A discussion on Personal Finance in 2021 – Financial Goal Planning & Mutual Funds
Everyone has goals to achieve in life, many of which are related to money. Timely planning and disciplined approach can help one realise financial goals. Mutual funds is one of the best tool available to start your financial planning. Our financial experts will talk about some of the personal finance lessons learned in 2020 and the strategies for 2021.
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00:00 2021 is finally here.
00:06 The new year brings with it tidings of hope.
00:09 The vaccine rollout is in sight for our frontline warriors and everyone else.
00:14 The economy is starting to normalize and consumer demand is anticipated to rise.
00:21 As the world picks itself up, we too need to reset and start planning and investing
00:26 with the aim of creating a better future financially.
00:29 But before we start planning, let's take a look at the past year and the challenges
00:34 we faced, the pain and anxiety we have overcome and the valuable financial lessons we should
00:40 remember and implement in our lives.
00:42 2020 started like any other year, with sounds of good cheer.
00:47 Life was normal.
00:49 Every day a routine.
00:51 Get up, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat.
00:55 Then COVID-19 spread and everything changed.
00:59 We stayed at home.
01:01 We worked from home.
01:02 We met no one.
01:04 The economy took a beating.
01:06 Jobs were lost.
01:08 Uncertainty prevailed everywhere.
01:11 Our personal finances were impacted and many of us might be worse off financially.
01:18 As we step into a new year, we need to arm ourselves financially to ensure that we are
01:23 prepared for any future challenges that life throws our way, resetting financially.
01:29 2020 has taught us some valuable lessons.
01:33 Let's apply these lessons to our life and start working towards building a better future
01:37 financially.
01:40 Lesson 1.
01:41 Spend less, save more, stay invested.
01:45 Before 2020, movies, eating out and shopping were an essential part of life.
01:50 Then the world locked down.
01:53 The economic situation became uncertain and we were forced to reset and re-evaluate our
01:58 priorities.
01:59 We rediscovered the joys of eating healthy home-cooked meals, exercising to maintain
02:04 health and spending time with our families.
02:07 This lifestyle shift has made us realize that we were capable of saving more by practicing
02:12 mindful spending.
02:14 It has also shown us that while the market fluctuates, it is capable of bouncing back
02:19 and we shouldn't make hasty decisions.
02:22 Lesson 2.
02:24 Prepare for emergencies financially.
02:26 The pandemic led to many losing jobs while others dealt with severe salary cuts.
02:32 Medical bills piled up, paying for essentials got stressful and savings depleted rapidly.
02:38 This disruption of life emphasized the need for a contingency fund, which would have approximately
02:43 6-9 months of salary to help manage essential expenses during an emergency.
02:49 Lesson 3.
02:50 Minimize your debt.
02:52 Prior to 2020, it was easy to swipe a credit card to shop or take a personal loan to pay
02:57 for a holiday and assume you would pay off the debt quickly in the future.
03:02 Then 2020 proved life's uncertainty.
03:06 Job losses and salary cuts led to high interest debts adding up and savings getting depleted.
03:12 These uncertainties and obstacles taught us the importance of keeping our debt low and
03:17 manageable.
03:19 Lesson 4.
03:20 Get independent medical coverage.
03:22 2020 has reinforced the importance of medical coverage as a short hospitalization generated
03:28 substantial bills.
03:30 Ensure your entire family from your children to your parents have adequate coverage.
03:36 Consider getting independent medical coverage which won't be affected by job change or a
03:40 job loss.
03:42 Lesson 5.
03:44 Plan your financial estate.
03:46 Last but not the least, plan your family's future.
03:49 2020 has shown us that life changes in a blink of an eye.
03:53 Plan for the worst by organizing your estate.
03:57 Create a will mentioning all your assets, property, cars, financial investments and
04:02 more and who will inherit each asset.
04:05 If you are a single parent with minor children, your preferred guardian.
04:10 This difficult step will make it easier for your heirs to locate your investments and
04:14 prevent ugly arguments.
04:16 Now that you know what you should keep in mind when planning for a better future, you
04:20 can start the new year on the right note and take control of your finances.
04:25 Analyze your income and expenses.
04:28 Get a clear understanding of your current financial situation and reset your goals.
04:45 Hello everyone, a very happy new year to all of our viewers.
04:51 As we begin the year 2021, maybe it's a good time to reflect on what we learned over the
04:56 last year and how we can take the learning forward into 2021 and use it to create a better
05:01 tomorrow.
05:02 With that in mind, we are back with one more episode of this popular investor education
05:06 and awareness initiative of Aditya Birla Mutual Fund in association with Outlook Money.
05:11 I am Vishwa, your host for the day.
05:13 2020 was an unusual year.
05:15 The world faced unprecedented challenges and in some way or another, those challenges were
05:20 passed on to each and every individual.
05:22 We all had to go through a lockdown like never before.
05:25 The economy was turned upside down and so were finances of most households.
05:30 Investments saw a lot of volatility.
05:32 However, we welcome 2021 with a lot of hope and promise.
05:35 The vaccine is in sight.
05:37 The markets in anticipation of that vaccine are already doing well.
05:40 They are at all time high.
05:42 Maybe this would be the year of transition from what we called the new normal to a tomorrow
05:46 that is a mixture of that new normal and pre-COVID normal life that we led.
05:51 So to discuss all these things and how it affects your investment journey, we have with
05:55 us two popular guests who have vast experience and expertise when it comes to investment
05:59 and financial planning, as well as a long experience in life.
06:04 Our first guest is Mr. K S Rao, Head Investor Education and Distribution Development, Aditya
06:09 Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Limited.
06:12 Mr. Rao is an alumnus of IIM Calcutta.
06:14 He has spent over two decades in the mutual fund industry and in his current role, he
06:19 leads his organization's effort towards investor education.
06:23 We are also joined by Mr. Amit Trivedi.
06:25 He is an author.
06:26 He is a speaker, trainer and blogger with over 26 years of professional experience in
06:30 capital markets.
06:31 As a trainer, he has trained over 83,000 participants through almost 1300 workshops across 130 different
06:37 locations across the country.
06:39 Today, the topic of our session is reflections of 2020 and resolutions for 2021.
06:45 So let's get straight into it.
06:47 My first question is for Mr. Rao.
06:50 Mr. Rao, as we discussed 2020 was an interesting year when it comes to personal finance.
06:55 What do you think were some of the important lessons that one should draw from the year
06:59 that was?
07:00 Thanks, Vishal.
