Questions people actually ask
Organised by what you are trying to do, rather than piled into one long list. The uncomfortable questions get honest answers, not reassuring ones.
Getting started
Accounts, documents and the first steps, in the order they actually happen.
10 questionsMoney and amounts
How much you need, how much to invest, and what it all costs.
12 questionsRisk and reality
What can go wrong, how often, and what the data actually shows.
12 questionsChoosing investments
Funds, shares, ETFs and gold, and how to tell them apart.
10 questionsSelling and holding
When to sell, when to do nothing, and how to tell the difference.
12 questionsTax
Capital gains, the new Income-tax Act, and what you actually owe.
10 questionsRetirement and planning
EPF, NPS, how much you need, and planning across decades.
10 questionsAbout AlphaVik
What AlphaVik does, what it will not do, and how your data is handled.
Getting started
The questions people ask before they have invested anything. If you are at the very beginning, read these in order.
How do I start investing in India as a complete beginner?
Build an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses and clear any high interest debt first. Then decide when you will need the money, since anything needed within five years should not go into shares. Then open a demat and trading account, and start with a monthly SIP into a broad index fund rather than a single stock.
What is the difference between a demat and a trading account?
A trading account places your buy and sell orders on the exchange. A demat account holds the shares you bought, electronically, in your own name. Brokers usually open both together in one application.
What documents do I need to open a demat account?
PAN card, Aadhaar linked to the mobile number you have with you for OTP verification, a bank account in your own name with a cancelled cheque or statement, plus a photograph and signature image. Income proof is only needed if you want to trade derivatives.
Which broker should I choose?
For most people a discount broker charging a flat fee per order is considerably cheaper than a full service broker charging a percentage, especially on larger trades. Verify any broker SEBI registration number on the SEBI website rather than on the broker own site, and compare all charges rather than just the advertised brokerage.
Is nomination compulsory for a demat account?
From 1 September 2026, new single holder demat accounts and mutual fund folios must either name a nominee or submit a formal opt out declaration. The field cannot be left blank. Nomination remains optional for jointly held accounts.
Do I need a demat account for mutual funds?
No. Ordinary mutual funds, including index funds, can be held without one. A demat account is needed for directly held shares, ETFs and bonds.
When is the Indian stock market open?
The equity market is open from 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM, Monday to Friday, apart from declared market holidays. Orders placed outside these hours wait until the market opens.
How do I buy my first share?
Transfer money to your trading account, search for the company, choose delivery rather than intraday, and place a limit order specifying the maximum price you will pay. The share reaches your demat account the next working day.
What is the difference between a market order and a limit order?
A market order executes immediately at whatever price is available, so it almost always fills but you do not control the price. A limit order only executes at the price you set or better, so you control the price but it may never fill. A limit order is the safer default.
What is the difference between CNC and MIS?
CNC is a delivery order, meaning you keep the share until you decide to sell. MIS is an intraday order that closes automatically before the market shuts. Selecting MIS by mistake means your position is sold the same day whether you wanted that or not.
What is the difference between the NSE and the BSE?
Both are stock exchanges in India doing the same job. The BSE is older, founded in 1875, while the NSE handles more trading volume today. Most large companies are listed on both and prices on the two are almost identical.
Can I invest if I do not have a regular salary?
Yes. What matters is that the money is genuinely spare and that you have a larger emergency fund than a salaried person would, typically nine to twelve months of expenses, because variable income makes an unexpected gap more likely.
Money and amounts
Questions about rupees. Most of these have shorter answers than people expect.
How much money do I need to start investing?
A monthly SIP into a mutual fund can start from around Rs 500, and many shares cost a few hundred rupees. The amount matters far less than the order of operations: emergency savings first, then clearing high interest debt, then investing money you will not need for at least five years.
How much of my income should I invest?
There is no correct percentage. Work out what you can invest consistently without needing to withdraw it, since consistency matters more than the amount. A common approach is to invest whatever remains after expenses and savings goals, and to increase it with every raise before lifestyle absorbs it.
How much emergency fund do I need?
Three to six months of living expenses for most salaried people, and nine to twelve months if you are self employed or your income is variable. Calculate it on what you need to live each month, not on what you earn.
What charges do I pay when buying shares?
Brokerage, securities transaction tax, exchange transaction charges, GST at 18% on brokerage and transaction charges, a SEBI turnover fee, and stamp duty on the buy side. Selling from your demat account also incurs a depository charge, levied per company per day.
