We are now hearing voices from equity market stalwarts claiming markets may be close to bottoming out. Which implies that this could be a good time to take the plunge and buy more equity.

Till last week we were talking about why one should keep investing through an equity market down turn and how market uncertainty should not be acted upon. In what was a rare event, benchmark equity large cap indices, Nifty 50 and Sensex rallied nearly 6% in a day.

It is easy to follow good investing behaviour when the going is good and markets are in a bull phase. However, when things are trending downwards, behaviour starts to waiver. Stop yourself from making these mistakes when equity markets are undergoing a weak phase.

Does this seem like an opportunity to start investing in small caps?

Is there a middle ground? That’s what smart beta funds position themselves to be. It claims to offer the benefit of passive investing combined with some of the advantages of the active ones. It hopes to maximise returns for investors or reduce risk through scientific construction of portfolio.

Everyone is worried about the state of the markets. It’s difficult to watch your investments reduce in value.

Warren Buffett has repeatedly said – “Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful”.

How you measure your rate of return can make a significant difference in terms of how you assess an investment.