The FinvestR Blog
Plain-English articles on Indian mutual funds, SIPs, tax-saving, retirement planning and reading your own portfolio. Written by the FinvestR research desk and our founder.
More from the blog
How to Find Duplicate Mutual Funds in Your Portfolio
The four ways duplicate funds sneak into an Indian portfolio, how to spot them by AMC, category, top holdings, and fund manager, and how to consolidate to a leaner, cheaper set.
How to Read Your CAS Statement in India (2026 Guide)
A plain-English walkthrough of the Consolidated Account Statement: what each section means, how to read the valuation and XIRR numbers, the CAMS vs Kfintech difference, and how to spot overlapping funds and concentrated AMC exposure.
SIP calculator: how much to invest monthly for your goal
A SIP calculator works backwards from your goal. Here is the future-value math behind it, the realistic return and inflation assumptions for India, and how to size the monthly SIP for a retirement or education corpus.
SIP vs Lump Sum: Which to Choose When Markets Are High
The lump sum vs SIP decision when the market is at an all-time high, with the worked math for rising, flat, and falling-then-rising markets, and the balanced advantage fund as the set-and-forget middle path.
What is NAV in mutual funds and how is it calculated?
NAV is the per-unit price of a mutual fund, but it is not your return. Here is what it is, how it is calculated, why a lower NAV is not a discount, and the one number that actually matters.
Just tell the chat: how FinvestR-Agent keeps track of your FDs, loans, and insurance
Your MFs are already in the agent. The FDs, PPF, EPF, home loan, credit card, and term cover are not. The fix is one chat sentence at a time. Here is what the chat understands and what it won't do.
Top mutual fund rankings: August 2026
Our August 2026 category-wise mutual fund rankings, with 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, Sharpe 3Y and a final score for every top-5 fund. Methodology on the page.
How much term insurance cover do you actually need in India?
A plain-English framework for sizing term insurance cover in India, the math behind income replacement and liability cover, the three multipliers to ignore, and how to log the policy in your net worth.
How much should your emergency fund be in India?
How many months of expenses belong in an emergency fund, where to park it (savings account, liquid fund, short-duration debt fund), and why the standard 3-6 months rule is wrong for most Indian households.
NPS vs ELSS for retirement: which one actually wins?
A side-by-side of NPS Tier 1 and ELSS for retirement: tax breaks, lock-in, returns, the NPS annuity trap, and the right answer for different retirement horizons.
Is your mutual fund portfolio over-diversified?
The four practical checks for over-diversification: count the funds, look at AMC overlap, measure category overlap, and check if your top 3 funds are doing all the work. With a worked example and a fix.
Best mutual funds to invest in India (2026)
The 2026 shortlist across every category that matters for an Indian investor: large cap, flexi cap, mid cap, small cap, ELSS, debt, liquid. With the score, the rationale, and the live rankings link for each.
Mutual Fund vs FD: Which is better for you in 2026?
A side-by-side of FDs and equity mutual funds in 2026, with the after-tax return, the inflation-adjusted return, and the right answer for every goal from a 1-year emergency fund to a 15-year retirement SIP.
XIRR vs CAGR vs Absolute Returns: what your statement hides
Why the 14% on your CAS statement is not the return you actually earned, what XIRR and CAGR really measure, and which one to use when you compare your portfolio to the Nifty.
How to start investing in mutual funds in India (2026)
Everything you need to go from zero to your first SIP: KYC, PAN, picking an AMC, choosing a fund, automating the SIP, and the three funds most beginners actually need to start with.
Why you don't need SIF in your portfolio
A sharp look at SIF, SEBI's new long-short product, and why its capped-upside payoff is the last thing you want after two flat years in equity mutual funds.
Top mutual fund rankings: July 2026
Our July 2026 category-wise mutual fund rankings, with 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, Sharpe 3Y and a final score for every top-5 fund. Methodology on the page.
Your portfolio is alive. Your agent is too.
What 'alive' actually means for a mutual fund portfolio, the daily signals we ship, and why on-device CAS parsing matters.
ELSS vs PPF: Which 80C option is better for you?
A plain-English comparison of the two most common 80C choices, with the lock-in, return, and risk trade-offs laid out side by side.
How much do you actually need to retire in India?
A practical breakdown of the math behind a retirement corpus, from expenses to inflation to the SIP that gets you there.