Blog
What the numbers said — fund returns and costs, foreign and domestic flows, index valuations, gold and silver — plus tax, retirement and personal-finance basics, written from the same data the rest of this site shows, with the date on every figure.
Decade compounders: 69 funds beat 15% a year for 10 years
10 Oct 2026
69 funds of ₹1,000 crore or more compounded above 15% a year over the ten years to October 2026. No large-cap or index fund made it; Quant has 9 of the 69.
Fund ReturnsInvesting Strategy
DSCR for a business loan: the ratio your bank checks
10 Oct 2026
A lab earning ₹28 lakh a year before debt asks for ₹80 lakh over 5 years and gets a DSCR of 1.19x, below the usual 1.25x. Four ways to fix it, worked out.
Personal Finance
DSP Mutual Fund by the numbers: 9th to 11th for ten years
10 Oct 2026
DSP managed ₹2,44,022 crore in July–September 2026, 9th among fund houses. Equity is under half its money and debt a quarter; value and small cap rank best.
Fund IndustryFund ReturnsEducation loan moratorium: the interest before the first EMI
10 Oct 2026
On a ₹20 lakh loan at 10%, a 54-month moratorium builds up ₹9 lakh of interest. Letting it capitalise costs ₹5.27 lakh more than paying it as it accrues.
Personal FinanceTax
Endowment policy: surrender, make paid-up or keep paying?
10 Oct 2026
A policy that returns 6.4% over its life can still offer 9% on the premiums left. Worked numbers for surrender, paid-up and continue, against a SIP.
Personal FinanceInvesting StrategyTax
ESG mutual funds: 3 of 8 beat the Nifty 500 over 3 years
10 Oct 2026
Ten active ESG funds hold ₹9,880 crore, three-quarters of it in exclusion strategies. Over three years to 9 October 2026, three of eight beat the Nifty 500 TRI.
SectorsFund Returns
ESOPs in India: tax at exercise and at sale, worked through
10 Oct 2026
₹10 lakh of ESOP spread costs ₹3.12 lakh in tax at exercise. Then the sale: ₹48,750 or ₹1.56 lakh on the same gain, depending on listing and holding period.
TaxPersonal FinanceFalls less than it rises: 74 funds, 29 pharma or hybrid
10 Oct 2026
74 funds caught over 95% of their benchmark's rising months and under 85% of its falls. 14 of 15 pharma funds pass; 3 of 97 large, mid and flexi caps do.
Fund ReturnsInvesting Strategy
Flat vs reducing rate: what a flat 7% loan really costs
10 Oct 2026
On ₹5 lakh over 3 years, 7% flat costs ₹1,05,000 in interest against ₹55,788 at 7% reducing. It equals a 12.83% reducing rate, about 1.8 times the quote.
Personal FinanceFloater funds compared: Franklin, ICICI, Bandhan, Axis
10 Oct 2026
Four floater funds ended the year to 9 October 2026 within 0.08 points, 6.20% to 6.28%. Over three years Axis led at 8.46%, with 2.7 times ICICI's volatility.
Debt & Hybrid FundsFund ReturnsCosts & Fees
FMCG stocks in mutual funds: 4.2% of equity money
10 Oct 2026
Equity funds held ₹1,47,653 crore in FMCG makers on the latest disclosures, 4.17% of their Indian shares, less than FMCG's 5.50% of the Nifty 50.
Portfolio HoldingsSectorsFour balanced advantage funds, head to head in 2026
10 Oct 2026
ABSL, Baroda BNP Paribas, quant and WhiteOak balanced advantage funds made 11-13% a year over 3 years; quant's worst fall, 18.43%, was twice ABSL's.
Debt & Hybrid FundsFund ReturnsInvesting Strategy
G20 government debt: India from 3rd highest to 9th
10 Oct 2026
In 2007 India had the G20's third-highest government debt ratio, at 75.4% of GDP. By 2025 it was ninth at 84.1%: other ratios rose far faster.
Market RecapGain harvesting: using the ₹1.25 lakh exemption every year
10 Oct 2026
Selling and rebuying to book ₹1.25 lakh of tax-free equity gains each year cut final tax on a ₹10 lakh holding by ₹1.45 lakh over ten years. Costs and traps.
TaxInvesting Strategy
Gold ETFs compared: UTI, Quantum, ICICI Prudential, LIC
10 Oct 2026
Four gold ETFs to 9 October 2026: 20.93% to 21.80% in a year, 0.87 points apart. Expense ratios run 0.45% to 0.59%, and the dearest, UTI, returned the most.
Gold & SilverCosts & FeesFund ReturnsGold in rupees vs dollars: the rupee's share of the gain
10 Oct 2026
Gold rose 25.3% a year in rupees in the five years to September 2026. The metal's dollar price gave 19.0% a year; a weaker rupee supplied the rest.
Gold & SilverInvesting StrategyGratuity after 5 to 25 years of service, by salary
10 Oct 2026
₹50,000 basic for 10 years pays ₹2,88,462 in gratuity. A table for six salaries from 5 to 25 years, the ₹20 lakh limit, and what the labour codes changed.
TaxPersonal FinanceRetirementGST input tax credit: one product, four invoices
10 Oct 2026
A ₹2,200 product at 18% GST passes four hands; each pays tax only on its value added, ₹396 in all. Why credit is denied, and what a missing GSTR-1 costs.
TaxPersonal FinanceValue funds compared: HDFC vs Axis vs Quant vs LIC MF
10 Oct 2026
The top four value funds over 3 years, 14.90% to 19.62% a year to 9 October 2026, compared on risk, fees, holdings, overlap, managers and exit loads.
Fund ReturnsPortfolio HoldingsHDFC Mutual Fund in 2026: three funds above ₹1 lakh crore
10 Oct 2026
HDFC Mutual Fund averaged ₹9,69,076 crore in July–September 2026, and three of its funds averaged over ₹1 lakh crore each, a third of the house.
Fund IndustryPortfolio Holdings