Clean your Portfolio

Prime Minister had started the Clean India Campaign with a lot of fanfare. We are coming to close to a year of this campaign, some things changed, but most of it remained the same. At that time I had mentioned about cleaning of Portfolio. For those who did not do it then, this is the time. Rains is a time when our pressure is a bit less, as appointments are reduced. Weekends, which are usually packed are a bit relaxed and if its raining, then you get some free time. Use this time to clean your portfolio.

First look at what are the typical investments one has in his / her portfolio. Life Insurance Policies, ULIP’s, FD’s, MIS, RD’s and NSC/KVP. Then there would be some Company FD’s or NCD’s. Some enterprising persons would have some investments in a few equity shares, which were purchased on tips from friends, neighbours, newspapers or TV. Some had invested through IPO’s. Some made money, some lost, but all of us have held on to our investments. This is our hard earned money, so what if it is losing money. A few of us would have invested in NFO’s of Mutual funds, here again, some schemes are doing well, and others are not. Now a days I meet a lot of people who do not know what to do as companies are not returning the money they had invested in Fixed Deposits.

This shows that we just kept investing without a purpose. The only aim was to invest and make your money grow fast and in the bargain lose money. Now that you have time do a clean you do the following:

-       Make a list of all your investments, so that you have a snapshot of your portfolio, include investment date, maturity date, and maturity value.

-       If shares are in physical form, demat them immediately.

-       Check if nominations are in place for all your investments.

-       Now review and see if these investments are really helping you make money.

If you are not sure how to review, get in touch with a financial planner. Now is the time Clean your portfolio.