'In July 2021, my portfolio crossed the magical figure of eight digits'

Sandeep Nagpal's wealth-creation journey explains how sticking to investing principles rewards in the long term

- Sandeep Nagpal

Born and brought up in Bhatinda of Punjab, 38-year-old Sandeep Nagpal has been a strong believer in disciplined investing. He works with a public-sector insurer and his wife works as a lecturer in the Punjab School Education Board. The father of a 12-year-old boy and a five-year-old girl, Sandeep gives his mother credit for making him aware of the importance of money since childhood. “My mother has always believed in saving money before spending. Despite limited income and a joint family, we got a good education just because of her saving habits,” says Sandeep.

He did his B.Tech in electronics and communication from Punjab Technical University and began his professional life in 2006 as an engineer with a monthly salary of around ₹4,000. Later in 2007, he moved to a technical role in an IT company and then in 2009, he switched to a public-sector insurance company.

The beginning of his investment journey

During the early days of his career, he started his investment journey with Sundaram Tax Saver Fund in 2007. This equity-linked saving scheme (ELSS) gave him the first taste of mutual funds and he then kept investing in different funds but without maintaining any consistency.

In 2011, he accelerated his mutual fund journey by investing in Franklin India Bluechip Fund, HDFC Top 200 Fund (now HDFC Top 100) and Reliance Equity Fund. “I was introduced to mutual funds through different newspapers and the website of Value Research, says Sandeep. He has been a regular reader of Value Research since 2010-11 and a subscriber of 'Mutual Fund Insight'. He tracks his portfolio through Value Research's 'My Investments' tool.

His investment preferences