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.

Oil, gas and power stocks in mutual funds: 6.1% of equity
10 Oct 2026
Equity funds held ₹2,16,644 crore in oil, gas, coal and power companies, 6.11% of their Indian shares, about half the Nifty 50's 11.98%. Reliance led.
Portfolio HoldingsSectors
Personal loan fees and GST: the true APR on ₹5 lakh
10 Oct 2026
A ₹5 lakh personal loan at 13% with a 2% fee plus GST puts ₹4,88,200 in your account, not ₹5 lakh. The true rate, or APR, is 14.68% over three years.
Personal Finance
Post Office MIS for retirees: ₹617 a month per lakh
10 Oct 2026
At 7.4%, each ₹1 lakh in Post Office MIS pays ₹616.67 a month for five years. The limits, the tax, and how a retired couple can pair it with SCSS.
RetirementPersonal Finance
PPF after 15 years: extend with deposits, without, or close?
10 Oct 2026
A full PPF account matures at ₹40.68 lakh. Five more years take it to ₹57.33 lakh without deposits or ₹66.58 lakh with them, and the withdrawal rules differ.
Personal FinanceRetirementTax
PPFAS Mutual Fund by the numbers: one fund is 87% of it
10 Oct 2026
PPFAS managed ₹1,69,069 crore in July–September 2026, up 27.9% in a year. Parag Parikh Flexi Cap was 87% of it, with 11.9% in four US stocks.
Fund IndustryPortfolio Holdings
Quant mutual funds: 4 of 6 with 3 years beat the Nifty 500
10 Oct 2026
Ten quant funds and three multi-factor funds hold ₹11,983 crore. Over three years to 9 October 2026, four of the six old enough beat the Nifty 500 TRI.
SectorsFund Returns
Quant, Nippon, DSP, Kotak multi-asset funds compared
10 Oct 2026
The four multi-asset funds with the best 3-year records made 16.67% to 21.54% a year to 8 October 2026. Their mixes of equity, gold and silver differ widely.
Fund ReturnsDebt & Hybrid FundsInvesting Strategy
Rental yield: what a flat really earns after costs and tax
10 Oct 2026
A ₹1.2 crore flat let at ₹30,000 a month yields 3% gross, 1.67% after costs and 1.14% after tax at the 30% slab. The line-by-line arithmetic.
Personal FinanceInvesting StrategyTax
RSUs from a US employer: tax at vest and at sale in India
10 Oct 2026
US shares flat in dollars still left a ₹3.36 lakh taxable gain in rupees. How RSU and ESPP tax works at vest, at sale and in Schedule FA for FY 2026-27.
TaxPersonal Finance
Rupee vs dollar since 2013: what 3% a year does to a goal
10 Oct 2026
A dollar cost ₹61.96 at the end of 2013 and ₹89.77 at the end of 2025, a rise of 3.1% a year. What that pace does to a goal priced in dollars.
Market RecapPersonal Finance
Salary or freelancing on ₹25 lakh: the take-home compared
10 Oct 2026
On ₹25 lakh, salary tax is ₹3,19,800 and presumptive freelance tax ₹52,000. After costs, PF and gratuity, freelancing breaks even near ₹26.7 lakh of billing.
TaxPersonal Finance
SBI vs ICICI Prudential vs Aditya Birla children's funds
10 Oct 2026
₹1 lakh put in SBI Children's Investment Plan five years ago is ₹2.33 lakh today; in Aditya Birla's Bal Bhavishya, ₹1.51 lakh. Lock-ins, costs, holdings.
Fund ReturnsInvesting Strategy
SBI Mutual Fund in 2026: the largest house, by the numbers
10 Oct 2026
SBI Mutual Fund averaged ₹13,09,607 crore in July–September 2026, 15.0% of the industry. Only 2 of its 10 diversified equity funds beat their category median.
Fund IndustryFund Returns
Shortlisting a fund with the screener: a mid-cap example
10 Oct 2026
From 34 Direct Growth mid-cap funds to three, using cost, size, 5-year CAGR, rolling returns and worst falls. A worked example on data as of 9 October 2026.
Investing StrategyFund Returns
Silver ETFs and silver FoFs: what each one costs you
10 Oct 2026
Silver ETFs charge 0.35% to 0.59%. Over three years to 9 October 2026, seven silver FoFs returned 1.3 to 2.4 points a year less than the ETFs they hold.
Gold & SilverCosts & Fees
Studying abroad: planning for a rupee that keeps falling
10 Oct 2026
A US$100,000 course 10 years away needs ₹1.75 crore, not ₹1.30 crore, if the rupee slips 3% a year. How to size a foreign-currency education goal.
Personal FinanceInvesting Strategy
Sukanya Samriddhi: what ₹1.5 lakh a year becomes
10 Oct 2026
₹1.5 lakh a year in SSY for 15 years grows to ₹71.82 lakh at 8.2% by maturity, all tax-free. Smaller amounts, and the deposit and withdrawal rules.
Personal FinanceTax
TDS rate chart for FY 2026-27: salary, rent, fees and more
10 Oct 2026
TDS rates and thresholds for FY 2026-27 in one table: 10% on rent above ₹50,000 a month, 1% on contractors and property, 10% on dividends above ₹10,000.
TaxPersonal Finance
US index funds from India: S&P 500 and Nasdaq compared
10 Oct 2026
The S&P 500 made 25.31% in rupees in the year to 8 October 2026, 10 points of it the dollar. Index funds kept pace; two FoFs made 61-65%, mostly ETF premium.
Costs & FeesFund ReturnsInvesting Strategy
UTI Mutual Fund in 2026: ETFs, index funds and the rest
10 Oct 2026
UTI managed ₹4.02 lakh crore in July–September 2026, seventh of 55 houses. Two ETFs hold a third of it; 2 of 9 active equity funds beat their median.
Fund IndustryPortfolio Holdings