Resources
Mutual Funds, Explained Without The Jargon
The questions people ask us most often, answered the way we would answer them across a table.
Investment Calculator
SIP Calculator
Type in whatever figures you like — a monthly amount, a number of years, a rate — and see what the arithmetic does. Change them as often as you want; nothing is saved and nothing is sent anywhere.
Total invested
₹0
Estimated value
₹0
Estimated gain
₹0
- Total invested — ₹0
- Estimated gain — ₹0
This is an illustration, not a projection and not a promise. It assumes a constant rate of return, which no market delivers. Actual returns will differ. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks — read all scheme related documents carefully.
One-Time Investment
Lump Sum Calculator
Type in whatever figures you like — an amount, a number of years, a rate — and see what the arithmetic does. Change them as often as you want; nothing is saved and nothing is sent anywhere.
Amount invested
₹0
Estimated value
₹0
Estimated gain
₹0
- Amount invested — ₹0
- Estimated gain — ₹0
This is an illustration, not a projection and not a promise. It assumes a constant rate of return, which no market delivers. Actual returns will differ. Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks — read all scheme related documents carefully.
Mutual Funds, Explained
What Is A Mutual Fund?
Money from many investors is pooled together, and a professional fund manager invests it according to a stated objective — Indian shares, government bonds, gold, or a mix. You own units of the fund. Each day the fund values everything it holds and publishes a NAV, the per-unit price. Your investment is the number of units you hold times that day's NAV. You are not buying a product with a fixed return. You are buying a share of a portfolio, and it moves.
What Is A SIP, And Is It Different From A Fund?
A common confusion, and worth clearing up. A SIP is not a product. It is a method of paying — a standing instruction that invests a fixed amount in a fund you have chosen, every month. You do not "invest in a SIP". You invest in a fund, via a SIP.
SIP Or Lump Sum?
If the money arrives monthly, a SIP. If you already have the sum, it depends on your horizon and how you would feel about a fall soon after investing. An STP — parking it in a liquid fund and moving it across in instalments — is often the middle path. Over a long horizon the difference between the two matters far less than whether you stay invested at all.
What Is An Expense Ratio?
The annual cost of running the fund, as a percentage of the money invested. It covers the fund manager, the administration and the distributor’s commission. It is already deducted before the NAV you see is published — you will never see it as a separate charge, which is exactly why it is worth asking about. A 1.8% expense ratio over twenty years is not a small number.
What Is An Exit Load?
A charge for redeeming too soon — commonly 1% if you exit within a year. It is stated in the scheme document. Liquid funds usually have none, which is part of why they suit an emergency fund.
What Is A Lock-In, And Which Funds Have One?
A period during which units cannot be redeemed at all. Most open-ended mutual funds have no lock-in — you can redeem any working day. ELSS is the common exception, at three years. In an ELSS SIP, each monthly instalment locks in separately for three years from its own date.
Direct Or Regular — What Is The Difference?
Every scheme has two plans. A direct plan carries no distributor commission, so its expense ratio is lower. A regular plan includes the commission and is what you hold when you invest through a distributor like us. We are telling you this on our own website because you will find it out anyway, and would rightly wonder why we had not mentioned it. The lower cost of direct is real. What you give up is having somebody who knows your situation, picks up the phone, does the paperwork, and talks you out of redeeming in a bad month. Whether that is worth the difference is genuinely your call, and we would rather you made it knowingly.
How Is A Mutual Fund Taxed?
Tax applies when you redeem, not while you stay invested. The treatment differs between equity and debt funds and depends on how long you held the units, and the rules have changed more than once in recent years. We will tell you the general position that applies to you. For anything specific — your slab, your other income, a large redemption — speak to a chartered accountant. We distribute mutual funds; we are not tax advisers.
What Is KYC, And Do I Need To Do It Again?
Know Your Customer — a one-time verification required before you can invest. PAN, Aadhaar, a bank account and a photograph. If you have invested in any mutual fund before, you are probably already KYC-compliant and it carries across the industry. We will check for you before you fill anything in.
What Happens If I Stop My SIP?
Nothing bad. The units you have already bought stay invested and continue to move with the market. You have not broken a contract and there is no penalty — a SIP is a standing instruction, not a loan. You can restart later, or change the amount. People pause SIPs when money is tight; that is what the flexibility is for.
What Happens To My Investment If Something Happens To Me?
The units are held in your name against your PAN and folio. Register a nominee — it is the single most useful ten minutes of admin in this whole process, and it is the thing most people skip. With a nominee registered, the transfer is straightforward. Without one it is considerably harder for your family at the worst possible time. We will ask you about this. It is not an upsell; there is nothing to sell here.
Still Have A Question?
Send it over. We would rather answer a question than have you guess.