The budget is a statement of income and expenditure of the government. In case of our government, the expenses are always much higher than the income! We are in elegant company – even most of the “developed” economies are shining beacons of profligacy… so we are in good company!

Income for the government is primarily by way of direct and indirect taxes, customs duties, cess, non-tax receipts etc.

People pride themselves on their rational decision-making, especially when it comes to their money. However, it has a way of leading us down wrong alleyways. These seemingly straightforward looking decisions may not be so straightforward after all. That is why many times people stub their toe on financial decisions.

Explore wealth management for the affluent, where financial goals, risk tolerance, and personal aspirations shape their unique investment strategies.

A quality education is often regarded as the key to unlocking a brighter future. However, with the ever-increasing tuition fees, many parents find themselves grappling with the dilemma of financing their child’s higher education. In such scenarios, education loans emerge as a potential solution. But are they truly necessary, and what are the implications?

The world has changed quite a bit in this decade. We started with Covid and when it began to ebb, we saw the start of Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. That led to a lot of changes and realignments in the globe. The NATO and the western powers supported Ukraine and wanted to hold Russia to account. After that, the terrorist attack on Israel took place resulting in war in that region.

The idea of passing on a legacy is something that parents always plan for. Inheritance typically happens after the lifetime of the parents. But nowadays, more parents are thinking about a different approach: giving some of their wealth to their kids while they’re still young adults.

Retirement is a golden period, often envisioned as a time for travel, hobbies, and relaxation. But this dream can quickly turn into a stressful reality if you haven’t planned financially.

When planning for anything, we should know what the end objective is without any true basis. We need to understand what we want to achieve and put in place a plan that helps to achieve that outcome. Such a plan will breakdown what needs to be done and in what sequence, so that the end objective is achieved.

Crypto assets have a polarising influence on people. There are sold-out fans who envisage a crypto led future, to skeptics who denounce Cryptos for the exaggerated sense of importance given to them without any true basis.

Investing is different in so many ways. Everywhere else, we learn first and then go ahead and use that knowledge or skill. For instance, we learn to drive first and then start driving. Same when we want to play an instrument.

Success means so many different things to people. Hence, there are different yardsticks for success. We tend to go with the popular, accepted measures of success and try to fit in. That could result in many of us aspiring for emblems of success that conform to societal expectations. Hence, what we consider as a measure of success may not square with what we would define as success, on our own!

Entrepreneurship has once again become a buzzword in the past decade or so. Startup has become a well-recognised term that has now come to symbolise the spirit of entrepreneurship. The top leadership, including PM Modi has been supportive of the startup culture.

Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC is the new kid on the block. This is a digital currency ( eg. Digital Rupee ) issued by the Central bank of a country whose value will typically be equal to the fiat currency ( Rupee ) that is in the form of paper currency and coins.

The world loves property. It is considered to be a solid asset that does not easily lose value. In fact, many aver that real estate is the only asset that always goes up and gives great returns!

Gold has a long history of being a favourite investment, a store of value from time immemorial. It is seen as a good hedge against inflation. It is a rare metal, available in limited quantities which ensures that it retains a certain value always.

World trade happens to a major extent in US dollars. So when two countries trade, they first convert their currency into dollars and pay it to the other party, who in turn convert dollars into their currency. In this entire process, there is said to be a 2-3% overall charge, which is very expensive especially when the amounts are in billions and trillions of dollars. But dollar trade was happening all along without a hitch, in spite of this.

The world is undergoing a dramatic transformation at this point. The Chinese Wuhan Virus has given the impetus and increased the velocity of change globally.
I had written earlier about the changes underway that have the potential to change the extant power equations and even bring about a new changed world order that has multipolar characteristics.

While the west led by the US may still be powerful, the world order is certainly changing. The US certainly lost some sheen when it exited Afghanistan abruptly and gifted it to the Taliban, which it was fighting against for 20 years! It abandoned military equipment valued at over USD 1 billion, during this hasty retreat.

We are at a very interesting point in the world today. The world is in transition and we could even say that this could be an inflection point where the current world order is coming into question and there is a good chance of a new world order emerging.

It is important that we pay attention to our dear ones and their financial well-being. We need to atleast ensure that they are not committing major blunders that will come back to bite them ( and us ). Better still, it would be great if we are able to put them on a path of fiscal prudence, along with proper savings and investments.

Money is important in life and can help acquire things we want. However, money matters need to be handled properly for life to be smooth and tension free.
Money management is a problem area for many today. It is so due to multiple factors. But we all need to get on top of that.

Assisted living homes ( aka old age homes ) are sprouting across the country and seniors are contemplating whether this is the way to go. The experience has been mixed. Going to an old age home still means uprooting from one’s locality and transplanting in new environs. That can be a difficult experience for many.
The only other option today is probably developing a community of similarly placed folks who are there for each other and support each other….

