IPO Investing in India
How the retail allotment lottery works, why oversubscription cuts both ways, what listing gains compensate for, and the questions the prospectus answers.
TheFinBaba Blog
Guides on Algo Trading, Python & Stock Market
Practical, expert-written guides on algorithmic trading with Python, Demat accounts, F&O strategies, taxation, and everything else Indian traders care about.
All Posts
Stock Market Basics (94)
F&O (91)
Algo Trading (28)
Demat (23)
Mutual Funds (9)
Fees (6)
Basics (5)
How-To (4)
Beginners (3)
SIP (3)
2026 Picks (2)
Open Account (1)
Quick (1)
Review (1)
Zerodha (1)
Intraday (1)
Trading (1)
Students (1)
Kids (1)
NRI (1)
Apps (1)
IPO (1)
Senior Citizens (1)
Women (1)
Retail (1)
Tax (1)
2026 (1)
Comparison (1)
KYC (1)
Selection (1)
Checklist (1)
Strategy (1)
What a Trade Actually Costs in India
Brokerage is the smallest line for most retail investors. Here is the full stack of stock market charges, which ones scale with size, and where the real cost hides.
India VIX and What a Volatility Level Means
India VIX is a price, not a forecast. What the number represents, why it rises before events and collapses after them, and what it does and does not tell you.
Inflation and Real Returns
A nine percent return during seven percent inflation is a two percent return. How to compute what you actually earned, and why tax widens the gap.
What the Nifty and the Sensex Actually Measure
How an index is built, why a handful of companies move it, and the price-versus-total-return distinction that changes what you compare against.
Physical Settlement of Stock Options in India
An in-the-money stock option left to expire becomes an obligation for the full contract value. What triggers delivery, and the one unconditional rule.
How Big an Emergency Fund Do You Actually Need?
Six months of expenses is a placeholder, not an answer. What genuinely decides the size, where the money should sit, and the two holes most people leave wide open.
Asset Allocation for Beginners in India
Most Indian households already have an allocation - property and gold decided it years ago. Here is how to see the one you have before choosing the one you want.
Margin in Futures and Options
SPAN and exposure explained, why the peak margin snapshot matters, what a shortfall costs, and the trap hiding inside funding your margin by pledging shares.
Financial Ratios for Stock Analysis
The financial ratios worth using, what each one is actually asking, and the specific situations where a good-looking ratio is telling you the wrong thing.
Dividend Investing in India
Dividend investing in India: why yield is not return, what the shift to taxation in your own hands changed, and the traps in a high-yield screen.
ETF vs Index Fund
ETF vs index fund in India: they track the same thing but behave differently. Impact cost, tracking error, iNAV, demat requirement and which suits which investor.