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.
Home loan balance transfer: when switching pays after fees
10 Oct 2026
On ₹40 lakh with 15 years left, a 1-point cheaper rate saves ₹2,379 a month and repays ₹38,600 of fees in 17 months. A 0.25-point cut takes 65 months.
Personal Finance
Home loan eligibility by salary: ₹50,000 to ₹3 lakh a month
10 Oct 2026
At 50% FOIR, 8.5% and 20 years, each ₹1 lakh of monthly take-home supports a home loan of about ₹57.6 lakh. Four salaries, and what moves the figure.
Personal FinanceHRA in the old regime: how much tax your rent saves
10 Oct 2026
On a ₹15 lakh salary, ₹30,000 rent in a metro saves ₹93,350 of old-regime tax, yet the new regime still costs ₹19,001 less. The three-way minimum, worked.
TaxPersonal Finance
Mid cap: HSBC vs Invesco vs WhiteOak vs Edelweiss
10 Oct 2026
The four best 3-year mid-cap funds, 19.7% to 22.6% a year to 9 October 2026: fees from 0.68% to 1.10%, 43 to 135 stocks, and one bank all four hold.
Fund ReturnsCosts & Fees
Focused funds compared: ICICI, Motilal, Invesco, ITI
10 Oct 2026
Four 30-stock funds that led on 3 years, 15.12% to 19.98% a year to 9 October 2026: returns, risk, fees, overlap and managers side by side.
Fund ReturnsPortfolio Holdings
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund in 2026: size, costs, returns
10 Oct 2026
ICICI Prudential averaged ₹11,55,871 crore in July–September 2026, up 13.9% in a year, and 7 of its 10 diversified equity funds beat their category median.
Fund IndustryFund Returns
India's government debt since 1861: peaks and troughs
10 Oct 2026
The IMF's long-run series has India's public debt at 11.3% of GDP in 1867, 54.9% in 1933, 21.5% in 1943 and 88.4% in 2020. The record, and what moved it.
Market RecapInterest-free home loan with a SIP: does the maths hold?
10 Oct 2026
On ₹50 lakh at 8.5% for 20 years, a ₹5,419 SIP at 12% grows to the ₹54.1 lakh of interest. Earn 10% and it is ₹12.6 lakh short. What the idea assumes.
Personal FinanceInvesting StrategyLarge & mid cap: Invesco vs Motilal vs HSBC vs Bandhan
10 Oct 2026
The four best 3-year large & mid-cap funds, 16.6% to 21.4% a year to 9 October 2026, side by side on risk, fees, portfolios, managers and exit loads.
Fund ReturnsPortfolio Holdings
Small cap: ITI vs Bandhan vs Bank of India vs Invesco
10 Oct 2026
The four best 3-year small-cap funds made 21.5% to 23.3% a year to 9 October 2026. How they differ on risk, cash, fees, exit loads and what they hold.
Fund ReturnsPortfolio HoldingsELSS funds compared: JM vs Motilal Oswal vs WhiteOak
10 Oct 2026
The top three ELSS funds on 3-year return, 15.26% to 20.47% a year to 9 Oct 2026, plus a closed SBI series that would rank second: risk, fees, holdings.
Fund ReturnsTaxKotak vs Edelweiss vs Mirae vs HSBC equity savings funds
10 Oct 2026
Edelweiss Equity Savings made 11.01% a year over 3 years with 3.97% volatility, the best balance of the four. HSBC returned most, 12.45%, with the deepest fall.
Debt & Hybrid FundsFund ReturnsInvesting Strategy
Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund in 2026, by the numbers
10 Oct 2026
Kotak managed ₹6.14 lakh crore in July–September 2026, fifth of 55 houses. Its largest scheme is an arbitrage fund; 4 of 9 equity funds beat their median.
Fund IndustryFund Returns
Contra funds compared: Kotak vs SBI vs Invesco India
10 Oct 2026
Kotak Contra leads on 3 years at 13.91% a year, SBI Contra on 5 years at 13.12%. Risk, fees, holdings and managers of the three contra funds to 9 October 2026.
Fund ReturnsInvesting StrategyKVP doubles money in 115 months: what's left after tax
10 Oct 2026
Kisan Vikas Patra turns ₹1 lakh into ₹2 lakh in 115 months at 7.5%. At the 30% slab that is 5.62% a year after tax, against 4.90% on a 7% bank FD.
Personal FinanceTax
Low-drawdown equity screen: why 29 of 31 funds are young
10 Oct 2026
31 equity funds beat 12% a year over 3 years without ever falling 20%. 29 began after the 2020 crash; of 279 older funds, only 3 never fell 20%.
Fund ReturnsInvesting StrategyLow-volatility and quality index funds: costs compared
10 Oct 2026
Index funds and ETFs on four low-volatility and quality indices charge 0.25% to 0.79% and track within 0.36% a year. Fees decide the gap. As of 9 October 2026.
Costs & FeesFund ReturnsInvesting Strategy
Margin trading facility: what borrowing for shares costs
10 Oct 2026
₹1 lakh buys ₹4 lakh of shares on MTF. At an illustrative 15% a year, the stock must rise 11.25% a year just to cover interest, and a 10% fall costs 52%.
Investing StrategyPersonal Finance
Metal, cement and chemical stocks in mutual funds: 6.9%
10 Oct 2026
Equity funds held ₹2,45,408 crore in metal, cement and chemical makers, 6.93% of their Indian shares. Chemicals took the most; metals trailed the index.
Portfolio HoldingsSectorsMirae Asset Mutual Fund by the numbers: 98 schemes
10 Oct 2026
Mirae Asset managed ₹2,37,421 crore in July–September 2026, 10th among fund houses. 71 of its 98 schemes are ETFs, index funds or FoFs, with 14% of its money.
Fund IndustryFund Returns