Is zero brokerage really free?
No. Brokerage is only one of several charges and is often the smallest. Securities transaction tax, exchange charges, GST, stamp duty and depository charges still apply, and a broker offering zero brokerage may recover cost through account maintenance fees.
What is an expense ratio and why does it matter?
It is the yearly fee a fund charges, deducted from the fund daily rather than billed to you. It matters because it is certain while returns are not, and it applies to your whole balance every year. Over decades, a fund charging 1.8% instead of 0.2% consumes a large share of your final amount.
Should I invest a lump sum or monthly?
A monthly SIP removes the need to judge the right moment and buys more units when prices fall. If you have a lump sum you do not need for years, investing it gradually over several months is a common compromise between waiting and committing everything at one price.
Is a Rs 20 share cheaper than a Rs 2,000 share?
No. The price depends entirely on how many shares the company has divided itself into, so it says nothing about value. What matters is the price relative to what the business earns and owns.
How much should I keep in one company?
A common discipline is a limit of around 5% to 10% in any single company and 20% to 25% in any sector, applied mechanically rather than by how confident you feel. If a holding going to zero would change your life, it is too large.
How much gold should I hold?
Around 5% to 10% of your investment portfolio is a common approach and is enough for gold to steady a portfolio. Count family jewellery as existing exposure, since many Indian households already hold a meaningful allocation without thinking of it as an investment.
Risk and reality
The uncomfortable questions. These have honest answers rather than reassuring ones.
Can I lose all my money in the stock market?
In a single company, yes, if it fails, because shareholders are paid last. In a diversified fund holding dozens of companies it is very unlikely, since all of them would have to fail at once. Losing 30% or more in a bad year is entirely possible in equity and has happened several times.
Is the stock market safe?
Two different questions hide in that one. The plumbing is safe: your shares sit at a depository in your own name, and SEBI regulates brokers, exchanges and depositories. The outcome is not safe: prices fall, markets can stay down for years, and no regulator protects you from a bad business or a bad price.
What percentage of intraday traders lose money in India?
SEBI found that between 65% and 71% of individual intraday traders in the equity cash segment lost money each year from FY20 to FY24. Among traders under 30, the loss rate in FY23 was around 76%.
What percentage of F&O traders lose money?
SEBI found 91% of individual equity derivatives traders lost money in FY25, with net losses of about Rs 1.06 lakh crore. Over FY22 to FY24 the figure was 93%, and only about 1% of traders earned more than Rs 1 lakh a year after transaction costs.
Is intraday trading suitable for beginners?
The data argues strongly against it. It requires continuous attention during market hours, capital you can afford to lose entirely, detailed record keeping, and a long unpaid learning period. Most beginners are better served learning investing first, on money that is not at daily risk.
What happens to my shares if my broker shuts down?
They remain yours, because the ownership record sits with NSDL or CDSL in your own name rather than with the broker. You can transfer the holdings to another broker. This protects your shares, not cash left idle in your trading account.
What should I do when the market crashes?
Check whether the reasons you own each investment have stopped being true, rather than reacting to the size of the fall. Do not sell in a panic, keep any SIP running because that is when it buys the most units, and make sure your emergency fund is intact.
Do markets always recover after a crash?
Broad Indian indices have recovered from every major fall so far, though recovery has taken anything from about a year to several years. That is a historical observation rather than a guarantee, and it applies to diversified indices. Individual companies do not automatically recover and some never have.
Is keeping money in a savings account safe?
It is safe from price movement and not safe from inflation. If your money grows 4% a year while prices rise 6%, you hold more rupees each year and can buy less with them. Avoiding all volatility guarantees a slow, certain loss of buying power.
Why should I not invest with borrowed money?
Because it removes the one real advantage an individual investor has, which is the ability to wait. If a position moves against you and the loan must be serviced, you can be forced to sell at the worst moment even if your original view eventually proves correct.
What is a circuit breaker?
It is an automatic halt in trading across all equity and equity derivative markets when the Nifty 50 or Sensex moves 10%, 15% or 20% in either direction. A 20% move stops trading for the rest of the day. It was last triggered on 13 March 2020.
Does a stop loss guarantee my maximum loss?
No. It caps the loss under normal trading conditions only. If a stock gaps down overnight, hits a circuit limit, or falls in a panic with no buyers, your exit can be far below the level you set or may not happen at all.
