Want to invest in mutual funds but don't know how to go about it?

Get all your mutual fund related queries answered by our expert, Anubhav Srivastava, partner and senior fund manager at Infinity Alternatives.

Q) ‏Mukesh Chaturvedi‏ writes to us on twitter. I have Rs 18.5 lakh in Kotak Multicap. I need Rs 15 lakh for a marriage over six months. Should I redeem now in installments as I need it or in one go?

A) Monies for such requirements when they are close by may not be riskier asset classes. Ideally, you may wish to keep it in a safer liquid fund type option.

Q) ‏Adil writes to us on twitter. I have DSP Small Cap Fund in my portfolio. Should I continue SIP or not? If not then, which one should I replace it with? I also have Franklin India Smaller Companies Fund. Please advise.

A) These two funds have performed over the years and ranked three and four respectively as per valueresearch fund monitor. SIP is a good way to invest in volatile asset classes.

Q) P Kaliswamy writes to us from Tamil Nadu. Invested Rs 2,000 monthly in Reliance Small Cap Fund Growth SIP and Rs 25,000 lumpsum in ICICI Prudential Blue Chip Fund Direct Growth. I want to invest for 10 years in any two of the four funds, Mirage Asset Emerging Blue chip Fund Growth, HDFC Small Cap Fund Growth, Axis Focused 25 Direct Plan and SBI Small Cap Fund Direct Growth. Kindly give me your view and growth progress of the funds or else suggest some other top performing funds SIP and lumpsum.

A) Growth of these funds over longer periods is in line with market they track (Valueresearch). Of the others, Mirae Asset EBCF is well ranked over a five year period as is SBI Small Cap. HDFC Small Cap is also in top 10 in its category. You may want to invest in funds, which aren’t too large or too small - both can be a problem in midcaps and smallcaps for liquidity reasons.

Q) Aviral S writes to us from New Delhi. I have 30 percent of portfolio in debt; 35-40 percent in bank stocks and large and mid-cap focused funds (invested in last 2-3 weeks). So, which funds can I invest the balance (30 percent) for 3-4 years at least with high return or capital growth as the objective.

A) Large cap valuations are a concern though that’s being balanced by short supply of these stocks. You may wish to look at the next 50 space – Nifty Next 50 or Sensex Next 50 and choose low expense funds like Junior BeeS ETF.

Q) Ansuman Das writes to us from New Delhi. Have been investing in mutual funds for the past one year through SIP. My monthly SIP amount is Rs 13,000 per month, out of which Rs 3,000 invested in SBI Blue Chip Regular Growth Fund, Rs 3,500 through Aditya Birla Sun Life Equity Regular Growth Fund (Multicap fund), Rs 3,500 through IDFC Tax Advantage Direct Growth Plan and Rs 3,000 through Mirae Asset Emerging Blue-chip Direct Growth Fund. I want to increase my investment amount by Rs 3,000 per month. Want to invest for another 25-29 years. My goals are to create a retirement corpus of Rs 3.5 crore and Rs 30 lakh for buying a house after 7-8 years. Is it suitable to invest in small cap funds such as HDFC Small Cap Fund or SBI Small Cap Fund at this point of time?

A) For long investment horizons, you can look at riskier asset classes and choose managers, which perform consistently over longer periods. However, your investment plan requires some planning and my suggestion would be to sign up with an advisor or robo advisor who can plan for you. In general, your profile can look at more equity weightage in the initial years. With passing years, diversify you investments into foreign investments, real assets and commodities when the portfolio is sufficiently large and you have a better understanding of your investment requirements.

Q) Aravind Kulkarani writes to us from Karnataka. Invested Rs 3,000 per month in SIP in L&T Tax Advantage Fund Growth Option. Want to invest Rs 2,000-3,000 per month in SIP. Please advise.

A) Look at index investing. Index Funds will be a little more expensive, but carry the mutual fund convenience. Alternatively, look at in ETFs’ Nifty BeeS, SBI Nifty 50 and Junior BeeS.

Q) Kartik Dattani writes to us from Mangalore. Invested Rs 2,000 per month in ICICI Pru Top 100 Fund, Rs 1,500 per month in Franklin India Prima Plus Fund and Rs 2,000 per month in DSP Black Rock Midcap Fund since two years now and have discontinued the latter two and included Rs 3,000 per month in Reliance Small Cap and Rs 3,000 per month in Kotak Select Multicap Fund since a year now via SIP. I want you to comment on my current portfolio and also any good bets on ELSS for a 5-7 year time horizon?

A) Add a small amount of debt to your portfolio or international funds to diversify out Indian risk. Determine your largecap, midcap ratio and periodically rebalance it.

Q) Jatin Agarwal writes to us from New Delhi. Have recently started two SIPs, Motilal Multicap 35 (Rs 5,000 per month) and L&T Midcap Fund (Rs 5,000 per month). I am looking to start a third SIP of the same amount. Which fund should I go with? Shall I go with an Index Fund?

A) Yes, look at Next 50 exchange-traded funds (ETF) (Cost convenience trade off). Junior BeeS on the stock trading platform or check out the Nifty Next 50 Index funds direct plans from top 15 fund houses.

Q) Naveen Nagpal has invested in Mirae Blue-chip Mid Cap Fund, L&T Emerging Fund, Mirae Asset India Equity Fund and HDFC Small Cap Fund keeping in mind for 10-15 years. Please advise.

A) Portfolio looks good. Depending on your age, life stages etc. add other asset classes as determined by your advisor or you can do this on some of the online platforms.

Q) Is Tata Consumption Fund good for long term investment of Rs 5,000 per month for 10 years, asks Paras Narang?

A) Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) valuations are stretched at the moment.

Q) Karan Ravi‏ writes to us on Twitter. Currently, invested in the DSP Tiger, DSP Midcap, HDFC Equity Savings, ICICI Blue-chip, PPFAS, Tata Digital India, SBI Consumption Fund, SBI Small Cap, Reliance Small Cap, Mirae Emerging Blue & L&T Emerging is this advisable for the long run?

A) These look like a large number of funds to manage properly. Suggest an asset allocation approach (Debt, equity, cash or international allocation). Then within that, say for equity, determine how much largecap, how much midcap and small cap. Choose 1-2 funds in each such category.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on CNBCT-V18 are their own and not that of the website or its management. CNBC-TV18 advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

First Published:Aug 28, 2018 4:33 PM IST