till the end of 3rd year. Fund prrformance is far better than TAIG. I took both the policy sometime in Jan/Feb 2006.

          Regards
          Dominic

          1. Dominic

            Ok , in that case its also fund performance that has done better for you in case of ICICI . You know what to do next 🙂

            Manish

  125. uma says:

    Eye opener article, and rewarding one too!!

  126. Pingback: Weekly Digest of Money Articles | Ranjan Varma's Blog
  127. saurabh says:

    i am new to investments – can say almost no investment till now. I am 30 yr old, monthly income 60000, expenses ~ 35000/month. No loans. Pls suggest in detail regarding how to invest. I do’nt understand the usual jargon of investment and it makes me really confused.

    1. saurabh

      Your first target is to understand things to some extent . Just saying “I dont know things” will not help atleast in future. So learn about things and hire a good financial planner who works on “advice-only” model .

      Manish

  128. Saurabh Pandey says:

    Kudos for the another nice post Manish.
    I have following investments. Can you please suggest is it OK to go ahead with it.

    HDFC Equity: 17.4%
    DSPBR Top 100 equity : 7.9%
    UTI Dividend Yield: 7.3%
    Magnum Contra: 3.9 %
    Thus Total giant + large cap (non tax saving) : 36.5 %
    Mid and small cap : 15 %
    equity tax saver : 43%

    1. Saurabh

      Too much diversification I guess .. You will get same diversification with just 2-3 funds . So you can reduce the numbers by 50% . And you know that its a risky portfolio . Mostly Equity

      Manish

      1. Saurabh Pandey says:

        Many Thanks for your quick reply Manish.

        Can you please suggest that which fund should i exit out of non elss funds? my tax saving portfolio comprises of :
        HDFC Tax saver
        Canara Robeco Tax saver
        SBI Magnum Tax gain
        Sundaram Tax saver

        1. Saurabh

          I dont like to comment on the exact fund, but canara Robeco has been doing well in last some year and HDFC tax saver is a very long term winner . Avoid SBI Magnum

          Manish

          1. saurabh pandey says:

            Thanks a lot manish.

      2. Saurabh Pandey says:

        Manish,
        If you can please suggest that which fund should i do away with.
        Also we all need one more article on Debt funds for 2010.

        1. Saurabh

          SBI magnum is one you can ignore

          Debt funds for 2010 will come soon 🙂

  129. Manish Bansal says:

    Hi Manish

    Very nice post Really ur post helps many many investors.

    How would u comment on DSPBR Equity as it has given good returns than DSPBR top 100 fund from 1 month to 7 years horizon.

    Again one more Birla Sun Life Dividend Yield Plus generating good returns from BSL Front line Equity Fund

    waiting for ur reply.
    Thanks

    Manish Bansal

    1. Manish

      DSPBR is a midcap/small cap oriented fund, so I am not considering it .

      Manish

  130. Asad says:

    Hi manish
    Nice article. i want to invest some cash which is available in some HDFC prudence/Top 200.Where/How do you suggest I invest 5 L cash(One time/SIP)? for 10 yrs horizon for my son higher education.
    Waiting for another article from you…
    Thanks and appriciating your time…
    Asad

    1. Asad

      The best thing would be to do an STP from one fund to another , probably HDFC Top 200 or DSPBR top 100 would be good .

      Manish

  131. Dev says:

    Hi Manish

    I am a regular reader of your website and I implemented many of your suggestions in my financial planning. Thank you very much and it is al helping me big time.

    Now , I am having around 10 lakh in my hand and I don’t know what to do with that? I already invested in SIPS ( your website was my inspiration) and paying around 15000/month on that. I have few LIC policies and invested in real estate also. I need to invest this money in such a way that it can give me return later… ( after 2-5 years) Can you please guide me in this?

    1. Dev

      2-5 yrs is a medium term , so you might want to invest in ETF’s or Index funds , or even a balanced fund .

