Dealing with all-time highs

These are the kind of times during which investors always have a difficult time separating the good from the bad. It's the rising tide that is lifting all boats. Remember, while we investors lose money in equity funds when the markets go down, we often sow the seeds of those losses when the markets are high by investing indiscriminately. Even badly-run funds look so much better than the previous week, and soon, sales agents will start the earnest work of putting lipstick on pigs. Don't fall for it.

Here's a piece of counterintuitive advice: this is a time to look back at what you have done in the past, not a time to look ahead. It's a time that's better suited to fix the mistakes of the past than to make new mistakes for the future.

And how to do that? As I always say, that's where Value Research Premium comes in! Let's look at the many ways in which Value Research Premium can help you do this.

Magical simplicity
To fix a problem, you have to understand it first, and that's what our Premium toolset does better than anything else. Our Portfolio Planner system is meant to suggest new investments that are tailor-made for your financial goals, while Portfolio Analysis does its magic on your existing investments. And how do you tell the system about your existing investments? That's where the magic begins.

As most (but not all) mutual fund investors know, you can obtain your Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) from KFintech (earlier called Karvy) or CAMS websites. To import your full mutual fund details to Value Research Online, you can visit 'My Investments'. Once the statement is imported, our system will do an in-depth analysis to understand the true nature of your investments. Now comes the next step, the one you have been waiting for.

Unleash the power
All you need to do is to go to the 'Analysis' tab of 'My Investments', and our assessment is all there, instantly ready. To give a full idea of the depth of the analysis, I'll just go through it systematically, step by step, just as it will appear to you on the screen:

Value Research Insights: These are the top things you should fix immediately. Our algorithms have identified these as priority actions that you must take. I'll give you a sampler: 49.84 per cent of your mutual fund investments are not in direct plans. Direct plans have higher returns by about 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent and are, therefore, more suitable if you manage your investments. You can also click on 'See details'. This needs no further explanation. The 'See details' gives you the nitty-gritty of the item and what you need to fix.

Similar issues are flagged about other assets that we track, including the NPS, PPF, bonds, gold bonds and others, as we add them.

Portfolio Profile: That's the next item on the agenda, and let's again give you an example: Your portfolio is geared to deliver growth in the long run. Different types of investments serve different investment needs. The classification below reflects our opinion on which ones among your holdings are generally suitable for which need.

Alongside, there's a graph and a table to help you visualise the breakup and a link to the underlying details. Need I say anything about how useful this is in fixing your portfolio?

Quality: Things get even more interesting now. Here's a sample: 49.84 per cent of your mutual fund investments are avoidable. The Regular and IDCW (Dividend) plans are avoidable, as they are less efficient. Besides, there are many categories of funds which we think are avoidable. Note that not all of them may be inherently bad, but you don't miss out on much by ignoring them. Our selection of Analysts' Choice funds provides a set of good options for every investing need.

As is clear, we are not here to beat about the bush and give wishy-washy, vague opinions. I have always said that avoiding the bad is as important as choosing the good, and this is how you do it.

Liquidity: This is not something you always worry about, so we do it for you. Here's a sample: 12 per cent of your mutual fund investments are under ELSS lock-in. Of the remaining, 81 per cent can be liquidated without any exit loads. None of your direct stock investments suffers from poor liquidity.

What this means is that when you need money in a hurry, this kind of analysis is worth gold!

Asset Allocation: This is one of the central concerns that typically have to be fixed. Here's a sample of what our algorithm says to a typical equity-heavy portfolio: 95.86 per cent of your investments are in equities. These investments are generally suitable only for the long term (over five years) as they can be volatile. 1.74 per cent of your investments are in fixed income.

Geographic, Sectoral and Fund Diversification: All mutual fund investors know that diversification is a central benefit of mutual funds. However, there are three types of diversification we track for you. The names are self-evident. In each, if your choices have led your investments askew, we warn you of it and tell you what to do.

A unique toolset
Let me be blunt and even a little boastful about this. It serves you well during peak times like the present, as well as during less favourable periods. Some may perceive Value Research Premium as costly. However, it's incredibly affordable, considering the benefits it offers. Just take a look at the example provided. Can you find anyone or anything that can give this kind of analysis and service for anywhere close to this price? And remember, Portfolio Analysis is just one small part of the service!

So don't think twice. Head over to Value Research Premium and become a member today.