“Money is the root cause of all evils”. Such messages may produce all kinds of problems and the person may end up never really doing anything to accumulate wealth!
We need to expose children to right messages that will help them understand money in the right context. Something like “Money is a means to an end, not an end in itself” could be a message that should position money rightly, without overstating or understating its importance.

We need to be mindful of what we do with our money. Our own prejudices, behavioural quirks and biases, past learnings that do not apply any longer, psychological failings, wrong inferences etc, ensures that we do not reach the potential with our money.

We are mostly in the zone of what-could-have-been instead of being a helpful friend to ourselves. It is almost as if Hyde is in charge of our money most times!

Retirement is a phase change one will need to get used to. Many of us have lived very busy lives and have been quite active in our careers. The whirlwind activities suddenly come to a halt after retirement.

Some people anticipate the spare time and nicely plan what they will do in retirement. All of us need to do that so that this innings is interesting, meaningful, and enjoyable as well.

How will it be if one does not have to go to work to earn a living? What if one can follow one’s passion like learning music and going to concerts… or travelling the world with nary a care? What if one can set up a consultancy to earn some money, but where one can spend under 20 hours a week? What if all these can be done under 45, or better still 40?
If these thoughts have ever transited your mind, you are thinking FIRE.

REITs can be another way of investing into Real Estate which yields regular income; one cannot expect an order of magnitude returns here.

Investment in REIT could be considered as a diversification into commercial real estate which mostly investors do not have. The characteristics of REIT are quite different from a typical fixed income asset, which augurs well for diversification, though this also offers a regular stream of income like them.

In fixed-fee model, the advisor charges a lumpsum amount for an estimated amount of work, which is not connected with the quantum of assets. In the fixed-fee model, the regulation limits it to Rs.1.25 Lakhs p.a. Currently, as per IA Regulations, an AUA fee of 2.5% pa can be charged. It is wrongly believed that a fixed-fee will be cheaper and an Asset under Advice (AUA) fee will be costlier. The reality is that they will be quite near to each other.

Gifting can be used thoughtfully to assist someone who may benefit immensely from the timely gift. In fact, the value of a gift is directly proportional to the need for it by the person receiving (donee) that gift. Timely gifting is priceless.
Hence, giving gifts to near and dear ones should be based on needs rather than just passing on a legacy after one’s lifetime.

Other than Will & Trust, gifting is another option for wealth transfer. Gifting is a discretionary exercise and beyond the call of duty. Hence, it is one’s prerogative to gift or not to gift…and if one does gift, how much to gift.

The general rule is to ensure that the amounts or assets sought to be gifted would not materially affect the donor, after the event. If this is satisfied, one may gift.
Gift should be a present, in the present, when it is needed!

Smallcase is a new kid on the block, with a slightly different offering. It is interesting for some as there are enticing themes, which appeal to the investors. However, an enticing theme need not necessarily be suitable for the investor. A diversified investment option like an MF may help in broader participation in equity markets, without picking sides.

These are some of the basic principles to follow while building wealth. They are simple and yet many find it difficult to follow them; the reason why many keep talking wistfully of being wealthy but never getting there!

Retirement from active work comes to all of us at some point. Retirement is a phase change and is a very delicate operation like landing on the moon!

While we are in the earning phase, many of us tend to get carried away and end up buying properties & land in multiple places. However, managing properties across the country (and sometimes abroad) is not easy at all – along with a demanding career.

We need to come to terms with our mortality and get sensible and practical if we want to protect our families from unwanted chaos and turmoil.

What I am about to suggest will be useful in situations beyond Covid and would apply to any situation where we need to deal with death or serious illness and being indisposed.

Retirement homes or Assisted Living centres are coming up rapidly across the country as many Seniors have their children staying abroad and they live all by themselves.

Many do not want to stay with their children. Today many children are abroad and the seniors are not too comfortable there as they get stranded when their children go off for work and are dependent on them to go out.

Even within India, many choose to stay by themselves, to preserve their independence, stay in the place they are used to along with their friends, doing their thing. However, at a certain age, maintaining a home gets difficult and managing all the work and household chores becomes more than they can handle.

That is where an assisted living facility fits in.

People want to immigrate as there is easier access to quality education, quality of faculty as well as the pedagogy is great. The facilities are good and those who want to do research, especially in scientific stream find this attractive. There is another major benefit of immigrating into a country. Once a citizen, the education costs in many countries go down dramatically. It can be less than 50% of the cost international students would otherwise pay.
But immigration into many countries is time consuming and the queue can be long. To get into a country faster, there is a fast-track avenue available today – Immigration by Investment.

