Guides

What you need to buy a mutual fund in India, where you can buy one, and the steps of a first purchase.

Opening an account with a fund house and making a first investment, step by step.

MF Central is the official platform run by CAMS and KFintech. One login to see, buy, switch and redeem funds across fund houses.

MF Utilities is a shared platform owned by the fund houses. One account number (a CAN) works across most of them.

A SIP invests the same amount every month; a lump sum invests it all at once. How each behaves when markets rise and fall.

Choosing a SIP date, how the bank mandate works, and what the smallest SIP is.

KYC is done once with a KYC registration agency and is accepted by every fund house. The online Aadhaar route, the in-person route and what CKYC adds.

Every KYC record carries one of four statuses. What each one lets you do, how to check yours and how to clear an On Hold status.

Your KYC is kept by a KYC registration agency for the securities market and by CERSAI's Central KYC registry for all of finance. What each does, which one mutual funds check, and your KIN.

Bank changes go to the fund house, MF Central or the registrar. Mobile and email are changed with an OTP, and your address through your KYC record.

You can name up to 10 nominees in a folio, with a share for each. Sole holders must add a nominee or opt out. The rules, the steps and what happens on death.

Up to three people can hold a folio together. How Joint and Anyone or survivor differ, who receives the money, whose PAN the gains are reported under, and what happens when a holder dies.

NRIs can buy Indian mutual funds from an NRE or NRO account after KYC with an overseas address. US and Canada residents, tax deducted at source and repatriation.

Sell units by number or by amount on the fund house's website or app, MF Central or the registrar. Cut-off times, when the money arrives, exit load and tax.

When the money from a redemption reaches your bank: the cut-off, the redemption date, the working days after it for liquid, debt, equity and overseas funds, and what can hold a payment up.

Stopping a SIP ends future instalments and leaves your units invested. Where to place the request, how early, and when a pause is available.

A systematic transfer plan moves a fixed amount between two funds of one fund house. A systematic withdrawal plan pays a fixed amount to your bank. How each works and is taxed.

A folio is your account number with one fund house. Why you may have several, and how to merge those with the same holders.

Several folios at one fund house can be merged into one when the holders match. What to check first, how to place the request online or on paper, and what moves across.

One statement of every mutual fund you hold across fund houses, free from CAMS, KFintech or MF Central, and the depository CAS if you have a demat account.

A statement of the gains you realised in a financial year, split into short and long term. Where to download it and what it is used for.

The tax on a mutual fund gain depends on what the fund holds and how long you held the units. The 2026-27 rates in one table, with what each group of funds covers.

Money put into an ELSS can be deducted from taxable income under the old tax regime, up to ₹1.5 lakh a year with other eligible items. Each purchase is locked for three years.

Long-term equity gains up to ₹1.25 lakh a financial year are tax-free. Booking them each year by redeeming and buying back raises your cost. How it works and what to check.

Redemptions go in the capital gains schedule and IDCW under income from other sources. Where to get the figures, how to check them and which forms allow them.

FD interest is taxed every year as it builds up. A debt fund's gain is taxed only in the year you sell. Since April 2023 both are taxed at your slab rate. A worked example on ₹10 lakh.