There was more to come after last week's turbulence in the markets. Political uncertainty played its part and the markets saw one of their biggest single day crashes.

The situation improved as the week progressed and markets closed with a certain degree of respectability. The BSE Sensex lost 2.1 per cent to close at 4,963 points while the S&P CNX Nifty experienced a decline of 1.5 per cent to end at 1,559 points.

Diversified equity funds had a rather modest week. Birla Dividend Yield (2.13%) topped the charts followed by Canequity Diversified (1.45%). Category leaders Franklin India Bluechip (0.72%) and HDFC Top 200 (0.40%) had a mediocre week as well.

Setting multiple and realistic goals which run across various time horizons and working towards achieving them is of vital importance from the investors perspective. In fact this is the first step in the process of financial planning.

Abrupt and sporadic investments (as is the case with most retail investors) will rarely culminate in anything worthwhile. Goals impart the much-needed clarity to your planning by making numbers available. You know how much you are required to save, the rate at which your savings should grow and the required tenure as well.

The importance of having goals is highlighted by the fact that it determines where you will land up eventually.

The Monetary and Credit Policy was announced this week and the central bank chose to maintain status quo. Personalfn had the opportunity to interact with leading fund managers to get their views on the same.

Shobhit Mehrotra, head-debt, HDFC Mutual Fund, maintained that interest rates would sustain over the next 6-8 months. His advice for retail investors was: "For retail income fund investors with an investment horizon of more than 12 months, there is no concern. Investors with an investment horizon of less than 12 months should consider investing in floating rate funds as opposed to regular income funds." The 10-year benchmark 7.37 per cent 2013 yield closed at 5.19 per cent (May 21, 2004), 3 basis points below the previous close. Franklin India Maxima (0.14%) surfaced as the weekly topper in the income funds category followed by IL&FS Bond Fund (0.12%). Floating rate funds made their presence felt as well.

Top performing balanced funds ranged from 0.01 per cent to 0.67 per cent. Canganga (0.67%) emerged as the leader followed by PruICICI Balanced (0.26%). Category leader HDFC Prudence (-0.38%) had a poor week.

It's a good time to go back to basics like diversification. A turbulent week like the last one often takes a higher toll on concentrated portfolios vis-à-vis well diversified ones.

Reassess your portfolio and see if it is aligned with your risk-profile and investment objectives. What's in store for stock markets may not be in your control, but your portfolio is!

We decided to approach three of India's leading experts on the stock markets to get their views on the crash and their expectations going forward. They agreed in unison that the fundamentals have not changed, and that they continue to be optimistic.

An interesting and relevant observation made for retail investors was, "If you are a long-term guy, you should not panic. Long-term investors never panic."

Rated as one of India's leading portals, Personalfn is focussed on providing independent value-add research and tools for making better financial decisions.