OUR team asks working professionals what they do with their salary -- how they save it, how they invest it. As part of this series, we spoke to an investor who invests in everything but mutual funds.

NAME: Adarsh Shetty
Age: 30
What I do: Web designer
Where I stay: Mumbai

Adarsh Shetty is your friendly boy-next-door. He is a web developer with a media company and a keen investor.

Here is how much he sets aside to invest every month:
ICICI Prudential life insurance scheme: Rs 2,000 per month
Public Provident Fund: Rs 6,000 per month
Investing in equity shares: Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 once every two months

The first question that comes to mind is, why no mutual funds? He says, "I have no money to invest in mutual funds."

Must read: 3 reasons to invest in funds

Huh?! He invests Rs 12,000 every two months in equity shares. Why does he have no money to invest in mutual funds?

He explains, "As and when I have a few thousands saved, I buy some shares my broker recommends or on the basis of research I try to do on my own. But you need an initial amount of at least Rs 20,000 to begin investing in mutual funds, isn't it?"

Absolutely not, Adarsh! You can invest in mutual funds with a sum as low as Rs 500 per month.

"What? Where? How?" he asks.

Photograph courtesy Vipurva Parikh

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e-mail: Deepa Venkatraghvan

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