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NPS Active vs Auto Choice: What Works In Volatile Markets?
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NPS lets Indians aged 18-70 invest in bonds, government securities, or equity, with active or auto asset allocation and pension benefits at age 60.
Choosing between control and convenience: NPS Active vs Auto Choice during market volatility.
The National Pension Scheme (NPS) is a government-backed retirement scheme, allowing salaried professionals to save for after-job life.
NPS provides people with the option of investing in corporate bonds, government securities or equity. If you are an Indian citizen between the age of 18 to 70 years, you can invest in NPS. Under this scheme, you can contribute regularly during your working age. After this, at the age of 60, you can withdraw a part of the accumulated money and can get regular pension income from the remaining amount.
NPS gives two options to the subscriber to invest in the scheme, auto and active. An auto choice is an option in which the subscribers give the fund manager the freedom to invest their money wherever they want, whereas, in active choice, the subscriber tells assets his money is to be invested.
What is an active choice in NPS?
This option is available to NPS members who want to select their own asset blend. Subscribers can select the ratio in which their money will be spread across different asset classes under this choice. In other words, you have a say in the assets you own. Even within this option, there are restrictions because a maximum of 75% can be allocated to stocks. This maximum was increased a few years ago from 50%.
What is an auto choice in NPS?
There are three funds in NPS for auto allocation (NPS auto choice option). There is a Default Moderate Life Cycle Fund. In this, the maximum equity investment can be up to 50 per cent. The second is the Conservative Life Cycle Fund, which allows only up to 25% investment in equities. The third is the Aggressive Life Cycle Fund in which you can invest up to 75% in equity.
If you want to choose the active choice, consider three things before doing so. First, are they able to do the right capital allocation by valuing different asset classes? Secondly, if the subscriber has investments elsewhere and NPS is only a part of his overall portfolio, can they go for active choice? Thirdly, if there is a need to change the NPS portfolio in future, you will do so. If you consider yourself true on these three conditions, then you should choose the active choice option to invest in NPS.
Which Is Better Choice?
At a time of market volatility, when performance has remained muted for the past six months to a year, there are concerns about overexposure to equities among a section of subscribers.
“In volatile phases, this design (auto option) can be a big advantage. There is no temptation to time the market. There is no last-minute panic exit. The portfolio quietly adjusts on its own,” Ajay Kumar Yadav, CFP CM, Group CEO& CIO , Wise FinServ added.
On the other hand, Active Choice offers greater flexibility. Yadav explained that it allows investors to decide how much to allocate to equity, corporate bonds, and government securities within prescribed limits. According to him, this option suits investors who understand markets and are comfortable managing asset allocation decisions.
“For example, when interest rates soften, increasing exposure to government securities may enhance returns. After sharp equity corrections, staying invested or even raising equity allocation can strengthen long-term compounding,” he said.
Shantanu Awasthi, Co-founder and CEO of Mavenark Wealth, said Auto Choice operates within a predefined asset allocation structure managed under a single AMC framework. “Auto Choice confines investors to a predefined asset allocation structure managed within a single AMC,” he said, adding that the model offers simplicity and built-in discipline but limits flexibility.
According to Awasthi, Auto is essentially a structured, convenience-led approach where investors outsource both asset allocation and fund selection. While this reduces decision fatigue, it restricts customization and tactical shifts during changing market cycles.
CA Niresh Maheshwari, Director at Wealth Wisdom India Pvt. Ltd., said the bigger risk during volatility lies in investor reaction rather than price swings. “When markets turn volatile, the real risk isn’t the fluctuation, it’s how investors react to it,” he said.
Maheshwari explained that Active Choice may suit investors who understand asset allocation and are comfortable maintaining higher equity exposure, even as they age. “Active Choice are suitable to those who understand markets and asset allocation, want higher equity exposure even as they age, and are comfortable monitoring their portfolio,” he said. However, he warned that discipline is critical — “Without it, flexibility becomes overreaction.”
For investors who prefer a hands-off approach, Maheshwari said Auto Choice may offer more comfort. “Auto Choice works for those who prefer a set-and-forget approach and don’t want to manage risk themselves,” he said. The life-cycle model automatically reduces equity exposure with age, limiting the need for tactical decisions during market swings.
“For long-term retirement investing, behaviour and consistency matter far more than trying to time the market,” Maheshwari added.
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Higher fuel prices are testing how badly consumers want to travel this summer, whether flying or driving.
Airfare hasn’t been this high since May 2022, when airlines stumbled out of the pandemic with aircraft and employee shortages to face hordes of consumers ready for “revenge travel.” Gasoline is above $4 a gallon and could get closer to $5 a gallon this summer, AAA warned this week.
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Separately, airlines are also trimming their growth plans because of higher fuel costs. Even if a route isn’t cut, fewer flights on certain routes means that customers will have fewer seats to choose from and, with demand robust, that could drive up prices even more.
Spirit Airlines, the most famous budget carrier in the U.S., shut down earlier this month, and partially blamed jet fuel prices for its failure to emerge from near back-to-back bankruptcies. It was the biggest U.S. airline collapse in decades. Other airlines swooped in to snatch up those customers in the aftermath, but the carrier’s demise removes a main purveyor of low fares.
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The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen 18.3 million people between Thursday and next Wednesday, compared with the 18.5 million it saw over a similar period last year.
Lackluster road trip growth
Road trips won’t be a bargain either. AAA this week forecast 39.1 million people will drive at least 50 miles between Thursday and Monday, up just 0.1% compared with last Memorial Day weekend. That was the least growth in a decade, AAA told CNBC.
Gasoline price site GasBuddy forecast this week that prices across the U.S. will average $4.48 on Memorial Day, up from $3.14 last year, and that prices could average $4.80 through Labor Day “if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed for a significant portion of the summer.”
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Still flying
Leisure travel intentions in the U.S. were slightly lower in March — at 82.8% compared with 83.1% the same month a year earlier — though they are still relatively high, UBS said in a note Monday.
“We believe the year-over-year moderation in travel intentions this year was likely due to higher jet fuel and other geopolitical concerns,” UBS airline analyst Atul Maheswari wrote. He added that the intent to travel is near the highest points in the past nine years.
So far, airline executives said, customers are still booking, and executives are optimistic about the summer travel season. They’ve also said they’re expecting a boost from the FIFA World Cup, which will be held in June and July in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and from major concerts such as Harry Styles’ residencies in Amsterdam and London this summer.
United Airlines said it expects to carry 53 million travelers between June and August, up 3 million people from last year. American Airlines has forecast 75 million customers between May 21 and Sept. 8, after Labor Day, topping its previous record, in 2019.
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‘What are you waiting for?’
Airlines have been pruning their schedules and axing unprofitable or less profitable routes but have been eager to fill in the gaps after Spirit’s collapse.
Travelers can still find deals if they’re flexible, said Kyle Potter, who runs the Thrifty Traveler website. He recommended using tools such as the “Explorer” tool in Google Flights that allows users to look up destinations by the length of trip and by month in a map view.
He also suggested flyers consider traveling on a Tuesday or Wednesday, when fares and traffic are often lower.
“That, in many cases, can save you hundreds of dollars per ticket, and multiply that by a family of four,” he said.
He had a simple message for travelers sitting on piles of frequent flyer miles.
“Now is the time to use your miles or your credit card points or both,” he said, warning that miles can end up devalued. “What are you waiting for? I think a lot of people hoard their miles because they want to go to to Europe in 2027.”
— CNBC’s Contessa Brewer contributed to this report.
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