      Manish

      1. Arudra Kumar says:

        How about investing some money in Post Office Monthly Income Scheme and invest the returns you get monthly in a SIP. For example: If you invest Rs. 1.5 Lakh in the Post Office MIS, you get Rs.1000 every month with which you can start a SIP. Also, you get a 5% bonus on your investment after the maturity term of 6 years.

        1. Arudra

          Yea it seems a good idea for a investor who wants to protect his capital and also earn some returns from his investments in equity .

          Manish

  132. Dilip says:

    Hi Manish
    I have 5k to invest.whether i should go for 1fund or is it better to split into 2-3funds?
    For a period of 5years,is it ok to invest in RSS equity?

    1. Dilip

      Better to diversify , Regarding RSS equity , you can see that its a high risk/return fund and with lot of volatility , so choose what you want ?

      Manish

  133. Nitin says:

    Hi Manish,

    I enjoy your articles that are investment oriented. I am already investing in most of the funds you mentioned, so basically you reinforced my selection further.

    I am primarily investing for my retirement and for my kids. I have choosen funds like :
    For Retirement:

    Hdfc 200
    DSPBR top 100
    HDFC Prudence
    IDFC Premier A

    For kids:
    Reliance RSF equity
    DSPBR Balanced
    Tata equity P/E

    Thanks for simple and lucid articles !!!

    Nitin

    1. Nitin

      Great . These are all good fudns , just make sure you are reviewing them every year .

      Also , you can reduce your funds from 7 to just 4-5 .

      Manish

      1. Nitin says:

        Hi Manish…Thanks for reply..

        Regarding your comment ” you can reduce your funds from 7 to just 4-5″

        Good that you brought it up..I wanted your take on this.. I invest using icicdirect… I have bought these different schemes just to keep funds separate for my retirement and for kids. How do I reduce number of funds and still ensure that I am not mixing both goals?

        Thanks once again !!

        1. Nitin

          Actually 7 funds is not that big problem, its still ok , But still you can invest in same fund for 2 different goal .

          Manish

  134. Kavita says:

    Hi Manish,

    Good post…. good way of analysis…. got to learn quite a few things.

    Regards
    Kavita

    1. Kavita

      Nice to hear that . Make sure you spread the knowledge now

      Manish

  135. A S Bhalaik says:

    Dear sir,
    I had been waiting for the best mutual funds of 2010 and had in fact requested you at one point of time for the same. You had promised to post them shortly which stands fulfilled now.Thank you very much, I am delighted to read the article.

    1. A S Bhalaik

      Great to hear back from you 🙂 . Please share this knowledge and post with other friends of yours 🙂

      manish

  136. Musing says:

    Hi Manish,

    I have been an avid reader of your blog for some time now. I am based out of US and have accumulated a sum of about 80 lacs which I need to invest in m/f’s. I was thinking of putting all of it in some Index ETF like Nifty BeES. However, I came across these articles of yours and now I am thinking about this. I have read books on US M/F’s vs. Index ETF’s and the message is that after expenses, portfolio churn and indirect taxes, commissions and fees, the average M/F is not worth considering..as opposed to an Index ETF. Your message seems to be that this is not the case in India.

    Do you think putting some money in 60:40 fashion in things like HDFC 200 and Sundaram Mid-Cap might be a better idea.

    Eagerly awaiting your thoughts.

    Best Regards.

    1. Musing

      Yes, you are correct , ETF’s work better in US as they are much more matured markets . India is not that matured and mutual funds which are managed by Fund managers tend to outperform the Index funds if Fund manager is a good one 🙂 .

      So you should put your money in Mutual funds , but not all and not a single point , you have to put it through STP , so that it acts like a SIP and it is spread over time because one time investments can work bad incase markets tumble suddenly

      80 lacs is not a small money , so plan in a better way .

      manish

  137. caribou says:

    Hi Manih,
    In almost every financial calculator, SIP is calculated in terms of compound interest. Suppose I sell SIP after 8 years, will the AMC really calculate my returns in compound interest? For example, I invest 1500 per month in SIP for 8 years, NAV at buy is 40, and at sell time NAV is 47. Let us say average NAV for 8 years is 43, and then at sell time NAV is 47. How much will be the returns?
    In some calculator, they calculate at around 15% with compound interest. Please tell me how will be the real returns.

