Archive for October, 2009

Retirement needs! A reminder about retirement plan

Are you in Denial mode regarding your retirement financial needs? I cannot comment for every one, but too many people I meet are in denial about their financial needs for retirement. Most of us do not want to accept that we will buy 3-4 washing machines, air conditioners, refrigerators, maybe about 2-5 cars, at least [...]

Buy Gold…many mutual funds are buying it!

There are many reasons to buy Gold and hold it. Of course tomorrow I can give you many reasons NOT to own gold also. One reason NOT to own gold is the recent phenomenon in its price. For example if you had invested in gold in 1980 (US $ 590) today it would be worth [...]

Mutual fund ratings – a media joke

If you read magazines, newspapers, etc. or watch the business channels you would have been convinced that people chase performance. Constantly ‘experts’ come on television and print media and say ‘people’ should not chase past performance. Actually articles and programs encourage people to churn or chase performance. Do you know what a rating does? It [...]

Diwali risk lesson

I have been bursting crackers now for a few decades and obviously have some ‘cracker’ wounds, but nothing serious. About 3 years back my daughter’s teacher told her “when you go to burst crackers you should carry a bucket of water…just in case…” So in the first year my daughter carried water on the first [...]

Diwali: Loan for Home improvement!

This Diwali a lot of people are going to make a demand on your money!  One of them seems to be builders who have all lined up schemes to sell property to you. However you must have seen and experienced – a very small portion of the cost of the house is paid by the [...]

Identifying a good advisor

A good advisor is a rare animal. And obviously very difficult to find. So you should ask him the following questions: 1. When was your last vacation? If he says he went to….(destination does not matter)ask him who paid for it. If he mentions a fund house or an insurance company, he is not an [...]