The year 2025 looks sombre for the equity market, Rahul Ghose, CEO of Hedged.in told in an interview with GoodReturns.In. He is optimistic about gold prices for 2025, but he is going with a higher concentration in silver. In the case of mutual funds, debt and balanced funds are expected to see better performance in 2025. When asked about how to strategize investment in 2025 to build Rs 1 crore corpus for retirement, Ghose advises to start early and invest consistently. His pick would be to begin SIPs for 1 crore corpus.

During 2024, Sensex ended the year with gains of 8.18% and touched new all-time high of 85,978. Meanwhile, Nifty outperformed Sensex with mild space with 8.76% upside in 2024. Nifty’s highest level in 2024 was 26,277 which is also its new peak. Sectoral indices like real estate, pharma, and healthcare were top performers of 2024, however, media stocks were the biggest laggard.

Notably, in first 10 days of January 2025, Sensex and Nifty are down by nearly a per cent.

With the start of 2025 also witnessing bearish sentiment, to first-time investors in 2025, Ghose suggests investing through SIPs in either mutual funds or ETFs. He advises first-timers to be diverse and manage their portfolio in a combination of large, mid-cap and small-caps.

To first-time investors in 2025, Ghose also suggests investing through SIPs in either mutual funds or ETFs. He advises first-timers to be diverse and manage their portfolio in a combination of large, mid-cap and small-caps.

Here are the excerpts from the interview with Rahul Ghose, CEO of Hedged.in in GoodReturns.In:

Q1. What would be your advice to first-time investors in 2025?

As clichéd as it may sound, the best route for first-time investors is investing through SIPs in mutual funds or ETFs.If you don’t understand the mutual fund maze, just pick index funds and continue investing through the different market cycles. Remain well diversified between large, mid & small cap, When trading in Futures & options always remember to be Hedged. Don’t fall prey to tips or new fads. Today, crypto is making new highs every day, but the regulation concerning cryptos is still unclear in India. New fads in the quest for higher returns can cause harm to those non-seasoned.

Q2. Stock Market Vs Gold Vs Mutual Fund, Which Market Instrument Will Outperform The Other In 2025?

Equities are likely to have a muted performance in 2025. While there may be some sectors like IT and pharma which may outshine, overall markets are likely to have a sombre mood. Equities have been the best-performing asset class in the last 4 years, however, a repeat of the same performance is unlikely.

Gold always has a place in my portfolio as a hedge against uncertainty, but this year I’m going with a higher concentration in Silver versus Gold. Amongst Mutual funds, Debt funds, & balanced funds might see better performance.

Q3. Investment strategy to build Rs 1 crore corpus at retirement?

To build a ₹1 crore corpus at retirement, start early and invest consistently. Assuming a return of 12% per annum, investing ₹10,000 monthly for 20 years through SIPs in equity mutual funds can achieve this goal. Increase investments periodically in line with income growth and diversify across equity, debt, and alternative assets to manage risk effectively.

Depending on your age and risk tolerance the 10,000 SIP can be further divided into exposures to Large, Mid, and Small & Micro cap, micro cap, one should be careful in the year 2025.

A financial advisor can help tailor the strategy to individual needs. In Investments, if the goal is very clear, the means to reach it are easy to fund.