  138. prabeesh says:

    Hi Manish,

    Nice set of funds thanks for the details which we need to look in a MF

    I have 10K SIP split in following MF
    HDFC Top 200 G
    HDFC Tax Saver G
    HDFC Long Term G
    Birla SL Dividend Yield G
    Canara Robeco Tax saver G
    Reliance Equity Opp G

    I would like your comment on this MF and i have a question

    I hear the compounding of interest in investements. When it come to MF how its compounding? as i see either NAV grow or fall..how do compounding come here..is it through the reinvestment of the earned money in stock by fund managers?

    I am confused of that aspect in MF.

    Also What would happen to these tax saver schemes after 2012..they will change the name or close the fund? 🙂

  139. allthecrap says:

    Hi Manish,

    Nice post. One doubt I have about DTC.

    Will all the ELSS fund be taxed under DTC in 2012 onwards, even for current investments?

    1. allthecrap

      There wont be anything called ELSS after 2012 , all the ELSS funds will loose the status of ELSS and become pure equity fund which dont have any lock in period .

      Any investments done before 2012 will continue to be tax-free at maturity , however I would say that dont rely on DTC much as it will change again , who knows 🙂

      manish

  140. Kaval says:

    Manish,

    enjoyed reading this article.
    I have 6-7 lacs which I don’t need for another 3 years. Do you recommend lump sum amount investment into debt oriented fund like HDFC Multiple Yield

    1. Kaval

      Yes , that would be a good idea. IF you are a big risk taker , try balance funds

      manish

      1. Kaval says:

        Many thanks Manish,

        As I have read through many of your MF articles about portfolio re-balancing periodically(may be yearly basis) but then do you think investing into balance fund certainly do the same thing..I mean fund itself will adjust the ratio as its balancing feature…is that the reason you are suggesting to go for balance fund

        1. Kaval

          Yea one of the reason to go for balanced funds is to get your money divided .

          Manish

  141. thamaka says:

    Hi Manish,
    Your blog is very good among the others that I have seen so far. Its definitely a financial planner for the beginners like me. Keep it up your good work.

    I have been investing thru SIP in the following funds.
    1) HDFC Top 200 -Growth
    2) DSP BR Top 100 -Growth
    3) Birla Frontline Eq A-Growth
    4) SBI Magnum Sector Funds Umbrella Contra – Growth
    Above funds were suggested by a financial consultant in a TV Program.

    Do you think I should stop the 4th (SBI Magnum Sector…) and invest in HDFC Equity Fund -Growth?

    Thanks in advance for your suggestion.

    1. Thamaka

      Not just 4th , You should shun all of them if you have just bought them on plain recommendation . Thats not the way you invest , the money which will come from this will go for your retirement, children education etc , how can you invest in something by listening to someone on TV . dont do it .

      do your own research and some small study to understand what they are and only then buy .

      Manish

      1. raag says:

        Hey Manish: good reply there. no one should invest blindly based on someone else’s recommendation, least of all some tv guy. You should have bold header to each of your post: Never ever make investments based on what you hear/see on TV. Those folks are hugely compromised fellows.

      2. Manish says:

        Hi Manish Chauhan,
        He asked you an advice about the four funds,How can you say to dump the three funds just becoz it was suggested on TV?

        Does a fund (or for that matter any thing) becomes bad just becoz it is suggested by someone.
        You are correct that one should do ones own research but can one research 1000’s of funds existing. Wouldnt it be more easier to take advice of an expert and do research on the funds suggested and arrive at a list.

        Are you not doing the same as the guy on TV. Suggesting funds. Does this make the funds suggested by you bad?

        Thanks,
        Manish

        1. Manish

          You took my suggestion too literally 🙂 .

          What I mean by my comment is that dont blindly buy something without analysing the product as per your requirement , Even mine , Yes even I am doing the same kind of thing . But here I am putting my analysis and its your responsibility to pick up those which makes sense for you and if it does not , dont buy it , find something else .

