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.
Section 87A rebate: who pays zero tax up to ₹12 lakh
02 Oct 2026
The 87A rebate wipes out tax up to ₹60,000 in the new regime. Who qualifies, how marginal relief works, and why capital gains tax is not covered.
Tax
Sectoral and thematic funds: reward, risk or marketing?
02 Oct 2026
Over three years to October 2026, sector fund returns ran from −4.4% to 36% a year. Pharma funds led at a 20.8% median; technology trailed at 4.9%.
Investing StrategyFund ReturnsSectors
SGBs vs gold ETFs vs physical gold: the showdown
02 Oct 2026
Same metal, three wrappers. How Sovereign Gold Bonds, gold ETFs and jewellery or coins compare on cost, tax and access after SGB issuance stopped.
Gold & SilverTax
Should you invest in a new fund offer (NFO)?
02 Oct 2026
A ₹10 NFO is not cheaper than a ₹500 fund. What an NFO really is, the SEBI deployment rule, the checks to run, and when waiting costs you nothing.
Investing StrategyFund Industry
Should you stop your SIP when the market crashes?
02 Oct 2026
Pausing a SIP in a fall means skipping the cheapest units you will ever buy. A worked example, the cases where stopping is right, and a rule to follow.
Investing Strategy
SIF vs mutual fund vs PMS: what changes at ₹10 lakh
02 Oct 2026
A SIF can short 25% of its assets, needs ₹10 lakh and may redeem weekly, yet is taxed as a mutual fund. How it compares with a mutual fund, a PMS and an AIF.
Investing StrategyFund Industry
Sinking funds: a simple way to pay irregular expenses
02 Oct 2026
Turn annual bills like insurance premiums, school fees and repairs into a fixed monthly transfer. A worked ₹18,000-a-month example and where to park the money.
Personal FinanceSIP vs RD: ₹10,000 a month for 5, 10 and 15 years
02 Oct 2026
A ₹10,000 monthly SIP in the Nifty 50 grew to ₹20.5 lakh over ten years to September 2026, against ₹17.4 lakh in a 7% RD. But over five years, the RD won.
Investing StrategyPersonal Finance
Small-cap funds: median up 12.4% while large caps fell
02 Oct 2026
In the year to 1 October 2026 the median small-cap fund gained 12.41%; only 2 of 31 lost money. The 1, 3, 5 and 10-year spread, best, worst and drawdowns.
Fund Returns
Are smart beta funds worth it? What the data shows
02 Oct 2026
Factor index funds cost up to three times a Nifty 50 fund. Over three years to October 2026 most beat it, but momentum funds fell twice as far on the way.
Investing StrategyFund ReturnsCosts & Fees
Debt snowball vs avalanche: which payoff order wins?
02 Oct 2026
Smallest balance first or highest rate first? A three-debt example in rupees shows what each method costs and when the cheaper one is not the better one.
Personal FinanceStarting retirement savings at 40: what the numbers say
02 Oct 2026
Starting at 40 for a ₹2 crore goal at 60 needs about ₹27,800 a month flat, or ₹13,000 with a 10% yearly step-up. The levers that close the gap.
RetirementStep-up SIP: how a yearly raise builds a bigger corpus
02 Oct 2026
A ₹10,000 SIP in a Nifty 50 index fund from October 2016 grew to ₹19.90 lakh. Raising it 10% a year made it ₹28.67 lakh. What drives the gap.
Investing StrategyPersonal Finance
Stock split, bonus and rights issue: what changes for you
02 Oct 2026
A split cuts the price, a bonus adds free shares and a rights issue asks for money. One 100-share example shows the maths, the tax treatment and the traps.
Investing Strategy
Supporting parents who saved nothing for retirement
02 Oct 2026
How to size what your parents need, fund it without sinking your own retirement, and protect them with health cover. A rupee example and a family plan.
RetirementPersonal Finance
Switching mutual funds is a taxable event: how it works
02 Oct 2026
A switch is a redemption plus a fresh purchase, so it can trigger capital gains tax and exit load. The rules, a worked example and how to switch cheaply.
TaxInvesting Strategy
SWP for retirement income: making a corpus pay monthly
02 Oct 2026
How a systematic withdrawal plan turns a fund corpus into a monthly income, how it is taxed, and what a 2020 start did to one, from real NAV data.
RetirementInvesting Strategy
Common tax-filing mistakes and how to avoid them
02 Oct 2026
Missed interest, unreported fund switches, the wrong ITR form, late filing that kills loss carry-forward: the errors behind most notices, and the fixes.
TaxPersonal FinanceTax-loss harvesting: legally cut your capital gains tax
02 Oct 2026
243 of 543 active equity funds fell in the year to 1 October 2026. How booking those losses against gains works in India, and the rules that trip people up.
TaxInvesting StrategyTax on FD interest in India and legal ways to reduce it
02 Oct 2026
FD interest is taxed at your slab rate, so a 7% FD can pay under 5% after tax. See the numbers and the legitimate ways to cut the bill.
Tax