The 90-Minute Annual Financial Review: A Ritual for Success

A financial plan is not a static document; it's a living roadmap that needs regular course correction. The annual financial review is your dedicated time to zoom out, assess your progress, and make the small adjustments that ensure you stay on track to meet your long-term goals. Most people either skip this entirely or overcomplicate it. The truth is, you don't need a full day—you need a repeatable, 90-minute ritual.

This guide provides a structured, time-boxed checklist to make your annual review efficient, effective, and something you can stick to year after year.

Why a 90-Minute Ritual?

• It's Manageable: A 90-minute block is easy to schedule and hard to procrastinate on. It's long enough to be thorough but short enough to stay focused.
• It's Repeatable: A consistent process allows you to build a habit. Over time, this ritual becomes an automatic part of your financial life.
• It's High-Impact: This short session forces you to focus on the few critical levers that drive the majority of your financial outcomes: your savings rate, asset allocation, and goal alignment.

Preparation: What to Have Ready

Before you start the clock, gather the necessary documents:

• A consolidated statement of your mutual fund and stock holdings.
• Login access to your banking, investment, and loan portals.
• Your latest salary slip.
• A link to your Goal Planner or financial planning spreadsheet.

The 90-Minute Checklist

Minutes 0-25: Portfolio Review & Rebalancing

This is the most critical part of the review. Your goal is to check your Asset Allocation and bring it back to your target.

1. Calculate Your Current Allocation: List the current market value of your investments across all asset classes: Equity (Indian, International), Debt (PPF, EPF, FDs, Debt Funds), Gold, and Real Estate.
2. Identify the Drift: Compare your current allocation percentages to your target allocation. For example, your target might be 70% Equity, 20% Debt, and 10% Gold. After a strong year in the stock market, you might find your allocation has drifted to 78% Equity, 15% Debt, and 7% Gold.
3. Plan the Rebalancing: The goal is to bring the allocation back to your target. You have two primary ways to do this:
   • Sell and Buy: Sell the overweight asset class (Equity in our example) and use the proceeds to buy the underweight ones (Debt and Gold). This is the quickest way but may have tax implications (Capital Gains).
   • Use New Money: Direct all your new investments (SIPs, lumpsum) for the next few months into the underweight asset classes until the balance is restored. This is a more tax-efficient approach.
4. Execute: Place the necessary trades or adjust your SIP allocations. Don't just plan it—do it.

Minutes 25-50: Goal & SIP Check-in

Now, connect your portfolio back to your life goals.

1. Review Your Goals: Open your Goal Planner. Are the target amounts and timelines for your major goals (retirement, child's education, home purchase) still accurate? Has anything changed?
2. Check Your SIP Health: Look at your total monthly SIP amount. Does it still feel comfortable? More importantly, is it ambitious enough?
3. The Annual Step-Up: This is non-negotiable. Increase your total SIP amount by at least 8-12%. This ensures your savings rate keeps pace with your income growth and inflation. Use a SIP Calculator with the step-up feature to see the massive long-term impact of this simple action.
4. Align Contributions: If you have a bonus or other lumpsum income, decide where to deploy it. The best uses are often prepaying high-interest debt or making a lumpsum contribution towards an under-funded long-term goal.

Minutes 50-70: Paperwork & Hygiene

This is the administrative part that prevents logistical nightmares for your family later.

1. Check Nominations: Log in to your bank accounts, Demat account, and mutual fund folios. Check the nominee for every single account. Update them immediately if they are incorrect or outdated (e.g., following a marriage or birth).
2. Review Insurance Coverage: Is your term life insurance cover still adequate (typically 10-15x your annual income)? Is your family health insurance floater large enough to cover rising medical costs? Make a note to contact your advisor or insurer if an upgrade is needed.
3. Update Your Emergency File: Open your Emergency Binder/ICE File. Add details of any new accounts, policies, or loans. Ensure the access instructions for your trusted person are still correct.

Minutes 70-90: The Look Ahead

Finally, look forward to the year ahead.

1. Price Big Goals: Are you planning any major expenses in the next 1-2 years (e.g., a car purchase, home renovation)? Ensure you have a dedicated, low-risk fund for this and that your contributions are on track.
2. Schedule the Next Review: Open your calendar and book your 90-minute slot for the same time next year.

By blocking out this short amount of time once a year, you transform financial planning from a daunting task into a simple, powerful, and repeatable ritual. It's the single best investment you can make in your financial future.