Funds
The whole thing, in causal order
37 ideas, 32 causal links. Below is the longest single chain through them — 9 ideas where each one genuinely causes the next. Everything else either feeds into that chain or hangs off it.
The spine
Read top to bottom. The line under each idea is why it causes the one below it.
- 01SIPEvery individual SIP adds to the industry's sticky monthly recurring inflow.
- 02The SIP BookRecurring SIP money is the sticky component that keeps net flows positive even when lump-sum money leaves.
- 03Net FlowsNet flows — sales minus redemptions — are what actually add to or subtract from AUM.
- 04Assets Under ManagementThe bigger the AUM, the lower the TER SEBI lets the fund charge — scale forces the cap down.
- 05TER Slabs & AUM ScaleThe slabs set the ceiling the fund's actual TER must sit under.
- 06Total Expense RatioTER is the drag subtracted from the fund's gross return to give the return the investor keeps.
- 07Net Return (after TER)The net return is the NAV growth the investor actually keeps.
- 08Net Asset ValueAnnualising a fund's NAV growth over a holding period is exactly what CAGR measures.
- 09CAGR
What feeds the spine
Levers and rules that push on the chain from outside it. Nothing causes these — they are where the causation starts.
- Direct vs Regular Plans Total Expense RatioThe regular plan carries a higher TER because the distributor commission is built into it.
- Gross Return Net Return (after TER)Subtract the fund's cost from gross and what's left is the net return the investor keeps.
- Mark-to-Market Net Asset ValueRepricing every holding to its market price is what produces the day's NAV.
- What's Inside the TER Total Expense RatioThese line items are what the TER is the sum of.
What comes off it
Consequences and scorecards. The chain reaches these, and stops.
- Alpha Net Return (after TER)Measured against the benchmark, the net return's excess is the fund's alpha.
- Folio Growth SIPMost new folios are opened to start a SIP — the habit spreading is what widens the investor base.
- Rupee-Cost Averaging SIPBuying a fixed rupee amount every month is the mechanism that averages your cost per unit.
- XIRR Net Return (after TER)It's the base the investor's realised, timing-aware return is computed from.
Standalone ideas
20 ideas with no causal link to the spine. They are reference — things you look up, not things that cause anything. Worth knowing that upfront rather than hunting for a connection that was never authored.
- Benchmark & TRI
- Beta
- Cost vs Performance
- Debt Funds
- Equity Funds
- ETFs
- Exit Load
- Hybrid Funds
- Index Funds
- Liquid & Overnight Funds
- Lumpsum vs SIP
- NAV Cut-off & Applicability
- Reading a Fund Factsheet
- Rolling Returns
- SEBI Fund Categorization
- Sharpe Ratio
- Standard Deviation
- Tax: the Second Silent Drag
- Total Return vs Price Return
- Tracking Error