07:01 I wish everyone a very happy and healthy and wealthy prosperous new year.
07:07 I invite each one of you on behalf of Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management and it was
07:11 an eventful year for most of us.
07:14 Indeed, it's an opportunity for us to associate with Outlook on this financial literacy initiatives.
07:21 And let me start this answering Vishal, giving one information and the 2020 through webinars,
07:32 thanks to the partnership like Outlook Money, we did 1000 webinars of investor education.
07:36 I think, you know, that's a thank you so much.
07:39 And with that, we are moved on.
07:41 And I take this opportunity once again to wish you and team Outlook Money and viewers
07:46 and investors a very happy, healthy and wealthy 2021.
07:50 Vishal, you're right, without doubt, like, you know, life has partially disappointed
07:56 many of us.
07:57 And I think the year that was more than anything else, shown us clearly that things which we
08:04 take normally granted, you are not supposed to take granted.
08:08 And 2020 also taught us a very important lessons like on the personal finance perspective.
08:14 And from the personal finance perspective, it's reminded that we need to care for the
08:19 things which we have not cared for.
08:21 It could be emergency fund, it could be health insurance.
08:24 I think I'll talk to you on that.
08:26 It is like this, you know, in the month of March, when we were looking at when we are
08:30 going across when we are talking to the people in March, April, May, it's situation was like
08:35 zindagi na mile dubara.
08:37 And when I talk now to the people, it's like, you know, people started loving zindagi and
08:41 they said, I love you zindagi.
08:43 I think, you know, the transition has moved from that place to this place.
08:47 Of course, I mean, you know, constraints of 2021 have made us to take control of our financial
08:52 well being.
08:54 And economic disruptions caused by COVID lockdown led to the widespread income and job losses
09:01 for many of the people.
09:03 And those who are adequate emergency funds during 2020, they manage their personal finances
09:08 better, they paid their EMIs, they sold their SIPs, and they continue.
09:13 The first lesson I can talk to you is, you know, emergency can come anytime.
09:17 So maintain emergency fund.
09:20 And 2020 also taught us the importance of diversification.
09:24 And at one point of the time, asset classes like gold was hitting every day up, and the
09:31 market crashed.
09:32 And you know, when gold is high, markets are crashed, people were a little zapped what
09:36 to do.
09:37 And that shows us like then after equity has gone up, of course, gold has too has gone
09:41 up.
09:42 But proper asset allocation diversification is the most important thing.
09:46 Probably the second lesson I can talk about is diversing your investments is most important.
09:52 And third I look at is, it is taught as the significance of health insurance.
09:56 Because the people who have gone to the hospital, the kind of amount, the bills they paid, it
10:01 was very significant.
10:03 And adequate insurance is the most important.
10:05 Only insurance from your employer is not sufficient.
10:08 You need to get yourself health insurance, you need to fully covered on the health insurance.
10:13 Of course, you need to maintain your health immunity too.
10:15 This is one part which is taking care of the finances.
10:18 And another important lesson I look at is high interest rates in the last year.
10:24 And when somebody has got a pay cut, or there is no pay, and you need to solve the EMI's.
10:30 And that has shown to us what kind of loans you need to take what kind of loans you need
10:35 to avoid.
10:36 Probably, you know, I always quote our good friend Gaurav bhai, like no loan ke matlab
10:40 loan nalo.
10:41 Second, I mean, you know, if you have to, as far as possible.
10:45 And with that, I can tell one terminology called DBT, which is called do not enter before
10:50 thinking, whenever you are taking a debt, do not enter before thinking.
10:54 And the last lesson I can say is the steep correction in the equity market.
10:58 And you know, every day you are seeing some negative news.
11:02 And people started a safety with a lot of hopes.
11:04 And the people who are continuing but at one point of the time, they're fearing the losses.
11:09 And people stopped SIPs.
11:12 Some of the investors have given instruction to the mutual funds to stop their SIPs.
11:16 And then you know, those of the people after again, market rebound and August, September
11:21 and November, December, it was a peak.
11:23 And at that time, people felt we did a mistake.
11:26 I think continuous air continuing your SIP during the crisis during the market crash
11:31 is the most important finance lessons we all need to learn.
11:35 And I think these are the lessons which we can learn better and better.
11:42 Thank you.
11:43 Thank you so much.
11:44 The first lesson that you talked about is emergencies that can come anytime, right.
11:47 So maybe we can elaborate a little more on that.
11:50 So Mr. Trivedi, I would ask you this question.
11:53 If there is one thing that the last year taught us, the 2020 taught us was that emergencies
11:58 can come anytime, right.
12:00 And what do you think one should do to prepare for such emergencies?
12:04 It's an honor to be part of this initiative Vishal and Outlook and Azabilla Sunlight Mutual
12:12 Fund, both have been doing a phenomenal job.
12:15 So it's my privilege to be part of this.
12:17 And we begin the year also with a wonderful topic, Reflections on 2020 and Resolution
12:23 for 2021.
12:24 So with that, let me wish every single person a very happy new year.
12:30 Now coming to emergency, a lot of times, I mean, like Mr. Rao also mentioned, you also
12:35 asked, emergencies can come anytime.
12:38 A lot of times people have the habit of getting used to the routine.
12:45 And when things are normal, there are no ups and downs in life, they tend to forget that
12:51 emergencies can come.
12:53 And this is one of the lessons that 2020 taught us.
12:56 Prior to 2020, many of us had got into the comfort that everything is hunky-dory, everything
13:03 is good, so don't worry.
13:05 But it is especially when everything looks good, this is the time, it's like that ant
13:11 and grasshopper story, where the ants continue to store food grains, when the weather was
13:19 good, when the season was good, and when the times turned bad, the fund that was collected
13:25 or the food grains which were collected, they came in handy.
13:29 Emergencies also have to be seen in that light.
13:32 When the times are good, keep accumulating and keep setting something aside, create an
13:39 emergency fund.
13:41 Number two, emergency because it can come anytime, it will come without any notice.
13:46 So the fund also should be easily accessible.
13:50 You can't put it in a place locked safely so that when the time comes, you can't even
13:56 find the key to that lock.
13:59 That's not the way emergency funds are to be kept.
14:01 So emergency fund, first create an emergency fund and second, keep it easily accessible.
14:07 These are two extremely important lessons.
14:10 Right, and one follow up, since we are talking about reflections of 2020 and resolutions
14:16 for 2021, so what are some immediate steps one can take in 2021 to make sure that any
14:22 emergency that arises in their future does not derail their life completely?
