Category: Finanacial

15 Things Your Financial Advisor can do for You – Part 3

[Continued from previous post]

(11) Keep you informed

In good times and bad, your financial advisor will keep you informed of how market moves are affecting you and your portfolio and strategy. He or she will also let you know about important events that may affect your investments – including elections, global unrest, changes in tax rules etc. You have more important things to worry about than the state of your portfolio at any given time, but your financial advisor does not.

(12) Teach your family basic concepts

You can't do it alone. If your family is not on board with the plan – it will be more difficult for you to reach your goals. Your advisor should be able to explain basic concepts to your children so that they understand how to manage their money and your money. Good habits are best when begun early. And bad habits should never be allowed time to take hold.

(13) Plan for your future

As your circumstances change you will need to update the way your finances are planned. Your financial advisor should do this for you – make sure you are in the best shape to take the next step on your financial journey – from single to married to parents to new jobs, no jobs and even grandparents and retirement.

(14) Offer you special investment opportunities

Sometimes a financial advisor can offer investment opportunities which are not available to the general public. Those will be opportunities that you know will be appropriate to you and your circumstances. And you can rest easy that the offer will be made in your best interests. As a registered advisor – the code of ethics – bind your advisor to make sure that your interests are served before his own.

(15) Connect you with experts

Your advisor is a professional and is connected to a range of other professionals and specialists to refer you to for your various requirements. This might include a lawyer, an accountant or other. The advisor can also work with your existing professional relationships if you already have an accountant or a lawyer. The idea is they all work together and make sound decisions that will make your financial strategy more seamless to manage.

[Inspired and in part taken from JAS Wealth’s eBook of the same name]

February 17, 2016
15 Things Your Financial Advisor can do for You – Part 2

[Continued from previous post]

(6) Keep you on track

Think of your financial advisor as your Gym Instructor or Personal Trainer. He does not only create a diet chart and exercise plan for you, he also makes sure that you stick to it – day after day. So in other words your financial advisor is also your financial coach. Making a wonderful financial plan is futile, if it is not followed. Your financial advisor is supposed to guide you at every step here. Overspending, leveraging, easy credit, get-rich-quick schemes – traps are many. Contact you advisor at any such moment when your decision is going to impact your financial life directly or indirectly.

(7) Take care of your retirement

Retirement is often considered as the single most important financial goal in your life. This goal is unique because accumulating required retirement corpus is just not enough. Equally important is to generate inflation adjusted income from that corpus – year after year. This requires prudent financial planning decisions coupled with efficient portfolio management skill. When you know that you are in safe hands, it always means a lot, even more after retirement.

(8) Protect your lot

Building your assets is vitally important for your future, but protecting your assets is equally important. How much protection is enough? Ask your adviser. If something happens to you – or your partner – how will you continue the life you are used to – how much will it cost to maintain your lifestyle for the present and the future? If you don’t have enough insurance, your life may face drastic and unpleasant changes just at a time when this would compound other difficulties facing you. It is good to know that whatever happens, your life – or the life of your family – can continue as well as possible in changed circumstances.

(9) Look after your Estate

Families are at the heart of financial planning. Making sure that everyone is looked after when one member dies is something that can make a huge difference to the financial position of the rest of the family. A financial adviser can ensure that your estate is structured effectively so that when something does happen to you or a loved one – it will upset you but not your financial plans. This is even more important when a small business is involved.

(10) Explain how things work

If finance isn’t your specialty you can rely on your financial adviser to assist you through the jargon and explain simply financial terms and concepts and make sure you understand how it all works – Family Budgeting, Retirement Corpus, Laddered Annuities, Income Laddering, Asset Restructuring, Mortgaging, Expense Replacement, Debt Restructuring … the list goes on.

To be continued…

[Inspired and in part taken from JAS Wealth’s eBook of the same name]

April 27, 2015
15 Things Your Financial Advisor can do for You – Part 1

[Inspired and in part taken from JAS Wealth’s eBook of the same name]

(1) Do you have a budget? Do you stick to it?

It’s a simple statement which can be made using a pen and paper, an Excel worksheet, an App or anything similar you can imagine. The idea is to bring a pattern to a chaos named family budgeting. After checking out lots of tools – online and offline – we found one simple Excel sheet that you can use to maintain an account of your income and expenditure. Make a request using comment section below; we will mail that to you. Your adviser can and should work with you to develop a budget, one that suits you and your lifestyle and will set you on the right path to live the life you want now and in the future.

