I’m 23, investing Rs 30k/month in SIPs across equity, gold & global funds — is my portfolio allocation right?

I’m a 23-year-old software engineer just starting my investment journey. I have a medium risk appetite and a long-term investment horizon of 10+ years. After doing some research, I’ve allocated Rs 30,000/month into SIPs with the following mix:

Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund – Rs 10,500 (35%)

Motilal Oswal Mid Cap Fund – Rs 6,000 (20%)

HDFC Nifty 50 Index Fund – Rs 9,000 (30%)

SBI Gold ETF – Rs 3,000 (10%)

ICICI Prudential NASDAQ 100 Index Fund – Rs 1,500 (5%)

I’m completely new to mutual funds and personal finance. Would love it if you could review this portfolio and share any advice or suggestions — especially on asset mix, fund selection, or better alternatives.

Advice by Rajani Tandale, Senior Vice President, Mutual Fund at 1 Finance

At 23, you have one of the biggest advantages in wealth creation that is time. It’s great that you have a 10+ year horizon, and your current portfolio is already growth-oriented, with about 85% in equity, 10% in gold, and 5% in global tech exposure. A few tweaks can make it even better, consider increasing global allocation to 10–20% and keeping gold at 5–10%.

The funds you’ve chosen are strong long-term holdings, but you could slightly reduce your Parag Parikh allocation and increase your Nifty 50 allocation, as Parag Parikh currently has high cash levels and is largely invested in large-cap stocks. Instead of the ICICI Pru NASDAQ 100 Index Fund, you may need to choose another U.S.-based fund since it has stopped accepting fresh investments; avoid S&P 500 funds for now. I’m glad to see you haven’t added unnecessary clutter like sectoral or thematic funds. At present, your portfolio is large-cap tilted, which is a solid allocation in volatile markets. You can review your portfolio with a financial advisor once a year.

That said, some key details are missing for a holistic assessment such as your overall financial background, whether you have dependents like senior citizen parents (and if they have health insurance), the size of your emergency corpus (ideally 6–12 months of expenses), and whether you have any loans or liabilities. It’s also important to confirm if you have adequate health insurance beyond your employer’s policy. A term plan is necessary only if you have financial dependents or significant liabilities. Additionally, any major future milestones such as real estate purchase, marriage, or other big goals need to be planned in advance. Based on all this information, a financial advisor can help you with income and expense planning, retirement planning, milestone planning, and even building passive income strategies.

In conclusion, you’re off to a strong start with a disciplined SIP plan, a growth-oriented asset mix, and a long investment horizon — all key ingredients for long-term wealth creation. By making small tweaks to diversify globally, fine-tune equity allocations, and ensure your personal finances are protected with adequate insurance and an emergency corpus, you can strengthen both your portfolio and overall financial security. With consistent investing, annual reviews, and strategic adjustments aligned with life goals, you’ll be well-positioned to ride out market volatility and steadily build wealth over the next decade and beyond.