          But what thamaka did was to hear something on TV and went and bought it without understanding if it will suit his situation or not . Thats what I am discouraging 🙂

          I hope we are on the same page now ?

          Manish

  142. amol says:

    Manish,

    –Does a category of Debit fund which is Monthly income funds always(or bonded to) gives a monthly income ? because the name is little confusing(subra also once said it on his blog).
    also, will it be a good choice to invest in such fund from long term point of view say 3 years?

    1. Amol

      No Monthly income plans do not gives returns per month for sure . It depends on whether it declares the dividend or not ? If markets are bad , it might happen that they skip the dividends some times .

      Manish

      1. amol says:

        thanks manish

        when you said “If markets are bad , it might happen that they skip the dividends some times .” is it also true that your capital can also reduce(negative return) if the market is bad even though its debit fund ?

        1. Amol

          It would be rare, but yes , debt funds can also reduce in capital and give bad returns like 3-4% or even negative , debt funds carry a risk of default , so what if the maturity does not go well . what if the company ABC is not able to repay back to your debt funds on time , happens rarely , but there are some small chances .

          Manish

  143. Sridhar says:

    Hello Manish,

    Great article and it really helps to judge my own decision to pick a fund. And between whats your opinion about having an index fund in ones portfolio for retirement planning. And in what percentage can we divide our investments between equity diversified and equity index funds, assuming both for long term retirement planning 3o years horizon.

    Thanks again for great articles,

    Sridhar.

    1. Sridhar

      Index funds can be part of portfolio given that you dont want to review you portfolio for long time and are ready to compromise for couple of % less return .

      Manish

  144. ANUJ says:

    Manish,

    would like to check out your views on mid cap funds… nice article anyways and i am glad that some of the funds that u mentioned are in my portfolio thru sip.

    1. Anuj

      Will come up with the post for midcap/small funds , for a quick comments, its simple, more risk/return than large cap funds .

      Manish

  145. krish says:

    Thanks Manish for a wonderful article….

  146. Shyam says:

    Manish,

    It would be good if you write an article and suggest funds for different portifolio based on risk apitite like agressive, moderate, conservative etc.

    Please see teh link for the importance of portifolio:
    http://new.valueresearchonline.com/story/h2_storyView.asp?str=15066

    Regards,
    Shyam

    1. Shyam

      Sure will do that soon 🙂

      Manish

  147. Mukund says:

    Thanks Manish for this post. I have been investing in HDFC Top 200, BSLFL, and DSPBR Top 100 for the past two years through SIP. Returns of the first one is very good but the later two is average i would say. But we have to see their performance in a downward market as you had pointed out.

    What is your take on Sundaram Select Focus which has started falling behind of late.

    1. Mukund

      give some time to these funds to see their performance , Sundaram select focus is a good fund , but not same as these funds as per category

      Manish

  148. Seema says:

    I have invested in Sundaram BNPP Select Focus Fund for 1 year thru SIP of Rs.4000 pm considering it to be a large cap fund with good past performance.Should I remain invested or switch over to one of the funds mentioned in your list.

    1. Rakesh says:

      Seema,

      Sundaram Select Focus gave good returns last year however since last 2 quarters its performance is average when compared to its peers. You may monitor for 2 more quarters and take a decision to switch. I am invested in this fund for the last 3 years.

      Rakesh

      1. Seema says:

        Thank you Rakesh!

  149. AnjiReddy says:

    Thanks Manish for the post

    1. Welcome , whats the best thing you got out of this post ?

      Manish

  150. jagadees says:

    I would like to add Quantum long term equity fund. Its 3-year annualized return is 19% (source: valueresearchonline.com) which is excellent. It also satisfies your screening criteria of having >60% in giant and large cap companies. It has very low expensive ratio of 1.5% which is good in terms of compounding 🙂
    I understand that it has only 3 year of existence and u wanted urself to restrict with limited funds in the list. But i guess this fund deserves to be mentioned somewhere in the article if not in the top 7. whats ur take?

