Zerodha Educate

One topic we keep talking about on the podcast is debt funds. As we've alluded to numerous times in the show, most investors focus too much on the equity part of their portfolio and ignore the debt part. They often take debt for granted and invest based on recommendations or based on whatever partial understanding they have. This often ends up backfiring whenever there are bad phases in the debt markets like the IL&FS, DHFL, and Franklin episodes.  The other risk that investors don't pay much attention to is the interest rate risk. Rising interest rates are bad for debt funds, and falling rates are good for debt funds. Given the strong inflationary pressures, RBI has hiked interest twice over the last month, and that has led to the debt fund NAVs falling. Predictably, over the last 3 odd months, the most common query from mutual fund investors was, “why are my debt fund NAVs falling?.” So we caught up with Mahendra Jajoo, the CIO of Fixed income Mirae Asset India. In this conversation, Mahendra talks about: What's happening in the debt markets Why are debt fund NAVs falling Why are interest rates rising What's causing inflation? Why have debt in your portfolio? How should investors invest in a rising rate environment Tips on building a debt portfolio and much more Hoep you find this useful. 

Retirement is the ultimate goal for everyone. We work, save, and invest so that we can kick back and retire comfortably, but a vast majority of Indians aren't ready for their retirement. This is due to structural economic issues, lack of awareness about the need for retirement planning, the lack of quality advice, among other reasons. PGIM India Mutual releases an annual survey of retirement readiness among Indians, and the last one was in 2020. Given that we're living through this mega COVID shock that has disrupted the personal finances of pretty much everybody, we thought it would be the perfect time to talk about the importance of retirement. So Sahil caught up with Ajit Menon, the CEO of PGIM India Mutual.  In this conversation, Ajit talks about: What does retirement mean The good, bad, and the ugly from the PGIM India Mutual Fund Retirement Readiness Survey 2020 Why are Indians saving less? How has COVID changed retirement planning Why should you think about retirement? Thinking about how to structure various aspects of your retirement How to build that mindset to think about retirement readiness Retirement readiness around the world Advice for someone starting to think about retirement today And a whole lot more. This conversation was absolutely brilliant and full of insights. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did recording it.  If you have any questions about anything discussed in the episode or thoughts in general, do post them here on TradingQnA.

The way the markets have run up post the March 2020 crash have equally surprised and perplexed investors. Given the pace of the recent bull run, that's understandable. A lot of smart people are wondering what's happening in the markets. But that's how the markets work—they don't have to make sense and they rarely do. So, we caught up with Kalpen Parekh (MD & CEO, DSP Mutual Fund) and Sahil Kapoor (Head of Products & Market Strategist, DSP Mutual Fund) to get a sense of the madness in the markets and what you should do as investors:  In this conversation, Kalpen and Sahil talk about: Some key takeaways over the last 1-1.5 years How to make sense of inflation The disconnect between the real economy and the markets A bird's-eye view of the Indian and the global economy Are the markets in a bubble? Investing in the age of markets where central bank actions have a massive impact Why do investors stop investing in equities early?  What can be done to get people to stick with their investments How not to get carried away by all the madness around Asset allocation How to think about fixed income in a low-interest rate environment Keeping your behaviour in control and avoiding mistakes Can you pick the best fund or best fund manager in advance? Discussing Sahil's article on this.  International investing and the role of global funds in a portfolio The role of gold in a portfolio How the Indian mutual fund industry looks in the next 5-10 years Sahil and Kalpen's investment philosophies Book recommendations You can follow Sahil and Kalpen on Twitter for more of their perspectives.  If you have any questions about anything discussed in the episode or thoughts in general, do post them here on TradingQnA. 

The CFA Society India recently published the second edition of The Investor’s Guide to Shareholder Meetings in India. As investors, even though we hold stocks of various companies, we rarely think about our rights. Investors also rarely realize that by virtue of the shares they hold, they are entitled to voting rights in a company. It's a chance for them to question the management and engage with them so that they aren't taken for granted as minority shareholders.  So we caught up with Sivananth Ramachandran, CFA, Director of Capital Markets Policy (India) and Amit Tandon, Founder and Managing Director, IiAS, who worked on the report to talk about:  The objective behind publishing the report Shareholder meetings post-COVID Basics of shareholder meetings Why don't retail investors attend these meetings Evolution of corporate governance in India Do the votes of retail investors count? Things to look for when analysing shareholder proposals put forth by companies ESG investing and the role of shareholders Shareholder activism and ESG Shareholder meetings in India vs other countries and a whole lot more.  Please enjoy this conversation with Sivananth and Amit.  Here's the link to the An Investor's Guide to Shareholder Meetings in India. If you have any questions about shareholder meetings and shareholder rights, do post them here on TradingQnA. 