(2) Put your debt to work

There are different types of debt – good and bad. Your financial advisor can explain the difference and make sure that – where possible – your debt is working for you and your future. Sometimes at start of your career, when you do not have much of savings, you have to take a home loan to buy your house. But it is not as simple as that. Do you really need to buy one? If you are the only child of your parents and have a spacious house to live in; you may not need to buy a home just to satisfy your ego, or just because your friend has bought one. If you have moved to a different city for work and are planning to buy a house there – think. What if, you may again change your job and move to a different place? Is rent an option? If buying a home makes sense, then what should be the budget? If you get a higher loan amount sanctioned – does that mean that you should take a higher loan? Your financial advisor should guide you here.

(3) Assist you with a savings plan

The benefits of a good, regular savings plan cannot be stressed enough. How do you start? How much can you afford? What will your short-term, medium-term and long-term goals be? What will your savings milestones look like? As your financial coach, your adviser can help you develop a plan that will work for you and will also help you meet the goals you set together.

(4) Invest your money

Saving is one thing and without the discipline of putting something aside it won’t be possible to invest. Investing is something else – investing is making sure your money is working as hard as possible. Where to invest is difficult to know. Your adviser is qualified and has the experience to help you navigate the myriad opportunities available to give you the best options available for you.

(5) Help you realize your goals

There is a way to achieving your goals. First is to talk through and understand your goals. Next is to make a plan – the plan should be clear in showing how you are intending to reach these goals. The plan may change over time as your priorities change and goals need to adapt to changes of mind or circumstances. Your financial adviser will be able to work with you in adapting and reshaping your plan to meet these new goals. But without a plan in place reaching your goals will be much more difficult.

To be continued…

April 20, 2015
NPS – 10 Point Guide

Off late, lot of inquiries are coming in relation to NPS (National Pension System). We would be happy to answer them individually. But here is a quick 10 point guide in regards to the same. This may answer few of your doubts. But if the below guide does not answer your query, please mention the same using comment section below this article. We will surely get back. Here you go –

1) NPS Contribution can be made by all of us voluntarily or can be made as part of your salary structure i.e. by restructuring your CTC (Cost to Company) involving your employer. Please note that NPS contribution is mandatory for govt. employees joining service on or after 1st January 2004.

2) Contribution, when part of salary structure, is capped till 10% of your (Basic +DA).

3) Voluntary contribution or employee’s contribution of amount up to Rs. 1.50 lakhs is available for tax deduction U/S 80CCD(1), which is part of overall 80C limit of Rs. 1.50 lakhs.

4) From 1st April, 2015, an additional amount of Rs. 50,000 investment in NPS can be claimed for tax deduction U/S 80CCD(1B). This is over and above 80C limit of Rs. 1.50 lakhs.

5) The employer’s contribution (this is basically part of your CTC only. After restructuring your CTC gets reduced by the same amount.) falls U/S 80CCD(2) and this amount can also be claimed beyond 80C limit.

6) Under NPS two investment choices are available – Active choice and Auto choice. Under Active choice, three options are there – E, C and G. Under asset class E, investments are predominantly in equities (maximum up to 50%). Under asset class C, investments are into fixed income instruments other than GOI securities. Under asset class G, investments are in GOI securities. Under Auto choice, investments will be made in a life cycle fund in a pre-defined portfolio based on your age.

7) Maturity amount is taxable – not only gain, but the entire maturity amount.

8) Maturity of Tier-I a/c of NPS will happen at the age of 60 only. At least 40% of the maturity amount has to be used to buy annuity. If amount are withdrawn before age 60, then 80% of the maturity amount is to be compulsorily used to buy annuity only.

9) E, C and G asset class portfolios are now being manged by ICICI, Reliance, Kotak, HDFC, UTI, LIC and SBI Pension Funds. Switch between scheme and fund manager is possible.

10) NPS is administered and regulated by PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority)

March 10, 2015
Risk – What is Important?

In its “Investment Advisers Regulation” SEBI has mentioned the following –

Investment Adviser shall ensure that, it obtains from the client, such information as is necessary for the purpose of giving advice, including Risk Appetite / Tolerance.

We are following the above guideline strictly.