14:27 So a brilliant question, Navishal.
14:30 So first of all, having an emergency fund is something that we talked about.
14:36 So how much should be the emergency fund corpus?
14:38 Generally, as a thumb rule, a lot of advisors, a lot of experts suggest that roughly three
14:45 months to six months of expenses should be your emergency fund.
14:49 But 2020 also taught us something, and it's slightly scary that people who have crossed
14:56 45 or 50 years of age, and if they lost a job, it was difficult for them to get back
15:03 to employment.
15:04 And in such a case, the emergency period or the emergency fund should cover a much longer
15:10 period.
15:11 Right, so depending on each individual situation, whether you are employable or not, whether
15:16 your job is stable or not, whether your job is secure or not, whether the income is fluctuating
15:22 or steady, depending on that, the size of the emergency fund must be determined.
15:26 That's number one.
15:28 Number two, the moment the fund size is determined, one must start an SIP into a liquid fund or
15:35 start doing a recurring deposit, not exactly in the way recurring deposits are done.
15:41 But what I mean by a recurring deposit is on a regular basis out of every monthly paycheck,
15:47 some amount should be put in bank deposit, liquid fund or some such place where the money
15:51 is very easily accessible.
15:54 So that's the second part that I would say.
15:58 Because in any long journey, which is the funding of life's goal in the personal finance
16:03 context, in the long journey, it is a short term that needs to be taken care of.
16:10 And the short term actually starts with the emergency.
16:14 If something comes, then your long term plans can be derailed.
16:17 So this is emergency fund.
16:19 The next step is the insurance.
16:21 Once again, something can happen.
16:24 And the whole pandemic also taught us that even when I was careful, even I was, let's
16:33 say healthy.
16:34 But if I got in contact with somebody who was infected, then I was at risk.
16:41 Or even I mean, there are many ladies who had to go out to let's say, fetch vegetables
16:47 or men who are going out to fetch milk or vegetables, whatever it is.
16:54 They also got infected in spite of trying every other precaution.
17:01 Emergency can strike anytime.
17:02 So insurance is the second important part that one needs to take care of.
17:07 Third, 2020, we had loan moratorium.
17:12 Now this loan moratorium happened because of an extremely critical situation.
17:19 These kind of critical situations are not going to come very frequently.
17:22 And in such a case, payment of those EMIs also must be provided for.
17:28 In case of loss of income, if there are pending EMIs, outstanding EMIs, then all the long
17:35 term goals can get derailed.
17:37 So provide for emergency, provide for insurance, provide for loan repayments, and then short
17:44 and medium term goals, then you financially taken care of, you know, ensuring that your
17:52 long term plans do not get derailed.
17:55 Right.
17:56 Thank you.
17:57 Thank you very much.
17:58 You talked about, you know, emergency funds and you know, you also touched a little about
18:02 how much is enough and how it varies from person to person.
18:04 So my next question is for Mr. Rao.
18:07 If one has to, you know, plan that how much emergency fund should be enough for that individual,
18:12 what are the things that they should keep in mind?
18:15 How can one arrive at that number?
18:17 And second, has 2020 changed that particular equation?
18:21 Do we need more?
18:22 I mean, after witnessing what happened in 2020, do we need more in emergency fund?
18:25 And should we, if somebody already has an emergency fund, should they, you know, tune
18:30 it again?
18:31 And should they restructure it to a different figure altogether?
18:34 So that is my question to Mr. Rao.
18:36 Yeah, thanks Vishal.
18:37 I think indeed, it's a time, as Amit rightly said, you know, it's reflections to resolutions.
18:43 And reflection of 2020 looks as far as emergency can come, it's like any time.
18:48 And then as Amit rightly said, various reasons for emergency can come to us.
18:53 And this is the biggest ever crisis of 2020, is the biggest ever crisis of the century,
18:58 probably in our lifetime we have seen.
19:00 But now people talk about this is not a last pandemic, any pandemic can occur anytime.
19:05 It's not this emergency, any emergencies can come.
19:08 And it is better safe than sorry, always.
19:11 And it's, we spoke earlier, I think in last seminar, personal finance, a person comes
19:16 before the finance.
19:18 And even for emergency fund, it depends on each person.
19:22 And it depends on the situation of the person.
19:24 If I am getting my regular income, my income is guaranteed, probably my emergency fund
19:28 can be a little lesser, or somebody's income is not sure, you like, then they need to provide
19:33 a little more.
19:34 All said and done, we need to look at looking at 2020, reflecting at 2020.
19:38 We need to ensure we can enhance our emergency fund, you know, contingency fund.
19:45 People normally used to say earlier, you need to keep three months of the contingency fund,
19:50 contingency fund, which serves your expenses, contingency fund, which serves your EMI, contingency
19:55 service, serves your insurance premium.
19:57 And so all the expenses are taken into account.
20:00 But three months has gone to six months.
20:03 Now most of the people talk about one year.
20:05 But I find there is a safety net always, if you can create a contingency fund of one year,
20:10 the other money which you have with you, you have a privilege to take investments with
20:15 a different choice, and your ability to take risk will always work.
20:20 And because you have planned for your short term, you need not break your long term goals.
20:25 And your long term can go on auto mode.
20:27 And some of us who are not having emergency fund in the last nine months, probably we
20:32 would have broken our long term goals money, we would have stopped the SIP of our retirement,
20:37 we would have stopped SIP of our child education, and we would have started using that money.
20:43 And it has impacted us in two ways.
20:45 One when markets were low, we redeemed.
20:48 Now we repent.
20:49 Probably it's like, keep pushing and it's nothing wrong keeping six months enhanced
20:54 to 12 months.
20:55 At the most, you are losing a little bit on an interest earning capability of that money
21:01 for next six months one, and pocket into liquid funds.
21:07 That is the safest way where you can look at your emergency fund is available to you
21:10 any point.
21:11 And as you dip into emergency fund, don't forget to give back and you know, create that
21:15 pool once again, get it recouped and you know, fund refund it.
21:20 That's the most important one.
21:22 And some of the people who would have postponed their EMI's like, you know, as Amitji was
21:27 telling earlier, and once you do that, complete that, keep an emergency fund, depending on
21:33 your situation, depending on your stage of life, and your stage of finances.
21:38 But you know, it could be anything between six to 12 months is the most ideal way.
21:41 Because we anticipate we will come back in 12 months and we won't back.
21:45 And in the last, this epidemic it is shown, I think most of the businesses have come back
21:50 in nine months time.
21:51 And which is fairly we are back on the business.