Choosing investments
What to buy, and more usefully, how to decide what to buy.
Should a beginner buy stocks or mutual funds first?
For most beginners a broad index fund through a monthly SIP is the more sensible starting point. It spreads your money across many companies at a very low fee and does not require you to judge an individual business before you have learned how.
What is the difference between an ETF and an index fund?
Both can track the same index and hold the same companies. An index fund is bought from the fund house at the end of day NAV and needs no demat account. An ETF trades on the exchange at a live price through a broker, and each trade carries brokerage and a spread.
What is the difference between a direct and a regular mutual fund plan?
They are the same fund with the same manager and holdings. The regular plan has a distributor commission built into its expense ratio, paid every year out of your money. The direct plan has no commission, so it costs less and its NAV is higher.
How do I know if I have a direct or regular plan?
Look at the scheme name on your statement. A direct plan includes the word Direct in its name. If it does not appear, you hold the regular plan. The direct plan of the same scheme also always has a higher NAV.
Are index funds good for beginners in India?
For most beginners they are a sensible starting point. They remove the need to judge a fund manager, cost very little, and spread money across many large companies from the first instalment. They do not reduce the risk of the market falling.
How do I analyse a company before investing?
Work in order. Understand what the business sells and how it could fail, check the numbers across five to ten years, judge management by their record across consecutive annual reports, then assess whether the price is reasonable, and finally write down your reason and what would change it.
Is a low PE ratio always good?
No. A low PE can mean the market is being too pessimistic, or that it correctly expects profit to fall. In cyclical industries the PE looks lowest at the top of the cycle, right before earnings decline, which is the opposite of what it appears to signal.
How many stocks should I own to be diversified?
Around 20 to 25 companies spread across different industries captures most of the available benefit. Beyond about 50 the extra protection is minimal, and beyond about 20 most individuals stop being able to follow each holding properly.
Is owning many mutual funds the same as being diversified?
Often not. Large cap funds in India hold heavily overlapping portfolios, so six of them may collectively hold the same thirty companies. That is one bet with six statements rather than six independent positions.
How should I invest in gold now that SGBs have stopped?
For most people the practical choice is a gold ETF or a gold mutual fund. The ETF is usually cheaper if you already have a demat account, and the gold fund suits a monthly SIP without one. SEBI has cautioned about digital gold, which sits outside its regulation.
Should beginners invest in IPOs?
With more caution than usual rather than less. The seller chooses the timing and influences the price, and you have only one offer document to judge by rather than years of results. Waiting six months after listing costs nothing and replaces a promotional document with actual evidence.
Can Indians invest in US stocks?
Yes, under the RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which allows up to USD 250,000 per person per financial year across all purposes. An Indian mutual fund or ETF investing overseas achieves similar exposure without using your LRS limit or requiring foreign asset reporting.
Selling and holding
The decisions people find hardest, usually because they are being made under pressure.
When should I sell an investment?
When the reason you bought it has stopped being true, not when the price has moved. That is why writing down your reason at purchase matters. Needing the money, or rebalancing back to your intended allocation, are the other legitimate reasons.
Should I stop my SIP when the market falls?
Falling prices are exactly when a fixed monthly amount buys the most units, so stopping then removes most of the benefit of a SIP. The useful question is whether your reason for owning the fund has changed, not whether the price has moved.
Why do I keep holding a stock that keeps falling?
Because while you have not sold, the loss does not feel real, and selling means admitting an error. A useful test is to ask whether you would buy it today at the current price, knowing what you know now. If the answer is no, what you originally paid is not a reason to keep holding.
Should long term investors use stop losses?
Usually not. A stop loss exits on price, while a long term investor should exit when the business changes. A stop on a long term holding would sell during an ordinary market fall at a poor price and leave you deciding when to return.
What is rebalancing and how often should I do it?
Rebalancing returns your portfolio to its intended split after prices have moved it, which forces selling what rose and buying what lagged. Once a year is enough for most investors. Using new money to top up whatever is below target avoids a sale and the tax that comes with it.
Why does a share price fall after good results?
Because the price already reflects what investors expected. If the market expected 30% profit growth and the company delivered 20%, the result is good and the surprise is disappointing. Prices respond to the gap between expectation and outcome.
How long is long term investing?
For tax purposes, listed shares and equity funds become long term after 12 months. For the approach to work as intended, a horizon closer to seven to ten years and beyond is more realistic.
