Mahesh Unni, Latur, pm26unni@gmail.com: Is a PMS fund of Rs 25 lakh better as compared to shares and funds? Which have been the three best performing PMS funds in the last three to five years? What are the risks and benefits involved in such a fund in the upcoming elections? Please describe in details.

As a part of overall asset allocation, PMS fund are a good allocation in order to tilt the portfolio towards generating higher alpha. Unlike Mutual funds, PMS do not have restriction in terms of number of shares, exposure size and sector limits and thus can bet big on high conviction ideas. Equity investing is a process and until the research and stock selection framework is not in place, it is better to go with an expert fund manager who can manage the money. You can always go with PMS which has a decent track record over longer time frame. You can look into Motilal Oswal PMS, Basant Maheshwari PMS and ICICI Pru PMS. PMS is a high-risk high return asset class. Thus in an election year, it is bound to be very volatile as the bets may go in either direction. Thus if you are a risk taking investor with a longer time horizon, then it is advisable to allocate funds to PMS.

Niharika, Jaipur niharikapareek1@gmail.com: Please suggest a fund for one time investment want to invest in equity for long term minimum 10 years fund which I find ok to invest is Principal Multi cap growth funds. Also suggest two sip options for long term prospective, each sip amount @2500/monthly.

Mutual funds are ideal for long-term investment. Instead of focusing on a single fund, it is advisable to invest in a portfolio of funds. We would advise you to invest in the following:

• Aditya Birla SL Frontline Equity (25%)

• ICICI Pru Nifty 50 Fund (30%)

• Mirae Asset India Equity Fund (20%)

• L&T Midcap Fund (15%)

• HDFC Small Cap Fund (10%)

For SIP you can invest into Aditya Birla Frontline Equity and Mirae Asset India Equity.