21:54 I think that's the best way to look six to 12 months as a contingency.
21:59 And this should serve not only your expenses, please do ensure it serves your EMI and it
22:04 serves your insurance premium and ensure that your contingency covers all the necessities.
22:09 Right, right.
22:11 Thank you.
22:12 Thank you so much.
22:13 I think the biggest lesson of 2020 was what we just discussed emergencies and they can
22:19 come anytime.
22:20 And we talked about emergency funds as well as insurance.
22:24 But the next, you know, takeaway that you talked about, when I asked you the first question
22:28 was diversification of your portfolio.
22:32 And my next question is about that diversification.
22:35 This question is directed to Mr. Trivedi.
22:37 Mr. Trivedi, see stock markets saw a lot of volatility in 2020, right?
22:42 And no matter how diversified one's portfolio was, unless it had, you know, other instruments
22:47 also, as long as it was an equity portfolio, no matter how diverse it was, they all took
22:52 a major hit.
22:53 Right.
22:54 So how do you look at diversification in light of 2020?
22:57 Is it still you know, the rules are still the same?
23:00 Should one still look at diversification in the same way?
23:03 Or should they, you know, expand the definition further?
23:06 Brilliant question, Vishal.
23:08 I think a lot of people have, you know, wondered about this question.
23:13 And a lot of times when diversification is talked about, was talked about as if that's
23:17 the remedy to all the problems.
23:20 And the reality is that diversification has to be understood at various levels.
23:25 So first of all, there is a stock level diversification when we invest across different companies.
23:30 Second level diversification is industry level diversification.
23:34 So if I've invested in five different banks, I'm diversified across companies, but I'm
23:39 within one sector.
23:41 But if I've got five banks and three IT companies and four pharma companies and whatnot, then
23:45 I'm also diversified across industries.
23:48 Now, what we saw in 2020 was, first of all, even within the sectors, the fall or rise
23:55 were different.
23:57 So even within, let's say, one category called chemicals, there were some stocks which went
24:04 up faster than the others in the recovery, or when the fall happened, some stocks fell
24:09 more than some of the others.
24:10 So that also happened.
24:12 However, because the broader market saw a huge downward and upward movement during the
24:19 year itself, almost every single stock witnessed high amount of volatility.
24:24 So if somebody says that I was diversified across companies and across industries, and
24:29 still diversification did not work, yes, that can happen.
24:33 So now let's go to the next level of diversification.
24:36 And that diversification is international diversification.
24:39 So if you are invested across different countries, then again, the stock markets behave differently.
24:47 Even let's say, very often it happens that while Indian markets might have gone down,
24:53 but if the Indian rupee also goes down, your international exposure automatically on account
24:59 of exchange rate gets a cushion.
25:01 So that's another level of diversification.
25:04 Of course, there are various industries or companies which are not available in India.
25:08 For example, we don't have an equivalent of Facebook, we don't have an equivalent of an
25:14 Intel, or a Boeing.
25:17 So these are industries where there's no representation in India.
25:20 So that diversification is the third level diversification.
25:24 The fourth level diversification is across asset categories.
25:28 So if you had 100 rupees out of your 100 in equity markets, then you saw a huge amount
25:34 of volatility.
25:35 But out of 100, if you had 17 equity, 20 in debt and 10 in gold, then you saw a different
25:41 level of volatility.
25:43 Some amount of ups and downs got cancelled out.
25:46 And that's where diversification must be done at four different levels.
25:50 Number one, across companies, number two, across industries, number three, across geographies,
25:56 and number four, across asset categories.
25:58 Right.
25:59 Thank you.
26:00 Thank you so much.
26:01 So basically, what you mean is an investor should, you know, include other asset classes
26:06 like gold, fixed return instruments, and even, you know, invest in international markets
26:12 also.
26:13 And maybe, you know, there is one other asset class, I think real estate also, of course,
26:17 that is a big ticket investment, but that is also there.
26:19 So how important is it?
26:21 Of course, I mean, as you said, they should be part of one's portfolio, all these investments
26:24 and for proper diversification.
26:27 But when we talk about, you know, how important is it and how much asset allocation should
26:31 one do to each asset class, when we are diversifying our portfolio across all these asset categories
26:37 at different levels also, within industry, across industries, at international level
26:42 and other asset classes also, how much diversification should be there, and how much asset allocation
26:46 should be there.
26:47 Okay, so first of all, let me just step back and, you know, present my perspective on the
26:54 basic need for diversification.
26:57 And the need for diversification is very, very, very much similar to the need for creating
27:01 an emergency fund or buying an insurance policy.
27:05 Anything can happen at any point in time.
27:08 And I cannot predict what is likely to happen.
27:11 And that's why you need protection.
27:14 So the first protection is emergency fund.
27:17 Second protection is insurance, we discussed both.
27:19 Now, when it comes to investing, if I can always predict at all points in time, that
27:27 which investment is going to outperform everything else in the future, then I don't need to diversify,
27:33 then I only put all the money in that asset category or investment revenue.
27:38 So if I know for sure that stock markets are going to generate, you know, outsize returns
27:45 in 2021, then I don't need to worry about real estate or fixed income or gold.
27:51 The fact is, I don't know.
27:55 So the basic reason for diversification is, I don't know what's going to happen.
28:01 The moment I accept that, then diversification works wonders.
28:07 But a corollary to that is that because I don't know, and I can consider myself properly
28:17 diversify, when at any point in time, when I look at the performance of my portfolio,
28:25 at least some part of the portfolio should give me pain.
28:31 Okay, when I look at that part of the portfolio, I should feel why I put money there.
28:38 If I get that feeling that I'm properly diversified, otherwise I'm not.
28:42 Okay, let me just go one step further.
28:44 If I were to look at all the components in my portfolio, and everything is doing very
28:49 well, then now imagine a situation that the current situation reverses, then everything
28:56 that is going up, will start going down simultaneously.
29:01 Diversification is protection against that downside.
29:04 I don't want to completely lose out.
29:08 And in that process, the price that I pay is I give up some amount of upside.
29:15 But broadly, because different investments behave differently, at the same point in time,
29:24 diversification allows me to ride up with lower volatility.
29:31 Now having said that, we talked about four levels of diversification.
29:36 The basic thumb rule was originally, you know, pioneered by Benjamin Graham, the guru of
29:43 Warren Buffett.
29:44 And he talked about only two asset classes in one of his books, Intelligent Investor,
29:50 he said 50% stocks and 50% bonds, and that's enough for majority of the investors.