Is a market crash a good time to buy?
Lower prices do improve future expected returns, but nobody can identify the bottom and prices can keep falling for a long time. Continuing a regular investment plan captures most of the benefit without requiring a call. Never borrow to buy a fall and never use your emergency fund for it.
How do I stop making emotional investment decisions?
By removing the need to decide when you are emotional. Automate monthly investing, write down your reason and exit condition before buying, rebalance on a fixed schedule rather than a feeling, check your portfolio less often, and cap position sizes in advance.
What is the biggest mistake new investors make?
Investing before building an emergency fund. Without cash reserves, an ordinary emergency forces you to sell during a market fall, which turns a temporary drop into a permanent loss.
Tax
Rates and rules for FY 2026-27. General information rather than tax advice, and worth confirming with a professional once the amounts are meaningful.
What is the capital gains tax on shares in India?
For FY 2026-27, listed shares and equity mutual funds sold within 12 months are taxed at 20%. Sold after 12 months, gains are taxed at 12.5% on the amount above Rs 1.25 lakh for the financial year. Budget 2026 made no change to these rates.
Is the Rs 1.25 lakh exemption per fund or per year?
Per year, and combined. It covers all your long term equity gains together, from mutual funds and directly held shares. It is not available separately for each holding and it does not carry forward if unused.
How are debt mutual funds taxed now?
Units bought on or after 1 April 2023 are taxed at your income tax slab rate no matter how long you hold them, with no indexation. Units bought before that date keep the older treatment, taxed at 12.5% if held beyond 24 months.
Is Section 80C still valid?
The benefit continues but the number changed. Under the Income-tax Act 2025, effective 1 April 2026, Section 80C became Section 123 with eligible investments listed in Schedule XV, and the Rs 1.5 lakh limit is unchanged. Returns filed in July 2026 for FY 2025-26 still use the old numbering.
Are tax saving investments still useful?
Only if you file under the old tax regime. The new regime is the default and removes almost all investment deductions, so ELSS and similar options give no tax benefit there. The one large exception is your employer contribution to NPS, which is deductible under both regimes.
How is a SIP taxed?
Each instalment is treated as a separate purchase with its own holding period, and redemptions follow first in, first out. So withdrawing after four years produces mostly long term gains, plus short term gains at 20% on everything bought in the last twelve months.
How are dividends taxed in India?
Since April 2020, dividends are added to your total income and taxed at your slab rate, with TDS deducted once dividend income crosses the applicable threshold. This is less favourable than long term capital gains on equity for higher earners.
How is intraday trading taxed?
Intraday equity trading is treated as speculative business income rather than capital gains. Profits are added to your total income and taxed at your slab rate, and speculative losses can only be set off against speculative gains, carried forward for four years.
How are gold ETFs taxed?
Listed gold ETF units bought on or after 1 April 2025 qualify as long term after 12 months and are taxed at 12.5%. Gold mutual funds keep the 24 month threshold because their units are not listed. Neither receives the Rs 1.25 lakh exemption available to equity.
What is the TCS on investing in US stocks?
Investment remittances attract 20% TCS on the amount above Rs 10 lakh in a financial year, aggregated across all your remittances. TCS is not an extra tax, it is adjustable against your income tax liability when you file your return.
How can I legally reduce tax on my investments?
Use the Rs 1.25 lakh long term exemption each year since it does not carry forward, hold past twelve months where possible, set off realised losses against gains and carry forward the rest by filing on time, choose growth over IDCW in funds, and rebalance using new money rather than selling.
Do I pay tax if I have not sold anything?
Not on capital gains, which apply only when you sell and realise a gain. However dividends and interest received during the year are added to your income and taxed at your slab rate even if you never sell the underlying investment.
Retirement and planning
The longest horizon you will plan for, and the one where starting early matters most.
How much do I need to retire in India?
Start from your expected annual expenses in retirement, often around 70% to 80% of current spending, then adjust for inflation to the year you retire. A common rough guide is that you can withdraw about 3% to 4% of the corpus in the first year, which suggests the total needed.
Is EPF enough for retirement?
Usually not on its own, particularly for anyone whose lifestyle is well above their basic salary. It is an excellent foundation because it is automatic and government backed, but most people need an additional monthly investment alongside it.
Should I withdraw my EPF when changing jobs?
