Should I redeem all my investments since I am planning to move abroad permanently? (2024)

Our panel of experts will answer questions related to any aspect of personal finance. If you have a query, mail it to us right away, here: etwealth@timesgroup.com. Here are investment queries from this week.

I am 36 and invest Rs 12,000 a month in three fund schemes through SIPs. I also invest Rs 8,000 in a RD, Rs 24,000 a year in PPF and pay Rs 25,000 annually towards a LIC premium, Rs 500 a month in APYP, Rs 2,000 a month in NPS, Rs 10,000 a year in gold bonds, Rs 2,000 a month in VPF and Rs 2,000 in ESP. Now I am planning to move abroad permanently. Should I redeem all my investments or I can continue with these?

Raj Khosla, Founder and Managing Director, MyMoneyMantra.com, replies: As per RBI regulations, all your resident savings and deposit accounts should be converted to non-resident accounts upon departure from India. You should first consolidate your bank accounts and re-designate it as per resident status (NRI/ NRE/ NRO). For MFs and other investments, you are required to do re-KYC and share the updated bank account details. You will not be able to make any new investments in the PPF. However, you can hold the existing account and continue availing benefits till maturity. You can also continue your insurance plans. Liquidate investments which cannot be tracked. Once settled, understand the NRI taxation laws and start re-investment in Indian market.

I am a pensioner. I am getting a reduced pension of Rs 67,000 per month after commutation. I want to invest in a short-term mutual fund through SIP. Kindly suggest some risk-free options.

Rushabh Desai, AMFI registered mutual fund distributor, replies:

Technically there is no such thing as risk-free options in mutual funds. Short-term usually spans anywhere between 1 to 4 years thus you have to mention your investment horizon. Since you are a pensioner looking for conservative investment options and have a short investment horizon, with the primary goal of capital preservation, investing in high credit quality debt / fixed income products will be ideal. You can match your time horizon with the maturity profile of the debt fund. Make sure to venture only in high credit quality and well managed funds with higher AUM. Currently the interest rates are low and we are expecting the rate hike cycle to start soon. Thus try not to venture into any medium to long duration funds as these funds will face comparatively higher mark to market volatility. You can also look at venturing in short term government / post office schemes. Lastly, make sure to diversify your investments well in various debt / fixed income products.