Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Welcome to the FIRE@YovaEngg knowledge base. This guide answers common questions about the platform, creating and backtesting portfolio strategies, configuring rebalancing rules, adjusting analysis parameters, exploring mutual fund categories and category average series, and interpreting the financial metrics displayed across the site.

Table of Contents

1. General & Platform Overview
2. Account, Access & Data Reliability
3. Searching & Adding Instruments
4. Mutual Fund Category Pages & Category Average Series
5. Creating & Managing Portfolio Strategies
6. Portfolio Rebalancing Strategies & Rules
7. View Detail Page: Analysis Settings & Modes
8. View Detail Page: Interpreting KPIs & Risk Metrics
9. View Detail Page: Charts, Tables & Deep Analytics
10. Planning Tools & Calculators

1. General & Platform Overview

What is this application about?

FIRE@YovaEngg is an analytical workbench and backtesting platform designed for DIY investors, financial researchers, and advisors. It allows you to:

• Construct multi-asset portfolio strategies using Indian Mutual Funds, ETFs, and Benchmark Indices.
• Backtest historical performance under real-world cash flows (Lumpsum, Monthly SIP, and STP).
• Evaluate sophisticated rebalancing rules (calendar frequency, drift-based bands, and custom historical dates).
• Stress-test strategies using rolling returns, drawdown durations, correlation matrices, and risk-adjusted metrics (Alpha, Beta, Sharpe, Sortino, Downward Deviation).

What core investment philosophy drives this platform?

No single asset class performs best across all market cycles. Maximizing the probability of achieving your financial goals depends on asset allocation tailored to your time horizon and risk tolerance.

Understanding how different instruments correlate, how they behave during severe drawdowns, and how periodic or opportunistic rebalancing affects terminal wealth enables you to make informed decisions rather than relying on recent performance alone.

2. Account, Access & Data Reliability

Do I need to register or log in to use the site?

No registration is required to explore. You can freely:

• Search and analyze individual mutual funds, ETFs, and benchmark indices.
• Inspect pre-built and public portfolio strategies.
• Explore mutual fund category pages and category average performance benchmarks.
• View interactive charts, rolling return tables, drawdown lists, and correlation matrices.
• Use the Retirement Corpus Calculator and the Corpus to Monthly Income Calculator.

You need an account only to:

• Create, edit, or delete custom portfolio strategies.
• Participate in community discussions by posting comments on scheme and portfolio pages.

Can I trust the data and metrics shown on the website?

No. You should assume that there will be issues, mistakes, and bugs in the data and calculations.

We do not provide any guarantee regarding the correctness, completeness, or accuracy of any data, NAVs, prices, charts, or computed metrics shown on this site:

• There WILL be issues and bugs: Historical data is scraped, parsed, and ingested from disparate public repositories and third-party sources. Missing dates, delayed NAV updates, unadjusted corporate actions/splits, and software calculation bugs will occur.
• Always Cross-Verify: You must independently verify all numbers, calculations, returns, and portfolio weights against official AMC statements, AMFI records, or other authoritative sources before relying on them.
• Strictly for DIY Research: This platform is intended purely as an experimental workbench for DIY analysis and education. We are not SEBI-registered investment advisors, and nothing on this site constitutes financial planning or investment advice.
• Help Us Fix Bugs: If you discover any discrepancy, missing data point, or erroneous metric, please email us at support@yovaengg.com with the relevant links, steps, and screenshots so we can investigate and resolve it.

3. Searching & Adding Instruments

Why can't I find certain mutual fund schemes in the autosuggest dropdown?

To keep dropdown searches snappy, our live autosuggest surfaces a curated subset of popular equity, hybrid, debt, and benchmark indices.

If you do not see your desired scheme in the dropdown:

1. Type the fund name or keywords into the main search box and press Enter (or click the search button).
2. The full search results page displays all matching schemes alongside their system symbol (e.g. MF_118834, MF_122639).
3. You can click on the result directly or copy its MF_<Code> symbol to use in portfolio allocations or as comparison benchmarks.

What types of symbols can I analyze?

The platform supports multiple instrument types:

4. Mutual Fund Category Pages & Category Average Series

What is a Mutual Fund Category Page (/category/<slug>)?

In India, SEBI categorizes mutual fund schemes into standardized peer groups based on market capitalization, asset allocation limits, and investment mandates (e.g. Liquid, Ultra Short Term, Arbitrage, Conservative Hybrid, Equity Savings, Aggressive Hybrid, Multi Asset, Large Cap, Flexi Cap, Mid Cap, Small Cap, etc.).