But at the same time we strongly believe that there are more to it. As far as Risk Appetite / Tolerance is concerned investors are mostly classified in three broad groups – Conservative – Moderate – Aggressive. But such ‘One size fits all’ strategy rarely works. Let us consider a few case studies –

(1) When ‘Risk Profiling Questionnaire’ is given to Mr. Sumit, aged 35, employed in an IT MNC, his answers revealed that he is a conservative risk taker. He wants to avoid equity, direct or indirect, as an asset class from his portfolio. His preferred assets are fixed return products. Now when his retirement goal is being planned it is found out that to achieve the goal following scenarios are there –

Current Age – 35; Retirement Age – 60; Life Expectancy – 85; Household & Lifestyle Expenses – Rs. 30,000; Inflation – 7%;

(a) Monthly savings or SIP required is Rs. 11,023 when expected return from investments is 15%.

(b) Monthly savings or SIP required is Rs. 19,030 when expected return from investments is 12%.

(c) Monthly savings or SIP required is Rs. 26,947 when expected return from investments is 10%.

(d) Monthly savings or SIP required is Rs. 37,596 when expected return from investments is 8%.

(e) Monthly savings or SIP required is Rs. 51,594 when expected return from investments is 6%.

Now, current monthly investible surplus in Mr. Sumit’s case is Rs. 20,000. The goal is also 25 years away from now. Should we recommend him to invest only in fixed return products?

(2) When ‘Risk Profiling Questionnaire’ is given to Mr. Amit, aged 35, employed in an IT MNC, his answers revealed that he is an aggressive risk taker. He prefers to invest in equities mostly. Now when his vacation goal, which is due in next 2 years, is being planned – should we recommend him to invest in his preferred asset class i.e. equity?

The logical as well as right answer, according to us, would be a ‘No’ in both the above cases.

So in practice, recommended asset allocation does not (only) depend on someone’s Risk Tolerance Level but mostly on the following two factors –

(1) Time Horizon along with cash-flow situation – When a financial goal is long term i.e. more than 10 years away from now, and cash-flow situation does not allow investments in low yield generating instruments – one has to go for equities. If invested with caution, and review is done at regular interval – equity as an asset class is capable of beating inflation rate with a good margin.

But when a financial goal is due in short term i.e. within 5 years, recommending investment in equities is not right, though investor’s risk profile may be aggressive.

(2) Knowledge – When you spend time in understanding an investment product i.e. how it works, what could be the best and worst case scenario etc. – risk reduces considerably. There is hardly any risk when a car is driven by an experienced driver, but there is a HUGE risk when that same car is driven by a 6 year old kid who does not know anything about driving. That is why over a period of time, when your knowledge increases of a particular product – your comfort level increases, risk reduces.

What do you think? Let us know your opinion in the comment section.

March 7, 2015
Budget – How does it matter?

Just for a moment think that you have been always a prudent investor and you understood very well the power of compounding and impact of inflation on return. Now suppose you always schedule your yearly vacation during budget time. So this means you go to some place far away may be in North-East India or in Galapagos or in Timbuktu island just few days before the budget day. You do not get any internet there, no newspaper, no TV channel. And you come back almost after 7 days since annual budget is presented every year. Do you really think that your overall portfolio would get seriously suffered due this untimely(!) holiday of yours? Time proves – it would not. Chances are it would instead benefit you! As long as you save and invest regularly and your portfolio is designed to beat inflation over long term – you are safe and destined to succeed.

Budget is of utmost importance for country’s economy and for functioning of government. Yes it mentions changes in tax slabs sometime and sometime also changes in product basket that qualifies for tax exemption. It increases or reduces your post tax income. Budget also mentions that some items will get dearer and some will get cheaper. This also may increase or reduce your expenses. So the changes in tax slab alone cannot decide your cash-flow situation. So many other factors are also there. Hence it can be safely said that your overall family budgeting and discipline will finally matter. Nothing else actually.

Some of the indirect tax rules may also see changes in this budget. Some industry may get tax sops, some may have to face more tax burden. Changes in excise or customs duty may adversely or favorably impact some industries. There will be surely some knee-jerk reaction for sure and effect can be seen in stock prices of such companies in short run. But again in long run, a company’s stock price is most likely to reflect only how well a company’s management manages cash-flow, generates return on equities, creates value for shareholders. Hence if in your portfolio there is a stock which is well bought i.e. you bought an above average company at a below average price, you are safe and did a commendable job. Stay assured that such buys will always create lot of real wealth for you in long run.

