NDTV Profit’s Nov. 11 mutual fund illustration reports a ₹12.1 lakh gap over 20 years, while compounding its stated net returns annually yields a difference of about ₹14.5 lakh.
The example assumes a ₹10 lakh investment earns 12% a year before expenses. NDTV Profit gives ending balances of ₹86.3 lakh with annual expenses of 0.5% and ₹74.2 lakh with expenses of 1.5%. It presents the difference between those figures as ₹12.1 lakh. The stated assumptions imply net annual returns of 11.5% and 10.5%.
Applying annual compounding to those net rates produces ending values of roughly ₹88.2 lakh at 11.5% and ₹73.7 lakh at 10.5%. The calculated difference is about ₹14.5 lakh. NDTV Profit does not detail a method that accounts for the different balances in its report.
The ₹14.5 lakh figure compares two hypothetical account values; it is not a separate fee billed to an investor. The scenarios assume different net returns over two decades, with each return compounding over time. They do not establish the performance of an actual fund. The example names no scheme and does not verify either percentage as a current charge or specify whether the rates cover the full total expense ratio (TER) or only its base expense ratio (BER).
India’s mutual fund regulations for 2026 took effect April 1. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) defines TER as including the BER, brokerage, transaction costs for trade execution and statutory levies such as goods and services tax (GST). SEBI’s master circular requires asset management companies (AMCs) to disclose each scheme’s TER daily on their websites and the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) website.
AMFI lists TER components separately, describes the percentages as annualized and says some cost averages reset monthly. It also says direct plans exclude distribution expenses and commissions from their BER, and that no commission is paid from those plans.