29:56 So what he suggested was the simplest of the ways to diversify.
30:03 Now the moment you start adding more assets or investments, then you may look at one upon
30:11 n kind of a ratio.
30:12 So if you've got four investments, then 25% each, if you've got 10, 10% each, if you've
30:17 got 20, then 5% each.
30:19 So you can, you know, keep some such basic formula.
30:23 However, if you look at each individual requirement, each individual financial goal of the investor,
30:33 then there could be portfolio for each of the goals.
30:36 And depending on the risk that you want to take with that portfolio, time horizon of
30:42 that portfolio, you may look at different level of diversification across instruments.
30:47 So take for example, if I have a goal coming up next month, then I may simply decide to
30:52 put all my money in a deposit that is maturing a day before that financial goal.
30:58 There is zero diversification, because now the goal is so near that I don't want to get
31:04 into any of the risky assets.
31:06 But if I'm building a 30 year portfolio, or a 50 year portfolio, then I may say, okay,
31:12 I've got such a long time, and I'm able to invest on a regular basis, let me give higher
31:17 allocation to riskier assets.
31:20 Because by taking that risk, over a longer period of 30-50 years, I can expect, you know,
31:28 far higher returns than what a safer investments can give.
31:32 So then it depends on each individual goal, each individual investor situation.
31:37 So is there a thumb rule?
31:39 Not really.
31:40 Right.
31:41 Thank you so much for such an insightful and elaborate, you know, explanation of the asset
31:47 allocation and diversification.
31:49 I think that would be helpful for all our viewers.
31:53 So far, we have been talking about, you know, 2020 a lot.
31:56 So maybe let's step ahead and look at 2021, which I think brings a lot of promises.
32:02 Like I already discussed, you know, vaccine is inside, markets are doing well, right?
32:07 And the crisis, the COVID crisis may soon be over.
32:11 So Mr. Rao, my question is to you, how should one approach their personal finance journey
32:18 in 2021?
32:19 And how should it be different from the past years, or especially 2020?
32:24 Yeah, Vishal, I think, you know, I learned from where, I'll start from where Amitji's
32:29 ended.
32:30 The question is like, you know, when you have a right diversification is always a key, whether
32:35 when you are entering into 2021 with an optimistic note.
32:39 And the whole reason, I mean, however, we are looking forward to the 2021 with a very
32:42 optimistic note, but let us not forget the lessons learned in 2020.
32:47 And world can change in a week's time.
32:49 That's the first thing to look at.
32:51 And it's, and one need to create your own investment philosophy.
32:55 I think my investment philosophy may not suit to you, or Amit's investment philosophy may
33:01 not suit to me.
33:02 And all that what we need to do is stick to the basics.
33:04 For example, if I need to diversify now, and even at this point of time, there could be
33:08 a confusion will come like equity market looks very promising, but the prices are very high,
33:13 I'm not comfortable.
33:15 And debt looks very safe, but the returns are low.
33:19 Again, I'm not comfortable.
33:21 And gold is already gone to up.
33:23 And people say it's a, there is an optimistic note, people say there is an upward trend,
33:27 upward curve is on, but again, I'm not very comfortable.
33:30 Then in that case, what you do is the right diversification.
33:33 I think rebalancing our portfolios, and depending on the situation, I can look at probably if
33:38 I'm over exposed to the equity, maybe I'm taking off part of my money from the equity
33:43 and rebalancing, or I'm underexposed to the equity, I'm looking at equity to be getting
33:48 a little more to my side.
33:49 And one thing we need to remember, you know, these two lines, which I read, which always
33:53 lingering for me, when you are looking at optimistic note, two things we need to look
33:58 at when we are investing in the investments in stock market, especially, it is like Rome
34:03 was not built in a day, means you know, your long term wealth creation needs long time.
34:08 At the same time, when you are bullish, please do remember Hiroshima was fell in a day.
34:14 And you know, then you know, you need to remember these two, then that that gives a reflection
34:18 for us, that reflections lead us to the resolutions, what we can do.
34:22 And crisis always bring some kind of clarity to us.
34:25 And this crisis has given a clarity that you know, you need to stay invested, you need
34:29 to take calculated risks, things may change, like I said, world may change in a week's
34:34 time on the negative side.
34:36 And my boss, Mr. Bala always talks about, why don't you think positive sometimes, you
34:41 know, why always comes negative, there is positive surprises comes in life.
34:45 And that's where we need to look at.
34:46 I love this movie dialogue, which says, risk, risk, what is that?
34:51 Risk hai toh ishq hai.
34:52 I think we need to take some calculated risks as we go forward for 2021.
34:57 And I was also looking at macro at India for the next 10 years, it is going to be a glorious
35:02 decade of India.
35:03 Then looking at that, there could be some crisis may come.
35:06 But look, your investments can long term, especially equity may give higher.
35:10 But at the same time, keeping your return expectations should be, we need to tone down
35:14 our risk return expectations.
35:17 In the last one year, some of the funds would have delivered 50%.
35:20 But even somebody gives 7 to 10% in the next 10 years, could be a fantastic returns we
35:24 can look at.
35:25 And that's where we need to look, you know, even double rigid return is a fantastic return.
35:29 I mean, then coming back to your question on 2021, keep your return expectations minimal,
35:35 don't look at too much and diversify rightly according to your investment philosophy, but
35:41 have an investment philosophy.
35:43 And this investment philosophy can come to you with a discussion with your family, with
35:47 your current network, and your future ability to how much you're earning more, or how much
35:52 you earn, and what kind of spending you will do it, you know, it's a time to look at that.
35:59 Thank you, Mr. Rao.
36:00 I have one more question.
36:02 As a follow up.
36:03 See, mutual funds have been popular in recent times as a preferred investment instrument,
36:08 maybe because of their flexibility, maybe because of the diversity that they offer.
36:13 And you know, the liquidity that they also offer.
36:15 So can you tell me how was 2020 as a year for mutual funds?
36:19 Thanks Vishal for that question.
36:21 I think 2020 for the mutual fund industry, probably we had a great start and 21 lakh
36:27 crores and you know, we are getting huge number of SIPs coming in.
36:33 But March 2020 made us to relook and I think March we have closed, the industry was closing
36:40 at somewhere at 24 lakh crores.
36:43 And glad good news is on 30th December, 31st December, we were at 30 lakh crores plus.
36:49 Its industry has grown in a big way.
36:51 But in the intervening period, I think large number of investors were with SIP and who
36:57 came for SIPs and some of them stopping SIPs partly could be some redemptions.
