A mutual fund pools money from many investors and uses it to buy a basket of stocks, bonds, or other assets, managed by a professional fund manager. You buy "units" of the fund — the value of each unit (NAV) changes daily based on the underlying holdings.

Direct plans have a lower expense ratio because no broker commission is paid. The same fund in Direct form typically returns 0.5-1% more annually than the Regular plan. Over 15-20 years, this compounds into a significant difference. Chartchintan only shows Direct plans.

Most equity funds let you start with just ₹500/month. There's no minimum that's "too small" — what matters is consistency. Many investors start with ₹1,000-5,000 and increase by 10% each year as income grows.

ELSS (Equity Linked Savings Scheme) is a special category of equity fund eligible for tax deduction up to ₹1.5 lakh under Section 80C. The trade-off: a 3-year lock-in period. Returns and risk are similar to regular equity funds.

For equity funds: gains over ₹1 lakh/year held longer than 12 months are taxed at 10% (LTCG). Short-term (under 12 months) gains are taxed at 15%. Debt fund gains are taxed at your income tax slab regardless of holding period (post April 2023 rules).

No. We only show Direct plans, which carry zero commission to anyone. Our rankings and scorecards are entirely independent — we never accept payment from AMCs for placement or visibility.