Goal sheet
A table listing each of an investor's financial goals with its priority, time period and amount needed — used to assess needs before deciding how each goal should be invested.
In plain language
Most people have many financial goals at once — a car next year, a child's college in eight years, retirement in twenty-five, maybe a farmhouse someday. Held in the head, they blur. Written down, they can be planned for.
A goal sheet is that list, in a standard shape. The workbook's Exhibit 9.1, "Proforma Goal Sheet", has five columns: No., Goal, Priority, Time period, Amount needed.
Its purpose, in the workbook's words, is assessment of the needs and requirements of the investors, which is critical in making investment decisions. People have near-, medium- and long-term goals, and goals differ in priority — some are high priority, others not very important. The goal sheet puts each goal, its priority, its time frame and the funds needed side by side.
How it works
The columns (Chapter 9, section 9.3.5, Exhibit 9.1).
| No. | Goal | Priority | Time period | Amount needed |
|---|
What priority and time period imply for investing.
| Type of goal | Workbook description | Investment vehicles suggested |
|---|---|---|
| Near-term, high priority | High emotional priority, to be achieved within just a few years at most | Cash equivalents or fixed-income instruments with maturity dates matching the goal date; for people of limited to modest means, the cost of missing the goal is too great to take risk |
| Long-term, high priority (e.g., retirement corpus) | Enough time to accumulate if planned well in advance | A diversified approach using several asset classes |
| Low priority (farm house, luxury car) | Not particularly painful if missed | More aggressive investment approaches |
Where it sits in the portfolio management process (Chapter 9). The goal sheet is part of understanding the investor, alongside risk profiling, investment objectives, investment constraints and the financial position (net worth and income-expenditure statements). All of this feeds the Investment Policy Statement and then the asset allocation decision.
Link to liquidity. Under the liquidity constraint, known goals due within a year should be held in assets with relatively good liquidity (section 9.3.4). The risk profiling questionnaire can also capture overall goals — capital appreciation, regular income or both — and the time period for investing, which has to be the same as the term of the agreement.
A worked example
Illustrative family, goals and amounts; the format and the investment guidance by goal type are the workbook's.
The Mehta family in Ahmedabad fills in a goal sheet with their adviser:
| No. | Goal | Priority | Time period | Amount needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daughter's college fees | High | 2 years | ₹18,00,000 |
| 2 | Retirement corpus | High | 22 years | ₹5,00,00,000 |
| 3 | Replace car | Medium | 4 years | ₹12,00,000 |
| 4 | Holiday home in the hills | Low | 12 years | ₹80,00,000 |
How the goal sheet shapes the plan:
- Goal 1 is near-term and high priority. Following the workbook, the ₹18 lakh goes into cash equivalents or fixed income maturing in two years — not equities.
- Goal 2 is long-term and high priority. A diversified mix across asset classes over 22 years — this is where a ₹50 lakh+ PMS allocation might sit.
- Goal 4 is low priority. Missing it would not be painful, so a more aggressive approach is acceptable.
Without the goal sheet, the family might have put everything in one equity portfolio — and faced selling at a loss two years from now to pay college fees.
Why NISM asks about it
The goal sheet is Exhibit 9.1 in Chapter 9 (Portfolio Management Process), section 9.3.5, "Assessments of needs and requirements of investor". It sits between investment constraints and analysis of the investor's financial position, all of which feed the IPS and asset allocation. Expect questions matching goal types (near-term high priority, long-term high priority, low priority) to appropriate investment approaches.
Common exam traps
- The five columns are No., Goal, Priority, Time period, Amount needed. There is no "expected return" column.
- Near-term high-priority goals → cash equivalents or fixed income matching the goal date, not equities.
- Long-term high-priority goals → diversified across asset classes.
- Low-priority goals → more aggressive approaches. Low priority does not mean low risk.
- Retirement is the workbook's example of a long-term high-priority goal.
- Known goals due within a year belong in assets with relatively good liquidity.
Where this is taught
- Series XXI-B · Chapter 9: Portfolio Management Processintroduced here
- Series XXI-A · Chapter 9: Portfolio Management Processintroduced here
Related terms
- Risk profilingEstablishing how much risk an investor should carry by weighing three separate things — the need to take risk, the financial ability to take it, and the psychological willingness to bear it.
- Strategic asset allocationThe long-term target split of a portfolio across asset categories, fixed from the investor's goals, time horizon and risk profile rather than from any view on markets.
- Net worthEverything you own minus everything you owe — the one number that says where a household actually stands, and the starting point of any financial plan.
- Emergency fundA pool of money held in liquid assets, sized at six months of household expenses, kept aside so that an interruption in income does not force the sale of long-term investments.
- Investment Policy StatementThe written roadmap, drafted with the investor, that sets out objectives, goals, constraints, preferences and risk tolerance. Developing it is the first step of portfolio management.
- Investment ObjectivesAn investor's goals expressed in terms of risk, return and liquidity preferences — such as capital preservation, capital appreciation, current income or tax saving.