A few days ago I ran a poll asking people if they had made any money in the stock market, and I am glad to see that the majority of you have made money in the stock market.
The other theme from comments and emails was that people had taken control of their finances, and in almost every case, invested directly in stocks.
In general, people in the know will tell you it is not wise to invest directly in stocks, as  there is a lot of research that you should be willing to do, and even if you do it – it is impossible to beat the market, so buy an index mutual fund, and be done with it.
But in the real world, I don’t think a lot of you are convinced by that argument, and that’s what today’s poll is all about. It is a simple question with three answers:
Do you hold stocks or mutual funds as part of your portfolio?
1. Stocks
2. Mutual Funds
3. Both
I have changed the position of the poll to be on the left sidebar instead of the right one, so look for it there, and take a moment to vote, then leave a comment explaining your reason. We will discuss results in a few days!
Image by melilab
I have investment in PMS….where does that fall into????? and any good website comparing the performance and service levels of various PMS providers in India.
Both, but mainly mutual funds.
My stocks are a few small/mid caps which are good companies with expectation of doing very well over my lifetime (or at least the next 10/20 years).
MFs are a mix of large-cap and mid-cap focussed MFs. One Contra MF but it seems to invest in mainstream stocks. I invest through SIP in top rated equity funds. My last SIPs were for 2 years and are due for renewal. May continue with same MFs again for next 2 years.
Sir, I am planning to start investment in MFs initially. Thinking of opening dmat ac with HDFC. then start buying MFs myself, at monthly intervals like SIP. Your expert commenst & do you suggest me any other buys???
Both, but mostly mutual funds.
Both. For MFs, important to know the organisation & fund mgr’s track record. For lesser known stocks – especially micro-cap etc., I also look at the quantum of MF investment. And also depends on returns – higher-risk higher-returns thru the stocks that are part of sensex etc.
That’s an interesting idea, look at MF investments in micro caps. Do you find many micro cap stocks that have substantial MF investments?
I am all about shortcuts. I start with the Micro Cap MF e.g. DSP – see what stocks they have invested in. Then I pick 4-5 and see how many MFs have invested in them. Am not too financial savvy hence this “jugaad” approach!
This is quite clever actually, to see how many funds hold a particular stock….I have never done this, so curious about it, does this work most of the time? What’s your experience?
I hold both. Regular investments in both MF and stocks.
Do you buy stocks that are not part of the mutual fund portfolio then, or just stocks which you like, and would like to load up on more?
I don’t really check if the stocks I buy are part of the MFs that I hold.
MF, I pick top rated equity funds and tax saving funds from HDFC, SBI, UTI and Birla. I reinvest in same set of funds than buying new funds each year.
Stocks, as I’d mentioned earlier are mostly of good business houses and some penny stocks!
I love mutual funds and learnt stocks from my DH. But when it comes to stocks, I again prefer sensex ones..
So, looks like safe big stocks for you and then the traditional route of mutual funds. I’d expect that a lot of people take this approach.