You have the savings. You don’t have the time.

Reels make it sound like you must learn the market, trade options, or settle for whatever a fund gives you. There are more choices than that, and each one costs something. This page sets them out in plain words, says who MindForge does not suit, and shows what you would do first.

Three things people try

A mutual fund or index fund, F&O trading and a monthly model portfolio, compared
Question	A mutual fund or index fund	F&O trading	A monthly model portfolio (what we publish)
Who decides	The fund manager, or the index.	You, trade by trade.	A rules-based model. You place the orders.
Your time	None after you set it up.	Market hours.	About ten minutes a month, usually in two short sittings.
Can you lose more than you put in?	No.	Yes, on futures and sold options.	No. No leverage and no margin.
What is on record	Real returns, published daily.	In FY26, 87.7% of individual traders lost money: ₹91,685 crore in all (SEBI study).	Model figures, labelled. Live since 31 Aug 2026, far too short to judge.
Tax on gains	12.5% above ₹1.25 lakh a year, when you sell after a year.	Business income, at your slab.	20% in the year each gain is booked, because the list changes monthly.
What it costs	A percentage of your money every year.	Brokerage and taxes on every trade.	A flat monthly fee, one portfolio free, plus your broker’s charges.

A fund is not a bad choice. If you want no orders at all and the lowest tax, a low-cost fund may be the better one. What a model portfolio offers instead is a short list built to try to beat its index. It may not, and it can fall harder on the way.

Is this for you?

It may suit you if

The money can stay invested for at least five years.
Your salary covers your life, and six months of expenses are set aside somewhere safe.
You could watch it fall by a quarter or more without selling.
You can spare about ten minutes a month, and one extra form at tax time.

It will not suit you if

You are carrying a credit-card balance or a costly personal loan. Clearing that is a return nothing here can promise.
You need this money for a home, a wedding or fees in the next few years.
You want it to double quickly.
You would rather place no orders at all. A fund does that for you.
Your employer bars selling within six months of buying.

General information, not advice on your situation.

What would you put in?

An amount, in rupees

MultiAsset

Eight ETFs across shares, gold, silver and bonds.

At this amount: Works at this amount. Works from ₹10,000.
The fee: Free.
Its deepest backtested fall: −₹1,35,000 on this amount

LargeMidcap 250

Fifteen large and mid-size companies.

At this amount: Works at this amount. Works from ₹7,15,000.
The fee: ₹11,988 a year, 1.2% of this amount.
Its deepest backtested fall: −₹2,31,000 on this amount

SmallMicro 500

Fifteen small and micro-size companies. It swings harder, and it is the one to size smallest.

At this amount: Works at this amount. Works from ₹65,000.
The fee: ₹17,988 a year, 1.8% of this amount.
Its deepest backtested fall: −₹2,42,000 on this amount

Arithmetic on your number and each portfolio’s published figures, not a recommendation. The falls come from backtests of largely rising years. A crash can cost more, and for longer.

All at once, or in parts?

In Indian index data, putting it all in at once ended ahead of six monthly parts a little more often than not after five years. When the market fell soon after the start, going in parts usually did better. So this is a choice about regret as much as return, and it is yours. The numbers

On MindForge, in parts means entering only this month’s part as your amount, then using Add money on later 1sts. Each part has to clear the portfolio’s floor, or the priciest names wait.

From tonight to your first orders

Tonight, five minutes. Sign up. The free portfolio’s link arrives by e-mail in minutes. A paid plan’s arrives within 24 hours, with payment set up on WhatsApp, and its first month is free.
No demat yet? A day or two. Open one online with your PAN, an Aadhaar-linked mobile and your bank account. How to open one
Before you place orders. Move the money to your broker. A buy is checked against your cash when you place it. How to add funds
The evening you start. Enter your amount, send the baskets, confirm on Kite and tick each one. Month one is buys only.
Then nothing until the 1st. It will go up and down. The dashboard shows what is normal.
Next month. Usually two short sittings: the sales one evening, the buys the next. Your demat has to approve the sales.
At tax time. ITR-2 instead of ITR-1, and your broker’s report does most of it. What changes

Three ways to begin

We call each portfolio a book, so you will see that word on the dashboard.

Try the routine first

The free portfolio works from ₹10,000. Same dashboard, same steps, eight ETFs. It is for learning the routine, not for beating a fund.

Start free

LargeMidcap 250

Fifteen large and mid-size companies. First month free, then ₹999 a month.

Choose this

SmallMicro 500

Fifteen small and micro-size companies. It swings harder, and it is the one to size smallest. First month free, then ₹1,499 a month.

Choose this

What this is not

✕ No leverage✕ No derivatives✕ No intraday✕ No margin✕ No tips✕ No daily alerts

We never hold your money, and we never ask for your broker password, OTP or TPIN. Your shares stay in your own demat, so stopping changes nothing you hold.