Crypto currency is a digital currency that is created by “mining” Cryptos. Mining is a process where some people verify transactions and perform the role of auditors. After that, they need to solve a problem to get paid. Only when they do both correctly, they can get paid. For mining cryptos, they need oodles of computing power.

Cryptos uses cryptography during its creation and for verifying transactions that are taking place. It uses blockchain technology and functions on the basis of distributed ledgers that this technology facilitates. Till now, Cryptos have all been outside government purview. It is entirely controlled by third parties.

Caring for a child with special needs is a delicate situation that needs to be handled with patience, maturity, and emotional understanding. Rehabilitating & helping them live a near normal life is what such parents would strive and wish for. That happens in some cases, not all.

Hence planning finances well and charting out as to how the child will be looked after in the future is very important. Parents of these children will have to think through properly and plan well.

Children today are in a fantastic place – they can get anything at all from their parents. This results in an entitlement mentality and reduces their ability to take “No” and causes problems for them in future.

In such a situation, parents need to be careful to help their wards acquire life & money skills to survive in the real world. The real world is not as cozy and forgiving like home.

Children today are in a fantastic place – they can get anything at all from their parents. This results in an entitlement mentality and reduces their ability to take “No” and causes problems for them in future.

In such a situation, parents need to be careful to help their wards acquire life & money skills to survive in the real world. The real world is not as cozy and forgiving like home.

Real estate is poised for many changes. If we continue to think that real estate is the only asset that is going to give great returns & want to put money there, caution is suggested. The unreal growth that we saw in the first decade of the 21st century, may probably never be repeated, due to the fundamental changes that are underway.

Philanthropy & compassion are important in life. Every religion talks about the virtues of giving & compassion. We need to make Philanthropy a part of our lives. And experience the warm glow in our hearts, which no amount of money can ever give. Don’t you want to experience such bliss? Why not give it a try?

We measure everything by the material possessions & trappings of wealth. We get hijacked by insidious comparisons with people of all hues. Material possessions are needed & useful till a point. But for many, worldly possessions acquire an urgency beyond just their usefulness. They are acquired to signal to the world that they have arrived, to achieve parity or be one up on their friends, relatives, colleagues etc.

The firms that have internalized the essence of good ESG parameters are anyway good businesses – as ESG is embraced first by those at the forefront. So ESG becomes a virtuous selection criterion, in that the ones that have good ESG scores are good companies with enlightened managements to start with. Such compliance also ensures that the compliance risks & regulatory risks become lower and lessens the business risk itself.

There are generally two approaches followed while investing, to meet goals. Some prefer to invest specifically & separately, for each goal, which we call the goal tagging approach. There is a psychological advantage to this approach.

An ongoing relationship ensures full knowledge and hence ensures high-quality advice, with least chances of errors. It also ensures quick advisory turnaround as an ongoing advisor is always accessible to the client.

There are multiple benefits arising out of seeking our counsel and being engaged with Ladder7 Financial Advisories. Being engaged with a conflict-free, fee-only client-centric adviser presents monetary & non-monetary benefits.

Distributor ( agent ) represents the Principal (not client) , has inherent conflict of interest and follows a lower suitability standard. Fee-only advisors represent their client, have no-conflict or lower conflict of interest and follow a Fiduciary standard.

A financial advisor who is a fiduciary offers many benefits to the client as a fiduciary is someone who is legally-and ethically-obligated to always put you first.

Life planning helps in planning for those goals that can bring meaning and happiness to our lives, instead of focusing on achieving just the monetary goals

The value of the advisor is not just the extra return that they are able to generate for their clients. There are multiple ways by which they add value – that’s what clients need to understand.

Perception of risk is one pivotal aspect of consumer behavior because risk is often perceived to be painful in that it may produce anxiety, in which case it must be dealt with informed choice.

When we talk of investments, what comes to our mind is investments through FDs, NCDs, Bonds, Equities, Mutual Funds, Real Estate, etc. – all within India. However, we may be missing out on investment opportunities in other parts of the world.

We are in a market where MF awareness is now only beginning to gain hold. The Mutual Fund Sahi Hai campaign can take a lot of credit for this. Still, the number of people who invest in Mutual Funds is still a very small percentage – under 2%.

The only certainty in life are taxes and death – we have heard this. You can add one more to that – Expenses. As long as we live, there would be expenses.

Retirement is bittersweet for most people; however it can well be enjoyed, like they portray in those pension product brochures & assisted living fliers!

The most important qualities your financial advisor should posses, are ehtics and integrity. Hence fiduciaries are always the go-to people for sound advice.

Financial Planning is no child’s play; it needs good expertise. Here are ten questions you should seek answers to while choosing your financial advisor.