The future trend in the stock market will finally get defined by the aggregate earnings expectations from individual companies in an economy.

We were expecting the RBI governor to step in and provide liquidity and rate cuts. The RBI governor did just that today. He declared a string of measures like cutting the Repo and the reverse repo rates, cutting the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 100 basis points, injecting liquidity of Rs 3.74 lakh crores in the system etc. All this should cause the interest rates to go down (and hence bond prices to go up). At the time of writing this piece, the interest rates were indeed down.

About 37 per cent and 60 per cent of large-cap funds managed to beat the index returns over a five- year and 10-year period respectively. In the process, many gave inflation-beating returns to their long-term investors, despite the recent market correction. It underscores the importance of a hands-on approach to investing and the key role of active equity fund managers.

To ensure that you make the most of this lockdown in terms of financial know-how, and have the essentials covered, we have designed a 15-day action plan for you. Just one hour every day for 15 days will ensure that you are at the top of your finances. You can reserve weekends solely for family time.

You may think that you are preserving capital when you shift out of equity uncertainty today and shift back into the market when things are less chaotic and perhaps the uptrend has started again. This is a very difficult strategy to implement.

If you expect to be a net saver during the next five years, should you hope for a higher or lower stock market during that period? Many investors get this one wrong.

It’s valid to ask: Should I stop regular investments – or mutual fund SIPS, protect my capital and restart once the fall is complete and the market trend turns positive?

While equity risk is very high in the short term, it is also the most viable form of investment to create wealth in the long term. Hence, instead of feeling sorry about your investment returns today, focus on these three things which can impact your future financial outcome.

If you started investing in equity based mutual funds over the past 4-5 years, the current state of the markets, thanks to the already afflicted Indian economy and the global COVID -19 pandemic, must be nothing less than shocking to witness.

The 35 percent market correction (as of 19th March 2020) from its peak has pulled down market valuations. Two points are worth noting about this.

Waking up one day and realising that you haven’t saved enough for retirement can be worrying. However, it’s never too late to make amends.