In India, Diwali marks the beginning of a new year for Hindu communities. It is a time for celebration and jubilation with the Diwali bonus and cash gifts being the cherry on the cake. Recall the sheer joy you experience when you get a little notification on your phone saying ‘Diwali Bonus Received’.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though Diwali is celebrated towards the end of the year, the blueprint on how to spend that Diwali bonus and cash gifts is usually underway from January. The house needs a fresh coat of paint, the children want new gadgets, your wife perhaps wants to buy gold, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Receiving the Diwali bonus and cash gifts is arguably one of the most anticipated moments of the year for a majority of Indian households. Sadly, we do not think of investing the Diwali bonus for our brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Honestly, have you considered using the Diwali bonus to top-up your retirement fund? Ever wondered, instead of a fresh coat of paint, you could use the Diwali bonus to prepay your home loan? And how about using cash gifts to pay some of your insurance premiums instead of hosting a house party?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Read More:<\/strong> Should You Use Your Diwali Bonus to Repay Your Debt or Invest It Instead?<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investing your Diwali bonus in the best equity mutual funds instead of splurging it can create wealth. Unfortunately, instant gratification stops us from using our Diwali bonus and cash gifts to create long-term wealth. So, put instant gratification aside for a moment, and reconsider: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your Diwali bonus could create long-term wealth for you and your loved ones?’ Wouldn’t investing the Diwali bonus in best equity mutual funds be the perfect way to start the new year?<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is time we change the narrative. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we can survive without a fresh coat of paint or new clothes or an expensive gadget, but we cannot live well if we are not financially secure and stable. This is why, ideally, the best utilisation of your Diwali bonus and cash gifts is investing it in the best equity mutual funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Read More:<\/strong> Earned Diwali Bonus and Cash Gifts? Invest in Mutual Funds to Brighten Your Financial Future<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n Using the Diwali Bonus to Create a Shiny and Wealthier Financial Future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of you might have apprehensions about, say, what will saving Rs 50,000 a year do? It’s too little, like a drop in the ocean. But you’d be surprised to know that this little drop can cause ripple effects that can alter your financial future for the better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Graph 1: A thoughtful investment now can brighten your financial future<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n *Assumed rate of return – 12% As per the above graph, if you invest your Diwali bonus of Rs 50,000 every year, then your corpus at the end of 20 years would be a whopping Rs 40.34 Lakhs, assuming a conservative return of 12%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now most of us start working in our early twenties and retire in our late fifties. So, we have a long-term time horizon to park the Diwali bonus, which gives us the leeway to invest in slightly riskier investment options like equity mutual funds instead of investing in low-risk lower-returns generating investments like Bank Recurring Deposit, Public Provident Fund, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Graph 2: Invest in wealth-creating investment avenues<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Data as of 11th November 2021. Returns are 10-year average returns. In the past 10 years large-cap equity mutual funds<\/a> have generated a return of 14.48% as of 11th<\/sup> November 2021 as against the 7.75% and 7.27% returns generated by PPF and bank fixed deposits respectively. If you had invested your Diwali bonus of Rs 50,000 in large-cap funds, you would have created a corpus of Rs 2.24 crore in 30 years against a paltry Rs 53.19 lakh in bank fixed deposits. But then again, if you had invested your Diwali bonus of Rs 50,000 every year in small-cap funds, for 30 years, then your corpus would be worth a mammoth Rs 7.69 crore considering a 10-year average of 20.39% as of 11th<\/sup> November 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, while it is evident that equity mutual funds are the best option to park your Diwali bonus, the bigger questions still lie unanswered-<\/p>\n\n\n\n The answer is neither.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When markets are as high as they are today, it does not make sense to invest in only one mutual fund category. Even a minor correction at this level — which is quite possible — can weigh heavily on your mid and small-cap portfolio. Living proof of this was during the 2008 market crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n [Read More: <\/strong>Sensex is Near its Lifetime High! Best Equity Mutual Funds to Invest in Now<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2007, the BSE Mid-cap index soared 68% and the BSE Small-cap index registered a 93% upside, while BSE Sensex gained 47%. But this was a short-lived event as in 2008, the BSE Mid-cap index and the BSE Small-cap index fell by -33% and -40% respectively, and the BSE Sensex suffered a -24% fall. So, whenever markets undergo a correction, mid-cap and small-cap mutual funds are generally the first ones to get affected most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, what is the strategy you should follow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best strategy to follow while investing your Diwali bonus when markets are at a lifetime high is the Core and Satellite investment strategy.<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Core and Satellite investment strategy is time-tested and followed by some of the most successful equity investors. It involves building two interconnected investment portfolios with a core and satellite approach to portfolio construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Core portion consists of comparatively safer mutual fund categories such as Large-cap Funds<\/a>, Flexi-cap Funds<\/a>, and Value\/Contra Funds<\/a> with the basic premise that these types of equity mutual fund schemes in the core of the portfolio would be less exposed and vulnerable to market downturns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the other hand, the satellite portion of the portfolio primarily consists of aggressive mutual fund categories which will lead the charge and give you the desired boost when the market scales new highs and push the returns of the mutual fund portfolio. At times, the satellite portion may also include relatively safer funds like ‘aggressive hybrid funds’ in conditions when the markets are at its peak or trending in an overvalued zone. It will help stabilise the portfolio in case of higher volatility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At PersonalFN, the internal arrangement of the core and satellite portfolio we follow is –<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we share the list of the best equity mutual funds to park your Diwali bonus and cash gifts, let us quickly take a look at the performance of our selected mutual fund categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Graph 3: How certain sub-categories of equity mutual fund schemes have performed<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Data as of 11th November 2021 The average 10-year returns of these five best equity mutual fund categories is a whopping 15.98% as of 11th<\/sup> November 2021, which is decent when you consider that 60% of the portfolio is in safer Large-cap Funds, Value\/Contra funds, and Flexi-cap Funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us finally take a look at the best equity mutual funds to park your Diwali bonus for a brighter future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Table 1: The Best Equity Mutual Funds to build Core & Satellite Portfolio<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The above chart is for illustration purposes only
(Source: PersonalFN Research) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The above chart is for illustration purposes only.
(Source: PersonalFN Research) <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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(Source: ACE MF, PersonalFN Research) <\/p>\n\n\n\n