Pension funds are balanced in nature with a higher proportion of debt as compared to equities

INVESTORS are always interested mutual funds that can help them build the required corpus for their retirement. In this case, the selection of funds and their features need special attention to ensure that all the required goals are achieved over the long term. Here are a few features that one has to be alert about while looking at retirement needs.

Specific fund:

One of the easiest ways in which an individual can complete a part of their retirement planning is by selecting a fund that is aligned towards this goal. Pension funds are one such funds structured for retirement planning.

These funds are balanced in nature with a higher proportion of debt as compared to equities and hence, are meant for a slow build up of capital over the long term. The debt portion gives the necessary stability, while the equity portion can provide the growth momentum. The benefit of this route is that here a single investment seeks to achieve the goals for the individual. This is an easy way of going about the retirement planning process, but can be adopted only by those who actually want to ensure that they are willing to commit funds for this time period.

Time to show results:

The other way in which individuals can build their portfolio for retirement planning is to select various mutual funds in line with a certain strategy to show results in the coming time period.

However, in this case, investors should not start expecting results immediate ly. There has to be some time given for the investment to actually grow and show the required results.

There could be times when the going gets tough, but this should not be considered as a period of making changes. The mixture of various funds with a specific asset allocation needs to be regularly reviewed and the necessary changes should be made for aligning it properly towards the desired goal.

Overall structure:

 There has to be an overall structure as far as the retirement planning portfolio is considered. There should not be just one single investment but rather multiple ones across various routes to ensure that the overall goal is being met. The other thing is that the structure in terms of the exposure has to be decided and maintained.

In times when the changes in different markets affects the required returns, there has to be some effort to make the change and bring things back on track. Individuals also get tempted to look at different alternatives that seem very lucrative, but one should not get swayed for shortterm returns, and always try to stick to the long-term plan. Therefore, framing strategies for investments is important and so is the role in following this carefully, because otherwise there is a good chance that the plans could come unstuck before the goals are actually achieved.

Best Performing Mutual Funds

1. Largecap Funds Invest Online
1. DSP BlackRock Top 100 Fund
2. ICICI Prudential Focused Blue Chip Fund
3. Birla Sun Life Front Line Equity Fund
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1. ICICI Prudential Dynamic Plan
2. HDFC Top 200 Fund
3. UTI Dividend Yield Fund
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1. Reliance Equity Opportunities Fund
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3. Sundaram Select Midcap
4. IDFC Premier Equity Fund
3. Small and MicroCap Funds Invest Online

1. DSP BlackRock MicroCap Fund
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1. Reliance Banking Fund
2. Reliance Banking Fund
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1. ICICI Prudential Tax Plan
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3. DSP BlackRock Tax Saver Fund
4. Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund
6. Gold Mutual Funds Invest Online

1. Relaince Gold Savings Fund
2. ICICI Prudential Regular Gold Savings Fund
3. HDFC Gold Fund