Financial Planning and Stock Market Seminar in Bangalore

We had a Free session on Personal Finance and Stock Market Basics on last Sunday , 2nd Aug . There were total of 17 participants , I talked about Basics of Investing and Insurance principles along with a live case study , where I proved why one of the participant was severely underinsured , I told them How to calculate the Insurance Requirement .

Another Friend Trilok also talked about Basics of Stock market to get new people learn the basics terms and get them ready for Stock Markets in case they plan to trade . Some of the important points I noticed overall are :

  • People do not understand basics , but they can understand it very well if they guided properly
  • On an average level there is too much need of good Financial Education
  • Most of the people have money but little knowledge to invest it wisely and correctly

I had put the information about the session on this blog and I expected some good number of registration , but I got just 4 people from my side . I am not sure if people missed it or are not interested in ruining their Sundays for a personal Finance talk . Let me know .

We are planning to do some more more sessions on weekends , but we really require some things from people who come . Interest to learn and Some Time ๐Ÿ™‚ . If you are interested please Fill this form to put down your Name . The session will be in JayaNagar 3rd Block , Bangalore . Check out some pics from last session Below .


Manish giving some knowledge about SIP and its Importance


Me trying to Prove why Endowment Policies are not the Right Answer to Insurance

Trilok Explaining from Basics of Stock market and Trading , check out this Ebook on How a newcomer should Start in Stock Market .


The wonderful Audience we had


Note : The session will be totally free , you just need to COME ๐Ÿ™‚ .

Liked the post , Subscribe to Get Posts in Email or RSS Reader

Why to open a PPF account in India

PPF i.e. Public provident fund is the most recommended long term investment tool offered by Central government of India for Indian resident employees.

In this article we will see why one should open a PPF account even if one does not need it or have no intention of putting his money in Debt.

It may look idiotic but we will see why it would make sense. We will also see an example which will help you understand things.

Open PPF account in India

But may be you don’t know what is PPF account? you will say. Click here to Understand what is PPF account.

Lets see in detail:

Imagine a situation, you need to invest your money in some debt product which gives you assured and good returns, but you don’t want it to get locked for long period, the maximum you want is 3-4 yrs of lock in. Is it possible right now is the question you need to ask? NO!! is the Answer

  • If you invest in PPF right now, the money will be locked in for 15 yrs (partial withdrawals allowed)
  • If you invest in NSC it will be locked for 6 yrs but the interest would be taxable and hence your post-tax returns are again very less
  • Fixed Deposits are again not helpful because their post-tax returns are not attractive enough. Even if you Choose the best Fixed Depositย it won’t help
  • Debt funds are again not answer because again the post-tax returns are less

So how does opening a PPF account now helps us?

Well, definitely it can’t help us at this moment, But imagine future let’s say after 11 or 12 yrs you need to invest some money for short term; at that time, you can put money in your PPF account and it will get matured in next 3-4 yrs and whole maturity amount would be Tax-free and earn you interest of 8%.

It costs just Rs. 500 per year for PPF account to stay active. So if you need the PPF account right now, then open it NOW and if you don’t need it right now, still open one NOW so that your Loan-in-period goes down by 1 every year.

Also, once in a while whenever you feel that you need your money to go in Debt component, simply use the PPF.

Read an article on Asset Allocation to understand the good mix of Equity and Debt Component.

So, here is what I suggest: Open PPF accounts in your name, your Spouse name and your Children name at interval of 2-3 years. So, after 12-13 years, each of the PPF accounts will mature in a gap of 2-3 years.

You can use this as an investment product that gives 8% assured tax free returns. ๐Ÿ™‚

Please comment to let me know your views. Is there any issues involved with this article content? Is there anything I have not covered? Your comments are valuable.

Question and Answers , Part 1

You might have noticed that I started “Ask a Question” Section on my blog where anyone can ask any query to me, I will try my best to answer the questions, but please don’t expect instant reply. I am sharing the answers here for some questions asked by readers, this will help others to gain more knowledge about stuff.

ask a question

Question 1:

Hi,
I am new learner in derivatives trading !
any good web site to understand in detail , and my very specific question is when to be in Futures and when to trade in Options !
many thanks,
Umesh

Answer

There is no single website for understanding this. You have to search different sites for different things. What I would suggest is clear your basics by reading some books and some articles on web. and then trade your self. Download my ebook: https://manish.pucsd.googlepages.com/A_Small_Guide_For_Newcomers_In_Stock.pdf and follow it.

Regarding choosing between Futures and Options, The best answer what excites you? Futures or Options? I like Options, so i trade options (not doing it from some weeks). Basically Options are more leveraged products than futures. Options are more difficult than futures.

There are different strategies in Options which can be applied at different times. Don’t trade derivatives if you are not able to trade equities successfully. move gradually from Equities to Derivatives. Don’t jump directly to Derivatives.

