It is the time of the year when HR and accounts people chase you for your ‘investing’ proof. So people ask me the following questions:

– should I invest in equities?

-should I invest in ELSS?

or should I invest in bank deposits, nsc or ppf?

And worse, some people think they are doing ME a favor if they invest in equities or in ELSS. Let me clarify:

– I am not here to increase the equity investments in India

– I do not have a SEBI/AMFI mandate to create equity assets for the mutual fund industry

-I do not care about where you invest. Not being blunt, but just being factual.

-How does it matter to me about where you invest?

-If you ask me and then ask another set of 30 people, it is a waste of time for me and for those 30 others.

-You can read www.subramoney.com and depending on what else you wish to read please come to your OWN conclusions.

Why am I saying this:

Simply because those who had to meet the Dec 2011 deadline (set by HR and Accounts of most companies) have already seen a fantastic spurt in the NAV of their ELSS portfolios. This is luck. Those who invest in 2014 may not see a 16% spurt in nav in 3 months time.

Those who are expecting 16% returns over the next 5 years could invest. Those who are expecting this over the next 3 months, should not.

If you listen only to your dad, ask him, why ask others. His decision is final. Go ahead and listen to him, so what if you have an MBA in finance and he is a mining engineer in Goa.

If your uncle is a LIC agent and you think he is God’s gift to mankind, please go ahead and listen to him.

If you think that Axis mutual fund has given the best return this year, so it is the best ELSS to invest, please invest in Axis mutual fund’s ELSS. If you think it is Templeton, Hdfc, or Icici Prudential whose ELSS funds have done well over the past 5 years, invest in them.

If you think Mirae Mutual fund will perform the best over the next 6 years, please invest there…

Just showing you what options are available….and what you can do.

the choice, is, yours.