So the basics remain unchanged. You can skip this budget if you are already on right path. And how the ‘right path’ looks like? See below:

1) Focus on your family budget. Along with your household and lifestyle expenses also allocate fund for leisure, entertainment, travel but stay within limit. Do not overspend.

2) Write down your financial goals. Set your targets. Look at the possible scenarios. Check your surplus. Start investing accordingly, and remain rock steady.

3) Keep emergency fund ready in liquid instruments.

4) Calculate and then take right amount of life cover.

5) Depending on the city you live, likely expenses in nearby hospitals – take right amount of health cover (popularly known as medi-claim).

6) Saving tax is definitely a good idea but not by compromising on life goals’ strategy. If some tax saving investments get fit into your recommended portfolio to achieve financial goals in time, then fine, go for it (early in the financial year) and save tax.

7) Monitor your investments and review your financial plan at regular interval.

Phew! You are almost done! So pack your bag and go for a vacation. Will see you post budget. Happy journey! 🙂

February 26, 2015
Retirement Planning
Nothing is permanent in this world. Everything that comes will definitely go including us. But we don’t know when. Apart from this everybody would like to live life peacefully as long as they live. You have to decide whether you want to depend on somebody or live on your own without compromising your life style throughout your life. That is why it is best to put our best efforts and save more for the future. The important thing you have to begin with is to have a retirement plan for you today.Retirement Plan is very important in our life. The earlier we construct the structures to attain a wonderful retirement the better for us. Saving for your retirement is one of the toughest and most vital things you will do in your working years. Because you have to save for your children’s college education, paying your home loan, children’s marriage, buying cars and all the other everyday costs. Everyone has their own retirement dreams as well.The thumb rule is that you will need approximately 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income to maintain your lifestyles in retirement. However, depending on your own situation and the type of retirement you hope to have, that number may be higher or lower.

THERE ARE LOT OF FACTORS ONE SHOULD CONSIDER FOR RETIREMENT SAVINGS.
- Retirement Age: This is the first factor you should consider at what age you expect to retire? In reality people say that they will work even after retirement from current job. Here you have to consider like health problem, job instability, or change of workplace etc. Assume that your retirement age is 60 then earlier you retire you need more money throughout your retirement life. It is best to prepare for unanticipated events that may force you for an early retirement.
- Life Expectancy: Nobody knows the life expectancy. There are few factors which may give you a hint. Your family history – like your parents and your relative’s current age or how long they lived. Common diseases in your family. Your past and present health status etc. These are all the factors you have to consider when calculating your life expectancy. You will approx find the number of post retirement years you will spend.
- Inflation: Inflation is one of the main factors while you save for your retirement. Just to save for retirement you start saving but forgot the impact of inflation then your savings will not sufficient. If you don’t account inflation while saving then inflation will reduce your value of your savings. So it is very important that your saving has to exceed inflation.
- Your Lifestyle: Different lifestyles are being adopted by different people. Generally Lifestyles are usually simple for most the people. But it is very important that what type of retirement lifestyle you would like to enjoy. Like travel, or hobbies you would like to pursue etc. These are all questions can help you to decide your required corpus for your retirement. Many people tell that they would like to work part time after retirement. But the answer is practically not possible.
- Health: Nowadays it is very important to consider the cost of health care. Health care costs are rising every year than inflation. People get health insurance cover from employers generally till retirement. Very few offers this after retirement. If you are not taking this in to account then it will eat your savings later. It is better advisable to buy long term health insurance for your better tomorrow.
February 4, 2015
This umbrella is for all season
Wherever you are, you surely experience monsoon at some time or otherin the year. During monsoon we never forget to carry an umbrella whenever we go out somewhere (We may forget to bring it back thoughJ). The good old umbrella will protect us from untimely showers, will keep us neat enough to carry on our tasks, will help us to keep promises that we have made – even when mother-nature tries to play spoilsport.

Similarly we need to carry an umbrella throughout our lifetime to protect us and our families,financially from unpredictable events and mishaps. This umbrella will also help us to keep our promises that we all make to our family members (often silent but bold enough). Our life can remain on track, even when luck is not in our side – thanks to this umbrella!