Question 2 :

If I have to choose ONLY ONE equity mutual fund for a time horizon of 10 years – which ONLY ONE fund should I choose ? What about DSP TOP 100 EQUITY FUND ? Is there any better than this fund? – RAJIV

Answer

Ok, this is tricky. The one i would suggest is “Sundaram Tax Saver”. Now comes the best part. If you had asked me this question before 5 yrs, The answer would have been “SBI Magnum or HDFC taxsaver” and answer will keep on changing, There are different cycles in mutual funds life cycle, The best mutual fund today may not be the best all life.

So the best time frame you should look at is 3-4 yrs and then evaluate back and shift money in another mutual fund as per the situation.

For now take Sundaram, invest through SIP and maintain your asset allocation. Look at the comparison I did between SBI and Sundaram here : https://www.jagoinvestor.com/2009/01/95-of-salaried-people-are-rushing-to.html

DSP top 100 equity is an excellent fund , This should be good enough to invest in , Don’t look for the best mutual fund, there is nothing like that. It depends on your risk profile and other factors if it suits you or not.

Question 3 :

Me and my wife both are working in MNC’s. We both are in the age of 27 and don’t have any kid yet. We both also don’t have any dependent. We both are getting cumulative 8 lakhs medical cover from our company. I read a lot of places that it is good to have your own medical policy. Can you please suggest that should I buy and medical policy for me ? and if Yes ..what should be the criteria. – Manu

Answer

8 lack is a good cover . But i think it would be 4 lacks each , not 8 lacks for one person . even 4 lacs is good for one person . The reason why extra health cover is advised is because

– You can loose job or move to another job and may be “without Health cover” for the gap which is not a good thing.

– Health cover does not mean “everything you can think of related to health”, There are many things which group health cover wont cover, dig out more on that. See what is the most important thing for you and your wife and if your Company covers that or not. It wont hurt to take a good Family Floater cover for 4-5 lacs for you people, it would be 8-9k per year . Cover your self well..

There is nothing like the best policy, its not “the policy which suits your requirement”, the policy which is best for me, can not be best for you.

You may also want to look at a term cover for a small amount (20-30 lacs), I know you people are not financially dependent, but i am sure it would help if there is loss of income because of some unfortunate event.

Question 4 :

My question are

1) If I have invested in a ULIP for more than 3 years as of now, is it better to continue on that ULIP? I think the commission, other charges etc are negligibly small after three years of policy . Any amount I invest from now on will be invested in equity markets. Please let me know your thoughts
2) In case of term insurance policies, money that my dependents get is taxable or not ?(of course if I die during policy tenure) ๐Ÿ™
3) I read in one of your blog post that it is better to split life insurance into two or three companies to that it will give us a flexibility to stop one or two later at some point of time. In case of my death , will my dependents get claims/money from all my policy ?
4) If I have health policy in different company , can i claim the refund from all policy or just one . Will those be taxable?

– Aby

Answer

Find the answers in line.

1) If I have invested in a ULIP for more than 3 years as of now, is it better to continue on that ULIP? I think the commission, other charges etc are negligibly small after three years of policy. Any amount I invest from now on will be invested in equity markets. Please let me know your thoughts

For this you need to see what is the current situation of your total fund value . For last 1.5 yrs markets have done very badly , so there would be significant change in fund value compared to normal years . Other charges are not always negligible after 3 yrs of policy . I think you can either link your ULIP with your long term goals , or start a SIP from now onwards .

2) In case of term insurance policies, money that my dependents get is taxable or not?(of course if I die during policy tenure) ๐Ÿ™

Its not Taxable , however when they invest that money somewhere and when they start getting yearly income from that , then that yearly income will be taxable .

3) I read in one of your blog post that it is better to split life insurance into two or three companies to that it will give us a flexibility to stop one or two later at some point of time. In case of my death, will my dependents get claims/money from all my policy?

Yes, your family will, get money from all your policy, If you take Insurance of 30 lacs , 20 lacs and 25 lacs from different insurers, they will get it from everyone , so total will be 75 lacs .

However , you can not use this to your advantage and take crores of policies, because insurers ask for your previous policies and if they think that your insurance has crossed the limit which you should have , then they will refuse the insurance to you .

4) If I have health policy in different company, can i claim the refund from all policy or just one. Will those be taxable?

No, You can only get the refund upto the expenses occurred. So if you have taken Health insurance from more than 1 insurers , they will share the cost between themselves in the ratio of sum assured (this is basic rule , there can be some different rule here and there) .

So if you take Health insurance for 5 lacs and 10 lacs , and your expenses are 3 lacs which you want to claim , you will get 1 lac from 1st insurer and 2 lacs from 2nd. The amount is not taxable , because its not something extra you are getting, its just the same amount you have spent and getting it back . So for you its 0 profit 0 loss .

Question 5 :

Sir.,

Thanks for this service.i am working as a agent for mutual funds. From today onwards there is no ENTRY LOAD so no commission. yesterdays conclusion from our trade is to request(!) the same amount from the customers.
Is it possible to receive cash favor directly from clients?

Some clients are happy with our service, and some were not at all !!!

