For the already invested, the road ahead looks rather bumpy. However, when markets offer little to cheer about, for ones who have stayed away for so long, it does offer a whole lot opportunities. Imagine being able to buy Reliance Industries at Rs 2,099. Just six months back, it was at a 52-week high of Rs 3,252. Or a TCS at Rs 843 that was quoting Rs 1,200 almost a year back. There are so many scrips available now at a discount that if you have the liquidity, you can create a great portfolio of good stocks.
Financial planners would always advise that it's best that you identify a few good stocks and continue investing in them, even if the market continues its southward journey. This is the time when you can get the best deals. So building a portfolio could be a great idea, but before you start, here's some sane advice. Says Akhilesh Singh, business head, Emkay Midas Wealth Management, "A portfolio can be built only by disciplined approach and regular savings irrespective of the market movement. Just because markets are down from their peak, it does not mean they cannot fall further." Gopal Agrawal, head of equity, Mirae Asset Global Investment India feels that for any long-term investor, this turbulent period is an opportunity to pick up reasonably valued stocks.
Before you start investing, there needs to be proper asset allocation. For starters, divide your money between equity and debt. Though there is no thumb rule for investments, the following one can be used for the sake of convenience. For equity investments, 100 minus your age is the ideal proportion of equity in the portfolio. The rest can be in debt or gold. However, though gold and real estate have returned rather well for some time, but exposure to them should not be too high. Look at 5-10 per cent exposure to gold and, through exchange-traded funds. As far as real estate goes, while buying your first home is always a great idea, investing for returns may not be the best, at least in this point of time.
Also, since the asset allocation is largely dependent on age, you will need to be more careful about certain areas. Says Harsha Upadhaya, Fund Manager, UTI Asset Management Company, "The selection of asset class depends on factors such as age on the person, income, dependents and risk taking ability. For instance, if you are between 30 and 40 years of age, look at an equity fund with a stable portfolio. That is, look at an equity-diversified fund that has around 50 per cent in large cap companies. And the exposure to mid-cap and small cap should be 30 and 20 per cent respectively.
If you are starting late and are older than 45 years, you are most likely at the prime of your career and would have mostly achieved the goals and liabilities. At this age, even if a person is risk-averse, he should still continue to have a good chunk of money in large-caps.
Even after retirement, you should not exit equity completely as an asset class as it is the only one that beats inflation and helps in positive returns. However, debt should be more than 50 per cent if you are near retirement or have already retired. As a safety measure, always have some money in liquid funds for emergency and some in fixed maturity plans and monthly income plans. These funds give tax benefits.
Some sectors where experts are bullish include information technology and fast moving consumer goods. According to Upadhaya, IT is insulated from inflation and the weak rupee is likely boost the earnings of IT companies. Also, these stocks are available at reasonable valuations as they took a beating in the past one year.
Most importantly, even after creating a portfolio, keep on reviewing it more often in these volatile times. Ideally, do a review every quarter. And after a year, you will have a fair idea of the stocks and mutual funds that you want to remain invested.
In other words, such times in the market offer opportunities, but careful selection and good advice is what you need to make money in the long run.
