“I am nobody to help make money for someone. It is the market which helps you make money.”

Way back in 1988 when I started selling Mutual Funds, the awareness was low. For an amount as small as ₹10,000 to be invested, we had to go along with the Relationship Manager of the Asset Management Company and convince people to invest. Things are different now. Markets have evolved and matured.

The Proof of Pudding

Whatever said and done, clients only want returns. It is possible that you might look at someone else’s returns and come to me expecting the same. But when you discuss with other investors about the money they have made, one thing that you need to keep in mind is the time in the market. The time for entry and exit. If you are looking at a tenure less than 1 year, you can park your monies in a liquid fund whereas anything longer than 5 years, one should go for equity (say a Multi-cap or a value fund). For a medium tenure, one can opt for a balanced fund or a balanced advantage fund.

Slow and a SIP win the race

Equity is a long –term investment. So right at the time of investing, do not look at a tenure less than 5 years if you are investing in equity. If you invest in equity, you can make money in more than 5 years only.

Yes, of course, some of you might get jittery with the short-term volatility and insist on withdrawal. But if you stay invested, you will soon realize the error in judgement.

A Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is also a fantastic tool to deal with volatility in markets. It is generally recommended to go for a perpetual SIP, so that there is no tension of renewal for you. And if you fall into salaried class (like the majority here in my market of Baroda), and have no qualms of regular cash flow then it is best to go for a SIP. Start with a small sample SIP and then you can scale up.

Each plan is unique

Many times, I am asked, “Best scheme batao” (Tell me the best scheme). There is no one best scheme for all frankly. There is a new scheme in the market every day. It’s advisable to identify the scheme that is best for you, as no two people are the same. The advisor may have many things to sell. But what is important is what you need. So, you should be more aware of your family background, liabilities, risk profile and life stage instead of blindly going with what the advisor is recommending.

I have everything but will only provide or recommend the things that you want/need.

Service Service Service

The one thing that you will keep coming back to me for, is the service I provide. I make you independent so that you can monitor your portfolio by providing an app with a secured log-in. This way, you can know the value of your investments. So, I would suggest when it comes to service, you can look at technology whereas advice still needs a human interface.

In conclusion, I believe that markets have already awarded time and patience.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.