37:02 And maybe we at industry may feel a little bad for those investors who take a quick call
37:07 and suddenly they stopped their SIP or they redeemed looking at the market conditions.
37:11 Those who have not stayed till December end, probably they have not created that wealth,
37:16 that kind of wealth they are supposed to create.
37:19 But mutual fund industry, as you rightly pointed out, like you know, it has met everyone's
37:23 liquidity needs even during the pandemic period.
37:26 This is one instrument, whichever you would have invested for very long term or very medium
37:31 term or short term, but money was available to you when you asked for it.
37:36 And mutual fund industry in the last one year, it has evolved from digital to the fully digital.
37:41 You know, somebody can earlier submitted in the physical application form, still he wants
37:46 the redemptions and mutual fund industry made it happen.
37:49 And every fund house, including our fund house, have become so investor friendly and reached
37:54 out to the remote corners of the country when there is a redemption needs for the investors
37:58 are there and it has helped them.
38:01 Probably earlier I can say mutual fund was always mutual funds, but now I can say mutual
38:06 funds are very simple.
38:09 Thank you so much, Mr. Rao.
38:13 We have talked about, you know, 2020 as a year for mutual funds.
38:16 My next question is, what about 2021?
38:19 How different is it going to be?
38:20 And what should mutual fund investors expect from their portfolio this year?
38:24 And also those who are yet to start their investment journey, should they look at mutual
38:29 funds as a, you know, instrument of investment in the coming year?
38:33 I direct this question to Mr. Trivedi.
38:35 So, you know, as a follow up to the answer that Mr. Rao just gave, mutual funds are right
38:45 and mutual funds are simple.
38:47 Incidentally, I remember the earlier days of lockdown when I came across a couple of
38:54 investors who had a huge amount of investments in real estate properties.
39:00 And when they needed liquidity, it was just not available.
39:04 In fact, they stopped getting the rental income also in a few of their properties.
39:10 So liquidity had completely dried up.
39:12 So while the investment did very well over the years, served the investor reasonably
39:17 well over the years, but when the problem struck, lack of liquidity really hurt the
39:25 investor.
39:26 And then it made me, you know, think about various investment choices, even within financial
39:34 instruments.
39:35 So physical investments were illiquid at that point in time, because you could not go out
39:39 to sell, whether it was gold, real estate or whatever it is.
39:44 Even within financial instruments, mutual funds and to an extent, shares were easily
39:52 tradable thanks to the electronic platforms available in both these places.
39:57 But beyond that, you know, liquidity was a huge problem.
40:02 Now, add to mutual funds, mutual funds are right, mutual funds are simple, mutual funds
40:05 are liquid.
40:08 So it's easily redeemable, and you could divide your investment into parts.
40:13 So there was partial redemption option available, there was full redemption option available,
40:18 you could add money, all these choices were available.
40:22 And that made mutual funds, you know, something very, very interesting, useful.
40:28 And if I were to add a slightly stronger adjective, incredible.
40:33 Will it serve the purpose going forward also?
40:38 Yeah, 2021 and beyond also, I guess, people may want to prefer mutual fund as their investment
40:46 vehicle.
40:47 Having said that, I mean, earlier also on this platform, we have maintained that mutual
40:55 fund is not an alternative to other investment avenues.
41:01 It is an alternative to the process of investing.
41:04 I buy stocks directly, versus I invest in stocks through an equity mutual fund.
41:11 So whether I'm doing it myself by putting all my hard work, all my energy, my skills,
41:17 competence, everything, versus I outsource that activity and, you know, hire a team of
41:26 experts which is the mutual fund company.
41:29 So to that extent, mutual funds would continue to assume a very important role.
41:34 Right, right.
41:35 Thank you.
41:36 Thank you so much.
41:37 But you know, a lot of people did stop their SIPs in 2020 because of the volatility perhaps,
41:42 and also some due to disenchantment with the stock market, maybe others due to financial
41:47 constraints, right?
41:48 A lot of people lost their jobs and face salary cuts.
41:51 So what is your advice to them in 2021?
41:53 How should they approach mutual funds, those who stopped their SIPs in 2020?
41:58 So, you know, it reminds me of a poem that I read some time back, I don't remember the
42:07 exact words in the poem.
42:10 But to some extent, it says, "Humari nauka wahi do bhi jaha pani kam tha."
42:17 And this is typically what happens when investors react out of emotions, when they got disenchanted.
42:25 And why does somebody get disenchanted?
42:28 Because the expectations were something and the reality turned out to be different from
42:33 the expectations.
42:34 Now, it's important to understand that can the expectations be wrong?
42:44 And the reality turns out to be the way it is.
42:46 So that's question number one.
42:48 Number two, when the volatility goes up, and this is in line with the expectation point,
42:53 when the volatility goes up, it actually is ideal for an investor who does a fixed amount
43:01 SIP.
43:02 Because the very purpose of SIP is again, we talked about diversification.
43:07 And we said, I diversify because I don't know.
43:10 Similarly, I do SIP for two reasons.
43:14 Reason number one, I have a regular cash flow to invest.
43:17 That's why I do an SIP.
43:19 Reason number two, every month, I don't want to take the decision because I can't take
43:24 the decision every month.
43:25 So I automate the whole process.
43:27 And in that case, when the NAVs are high, I end up buying fewer units.
43:33 When the NAV is low, I end up buying more units.
43:37 And the volatility is turned to my advantage as a buyer.
43:42 Now if this is the case, volatility is actually the time to continue SIP and not stop SIP,
43:49 a higher volatility actually is a beneficial thing for an investor.
43:55 And to that extent, if somebody stopped the SIP because of these reasons, it's another
44:00 lesson that one has learned.
44:01 I wouldn't call it a mistake.
44:03 I would simply say, it's a lesson that all of us need to learn and remember that especially
44:10 when the markets come down, if you have enough money available for various purposes, don't
44:18 stop investing.
44:20 It is actually ideal to take advantage of the low prices offered by the stock markets
44:27 and you can buy it.
44:28 Right.
44:29 Thank you so much.
44:32 We have a related question from one of the audience.
44:35 Mr. Stephen from Mumbai asks, are SIPs better than lump sum investments?
44:40 I leave it to you know, both of you, any of you can answer this question.
44:44 Rao sir, you want to go and then I'll.
44:48 Sure.
44:49 It's like SIPs always makes you comfortable in one way.
44:53 One it automates your savings.
44:55 Second it gives you a rupee cost averaging.
