Karthik Jerome

Retirement portfolio beyond FDs: Diversify for inflation, longevity risks

The entire retirement corpus will not be needed on day one, so it should be split into growth and income-generation buckets to manage inflation and longevity risks

Correction in banking, financial funds: Exit if unable to handle volatility

Stay invested only if you have strong conviction, understand the sector, and can time your entry and exit

Tax-saving contributions face March 31 deadline; align investments wisely

Last-minute choices made without considering needs could exact a high financial price

Arbitrage funds: Investors in higher tax bracket may invest for 6-12 months

Arbitrage funds aim to capture the price difference between the spot price of a stock or index and its futures price when futures trade at a premium

Value and contra funds: Add the other if it diversifies your portfolio

Sebi's new rule allows AMCs to offer both value and contra funds with limited portfolio overlap. Here's how the two strategies differ and which investors they suit

Life-cycle funds: Match goals with tenure, pick glide path for your risk

Wait for greater clarity on how these funds will be taxed at maturity

Bitcoin correction calls for decisions based on risk, allocation, horizon

If you are underweight, continue with systematic purchases

Fund managers rebalance MAAFs after run-ups, so stay invested

New investors should consider them for risk reduction, stability and disciplined allocation, not return-chasing

Learn about tax rule changes to avoid last-minute confusion during filing

In the tax return forms, more data will come pre-filled, but it should be verified against your own records to avoid mismatches

Secondary home buy? Run a 30-year title search, get encumbrance certificate

For the title to be clean, there should be an unbroken chain of registered documents, with the latest in the seller's name

Revised return deadline extended to help belated filers, global earners

Bear in mind that substantial changes in a revised return can invite closer examination by tax authorities

Home affordability: Consider peripheral localities, smaller house sizes

If going from a 2-BHK to a 3-BHK pushes the EMI beyond comfort, the bigger house becomes a risk rather than a solution

Tackling portfolio overlap: Invest fresh money in underrepresented segments

When building a portfolio, diversify by market cap, style, and geography to minimise chances of overlap

Flexi-cap funds: Invest if you prefer managers to handle market cap mix

Poor sector and stock selection calls can, however, lead to underperformance

Investing in Bitcoin: Use price correction to accumulate for next upswing

Investing systematically can help investors benefit from volatility rather than be overwhelmed by it

Home loan mistakes: Don't equate eligibility with repayment capacity

Be warned that incomplete, outdated and inconsistent documents can delay loan approval and disbursal

Skip duration bets, stick to short and medium-duration debt funds in 2026

Do not chase past returns, as the interest-rate environment that produced them no longer exists and gains from falling rates are largely behind investors

Home loan balance transfer: Higher residual principal tenure drive savings

A high credit score is critical as it enables the borrower to secure the new loan at an attractive rate

Rupee slide, overseas inflation key when planning foreign education

Factoring in only domestic inflation could lead to a shortfall

Avoid exiting Balanced Advantage Funds based on short-term underperformance

Balanced Advantage Funds have had a weak year, but advisors warn against knee-jerk exits, saying investors should stay invested unless a fund persistently lags peers and benchmarks