(Originally published in MoneyControl.com)

(Originally published in MoneyControl.com)

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In previous essays in this series we saw the problems of having a large mutual fund portfolio and what is the right number of schemes to have in a portfolio.

(Originally published in MoneyControl.com)

In the previous essay in this column, we saw how a regular investor’s portfolio quickly becomes a mess, and the downsides of having a complicated portfolio with numerous funds.

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So, what is the right way to do it? What is the “right” number of funds to have in a portfolio? Just how much is too much? Well, it’s time for some answers.

“There is close to eight lakh rupees in these papers”, my cousin Narayan* announced as he dropped a large binder full of loose sheets in the coffee table before us. I gingerly lifted it, placed it on my lap and opened to examine its contents. It was full of letters, statements, announcements, and transaction slips from various mutual fund companies in India. Alongside these, there was also a generous helping of marketing flyers that added a dash of color to the otherwise drab tableau of documents.

While some build Castles in the Air,
Directors build ‘em in the Seas;
Subscribers plainly see ‘em there,
For Fools will see as Wise Men please.
- Jonathan Swift