    Regards

    1. Jagadees

      Yea the fund has performed well in last 3 yrs , however I would strongly recommend that we have funds which are 5 yr old unless the fund has extra ordinary performance which has stole eyes . The fund has some bad things like the high exit load of 4% for redemption within 180 days and 3% for redemption between 181 – 365 days . That huge and I dont see any reason of why they have such high loads .

      What do you say ?

      Manish

      1. jagadees says:

        As a long term investor do we really need to worry about the exit load of 180/360days? I dont think so…. if there is exit load beyond 1 year then it is concern.
        I guess low expense ratio and consistent performance across market cycles is more important for jagoinvestors 🙂 right?
        am placing much emphasis on past 3 year performance for the fund selection because during this period we saw extraordinary ups and lows. It is one among the top fund which performed during this period.
        correct me if am wrong
        thanks

        1. hmm.. i think that makes sense . But when we have better choices and funds with longer track , I think it would be better to stick with older funds, however if you have invested in this one , no issues , you can continue it

          Manish

        2. amol says:

          jagadees,

          Quantum long term equity have you checked

          2% for redemption between 366 – 540 days
          1% for redemption between 541 – 730 days

          2% load beyond 1 year is too much. what you say ?

          1. Amol

            yea 2% is really too much

            Manish

            1. Muthu Krishnan V says:

              their logic of exit load up to 2 years is to encourage long term investing. They were the first to introduce no entry load (even before sebi). They do not give any distributor commissions. the exit load is ploughed back into the fund thereby increasing the corpus of the fund. The annual load is quite low compared to others. Their motto is not to obtain corpus by any and all means which they could easily do by doling out commissions to distributors and keeping low exit loads. They hold “path to Profit” discussions once in a while in all the major cities where you can meet the fund managers et al and discuss about their investment philosophy. I personally recommend this scheme. The next path2profit is in chennai i believe.

  151. jagadees says:

    I would like to add Quantum long term equity fund. Its 3-year annualized return is 19% (source: valueresearchonline.com) which is excellent. It also satisfies your screening criteria of having >60% in giant and large cap companies. It has very low expensive ratio of 1.5% which is good in terms of compounding 🙂
    I understand that it has only 3 year of existence and u wanted urself to restrict with limited funds in the list. But i guess this fund deserves to be mentioned somewhere in the article if not in the top 7.

    Regards

  152. Jagbir says:

    My favourites are HDFC Equity and DSP Blackrock Small and Midcap equity funds and in ELSS category Canara Rebeco Equity Tax Saver (dont remember name correctly) and HDFC Tax Saver. So I’ve SIP in these 4 funds.

    btw, latest proceedings on DTC implies that ELSS are now out tax exemption but now sure. Manish, any news in this front?

    1. Yes

      ELSS are out , that was mentioned in the earliar draft itself.

      Your funds are good one . Canara Robeco has done well in last some years . good one .

      Manish

  153. Hemant says:

    Hi Manish,
    A valuable piece of information once again from you.

    I would apreciate if same is followed by throwing some light on good liquid funds which can be used for parking funds instead of letting them lie in a savings account and get better returns.

    Hemant

    1. Hemant

      that will come later as an article

      Manish

  154. Pradeep says:

    Congrats Manish,

    You again came up with wonderful article.

    I would also like to add the below two funds :

    1. HDFC prudence.

    2. Reliance diversified power sector fund.

    What’s your thought on this ?

    1. Pradeep

      These are good funds, but they do not qualify with the criteria I have mentioned . First they should be diversified equity funds (not sectoral) and they should have huge share in equity (85-100%) and large cap should be the core

      Manish

  155. Jayant says:

    most awaited article 🙂
    I read many readers comments asking you to come up with list for 2010.

    I am waiting to read and learn valuable comments from people on this article. The comments count will definitely go above 100-120.

