Page 5 - Sarbajeet K Sen

Retirement MFs: Equity allocation, flexible withdrawal options key benefits

Stay invested even after lock-in ends to gain from compounding

Select a smart-beta fund based on your risk tolerance; restrict exposure

Aggressive investors may choose momentum-based factor funds

Have some risk appetite? Invest in highly rated company fixed deposits

While they offer higher returns than bank FDs, they are not protected by deposit insurance

Innovation funds: High-risk bets that are apt for seasoned investors

Failure rates among innovators tend to be high; concentrated portfolios make these funds volatile

Manufacturing funds: Invest with 5 to 7-yr horizon to cope with eco cycles

Add these schemes to your portfolio only after building a core using diversified funds

Beat valuation risk in smallcap funds with limited exposure, long horizon

While past-year returns have been high, these funds are prone to significant drawdowns in tough economic environments

Investors should sync tax savings with goals and cash flow needs

Even ELSS, being an equity fund, should be purchased with minimum seven-year horizon

Enhance portfolio resilience by investing in MNC fund: What is on offer?

These funds, however, tend to underperform when domestic cyclicals do well

Manage trading capital efficiently with liquid exchange-traded fund

Switching between cash and equity and back becomes seamless

Obtain secured credit card, repay regularly to repair credit history

Use less than 30% of card limit; avoid frequent loan applications

Arbitrage funds: Returns likely to be healthy in rising or volatile markets

Excess funds chasing arbitrage opportunities may, however, reduce potential returns

Conservative investors with long-term goals may opt for ESG funds

Their recent underperformance vis-a-vis multi- and flexi-cap funds was due to predominantly large-cap exposure

Reasonable valuations, potential US rate cuts bode well for tech funds

Mitigate inherent volatility with limited exposure and a long horizon

Protect volatile equity market gains with 10-15% investment in gold

Potential rate cuts in the US this year could boost gold's performance

Opt for long-duration, gilt funds to gain from interest rate cuts

Go for the flexibility of dynamic bond funds if you are unsure about direction of rates

Investors can lock into current high yields with target maturity funds

The medium- to high-maturity variety of these funds can also offer capital gains if interest rates fall

Counter high valuations, volatility by investing in hybrid mutual funds

Diversifying investments through multi-asset funds can be another smart investment move

MAAFs: After sharp equity run-up, diversify with these all-weather funds

Both return and tax treatment can vary widely based on each fund's asset allocation mandate

Higher fund flows into India, other EMs likely to boost asset prices

Stick to asset allocation, avoid wholesale portfolio changes

Optimise returns on short-term corpus with liquid and overnight funds

Yields from these schemes are attractive currently, but could come down if rate cuts happen