Money9 Helpline | Improving financial wellbeing in Covid times

Besides keeping up with good health, Covid-19 has taught everybody the value of financial well-being. The need of the hour is to plan and manage one’s finances timely, as well as effectively. At Money9, we strive to prepare you for such challenging times and help you better overcome them.

The Money9 Helpline hosted Pooja Bhinde, Certified Financial Planner, PB Investment to help our callers navigate through financial distress.

Archit Ghosh, Kolkata: My salary was reduced by 30% last year. Currently, I can save only Rs 5,000 in a bank FD and also paying a premium for a LIC policy. Should I switch from LIC policy to a mutual fund for investment?

Pooja: Last year equity as an asset class boomed, and a lot of people invested in mutual funds and stocks. I suggest that your asset allocation should be based on your investment goal. Insurance is very important and FDs also should have some contingency funds. You can definitely consider diversifying your portfolio via debt mutual funds, but not at the sake of your insurance cover.

Avinash Gutta: Which index fund is better nifty or nifty next fifty indexes? Your suggestion

Pooja: If you are an aggressive investor then you can consider nifty next. But if you are a passive investor then Sensex and nifty index are preferred options for you. The choice of the index will depend upon your risk appetite.

Rooplai Menon, Pune: I am investing Rs 5000 via SIP in the Axis Multicap fund since Jan 2020. I want to increase my SIP amount to Rs 20,000. Which fund should I opt for?

Pooja: Multicap is diversifying equity funds. We get a lot of options in Flexi cap. If you have a long-term time horizon like retirement goals you can consider mid cap. If you are aggressive you can consider small-cap or large-cap. Basically, diversification is important.