    Jayant

    1. Jayant

      Thanks for your comment 🙂 . I am sure you will learn a lot from others , we have some really smart people on comments section at jagoinvestor

      Manish

    2. ANIL says:

      Dear Mr Manish,

      How abt Franklin SIP

      1. Anil

        Which Funds exactly ? full name ? If you are talking about Franklin bluechip , its a good one, but not amongst the top .

        manish

  156. mynameisdefinatelynotkhan says:

    HDFC Equity Prashant Jain
    HDFC Tax Saver Kulkarni
    Reliance Growth Singhania
    Templeton Growth Mark Moubis
    Franklin India Bluechip Anand Radhakrishnan

    Please rate

    Thanks

    1. All these funds are good one’s no doubt , but they might not qualify for more than 60% in large cap so I have not taken them , also I have restricted them to just 7 funds, not much .

      Manish

  157. Sathya says:

    Super post!…at the right time… I was just looking for some MF’s…
    Sure Mr. Prashant Jain has done some wonders…
    How abt IDFC premier equity in the list?

    Sathya

    1. Sathya

      IDFC Premier Equity Plan A would not qualify for this list , because we are considering funds which have a larger allocation to large cap companies ,where as this funds have almost 80%+ in midcap/small cap . So its riskier fund . The performance has been excellent though 🙂

      Manish

      1. yogesh says:

        hi manish,

        large cap here means large companies,right? and mid/small cap means middle and small companies..if this is correct then how mid/small cap can be risky ?

        1. Yogesh

          Yes that is correct .

          Large cap companies like Infosys has less chances of failure than say small cap company . Becuase of the size/experience .

          Manish

  158. Rakesh says:

    Manish,

    Excellent analysis, thanks for the post.
    DSPBR Equity fund is a very consistent fund for a very long time.

    Rakesh

    1. Rakesh

      Thanks , have you invested in that fund ?

      Manish

      1. Rakesh says:

        Manish,

        Yes, apart from that i have invested in HDFC Eq, Top 200, DSP Top 100 and Reliance Growth.

        Rakesh

        1. Nice they are excellent ones ‘; just make sure you keep reviewing every year

          Manish

          1. Dominic says:

            I have also invested similar to rakesh and alsi I have Fidelity Equity. Also I have SBI contra. I am refering to your other comment on SBI Contra. 3 years back i dont have any clue and someone said and I have invested i it. Should I come out now?

            Regards
            Dominic

            1. Dominic

              If a funds is not mentioned here , does not mean that its bad . You just have to make sure you understand what you have invested in and take appropriate decision yourself

              manish

          2. yogesh says:

            Hi Manish,

            U mentioned to review every year..Suppose it gave good performance in first 2 yr frm date of our purchase and not in 3rd year..so what shd be our step toward that MG?

            Plz explain

            1. Yogesh

              You have to review things every year . When we make a team for a game , players come and go , we have to always keep fit players

              Manish

            2. Byju says:

              nice analogy.

  159. Ramesh says:

    Hi Manish,
    Thanks for post the best equity funds for 2010. I have been waiting for this for quite some time and at last the day has come. I really appreciate for all your posts. You really inspired me to start investing in SIPs and based on your blogs I started investing.

    1. ramesh

      Great to hear that , which funds are you choosing ?

      Manish

      1. Ramesh says:

        Hi Manish,

        I have invested in DSP BR Top 100, DSP BR Equity, SBI Magnum Contra, Sundaram SMILE Growth through SIP. After completion of one year I need to change some these based on the performance and the equity funds suggested by you. I really appreicate if have any strong recommendation based my funds. Thanks a lot for all your posts and I am great follower of this. Keep up the good work.

        Thanks,
        Ramesh

        1. Ramesh

          All of these are great funds. But do you understand all the funds you have , do you know how Magnum Contra works ? What is their way of investing ?

          Manish

          1. Amitabh says:

            Hi Manish,

            I am a noobie to investment, and I would like to know how do I research on a Mutual Fund. I have been using moneycontrol.com to understand the performance of the funds, the stocks distribution and their sector focus.

            But how do I get to know Fund’s Managers reputation, Fund investment philosophy (or strategy) ?