In this episode, we have a really really special guest. We caught up with Prashant Jain, the chief investment officer (CIO) of HDFC Mutual Fund. Prashanth is a market veteran and the first India fund manager to manage a single mutual fund scheme for over 25 years. He manages some of the largest active mutual fund schemes in India. Over his nearly 25+ year career in the investment management industry, Prashant has pretty much seen all the cycles of the Indian markets. The experience and insights he shared in the conversation are all the more relevant to us given the euphoric mood in the Indian markets currently.  In this wide-ranging conversation, Prashant spoke about:  His journey into the markets The evolution of our economy and the Indian markets What does a good business look like to him His research process His thoughts on portfolio construction What does being wrong look like His thought on using macro inputs in an investing framework Whether the opportunity set of stocks in Indian markets is limited The road ahead for India His thoughts on quality at any price Active investing vs passive investing Indian valuations, global valuations, rates and inflation Advice for aspiring analysts and portfolio managers How he invests If you have any questions about this episode, you can post your queries here and we'll answer them. Disclaimer: Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme related documents carefully before investing. This show is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a solicitation to invest. Please consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

Gold is probably one of the most controversial and perplexing asset classes. Some well-known investors like Warren Buffett call it useless while other investors take the middle path and recommend small allocations. As for investors, they often struggle to think about it in a portfolio construct. So we caught up with Chirag Mehta, senior fund manager at Quantum Asset Management who also manages the Quantum Gold Fund.  In this conversation, Chirag talks about:  His journey into the markets His perspective of what happened in the markets last year What moves gold prices Why do Indians love gold so much? Historical performance of gold in India vs equities and bonds Pros and cons of various gold options like physical gold, gold ETFs, Sovereign Gold Bonds, Gold Mutual Funds etc What roles gold plays in a portfolio How much to invest in gold His thoughts on some popular arguments against investing gold Central banks actions and their impact on gold going forward How do Indian gold ETFs and Mutual Funds manage their gold, where do they store it, safety measures etc Things to keep in mind when picking gold funds His personal investment philosophy Some unique stories from his career Some reading recommendations You can explore gold mutual funds on Coin and gold ETFs on Kite.  If you have any questions about investing in gold, you can post your queries here and we'll answer them.  Disclaimer: Mutual fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read all scheme related documents carefully before investing. This show is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice or a solicitation to invest. Please consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions. 

In part 1, Rishad gave a quick intro to personal finance if you are new to investing. The pandemic has put a lot of stress on people's finances. So in part 2, we decided to focus on how to manage your personal finances in these challenging times.  In this part, Rishad talks about His experiences with investors during the pandemic How to prepare your finances in these difficult times Basics of health insurance Importance of having nominees for your investments and other accounts How to prepare for eventual market downturns How to think about philanthropy if you have the financial ability to help people in these trying times

Millions of new investors have started investing post-pandemic, and this is a good thing. But given that the returns in the past year have been spectacular, many new investors continue to make the same old mistakes and have wrong expectations. They tend to take the basics for granted. While pretty much anything investors do will work out in a bull market, these mistakes can come back to haunt them when the markets take a turn for the worse. We've spoken about how to think about investing, how to pick mutual funds and build a portfolio (part 1, part 2) in previous episodes but not much about personal finance. So we caught up with Rishad Manekia of Kairos Capital. Rishad is a Registered Investment Advisor and helps people simplify their personal finances. In this first of a 2 part series, Rishad gives you a blueprint of sorts on the basics of personal finance so that you can start your investing journey on the right foot.  In this conversation, Rishad talks about: The right mindset for investors The first step in personal finance How to budget How to set goals How to invest for short term and long term goals Figuring out the right asset allocation for various goals Basics of insurance How to manage your behaviour during bad market phases How to review and maintain your personal finance plan The most common mistakes he sees investors make Do check out the personal finance chapter on Varsity, and If you have any questions about personal finance, please do post them here.

We recently did a Twitter live session with Amit Grover, the Head - Learning & Development, DSP Mutual Fund on the right way to invest in Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) or tax-saving mutual funds. When you invest in an ELSS mutual fund, you can claim a tax deduction on investments up to Rs 1.5 lakhs and you can save up to Rs ₹46,800 in taxes.  In this chat, Amit answers: What are ELSS funds and how do they work For how long should you invest in an ELSS mutual fund ELSS funds vs other tax saving options like PPF, tax-saving fixed deposits etc How to analyse an ELSS fund The important factors to keep in mind when choosing an ELSS mutual fund and more.  You can visit Coin to explore ELSS Funds.  If you have any questions about investing in ELSS Mutual Funds, you can post your queries here and we'll answer them. You can keep track of all the live weekly Coin Chats on Twitter.  

Though the momentum effect is widely known in developed markets like the US, it's still relatively unknown in India. Over the past few years, there's been growing interest in the momentum style of investing. UTI Mutual Fund recently launched India's first momentum index fund which tracks the Nifty 200 Momentum 30 Index. But investors often extrapolate the past returns of momentum as a style and tend to think that momentum will always deliver superlative returns.  So we caught up with Aman Singhania, the Vice President & Head of Index Development & Research at NSE India. In this conversation, we talk to Aman about: His journey into the markets What is the momentum style of investing Why does the momentum effect persist How is momentum measured How have momentum investing fared historically in the Indian markets Are market capitalization-weighted indices momentum oriented in disguise? Multi-factor investing How should investors think about momentum His investing philosophy You can also check out the Varsity chapter on personal finance to dive deeper. If you have any questions, please do post them here.