Make Fiscal Year Resolutions

As we enter the new fiscal, I would like to list some simple yet effective steps you can take to keep tabs on and improve your financial goals...

Set specific Financial Goals:

Consult your family members to chalk out what your family’s long-term financial goal should be. Then if needed consult a financial planner about how to achieve those goals. Some of the important things to take care are of here are to remain realistic about the goals, and keep the plan and the portfolio simple.

Regularly Check Your Financial Health:

You take care of your and your family’s health and probably go for regular check-ups. Remember to do the same with investments. Revisit regularly the status of your investments to see if they are aligned to your long-term financial goals.

Write down all investment related information:

Maintain a notebook or a diary for this. When you make the investment – be it a mutual fund, stocks , bonds , gold or any other asset class – write down the rationale for investing in the particular asset. It should also contain the expected rate of return which should help you achieve your financial goals.

Also write down the information that you believe are important to your investment decisions, and keep updating it as and when you find some-thing relevant. Flip through its pages once in a while.

This should help you evolve into an educated and alert Investor.

Keep All Investment Papers in Order and Updated:

This is as critical as investing. Keep all your mutual fund account statements updated and at one place. Be careful to update your contact details with the companies with which you have investment related relationships, like mutual fund houses , broker , insurers etc.

Make sure you read all the papers, documents and letters that are sent to you from these companies. If you don’t understand something reach out to your investment adviser or the companies directly.

Be Prepared to Fight for Your Rights as as Investor:

With the number of companies offering investment products growing, along with the number of investors, there is bound to be some investment related problems.

In case you are an investor facing such a problem, be sure to address the problem without much delay.

Approach the right forum to resolve it. It it’s not resolved on time, or to your satisfaction , escalate the problem to the next level.