ULIPs v/s ELSS

What is difference between a ULIP and an ELSS?
ULIP or Unit linked insurance plan is offered by life insurance companies and is a combination of insurance and investment. ULIPs have high initial charges and are not smart investment products.

ELSS or Equity Linked Saving Schemes are nothing but tax saving equity diversified mutual funds. ELSS schemes have offered superior returns in the past years when compared to any tax saving instrument. For insurance requirements, opt for a term plan.

I am investing Rs 1000 per month through SIP in SBI Multicap Fund & Principle Large Cap fund. Is my selection ok?
- Rajendren
Both the funds selected by you are unrated funds with a small track record. SBI Multicap has not done well since its inception and you switch to rated funds like Reliance Vision or HDFC Equity. Principal large cap has performed well till now. Continue to remain invested in it and review every 6 months.

I am investing in HDFC Equity (Rs 1200 pm sip) since 24 month. I want to know if I should continue for another 12 years? I need the amount at time of retirement as pension?
Dhananjay
HDFC Equity is a well performing diversified mutual fund which has an excellent performance record. Continue investing in the fund with a long term view.

My father's age is 53. I want to invest for him so at the time of retirement he can gets at least 15000 pm. What is the amount I should invest monthly?
If you invest Rs 15000 per month for the next 7 years, you would manage to create a corpus of Rs 25 Lakh (assuming an annual return of 20% from diversified equity funds). This corpus can then be invested in a fixed income instrument to get the required amount per month, after retirement.

Is it safe to invest in mutual funds for long term with growth option after seeing the present market situations?
Viral Bhagdev
Equity mutual fund investments reap best results over longer time horizons. Do not try to time the market and worry about market gyrations. Just be systematic (use the SIP approach) and spread your investments over months to average out the costs over time.

I want to save Rs 1 lakh under section 80C and Rs 15000 under Section 80D. Where should I invest?
Anwar M
For saving taxes u/s Section 80C you can choose 2-3 tax saving mutual funds like Magnum Tax Gain, Sundaram Tax Saver or HDFC Tax Saver. You can also explore other avenues like Bank FDs, NSCs or Life Insurance Policies.

Under section 80D, you can claim exemption on the medical insurance premium that you pay (i.e. medi-claim policies). You can purchase such policies from any general insurance company.

How is DSP ML Small & Midcap Fund & HDFC Top 200 fund.
Vikas
HDFC Top 200 is a four star rated well performing equity fund. It is a good fund and you can remain invested here.
DSP ML Small & Mid Cap is a relatively new fund which invests majorly in small and mid cap companies (hence is riskier). It has been an average performer till now. Invest in some five star rated well diversified funds like Kotak Opportunities and Magnum Contra.

Should I contiue sip in Franklin Flexicap for the next 10 years.
Manoj, gujarat
Franklin India Flexi Cap is a diversified multicap fund and has performed well since inception. Continue investing in the fund but keep a track on its performance.

How good it is to invest in SBI Emerging Business fund
- Ayush
SBI Emerging Business is a four star rated, mid and small cap oriented equity fund. The fund has a good performance history and can be a part of your portfolio if you have other large cap funds to tone down aggression.

I have two mutual funds - SBI Infrastructure and TATA Indo global Infrastructure. Is my choice right?
Rama Gupta, Delhi
Both of these are recently launched, closed ended, infrastructure theme funds. As these are sectoral funds they have high associated risk when compared to an equity diversified fund. Keep a track on their performance, and try to increase exposure to well rated diversified funds in future via SIP.