I am not in favour of any unit linked plan. It is better to keep Insurance & Investment separate. For Insurance - PURE TERM COVER is ideal. For Investment - diversified equity funds, PPF & direct equity is ideal. Regarding pension plans - I am not in favour. Create as big a corpus as possible before retirement. One can create good pension anytime at the time of retirement. Pension is taxable. Dividend income, capital gains from equity, equity funds is tax free. Decide at that time - how to create a steady income. ...

Make an asset allocation. Balance your portfolio every year. Continue to invest accordingly. Invest atleast 60% in large cap funds. Regarding investment in direct equity - have a look at the top 10 holdings of good rated , performing large cap funds. It will give you an idea which stocks to invest. Do not invest in two many scrips. 10 - 15 scrips will do. Regarding HDFC equity - it is not doing well. Switch to HDFC TOP 200 / HDFC GROWTH . If you are a tax payer - FMPs are a better option than bank FDs. ELSS can play a major role in your 80 C tax saving. PPF can also play a minor role initially and a major role in later years. Avoid too much in insurance. Go for PURE TERM COVER ONLY. Do not forget to have a mediclaim policy. ( even if you have group cover officially) ...

WIFE: What would you do if I died?

Would you get married again?

HUSBAND: Definitely not!

WIFE: Why not - don`t you like being married?

HUSBAND: Of course I do.

WIFE: Then why wouldn`t you remarry?

HUSBAND: Okay, I`d get married again

WIFE: You would? (With a hurtful look on her face)

HUSBAND: (Makes audible groan)

WIFE: Would you live in our house?

HUSBAND: Sure, it`s a great house

WIFE: Would you sleep with her in our bed?

HUSBAND: Where else would we sleep?

WIFE: Would you let her drive my car?

HUSBAND: Probably, it is almost new

WIFE: Would you replace my pictures with hers?

HUSBAND: That would seem like the proper thing to do

WIFE: Would she use my golf clubs?

HUSBAND: No, she`s left-handed

WIFE: - silence - -

HUSBAND: SH** .......

If you are young - major portion of your Rs. 70,000 can go to ELSS.
Sundaram Tax Saver / DWS tax saving fund are good options. Invest ONLY via SIP. Balance can go towards PPF. Please do not look at the NAV of the fund while entering a fund. It does not matter what the value of NAV is. What matters is only its past performance and the future performance after you enter. ...

Go for SIP in good performing, rated diversified equity funds .
You can also invest 20% in direct equity. Have a look at the top 10 holdings of good performing large cap funds. It will give you an idea in which scrips to invest. ELSS can play a major role in 80 C tax saving. PPF can play a minor role initially and play a major role in later years. Avoid any pension schemes. ...

A new teacher was getting to know the kids by asking them
their name and
what their father did for a living.
The first little girl said: "My name is Mary and my
Daddy is a postman."

The next child, a little boy said: "I`m Andy and
my Dad is a mechanic."
And so it went until one little boy said: "My name is
Johnny and my father is a striptease artist in a gay club."
The teacher gasped and quickly changed the subject.
Later,in the school yard, the teacher approached Little Johnny privately and asked if it was
really true that his dad danced nude in a gay bar.
Little Johnny blushed and said, "No, he`s really a Business Development
Director at Lehman Brothers, but I`m just too embarrassed to tell anyone."

...

You already have one infrastructure fund in ICICI. So switch to Focus from Capex and start SIP....

Ranjan You are truly honest. Ordinarily, people do not clarify like you have done in your first line. What matters here is your grasp of the subject which is indeed laudable. Wish you all the best....

HI RANJAN, thanks for your useful advice., Is it good to go for ULPP(Unit Linked Pension Plans)...

Dear Mr. Ranjan, If I stick to Sundaram Capex for say 5 yrs, will it yield me minimum returns atleast. Else is it possible that I could start a SIP in Select Focus and then switch my amount of Capex to Focus....

u know what. earlier people used to come to this section for advice on which fund to go for? but now people are saying..i want to stop my sip...i want to open a rd account with bank...we have seen that mf are buying exactly the same quantity fii are selling on daily basis. in fact the annual figure since 1 jan 08 is also close...whatever amount fii have sold has been absorbed by mf. which means mf will be able to show us the gains once this panic is over...mf are shielding us otherwise these foreigners would have pulled the market to 8000 or 9000 on sensex already but we are still sitting at 12000 around...we must strengthen mf hands rather running away...if we educated people also start running away from mf. it will indirectly help fii...mf money is india's money...our small investor money...so i suggest to hold the things rather start running......

ranjan sir, u r most respected person in this section of mf help and ideas. to be honest, i am hurt by reading ur current posting. u have always recommended to be disciplined with investments in diff times like the one we are going thru. i expected some moral boosting advice. by writing this, u r allowing some people to spread -ve sentiments as 1 of id did try on reply to your posting. bad bad on your part...

Beware of sips in beer market. The hangover could be deadly. j/k...

Dear Mr.Ranjan, Thanks for your frankness. I am not impressed with the performance of many MFs. I have seen them invested in many hopeless stocks. I do not suggest anyone to invest in equities without proper knowledge and MFs also not at all a safe investment option. It is equally painful to select a good MF like selecting a good stock to invest....