44:57 Third, you don't need to worry about which market cycle you are entering and you are
45:01 very comfortable.
45:02 And whether it's lump sum or you can always invest for the lump sum if you are having
45:07 a time frame for longer time.
45:09 And even in the lump sum, I suggest, like for example, somebody can use the root like
45:14 a systematic transfer plan.
45:15 You can put the money into the liquid fund or the mutual funds.
45:18 Then you can transfer to the equity at various places if you are not very sure.
45:22 But if my goal is clear from 10 years from now, 2030 is my goal, I can always put my
45:27 lump sum money.
45:28 It all depends on the situation you are into it, which is an advantageous.
45:31 SIP is an advantageous to manage your emotions, manage, you don't need to time the market,
45:36 it can happen.
45:37 And lump sum when you invest, suddenly market crashes tomorrow morning, then you have a
45:41 psychological feeling I should have invested tomorrow.
45:43 That's the only concern.
45:44 Otherwise, you know, the SIP is the mode and convenience of investing.
45:48 And lump sum is a way where you have money and you are investing.
45:52 And I think Amit can add something more to it.
45:55 So I live in Mumbai and if I were to go to a railway station, local train, I'm talking
46:02 about the local train.
46:03 Should I buy a single journey ticket or should I buy a monthly pass?
46:11 It depends on what my requirements are.
46:14 If I have to make one journey, then I buy a single journey ticket.
46:17 If I have to travel on a regular basis, then a monthly pass is better.
46:22 Look at it in this way.
46:23 If I lump sum investment, then lump sum is the best idea.
46:28 But if I have monthly saving, then SIP is the best idea.
46:32 It's very simple.
46:33 I mean, again, you know, linking it to the same local train analogy.
46:40 If I have to go to the office by train on a daily basis, I don't want to stand in the
46:45 queue daily.
46:46 I don't want to waste that time.
46:47 In case of SIP also, if I have monthly savings, I don't want to spend time evaluating investments
46:54 month after month and spending that much time.
46:56 Incidentally, in case of this, apart from the time, I also waste my mental energy and
47:01 my emotions come into picture.
47:03 So when I'm taking a decision this month, should I continue my SIP?
47:07 I mean, should I invest or not?
47:08 Then as a human being, I'm likely to look at the historical performance.
47:13 If the historical performance, if the markets have gone up, I would feel good and put more
47:17 money in the asset which has gone up.
47:20 But if my account statement shows poor returns or negative returns, then I'm likely to stay
47:26 away from investing, which would be actually harmful for my own financial health.
47:31 SIP automates the whole process.
47:34 And as Rao Sir was mentioning, it also helps us manage the investment far better.
47:40 The moment something is automated, by force it happens.
47:45 And when it happens, those small droplets make a huge ocean over a period of time.
47:51 Those small investments made over a period, they accumulate to a large sum.
47:55 And from that point of view, if somebody has regular savings, SIP is the ideal way.
48:02 If somebody does not have regular savings, then it's a different matter altogether that
48:06 whenever there is surplus, you consider lump sum investment.
48:09 Both have to be seen in that light.
48:11 Right.
48:12 Thank you.
48:13 Thank you so much.
48:14 That was quite an analogy.
48:15 I think that would really help our viewers decide what to do with their money and how
48:20 to invest.
48:21 Now, you know, in 2022, we kept talking about the new normal, right?
48:26 But how, you know, now that we are into 2021 with vaccine in sight, it could be the year
48:31 when we may start moving towards what was normal before the pandemic.
48:35 You know, post vaccine, people may start eating out, going for movies, going on vacations
48:39 and so on.
48:40 Something which people, you know, postponed in 2020, right?
48:44 In light of the new normal.
48:45 So they may look forward to doing what they missed out in 2020.
48:49 But all this means spending money.
48:51 So my question is to Mr. Rao, how can one create a balance between our money lessons
48:56 from 2020 and our expectations from 2021?
49:00 Yeah, it's interesting.
49:02 Vishal, I think let me quote Benjamin Franklin.
49:06 He said, "Wealth is not that his has it, but his that enjoys it."
49:12 We all invest for a purpose to get a joy and you know, we are earning money to make our
49:17 families live happily, we live happily.
49:20 And the purpose of money is to have that joy and that experiences.
49:24 Money you need to, I remember I was attending one of the conferences where Mr. Mohandas
49:28 Poi was one of the speakers.
49:31 And he mentioned once, which is, which is like, you know, which I always remember.
49:36 And if I go to a financial planner and put my goals ahead, all that is in the Excel sheet.
49:42 But all that my investment is my emotions.
49:45 And if our emotions, you can't put the Excel sheet.
49:47 And some of these experiences we need to spend after working from home for over one year,
49:52 all of us need some change.
49:54 And it is, you know, some holidays we would have planned last year, we have not gone.
49:58 And some experiences we want to experience, we experienced it only four walls and we are
50:02 sitting at home.
50:03 And definitely it is a time for some people maybe looking at and it's a part of the money,
50:08 don't splurge the money.
50:09 And it's like, you know, when you want to put that money for the joy, it is always good.
50:14 But having said that, look at your financial net worth, how much you can spend, how much
50:18 you can afford to and what are your major goals?
50:21 Are you spending too much?
50:23 Then it's a question you need to look at.
50:24 Don't forget that simple formula.
50:25 Say like, you know, savings minus investment is equal to your expenditure, not the savings
50:32 minus expenses is equal to your investments.
50:35 No, it's like, you know, your expenses could be after investments taken out of it.
50:40 That's where you can look at.
50:42 And it's always, you know, you need to plan backward.
50:45 It's like differentiate between essentials and unessentials.
50:49 If I have to go for one experience and it is essential, which can give a break and it
50:52 is a burnt out for all of us.
50:54 And it's a welcome move and we need to look for it.
50:56 You know, money is all that need to serve us.
50:59 And that's where I can look at.
51:00 And I was reading like this, you know, sometime back, somebody said, like, one has to be a
51:04 financial one, one has to be a financial planner by day and yogi by evening.
51:09 What it means is you need to plan all that for the long term.
51:14 But you know, it's a meditation makes you to live in the moment.
51:17 Financial planning moves, makes you to live for longer.
51:20 And can you have the combination?
51:21 You can make your money work for you and you work for money.
51:25 And this way you can balance your present and future very well and ensure that some
51:29 of us may be looking at some profits to be taken out and I can have spent for my family.
51:35 And some of us we postponed.
51:36 I think last year I had my travel holiday plan, which I couldn't postpone.
