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.
SIP bounced? What a failed instalment does and doesn't do
31 Oct 2026
If your bank balance is short on SIP day, no units are bought that month, and the fund house stops the SIP after a few misses. What to do, and how to avoid it.
How-To GuidesInvesting Strategy
Standard deviation: how fund volatility is measured
31 Oct 2026
Two funds can both average 10% a year, one with a standard deviation of 1.4 and the other 15.8. A five-year worked example and how to read the number.
Investing StrategyFund Returns
What is AUM? How fund size is counted and why it matters
31 Oct 2026
AUM is NAV times units outstanding. A ₹1,000 crore fund becomes ₹1,150 crore with a 5% rise and ₹100 crore of inflows. What size changes for you.
Costs & FeesHow-To Guides
How to choose a credit card by what you spend on
30 Oct 2026
Pick a card from your own spending, not its ad. A fee break-even test, the five card types, and how a matching tool like BestCard fits in.
Personal Finance
FD or debt fund: which leaves more after tax?
30 Oct 2026
Same 7% return, ₹10 lakh, 30% slab: a debt fund ends ahead of an FD, by ₹11,818 at 5 years and ₹64,826 at 10. Why, and when the FD still wins.
Debt & Hybrid FundsTax
IDCW or Growth: which mutual fund option to choose
30 Oct 2026
A 5% IDCW payout on ₹1 lakh is your own money handed back: NAV falls by the same amount, and you owe ₹1,560 tax in the 30% slab.
Investing StrategyTax
Investing in a minor's name: folio rules, tax and age 18
30 Oct 2026
How a mutual fund folio for a child works: guardian, KYC, who can pay, what happens at 18, and why the income may still be taxed as yours.
Personal FinanceInvesting Strategy
NPS's extra ₹50,000 deduction: is it worth the lock-in?
30 Oct 2026
Section 80CCD(1B) saves ₹15,600 a year at the 30% slab, but only in the old regime and only if you can leave the money alone until retirement.
RetirementTax
Pausing or stopping a SIP: what a six-month break costs
30 Oct 2026
₹10,000 a month for 10 years at 12% is ₹22.19 lakh. Skip six months and it is ₹20.39 lakh to ₹21.54 lakh, depending on when.
Investing Strategy
PPF or equity mutual fund: what each is actually for
30 Oct 2026
₹1.5 lakh a year for 15 years: PPF at an assumed 7% gives ₹40.3 lakh; equity at 6%, 9% and 12% gives ₹35.4 lakh to ₹57.8 lakh after tax.
Investing StrategyTax
The riskometer: how to read a fund's SEBI risk level
30 Oct 2026
SEBI's riskometer has six levels, from Low to Very High, set by the fund house. What it measures, what it misses, and how to use it.
Investing StrategyFund Industry
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana: the rules and who it suits
30 Oct 2026
₹1.5 lakh a year for 15 years in SSY grows to ₹69.8 lakh by year 21 at an assumed 8%. The rules, the tax treatment and the trade-offs.
Personal FinanceTax
TRI or price index: which benchmark is your fund beating?
30 Oct 2026
A price index leaves out dividends; a TRI adds them back. A 1.2-point gap turns ₹1 lakh into ₹3.11 lakh versus ₹3.46 lakh over 10 years.
Fund ReturnsInvesting StrategyBest aggressive hybrid fund in 2026: Bandhan leads
29 Oct 2026
Best aggressive hybrid fund of 2026 on one rule: Bandhan Aggressive Hybrid Fund at 14.00% a year over 3 years vs a 10.55% median. Top five, risk, SIP.
Fund Returns
Best ELSS tax saving fund in 2026: Motilal Oswal leads
29 Oct 2026
Best ELSS fund of 2026 on one rule: Motilal Oswal ELSS Tax Saver Fund at 19.63% a year over 3 years vs a 10.14% median. Top five, risk, SIP.
Fund ReturnsTaxBest flexi cap fund in 2026: Bank of India leads
29 Oct 2026
Best flexi cap fund of 2026 on one rule: Bank of India Flexi Cap Fund at 18.16% a year over 3 years vs a 11.56% median. Top five, risk, SIP.
Fund ReturnsBest gilt fund in 2026: Bandhan Gilt leads
29 Oct 2026
Best gilt fund of 2026 on one rule: Bandhan Gilt Fund at 8.32% a year over 3 years vs a 6.02% median. Top five, risk, SIP.
Debt & Hybrid FundsFund Returns
Best large and mid cap fund in 2026: Invesco India leads
29 Oct 2026
Best large and mid cap fund of 2026 on one rule: Invesco India Large & Mid Cap Fund at 20.78% a year over 3 years vs a 12.68% median. Top five, risk, SIP.
Fund Returns
Best large cap fund in 2026: Invesco India leads
29 Oct 2026
Best large cap fund of 2026 on one rule: Invesco India Large Cap Fund at 13.67% a year over 3 years vs a 9.98% median. Top five, risk, SIP.
Fund Returns
Best mid cap fund in 2026: Invesco India leads
29 Oct 2026
Best mid cap fund of 2026 on one rule: Invesco India Mid Cap Fund at 21.41% a year over 3 years vs a 15.43% median. Top five, risk, SIP.
Fund Returns