Mint Money Compass: Money can’t buy me love, but can it make or break a marriage?

In a December panel discussion, I was asked a pointed question by a young lawyer who clearly meant business when it came to financial compatibility. She asked: “I’m looking to get married, and I want to ensure my partner and I have no friction when it comes to money. How do I know if we’re financially compatible?”

The question didn’t come as a surprise. Contemporary couples often enter marriage as financially independent adults with distinct money ethos, earning histories, spending habits, risk appetites, debts, and goals. Compatibility no longer hinges solely on emotional and values-based alignment—how partners view money and interact with finances has become a critical part of compatibility.

And, understandably, as both partners build careers and derive identity from their work, financial compatibility has emerged as an important checkbox. This, of course, is not limited to working couples alone.

But what does financial compatibility really mean or look like? It certainly doesn’t mean marrying your financial twin. Instead, it’s about having the confidence and comfort to enter a marriage with your own money habits, along with mutual respect and acceptance for each other’s perspectives on money. Transparency and a shared “money instinct” are key.

Mint Money’s newest member, Ann Jacob, does a great job speaking to couples, counsellors, and modern matchmakers to decode the role of money in lasting relationships. Read the story here and take the quiz with your partner to understand what financial compatibility may look like. It should help kick off a constructive conversation.

In the investment space, Jash Kriplani lays out a clear playbook on passive investing. Passive investing is an approach in which you track a market index and aim to earn returns similar to those of the index, rather than trying to beat the market through active stock selection. While passive funds are a low-cost and simple way to invest, the growing number of options can be confusing.

As Kriplani explains in the story, passive funds today track over 100 indices, spanning market-cap—weighted, sectoral, and thematic indices, as well as factor-based strategies. For most investors, however, the strategy remains straightforward: Start with a large-cap oriented equity portfolio. Broad-based indices such as the Nifty 100 or the Nifty 500 work well, and exposure can be built gradually through systematic investment plans.

The story also explains why investors should avoid sector- or theme-based passive strategies, making it a worthwhile read for anyone building a passive investment portfolio.

Another important story by Jash Kriplani looks at loans against shares. For short-term liquidity needs, investors can pledge their shares as collateral and borrow up to 50% of the value through an overdraft facility. The advantage is that you don’t have to sell your shares. However, it can be a risky option, especially for long-term cash crunches, as market swings can force you to bring in additional money to maintain the 50% loan-to-value ratio or even sell the pledged shares.

Another important story in the investing space is investing out of FOMO when it comes to buying into an IPO. Many investors flock to public issues hoping for quick listing gains, but outcomes are increasingly becoming unpredictable. As Shefali Anand points out, some recent offerings, even high-profile ones, have underperformed on listing day. Average listing gains have also dropped.

Sample this: In 2025, a retail investor who put money in every IPO and sold them at the close of listing day would have earned an average return of 9.55%, whereas the median return—reflecting the mid-point—was at 5.18%. In other words, half the issues delivered gains below this level. So even as 2026 seems to be another bumper year for IPOs with more than 100 companies already receiving approval, financial advisers suggest that long-term investors are better off buying established stocks in the secondary market or through mutual funds rather than chasing short-term IPO gains.

And if you are looking to put together an education fund for your kid’s higher education, read this piece by Anagh Pal, who not only tells you what double-digit inflation can do to the cost of education but also how to beat that cost by planning, earning on and investing in growth-oriented inflation-beating investments via equity mutual funds.

And finally, read this brilliant interview with Devina Mehra, founder, chairperson, and managing director of First Global, who advises investors to tide over uncertain times through proper asset allocation. She also decodes the role of ‘Gold’ as a safe haven asset and explains why precious metals like Gold and Silver can play a role in a diversified portfolio, but only as a single-digit allocation.

Until next week! Send in your feedback at deepti.bhaskaran@livemint.com.