            Also how do we decide when to start investing in a MF ? Most of the funds you have suggested are at their highest NAVs… is it a good time to enter ?

            1. Amitabh

              a better place to read would be valueresearchonline.com or morningstar . Also high NAV is a myth , it does not matter where the NAV is .

              Manish

  160. jig says:

    Hi Manish,
    Good Info again and thanks for sharing.

    Is there a big difference if going for HDFC MIP (QD) and HDFC MIP (G) both long term.

    What should be the Portfolio for 18K per month .
    My planner suggested to invest
    1. 6000 for 18 years for child education in diversified equity or balanced.
    2. 7000 for retirement after 30 years in balanced.
    3. 5000 for liquidity retirement management in liquied fund/FD/MIP.

    Can you please tell the best suited funds considering above planning.

    Thanks & regards

    Keep sharing….

    1. Jig

      there should not be much difference in MIP , in the same way like equity funds , its more about the quality of debt papers they invest in and how they take decisions .

      Manish

      1. jig says:

        thanks manish.

        Regards

        1. Sarang says:

          Jig,
          May be I am not getting this correctly. But looking at what is suggested to you,…
          1. 6000 for 18 years for child education in diversified equity or balanced.
          2. 7000 for retirement after 30 years in balanced.
          3. 5000 for liquidity retirement management in liquied fund/FD/MIP.

          As the time horizon is more than 7 years in every case, Equities have to be a dominant part of your saving. So balance fund should also be Equity oriented. As far as investment in liquied fund/FD/MIP is concerned, it should be limited to take care of any emergencies. Ideally you should not venture into any other form of investing unless you have provided for emergencies and insured your liabilities with term insurance. So you should route all your funds to Option 3 if you have not enough provision for emergencies. Once that is done, you should concentrate on option 1 & 2 only. You may review emergency requirements once every year and correct allocation.
          I hope it helps!
          -Sarang

          1. JIG says:

            Thats Really great help from you.
            So far i started
            HDFC TOP 200- 5500 SIP
            RELIANCE MIP- 4500 SIP.

            I have 1.5 lac fund and sees the market fall down. i wana invest lumsum in MF. which fund i should select ? Should i go with direct equity or should stick with Equity MF.
            Emergency 1 lac fund is in my saving and 55K FD.

            Thanks dear

  161. Meena Shivram says:

    Excellent article, Manish. I have been investing in many of the above funds as SIPs for the last 4-5 years and they have been stellar performers and have weathered the market cycles and came out as winners.

    I would also like to add ICICI Pru Dynamic and FT Prima Plus in the list. They have also given excellent performance when you invest in them regularly by way of SIPs.

    Regards,
    Meena

    1. Meena

      I am sure those are good funds, but are they pure large cap oriented funds with more than 60% in large cap

      1. Meena Shivram says:

        Manish,

        ICICI Pru Dynamic invests more than 75% in large-caps and has given y-o-y returns that has beaten the averages consistently (5 year return – 22%, 3 year return – 12%, 1 year return – 29%). The Fund manager is Sankaran Naren.

        FT Prima Plus is also a predominantly a large cap fund with more than 60% exposure to large caps. The returns are very similar to ICICI Pru Dynamic and the fund manager is Sukumar Rajah.

        Regards,
        Meena

        1. Meena

          Great funds , however we cant include all of them in the article 🙂

          Manish

  162. Veman says:

    Hi Manish,

    A good insight into the equity diversified funds.
    what about the ELSS category ??

    1. We will look at ELSS later in another post .

      Manish

  163. Harpreet Kaur says:

    Dear Mr. Manish,

    The complied list of MFs is great. I request you to add few tax saver MFs also as u did for 2009.

    DTC will soon be applicable. HRA, LTA and god know what will be taxable so, throwing light on few good Tax Saver MFs (ELSS, Am I right?) would be a great idea.

    Regards,

    Harpreet

    1. Harpreet

      we will have ELSS later in a different post, for your info , DTC is now deffered by a year and will come in 2012

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