51:40 I postponed probably that has earned little more.
51:42 Now I can plan a little more well, nothing wrong in it.
51:45 But don't forget to plan for your long term goals, not at the cost of long term goals.
51:50 Don't travel, you know, that's ensure that you plan for it and you enjoy it.
51:54 Right.
51:55 Thank you.
51:56 Thank you so much.
51:57 Let's take one more question.
51:59 Question from the audience.
52:00 Mr. Gaurav Talwar from Bangalore.
52:02 He's asking are index funds better than equity funds considering lower expense ratios?
52:09 I think he means passive active funds.
52:11 Are index funds better than active funds considering lower expense ratios?
52:16 Any one of you can take this question.
52:17 So purely from expense ratio point of view, yes, there is an advantage with index funds.
52:26 But let's also look at what an index fund actually is.
52:30 There is an index committee, which decides which companies or which stocks would come
52:36 in, come in as a part of the index.
52:38 Whereas in case of actively managed portfolios, it is the fund management team that decides
52:44 which stock should be a part of the portfolio or not.
52:48 So somebody else is taking it, somebody is taking a decision anyway, in either case.
52:52 Number two, when you are investing in an index fund, you have decided that I want index minus
53:02 expense returns.
53:05 I'm not looking at outperforming the index.
53:08 But if you're seeking to outperform the index, then you have to go with an actively managed
53:14 fund.
53:15 Having said that, while you are seeking to outperform index, there is also possibility
53:20 that you could underperform the index.
53:22 So it works both ways.
53:25 In one case, you are settling down at the average return.
53:27 In the other case, you are striving for higher returns with a risk that you're taking, that
53:31 the returns could be lower.
53:33 Essentially, that's really where the differences are.
53:38 A couple of other points that I would like to also mention is, like in some of the other
53:42 countries, even the profits generated by mutual funds through capital gains or dividends at
53:50 a could be taxable.
53:53 In India, mutual fund is a tax sheltered vehicle.
53:56 So whatever gains that the mutual fund earns, the scheme earns, are completely tax exempt.
54:03 And to that extent, even when there is a higher level of trading, the tax related issues within
54:10 mutual fund scheme should not bother us.
54:13 Yeah, trading related costs could go up when the active trading is very, very high.
54:18 So you may want to consider these factors.
54:21 But the debate between active and passive has been going on since early 1970s.
54:27 So it's like almost 50 years, and the debate is still not settled.
54:33 Thank you.
54:34 Thank you so much.
54:35 I think we are towards the end of this session.
54:38 In the end, I would like to ask one question to both of you.
54:42 The question is that what are some tips one should follow in 2021 to make most of their
54:47 finances?
54:48 Maybe we can start with Mr. Rao.
54:50 Yeah, thanks Vishal.
54:52 For me, whenever people ask me tips, I'll say SIPS.
54:56 And you know, and for me that tips is also an acronym, TIPS, the Intelligent Portfolio
55:01 Systems, which is a mutual funds, and you know, stay invested with the mutual fund.
55:07 And yeah, it's coming back, I think I'll cover it up in three or four points.
55:11 One as we discussed, enhance your health cover to you and your family, and ensure that you
55:17 have a COVID or pandemic cover.
55:19 Second, ensure you should have a contingency fund and maintain that contingency fund right.
55:25 And third is save wisely, invest rightly and spend tightly.
55:30 That could be the message to go forward.
55:33 And always automate your savings and investing.
55:36 And investing both should be automated so that you have a minimal involvement so that
55:40 wealth can get created without your knowledge.
55:43 The more you are looking at wealth will never get created.
55:45 And diversify across the asset classes.
55:48 And this pandemic has taught us anything can happen to anyone at any point of time, check
55:53 your nominations and have a will, create that will.
55:57 And we have survived in 2020.
55:59 And it is our responsibility to thrive in 2021 with the right healthy and wealthy habits,
56:06 and stay healthy and stay wealthy.
56:08 That's from my side.
56:09 Thank you, Mr. Trivedi.
56:12 So, you know, both of you actually touched upon one particular movie Zindagi Na Milegi
56:16 Dobara.
56:17 So I'll take that example and while Rao sir gave a detailed answer on contingency fund
56:22 to insurance to gold based planning, etc.
56:25 So I'll not get into the financial aspect that much.
56:29 But the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara as the title suggested, Hrithik Roshan, one of
56:35 the heroes in the movie, he wanted to retire by the age of 40.
56:41 But for that he wanted to slog in his younger days, so that he could retire comfortably.
56:47 And then the heroine tells him that, what's the guarantee that you will be alive till
56:53 40?
56:54 So you can't postpone life till a particular age, you never know when it would stop.
57:02 So this is one movie.
57:04 And the second movie was from the Yash Raj film Tara Rampam, where the hero Saif Ali
57:09 Khan was a race car driver and he overspent in order to enjoy life.
57:16 And he was in huge debt.
57:17 So the day he meets with an accident and the racing stopped, the prize money stops, he
57:23 was financially devastated.
57:25 So he was enjoying life today as if there is no tomorrow.
57:30 And this guy was not enjoying life because he wanted to do something in tomorrow.
57:36 Both are movies, life is somewhere in between.
57:39 It is neither Tara Rampam nor Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
57:43 So the whole aspect of financial planning or personal finance management, the objective
57:49 behind that is, I want to live a life of my choice today.
57:54 And I want to live a life of my choice tomorrow.
57:58 How do I strike a balance between the two?
58:00 That's the question that we need to answer.
58:02 And that's the question for which we need to plan.
58:04 So that's the message for 2021.
58:06 Thank you.
58:07 Thank you so much to both of you for such insightful ideas and tips and steps for our
58:14 audience.
58:16 And I'm sure they will take all these learnings and make the best of 2021.
58:21 Wish you a happy new year once again.
58:23 We hope that you all have, not only both of you, but all of our audience.
58:27 We hope you all have a wonderful year ahead where you will be more wealthier and you will
58:32 be able to enjoy your life in this year, all the things that you missed out on 2020.
58:39 However, at the same time, we hope that you would make wise financial decisions and like
58:45 Mr. Rao said, spend wisely.
58:48 And on that note, we will end this session.
58:51 It was a wonderful session, the first session of 2021.
58:54 Looking forward to many more.
58:55 Thank you to both of you.
58:56 Thank you so much, Vishal.
58:57 Thanks, Amit and thanks to Outlook team.
58:58 Thank you so much.
58:58 [MUSIC]
59:07 [MUSIC]