MF portfolio doctor: How Dhall can optimise investments to accomplish her financial goals

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

Kritika Dhall is saving for a mix of short- and long-term goals. Here’s what the doctor has advised her:


Portfolio check-up:

• Early start, regular investing will help reach goals easily.
• Invested in good funds but holds too many schemes.
• Use bank deposits for short-term goals.
• Invest in debt funds instead of FDs.
• SIPs for house and retirement have to be hiked by 10% every year.
• Stock investments can be risky. Shift to a good equity fund.

Investor’s existing portfolio


Note from the doctor:

• Don’t buy too many funds. Just 6-7 funds are enough.
• Review fund investments and rebalance at least once in a year.
• Reduce risk when goal is near so that you don’t miss the target.

Possible to accumulate Rs 10 crore in 12 years
Nitin Soni wants to retire early and, therefore, needs a very large corpus. Here’s what the doctor has advised:


Portfolio check-up:

• Investing in equity funds for some years but turned aggressive two years ago.
• Retiring at 52 means he has to build corpus that can last 30-35 years.
• All are good schemes but needs to hike SIPs by 5% every year to reach goal.
• Portfolio has a mid-cap and small-cap bias, so be ready for volatility.
• Review portfolio at least once a year. Change if any fund’s performance slips.
• Reduce risk when goal is near so that you don’t miss the target.

Assumptions used in the calculations
Inflation:
Education expenses: 10%
For all other goals: 7%

Returns
Equity funds: 12%
Debt options: 8%

(Portfolios analysed by: Raj Khosla, Managing Director and Founder, MyMoneyMantra)

Write to us for help
If you want your portfolio examined, write to etwealth@timesgroup.com with "Portfolio Doctor" as the subject. Mention the following information:

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