Share market basics
A mutual fund that simply copies an index such as Nifty 50, holding the same stocks in the same weights, with low fees and no stock picking.
An index fund is a mutual fund that mirrors a market index. A Nifty 50 index fund holds all fifty Nifty companies in the same proportions as the index, so its returns track Nifty's returns minus a small expense ratio. There is no fund manager choosing stocks, which is why costs are low. You invest through a lump sum or a SIP, and units are bought at the day's NAV rather than a live price, which is the main practical difference from an ETF. Suppose you start a ₹5,000 monthly SIP in a Nifty 50 index fund; over time you own a slice of India's largest companies without picking any. Index funds still fall when the market falls, sometimes by a lot. What they remove is the risk of picking a bad stock or a bad fund manager, and the temptation to trade too much.
VideoA share is a portion of a company. The share market is where those portions change hands. Here is how it works, what you can trade in it, and why most people who trade actively lose money.
VideoThe share market runs on two activities that look alike and are nothing alike. Investing is owning a business for years. Trading is profiting from price moves over hours or weeks. Mixing them up is behind most early losses.
VideoTrading comes in a few distinct forms, and the one you pick decides how much time, capital and stress it takes. This lesson explains intraday, swing, positional, futures and options trading with Indian examples.
