What finance reels leave out

A reel has thirty seconds, and the ones that spread are the ones that sound surest. Here are six things you have probably heard, and what the data says.

In short

Funds are not a consolation prize. Over the same months, every fund we track returned more than its index, after tax.
Most people who trade F&O lose. SEBI’s study of FY26: 87.7% of individual traders lost money, ₹91,685 crore in all.
Thirty seconds leaves things out. Below: six things you have probably heard, and what the data says.

“Mutual funds give low returns.”

Compared with what? A reel shows one stock or one good year. A fund’s number covers everyone who stayed, after its costs. From Oct 2021 → Oct 2026 the 3 large-and-mid-cap funds we track returned between 11.8% and 15.8% a year, and the 3 small-cap funds between 15.2% and 16.8%, after tax at exit. Across every five-year stretch since 2007, the Nifty 50’s price index returned a middle figure of 11.7% a year, before dividends.

That is not low. It feels low because you are comparing a whole market with somebody’s best trade. Doing better than a fund takes more concentration, and that brings deeper falls. Nobody gets the first without the second.

“F&O is where the real money is.”

SEBI measures this. Its study of FY26 found that 87.7% of individual traders in equity derivatives lost money, ₹91,685 crore in all. Options drove 92% of it. Among traders under 30, 89% lost. So about one trader in eight made money. Those are the ones who post.

“This stock will double.”

Some do, and you see those. You do not see the rest, because nobody makes a reel about them. Over 7.7 years of prices, a typical single large or mid-cap stock swung about 34.7% a year, against about 19.4% for fifteen together, and its deepest fall was about −51.4%. How many holdings is enough?

“Look at my P&L screenshot.”

A screenshot can show one good week in an account that lost money over the year. Ask for the whole account, over years, published by the broker and not by the person. Zerodha, for one, lets an account holder publish a verified page of their realised results for exactly this reason.

“₹10,000 a month becomes crores.”

On paper, often yes. Look for two things: the return it assumes, and what a crore buys by then. At 6% inflation, ₹1 crore twenty years from now buys what about ₹31 lakh buys today. Try your own numbers on the SIP and inflation calculators.

“You are losing money every day you wait.”

Waiting has a cost, but a small one next to a wrong choice. In the index data, going in over six months instead of all at once cost a middle figure of +2.0 points over five years on the Nifty 50. A lump sum: all at once, or in parts? Clearing a costly loan, setting aside six months of expenses and reading what you are buying are all worth more than a few weeks’ head start.

Four questions for anyone with stock ideas

Did they find you? Unasked messages, groups and DMs are a warning sign.
Do they promise a return? No one can honestly promise one.
Do they want your money or your login? You should never need to share a broker password, an OTP or a TPIN with anyone.
Who answers if it goes wrong? Look for a real name, and a complaint route that does not run through them.

Sources: SEBI, Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25–FY26), August 2026. AMFI NAVs for the funds, Direct Plans, measured to 30 Oct 2026, after 12.5% tax on the gain at exit; three funds per category, not every fund. Yahoo Finance for the index, to Sep 2026. General information, not advice, and nothing here recommends any fund.