Bitter Truths:
1. Man is mortal. Yes, we will die one day. When, nobody knows. An untimely death can leave the family in lurch.
2. Life is unpredictable. We may face an accident – minor or major – anytime, anywhere. Apart from physical pain, financially also it hurts.
3. We may get diagnose with some critical illness at some point in our life. We may still survive, but there could be long term treatment. Thus, it can create a big hole in our pockets.
4. We all know the virtue of spiritualism. But can we live the life of a saint? No. Hence we often find ourselves surrounded by expensive goods, gadgets, artifacts and jewelry. An act of robbery or an electric short circuit can then suddenly take us to Stone Age. So all our belongings as well as our “home, sweet home” are under risk –whether man-made events or natural calamities (earthquake, flood etc.).
5. We may lose jobs. Pink slip, pay cut, trimming workforce – these words are not from Mars!
Better Solutions:
1. If you are married or if someone is/are financially dependent on you, consider taking life insurance – immediately. Remember it should be pure term policy only – online or offline, whatever you are comfortable with.
2. Taking a standalone health insurance policy (popularly known as mediclaim) over and above the one which is provided by your employer is always a wise thing to do.
3. While taking a pure term policy you should also opt for a ‘critical illness’ rider. This will come cheap. You may even consider taking a separate critical illness insurance policy altogether.
4. Home, in most cases the biggest investment we make in our lifetime or the most critical asset we ever possess. A home insurance is thus necessary but often sidelined by most of us. A comprehensive home insurance policy canalso take care of its belongings.
5. Contingency or an emergency fund should always be there. Take no chance here. This will always come handy when unpredictability strikes our life – whether it is losing our job or meeting an accident or anything you cannot think of now.
Must not forget:
1. The life insurance cover should take into account your family’s lifestyle expenses, outstanding liabilities, priority financial goals of your family members, without fail.
2. While taking a mediclaim, remember, that your lifestyle, your location and standards of nearby hospitals / nursing homes should also matter in choosing the cover amount as well as the service provider.
3. Before applying for a home insurance cover first checkout with your society members whether a full building coverage is already taken or not; also check your loan papers to find out whether you yourself had bought one while taking the home loan.
4. Your contingency fund should take care of your 6 months’ expenses at least, including EMI and premium outgo. Also make provision there for emergency medical expenses. Remember, your emergency fund should always enjoy maximum liquidity, so that you can access it even in midnight.
So, you see, whether it is raining or not, this umbrella is always useful and critical. Make sure – your umbrella is big enough to not land you in any awkward situation.
February 4, 2015
You also have a stake in the market, do you know that ?
Yesterday, I met a friend in my office. And my friend’s friend was also there with us. While we were discussing about our profession, challenges and opportunities; he suddenly asked – So you people deal in finance, right? You then must have invested heavily in the stock market also? I replied – No, not exactly … Before I could say anything further, he quipped – Good, you should not. Because stock market is risky and nothing but a gamblers’ den. I replied – that see, driving is also risky. It is even riskier for my 5 year old daughter and certainly not so for me as I know how to drive. He did not argue further, but from his facial expression I made out that he was not convinced.

I was thinking about this futile conversation later also. Then I made a list of people whom I know very well and who have never invested in the stock market. When the list was ready I found a striking similarity there, that they have all actually invested in the market – mostly without even realizing that!

How?

Suppose your name also feature in that list. Here is a brief background of yours – You work in a reputed MNC at a senior position. You have been working in this organization for last 5 years. Four times in last five years you received a hefty hike in your salary. Before this you worked with a leading Indian conglomerate for 7 years.

Before going further, tell me now – Do youagree that you have already invested in stock of your current organization?

