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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.
Nifty 50 index funds ranked by cost, October 2026
01 Oct 2026
Direct-plan expense ratios on 26 Nifty 50 index funds run from 0.10% to 0.86%. Over a year, the cheapest funds also lost the least to the same index.
Costs & Fees
DIIs bought ₹6.4 lakh crore of Indian shares in 2026
01 Oct 2026
Domestic institutions bought a net ₹6,39,535 crore of Indian shares from January to September 2026, 1.59 times what foreign institutions sold.
FII & DII Flows
Direct vs regular plans: the 1.16-point equity fee gap
01 Oct 2026
A regular equity plan costs a median 1.16 points a year more than its direct twin, on AMFI's September 2026 data. Over ten years, direct ended 10.2% ahead.
Costs & FeesFund Returns
ELSS fund returns in October 2026, and the 3-year lock-in
01 Oct 2026
The median ELSS tax-saver fund returned 10.30% a year over the three years to 30 September 2026, exactly its lock-in period. Best, worst, and the lock-in odds.
Fund Returns
Equity fund scorecard: median returns by category
01 Oct 2026
Mid-cap funds lead on three years at a 15.68% median; large caps trail every period. Median 1, 3, 5 and 10-year returns for 12 categories, to 30 Sep 2026.
Fund ReturnsMarket RecapEquity fund exit loads: what 569 schemes charge
01 Oct 2026
Of 521 non-ELSS equity funds with a Scheme Summary Document, 484 charge an exit load. 82% of those charge 1%, and 39% keep it for a full year.
Costs & Fees
196 of 529 equity funds are down over the past year
01 Oct 2026
37% of equity funds lost money in the year to 30 September 2026: 29 of 33 large caps, but 1 of 62 mid and small caps. Which categories and themes fell.
Fund ReturnsMarket RecapFastest-growing mutual fund houses in 2026
01 Oct 2026
Industry AAUM rose 15.3% in the year to April–June 2026. Helios, Zerodha and WhiteOak grew fastest; ICICI Prudential and Nippon India added the most rupees.
Fund Industry
FII vs DII in September 2026: who bought, who sold
01 Oct 2026
FIIs sold a net ₹44,013 crore of Indian shares in September 2026; DIIs bought ₹76,030 crore. The month day by day, and the 15-month streak behind it.
FII & DII FlowsMarket Recap
FIIs sold ₹4.03 lakh crore of Indian shares in 2026
01 Oct 2026
Foreign institutions sold a net ₹4,03,068 crore of Indian shares from January to September 2026, already 31.5% more than in all of 2025. Month by month.
FII & DII FlowsFive-star mutual funds: what the ratings show
01 Oct 2026
185 of 1,629 rated funds hold 5 stars. Among flexi caps, the 5-star median 3-year return trailed the 4-star one; the edge was smaller falls and lower costs.
Fund IndustryFund Returns
Flexi-cap fund returns: a 12-point spread over 3 years
01 Oct 2026
The median flexi-cap fund returned 11.22% a year over three years to 30 September 2026. The best made 18.38%, the worst 6.06%. The 1, 3 and 5-year spread.
Fund ReturnsForeign stocks in Indian equity funds: under 1%
01 Oct 2026
33 of 587 equity schemes held overseas securities on 31 August 2026: ₹37,337 crore, 0.96% of their money. Parag Parikh Flexi Cap alone held 43.6% of it.
Portfolio HoldingsFund managers with the most schemes in 2026
01 Oct 2026
One Kotak manager is named on 88 schemes and nine others on 46 to 59. Most are index funds and ETFs, or roles like managing a fund's overseas holdings.
Fund Industry
Gilt funds returned 3% in a year, half what liquid did
01 Oct 2026
The median gilt fund returned 3.02% in the year to 30 September 2026, against 6.46% for liquid funds. The spread between gilt funds was over 7 points.
Debt & Hybrid FundsFund Returns
Gold fell 4.9% in September 2026: the month in rupees
01 Oct 2026
Gold fell from ₹1,35,882 to ₹1,29,290 per 10 grams in September 2026, its third-worst month in five years, and ended 17.9% below its January peak.
Gold & SilverMarket Recap
Gold up 17%, silver up 39%: the year in rupee prices
01 Oct 2026
Gold rose 16.7% and silver 39.4% in rupees over the year to 1 October 2026, but both sit well below their January peaks. The year month by month.
Gold & Silver
The gold-silver ratio in 2026: from 104 to 44, now 68
01 Oct 2026
The gold-silver ratio hit 103.9 in May 2025, fell to 44.1 in January 2026 and stood at 68.5 on 1 October. Five years of it, and what moved it.
Gold & SilverThe most expensive equity funds, even on direct plans
01 Oct 2026
The median direct-plan equity fund charged 1.07% a year at the end of September 2026. 21 of 540 charged 2% or more, and the dearest 3.20%.
Costs & FeesHow many mutual fund schemes are there in India?
01 Oct 2026
India has 2,346 live mutual fund schemes but 8,653 scheme codes, because each fund comes in plans and options. The count by category, and where it comes from.
Fund Industry