Tax
How mutual funds are taxed in 2026-27: a plain-language guide
Equity funds, debt funds, hybrids, gold and international funds are all taxed differently, and the holding period decides the rate. Here are the rules for the 2026-27 tax…
Articles
Plain-language guides to investing for Indian families — page 3
Written and reviewed by Dr. Deepak N. Paithankar, AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor. Every article works through real numbers, states its assumptions and ends with the questions families actually ask. New articles on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Safety first
Where to keep your emergency fund (and where not to)
An emergency fund has one job — to be there, in full, on the worst day of your year. Here is how big it should be, how to…
Understanding funds
How to read a mutual fund factsheet in 10 minutes
A factsheet tells you what a fund owns, what it costs, how risky it has been and who runs it — on one or two pages. Here is…
Understanding funds
Direct plan or regular plan? What you really pay for
Every mutual fund comes in two versions. The direct plan has a lower expense ratio; the regular plan pays a distributor like us. Here is exactly what the…
SIP basics
SIP or lump sum? A simple way to decide
In a market that rises steadily, a lump sum usually ends ahead; in a market that dips first, a SIP often wins. Since nobody knows which market is…
Retirement income
SWP explained: turning a lump sum into a monthly income
A Systematic Withdrawal Plan pays you a fixed amount every month from a mutual fund while the rest stays invested. How long the money lasts depends mainly on…
SIP basics
The real cost of waiting five years to start your SIP
Waiting five years to start a ₹10,000 SIP does not cost you ₹6 lakh of missed instalments. Over 25 years it can cost almost half the final corpus.…
SIP basics
Step-up SIP: why raising your SIP by 10% a year can double your result
A ₹10,000 SIP for 20 years at an assumed 12% grows to about ₹92 lakh. Raise it by 10% every year and the same plan reaches about ₹1.86…
Home loans
How a small SIP can pay back every rupee of your home-loan interest
A ₹50 lakh home loan at 8.5% for 25 years costs about ₹70.8 lakh in interest. A SIP of roughly ₹4,160 a month, run alongside it, can build…