Before SIP, NAV or CAGR mean anything, it helps to answer a more basic question: what actually happens to your money when you buy a mutual fund unit?
You're buying a small slice of a large, pooled basket
A mutual fund pools money from thousands of investors and uses it to buy a basket of securities — shares, bonds, or a mix of both, depending on the scheme's stated objective. When you invest ₹5,000, you're not buying five shares of one company; you're buying units that represent a tiny slice of that entire basket, professionally managed by a fund manager on behalf of everyone who has invested.
NAV is simply the price of one unit
The Net Asset Value (NAV) is the basket's total value divided by the number of units outstanding, calculated at the end of every business day. When the underlying securities rise in value, NAV rises; when they fall, NAV falls. There is no fixed or promised NAV growth — it moves with the market.
Who actually holds your money?
Not the fund manager, and not your distributor. Your money sits with a SEBI-registered custodian, and your units are recorded in your own folio by the fund's Registrar and Transfer Agent (RTA). Adhya Invest Mantra helps you choose a scheme and complete the paperwork, but at no point does your money pass through our account.
Regular plan vs direct plan
Regular plans include a small distribution commission built into the scheme's expense ratio, paid by the AMC to the distributor — this is how we're compensated for the guidance, paperwork and ongoing servicing we provide. Direct plans skip the distributor and carry a slightly lower expense ratio, but you handle selection, paperwork and servicing yourself.
The scheme document — not a conversation, not a brochure — is the only place the actual terms of your investment are legally recorded.
Whichever category you eventually choose, read the Scheme Information Document before investing, and never invest based on a verbal promise of a specific return.