While changing job 5 years back you had choices before you – which company’s offer letter to accept or which interview to go for at the first place. Out of many job offers pouring in your inbox you decided to choose only a few among them. You needed a job then, but you also had your terms and conditions well set out. These are as follows:
- Company’s goodwill
- It being employee-friendly
- Good management
- Long-term growth prospect
- Incentives
- Its position among the peer
- How the company fared during last recession etc.
Once all your terms and conditions were met you were ready to go. So almost all your efforts can be summarized as below:
- You decided to join the current company finally and hence also committed to give the largest share of your day’s productive time to that company. Time is money. So this was a big investment of yours.
- You did your due diligence well before investing err joining.
- You checked your margin of safety before joining there.
- You made sure that the company’s management run the company well and with values and principles.
- You give a lot of importance to company’s profitability in future which is directly linked to your growth and prospect.
- Still this decision of yours is not completely risk-free. Agree?
If this is not stock investment – what else is? Want to see more similarities between choosing a job and investing in stock market? Here you go:
- So even if an ABC Company with no credentials offers you a great package, in most probability you will decide not to join there. Your view here is surely long term.
- Again when you search job you mention a few sectors only as your preferred ones. This means you will unlikely to venture into any sector where you do not have much knowledge. But over the years as your experience grows, you realize that you can do justice to many more sectors. So your circle of competence grows over time.
- If this investment decision of yours is turned out to be really good, then you are expected to get good incentives, year-end bonus and pay hike. Are not these similar to rights issue, dividend, and bonus shares (not necessarily in the same order)? Did I forget to mention ESOP as another fall-out?
- Your value of investment has also been appreciating in the process. Next time, may be after years, when you will look out for a new job after consistently giving good performance year after year in the current organization – other companies will definitely assign higher value to your candidature then. This is similar to your investment capital getting appreciated.
- When your company manages to bag new orders, expands to newer and lucrative horizons, acquires a good company or get itself acquired by a bigger and better company – you feel good. Feel vindicated in your choice.
This is what stock investment is all about. If you make informed choices and remain careful in handling your investments, you will get your effort’s worth. You will create wealth in long term. But you need to be as careful and serious as you are while looking for a job. If you are an entrepreneur or a businessman or a professional having your own practice, then the similarities are even more. There you know the things (checklist before investing in anything) from inside.

There are more checklist involved in buying stocks, than what we have discussed above. There are dissimilarities as well. Like, while buying stocks you should always look for a good bargain i.e. buy the stock when it is available at a good price.

Buying stock is like buying a business. How can you be casual then? Warren Buffettonce rightly said, “An investor should ordinarily hold a small piece of an outstanding business with the same tenacity that an owner would exhibit if he owned all of that business.”
February 4, 2015
Make sure that you get 10 out of 10 here!
You know that financial planning is important and that is you are opting for it or you have already opted for one. Here is 10 point checklist to make sure that you get it all from your financial planner and miss nothing –
- Financial Planning is having a bird’s eye viewof all your financial matters
- Financial Planning is joining bits and pieces to make you see the big picture
- Financial Planning is a roadmap / blueprint / game-plan to achieve financial freedom
- Financial Planning is financial fitness
- Financial Planning is a commitment to not make any financial mistake ever
- Financial Planning is optimization of resources
- Financial Planning is securing your present and future
- Financial Planning is a coin having two sides – strategy and action
- Financial Planning is planning life and it also addresses concerns beyond money
- Financial Planning is making life simple and clutter-free
You know your finances well. You are a disciplined saver and investor. You know your income and expenses. You know your assets and liabilities. You know your insurances. You are taking care to keep enough funds ready for children’s higher education and marriage. You are saving regularly through provident funds and other investments to make sure that your post-retirement life becomes smooth and tension free. But can you see that ‘big picture’, that snapshot which covers everything at one go? Which gives you a clear picture of your present and future? That experience is like having a bird’s eye view. Financial Planning should make you feel that.

You have a target set. You have some limited overs to play. And you are playing to win the game. So you know now whether you can afford to play slow or not. You know now the importance of having a game plan. You have certain financial goals set – 10 lakhs for child’s higher education, 10 lakhs for child’s marriage, 4 crores for retirement. In next 8 years child will be passing 10+2. In next 16 years child would be of 26 years and ready for marriage. In next 20 years you will be retiring. To achieve all these you have to have a game-plan ready. Financial Plan is equivalent of a roadmap which you require before you set off a journey; is equivalent of a blueprint which you require to construct something big; is equivalent of a game-plan which you should look for if you are here to win the game.

Financial Planning makes sure that you are making optimum usage of all your resources. There should not be any place for regret. It gives you the best fit solution. It starts with safety and security. First you secure your family’s present and future, next move forward to achieve goals. Financial Planning focuses a lot on setting strategies right. But if strategies are not backed by actions, then everything falls flat. It is a long term (financial) fitness program. Stay tuned. Stay focused. Stay fit.

Money is important. So is relationship. So are your hobbies and passions. So is your health. So is your contribution to society. The list goes on. If you overlook any of these, real wealth can never be created. Among all asset classes, the most important asset is surely YOU. You need to invest in yourself regularly.

Financial Planning should make your life simple and secure and make you happy.Period.
February 4, 2015