Redeeming your mutual funds, like any other investment, can impact your financial goals. Timing is crucial when it comes to redemption, be it for meeting a financial need, locking in profits, or adjusting your investment strategy and allocation. There are several implications, such as tax implications, market conditions, and your financial plan, which you must consider before redeeming your units. Let's find out some of these considerations that can help you decide when the right time to redeem your mutual funds is.
You have reached your financial goal
Mutual funds, like any other investment, should ideally be mapped to a financial goal, be it marriage, buying a house, children’s education, or retirement. The investment should be continued until you have achieved your goal. Avoid redeeming your funds based on market performance.
To align your portfolio with your risk tolerance
As you move through life, your needs and goals change. Your portfolio’s value also changes over time and may end up misaligning with your changing goals. Either of these two scenarios might require you to redeem your mutual funds. For example, you have invested in mutual funds to renovate your house. But, you switch jobs and get a handsome bonus in the process which allows you to carry out the necessary renovation without dipping into your mutual fund investment. With your savings intact, your risk tolerance increases, allowing you to invest in more aggressive funds that offer higher returns.
To re-balance your portfolio
Prudent financial planning calls for an asset allocation ratio that aligns with your risk tolerance. However, market shifts are a part of investing and can sometimes alter your asset allocation ratio, which may need re-balancing. For instance, your portfolio is balanced with a 50:50 split between equity and debt instruments. However, your equities drop in value, resulting in your allocation ratio shifting to 40:60, with a higher portion in debt. In such a scenario, you can think of redeeming some of your debt funds and investing them in equity to restore the 50:50 balance.
Change in the economic or regulatory environment
In India, mutual funds are governed by strict regulations that are subject to change based on government policies or economic reforms. These changes might result in alterations to tax laws, and restructuring of funds or their operations, among other things. For example, the government reintroduced the long-term capital gains tax (LTCG) in 2018 which impacted the tax efficiency of certain mutual funds, making them less appealing. This is one scenario where the change may compel you to redeem and reinvest your funds for greater tax savings.
Your risk tolerance changes due to a Financial Emergency
Financial emergencies can greatly impact your risk tolerance. As a result, you may need to rebalance your portfolio to reduce your risk. Sometimes, an emergency may force you to redeem funds for financial assistance but that is never advisable. Instead, create an emergency fund for such situations to avoid dipping into your investments.
Redeeming your mutual funds is a crucial financial decision that must be taken with due consideration of several important factors. These include but are not limited to, your financial goals, tax implications, and market conditions. Avoid redeeming funds based on short-term fund performance or temporary market shifts. Stay invested and only redeem your funds when it aligns with your financial goals.
The writer is Manager, Communications at BankBazaar. This article has been published as part of a special arrangement with BankBazaar.