No. Transfer it instead. An amount that looks modest in your thirties would have grown substantially by 60, and withdrawing removes that growth permanently. It is among the most damaging retirement decisions people commonly make.
How much can my employer contribute to NPS tax free?
Up to 14% of basic salary plus dearness allowance under the new tax regime, for both government and private sector employees. Employer contributions to NPS, EPF and superannuation combined cannot exceed Rs 7.5 lakh a year.
What happens to NPS money at retirement?
You can withdraw up to 60% of the corpus as a tax free lump sum, and at least 40% must be used to buy an annuity paying a regular income for life. That annuity income is taxable at your slab rate. If the corpus is small, currently up to Rs 8 lakh, the whole amount can be withdrawn.
Which is better, ELSS or PPF?
They suit different people. ELSS has a three year lock in and full equity risk, so it suits someone comfortable with sharp falls and a horizon of seven years or more. PPF locks money for fifteen years, is government backed, and pays tax free interest.
How does the ELSS lock in work with a SIP?
Each instalment is locked for three years from its own date, not from the start of the SIP. A SIP run for five years therefore has money tied up for close to eight years in total.
How should I decide my asset allocation?
Start from when you need the money. Anything needed within three years should not be in equity, while money you will not touch for ten years or more can be largely equity. Then adjust for how stable your income is and whether you would genuinely hold through a 40% fall.
Should retirees keep money in equity?
Usually some. Retirement can last thirty years, so a portfolio entirely in deposits faces steady erosion from inflation. The sensible approach is to reduce equity gradually over the decade before retiring rather than moving out of it entirely on the day you stop working.
Should I buy insurance to save tax?
Buy term insurance because you need cover, not to save tax. Endowment, money back and unit linked policies sold as tax saving usually deliver weaker protection and weaker returns than buying term insurance and investing the difference separately.
About AlphaVik
How this service works, stated plainly, including the parts that are still being built.
Does AlphaVik tell me when to buy or sell?
Not today. Investment views on a seven step scale from Sell now to Buy are built but switched off, and they remain off until the relevant compliance clearance is complete in India. When they do become available, every view will carry its reasoning, evidence, risks and the events that would change it, and you will still make and place every decision yourself.
Does AlphaVik guarantee profit or returns?
No, and it never will. Nobody can guarantee future market movement. Any service promising a guaranteed return on a market linked product is either mistaken or dishonest, and in India that promise is itself a recognised warning sign of fraud.
How will AlphaVik reach a view?
In a fixed order. Collect verified facts from company filings, published results and reliable market data. Check those against the reason you originally recorded for owning the investment. Reach a stated view on the seven step scale. Then write down the specific events that would change it. This is the designed method. The capability is not switched on.
Does AlphaVik place orders in my broker account?
No, and it is not built to. AlphaVik has no ability to buy or sell anything and holds no credential that would allow it. You place every order yourself through your own broker.
Can AI predict stock prices?
No, and neither can any person. Markets are shaped by events that have not happened yet and by decisions millions of people have not yet made. What software can do is read evidence consistently, remember your reasons accurately, and tell you when something has changed.
Is AlphaVik registered with SEBI?
AlphaVik currently publishes educational content, which does not require registration. It is not a registered investment adviser or research analyst, does not manage money, and does not provide advice tailored to your circumstances. The capabilities that could require registration are built but switched off, and they will not be enabled until that position is settled with qualified advisers.
What can I actually use right now?
The learning hub with 42 lessons, the glossary with 93 terms, the FAQ and the blog. All free, no account needed, and they stay free. Portfolio tracking is in a small private beta. Investment views, ratings and allocation suggestions are not available to anyone yet.
How will the daily market update be produced?
By collecting verified market and company news from reliable sources, selecting only items that genuinely matter, and explaining what happened, why it matters and who it affects. Every item will link to its source and state the publication time. Nothing will publish automatically without human review, and a view on a security will never be generated from a headline alone. It is currently in a small private beta.
What will happen when an AlphaVik view turns out to be wrong?
It will be stated openly along with what was missed. Every view is designed to be published with the conditions that would change it, precisely so that being wrong becomes visible rather than quietly forgotten.
Why does AlphaVik keep saying nobody can predict the market?
Because it is true, and because most of the damage done to individual investors comes from people who imply otherwise. A view based on today evidence is useful. Certainty about tomorrow is not available from anyone.
A question here is a summary. A lesson is the answer.
Forty two lessons, written in simple English, free and open.