– Srinivas

Answer

So what if 2.25% entry load is scrapped. Clients are ready to pay for quality advice and good service. If you advice them well and help them take good decisions for there investments, I am sure clients wont mind paying you 2.25% commission (even more than that) . You should take this in positive way .

I hope you are AMFI registered and have good grip on Mutual funds and how to choose best one which suits your clients needs. I hope you are not just choosing the “top 5′ from some rating website (though its fine sometimes) . Research your clients needs and suggest them good mutual funds and let them understand why it suits them .

Trust is what they should have with you. Once they trust you and your advice, this IRDA rule of 2.25% thing will make no sense to you and other agents.

As I said earlier, This may look like a Disaster to you, but its your chance to start all over again and make things work for you , adapt to changes ๐Ÿ™‚ .

Do let me know if you like this section or not.

Please note, that the question and answer are made public only after confirming it with the requester, If you want that your question and answer are not shared, that’s fine with me.

If you want to ask a question to me, Click here

Liked the post , Subscribe to Get Posts in Email or RSS Reader

Why people don’t buy Term Insurance?- Analysis of a case study on Indian people’s mindset

“We have no desire to make anybody look like a blithering idiot, but we do love it when they do. “– Stephen Colbert. One of the reasons why most people do not take Term Insurance is because “They don’t get anything back at the end”.

In this article, I will show you why this is a psychological issue. Even if you get your money back at the end of the tenure it won’t make much difference. In this article I will prove that the argument “Term Insurance is waste of money because you don’t get anything back” is amazingly idiotic.

term insurance

What is the main Issue with People not liking Term Insurance

Why people don’t like Term Insurance is the question. The answer is simple: because you don’t get anything if you survive the whole tenure and hence the amount paid as premium is wasted – this is claimed by millions. Fair enough!

The first thing is, these people do not understand or appreciate the Importance of Life Insurance. Now let’s see this situation from a different angle. Assume you get the money at the end in your Term Insurance.

Let’s see a case study of a general Family. How does a family look like:

Manish is 28 yrs old and got recently married (oops!!). He earns close to 40,000 per month. His monthly expenses are around Rs.25,000 overall and he saves 15,000 per month (hehe). He also has his parents as financially dependent on him.

He is 30 yrs away from his retirement. He calculated his Insurance Requirement and it was close to 50-60 lacs minimum. Let’s take it as 50 lacs for simplicity for now. (Get more of Insurance Articles from Archives section.)

Analysis of Case Study

Now is the fun part: his current monthly Expenses are close to 25k. Now what will it be when he retires after 30 yrs?

So the average inflation for last 30 yrs was 6.5% (based on past data). Let’s assume it will be 6.5% for next 30 yrs on an average. Then the monthly expenses after 30 yrs would be 25,000 X (1.065)^30 = 1,65,359 (1.65 lacs). If he takes a Term Insurance at the start, his yearly premium per year for 50 lacs cover would be Rs.11802 for 30 yrs tenure from Aegon Religare.

Do you know how you can do your Retirement Planning in 6 steps ?

Click on image to Enlarge

Which means, he is going to pay total premium of 3.54 lacs in his entire life. How even if he gets this money back at the end, how much will it benefit him? How many months can he survive on this money? 2 months is the answer!!

With expenses of 1.65 lacs per month, the money he gets back from term insurance is enough for not more than 2 months. Let’s take maximum 3 months. That’s it!!! Are you confused with Calculations, See this Video presentation by me where I explain how to do important Calculations in Personal Finance.

So Following are the questions needed to be asked

  • Do you want to put your Family at Financial Risk because you are not getting 2 monthsโ€™ worth of expenses back?
  • For a small amount you “don’t get” at the end are you not being childish to Secure your family?
  • Don’t you think you are seeing Term Insurance from a wrong attitude?
  • Are you not concentrating on “what you are not getting” rather than “what you are getting”?

We already have “Return of Premium Term Policies”, but they are themselves idiotic because they are again designed to just exploit the weakness of people who feel that term insurance is waste of money because they don’t get their money back.

Read this to understand why Plain Term Insurance is better than “Return of Premium Term Insurance policy”.

Watch this video to learn why Term insurance is better than regular insurance policies:

Reason why Indians don’t like Term Insurance’

Reason 1#: Most of the people concentrate on number and explicit data, like the money they are not getting back or itโ€™s a waste of premium if nothing happens to them. They fail to look internal advantage which term Insurance provides.

Reason 2#: We are emotional with Money, we are more concentrated with Growing money and getting money back rather than what value it provides in our life.

Reason 3#: Most of the people think that the probability of dying is much lower than an average person which is again totally idiotic. We just don’t want to visualize a bad situation and hence do not concentrate on that situation.

Conclusion

In life we don’t appreciate things like Health, small moments of happiness, nature, time spent with our loved ones which are most wonderful and real things in life. Term Insurance is one of the similar things in personal finance domain.

You just need to shift your focus of view from “what you are losing” to “what you are getting” once you do this with Term Insurance and your Life, both will become wonderful.

Please comment on what do you think about this and do you agree with it. Are you victim of such mindset?