orried about your money, and what to do with it?

Investment expert Uma Shashikant answers all your investment-related questions.

I am 32, and have a wife, a two-and-a-half-year old daughter and parents in the 70 to 80-year old age group. I recently started investing in mutual funds (Tata Infrastructure Fund and Sundaram SMILE fund). I have an insurance policy with LIC [Get Quote]. I have not invested in shares. I put my money in post office schemes like NSC, PPF, and MIS. How do I go about my future investments? How must I allocate my money between shares, mutual funds and fixed deposits? How much should I keep in my savings account?

- Vikram K Mehta

You have age on your side, and if you can make a plan and stick to it, there should be little reason to worry.

Your investments in NSC, PPF and MIS are safe, but designed to generate a steady and stable level of income. Given your age profile and your needs, your investments should have the potential to grow in value as well. Over long periods of time, equity investments will provide such an opportunity. 

You must choose a mix of equity funds -- about 60% should be in a large cap, diversified fund that invests in the top companies. 

Choose funds with a good track record. About 20% can be in specific segments of the market -- both the funds you have chosen fall in this category. About 20% can remain in the fixed return category that you have already chosen. 

The easiest way to invest in a mutual fund is to use a Systematic Investment Plan. 

Choose the funds you want to invest in, and give your bank a mandate to invest a fixed sum on a fixed date every month. If your bank does not have this facility, you can give the fund post-dated cheques. 

Keep as little as possible in the savings account. It earns a low return. Just enough to meet your needs and sudden expenses is adequate. It might be better to keep a deposit and ask for a sweep facility. Your deposit will earn interest and you can sweep it into the SB A/C when you need it.

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There are a number of insurance schemes that also double as an investment. Don't they also work as mutual funds? They also invest in various shares. When deciding where to invest, is it wrong to confuse the two? Should I invest only for investment or should I insure only for insurance?

- Vijay Yadav

It is important to see the investment portfolio of the insurance scheme. Not all invest in equity shares. 

Therefore, the return you can expect from your investment component depends on the asset allocation of the insurance scheme.

You must care about the costs of your insurance service provider, and the net returns you get. In a long-term investment, recurring costs can reduce the returns significantly. If you don't know the allocation of your funds between insurance cover and investment, you may not be able to fit the investment component in your financial plan. 

The tax implications of your investments could be different. As long as you are aware of the investment component, its allocation, tax efficiency and costs of management, and find it competitive compared to a mutual fund, you can always choose either insurance or a mutual fund. It is not uncommon for insurance, pension and mutual fund companies to compete for investors'  long term savings.

Why do mutual funds offer a dividend option or growth option? Is there any intrinsic risk associated with each? I have a regular earning system, and don't need a regular income. Which one do you suggest for me? If I take a dividend option, can I reinvest the money in whichever fund I want? I don't have to take the same fund.

- Heena Shah

The dividend and growth options give the investor a fair amount of flexibility. As the fund does well, the investor can decide whether s/he wants the money to be sent to him/her regularly in the form of dividends. Or s/he can decide to reinvest the dividends into the fund.  

If you do not need the income, you are better off reinvesting it. It is hassle-free. The money reinvested in the scheme will be done at the NAV on ex-dividend date. If you want to invest in another fund, you will need to apply separately, meet the minimum investment requirements and also pay an entry load.

It is also important to know that the tax treatment of dividends and capital gains is different. When you choose the growth option, you will not get dividends. But the growth in the NAV remains invested and can be withdrawn when you redeem the units. You then earn capital gains from the scheme. If you choose the dividend option, you get a tax free payout. Choose an option based on your tax planning requirements.

I have just got my first job in a call centre. I would like to invest in shares. But I know nothing. I was told it is best to start via a mutual fund. How must I decide which one to start out with?

Go for a systematic investment plan. This way, you invest a fixed amount during a fixed period of time, typically every month. Choose a mutual fund scheme that has a diversified portfolio. It is good to start investing in a fund that invests in many sectors before you begin choosing funds that invest in few sectors. Either give your bank the mandate to debit from your account at a specific date every month and invest in the fund, or give post-dated cheques along with your application. You can invest as little as Rs 1,000 per month in a portfolio of stocks managed by a mutual fund. This is a good way to invest in shares. It is surely safer to invest through mutual funds rather than experiment with the markets on your own.

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