Each Category Page on the platform (/category/<slug> or via the MF categories dropdown in the header navbar) provides:

• Category Thesis & Mandate: Clear explanation of what the category invests in, standard asset allocation limits, risk profile, and recommended investment horizon.
• Tax Implications: Summary of capital gains taxation applicable to the category (Equity, Debt, or Hybrid taxation rules).
• Benchmark & Inflation Comparison: Key summary metrics (End Amount, CAGR, Inflation-Adjusted CAGR, Alpha, Beta, Sharpe, Sortino) comparing the synthesized Category Average Series against its official Total Returns Index (TRI) benchmark and Indian CPI inflation.
• Interactive Multi-Asset Chart: Growth chart plotting the Category Average Series against the benchmark index and inflation.
• Sortable Peer Comparison Table: A comprehensive table listing active schemes in that category with their 5-Year and 10-Year Rolling Return percentiles (2.5th percentile and median). You can sort by any return column to identify consistently performing funds.

What is the Category Average Series?

The Category Average Series (e.g. CATEGORY-LIQUID-FUNDS, CATEGORY-FLEXI-CAP-FUNDS, CATEGORY-MID-CAP-FUNDS) is a synthesized daily benchmark representing the collective, equal-weighted performance of all mutual fund schemes within that category over time.

Instead of comparing an active mutual fund manager only against a market index (TRI), the Category Average Series acts as the "average active manager" benchmark. It answers the fundamental question: Did this fund manager actually deliver alpha over their peers who invest under identical SEBI investment constraints?

How is the Category Average Series constructed and computed?

The category series is constructed using an equal-weighted aggregation engine designed to handle real-world mutual fund lifecycles:

1. Standardized Daily Series: Daily NAVs for all constituent schemes in the category are synchronized into continuous daily observations.
2. Dynamic Inception & Closure: New schemes launch over time, while older schemes may merge or close. The engine dynamically tracks inception and closure dates for all schemes.

3. Seamless Redistribution (Zero Slippage): On any trading day $T_i$ where the set of active schemes changes (a new fund is added or an existing fund closes), the total accumulated portfolio value $V(T_i)$ is redistributed equally across all continuing schemes: $$\text{units}s = \frac{V(T_i) / N{\text{continuing}}}{\text{NAV}_s(T_i)}$$ This mathematical continuity ensures zero artificial price jumps or discontinuous drops when schemes enter or exit the category.

4. Daily Compounding: The synthesized NAV compounds daily based on the price movements of its held units, providing an unbiased historical time series.

Why is the Category Average Series valuable for DIY investors?

• Isolating Manager Skill from Category Tailwinds: If an active Small Cap fund gained 22% annualized over 5 years, that might look impressive. But if the Small Cap Category Average gained 21%, the fund manager delivered only 1% excess alpha over average peer performance.
• Realistic Asset Allocation Modeling: In multi-asset backtests, you can include category series (e.g. CATEGORY-LIQUID-FUNDS or CATEGORY-FLEXI-CAP-FUNDS) to model asset class returns without relying on a single specific AMC's fund.
• Deep Historical Analytics: You can open any Category Average Series on the View Detail page to inspect its Rolling Returns distribution, Drawdown history, Risk metrics (Sharpe, Sortino), and correlation with other asset classes.

5. Creating & Managing Portfolio Strategies

How do I create a new portfolio strategy?

1. Log in to your account and click Portfolio Strategy > Create in the navigation bar (or visit /portfolio/manage).
2. Strategy Profile:
   • Strategy Name: Choose a descriptive name (e.g., Core All-Weather 60/20/20). Strategy names must be unique.
   • Description: Document your investment thesis, asset allocation logic, or target horizon.
   • Benchmark Index: Pick the comparison benchmark. You can use quick chips (NIFTY 50, Next 50, Midcap 150, 10Y G-Sec, Inflation) or search for any custom benchmark or scheme.
3. Schemes & Allocation:
   • Use the Search & Add Scheme input to find mutual funds or indices.
   • Set the percentage weight for each constituent.
   • Click Equal Weights if you wish to distribute weights evenly across all selected items.
   • Ensure the total allocation equals 100%.
4. Click Create Portfolio Strategy. Once saved, you can immediately click Backtest Strategy to visualize historical performance.

What are the default testing assumptions?

When a portfolio is created, the system initializes baseline testing parameters:

• Starting Investment: ₹10,000 standard initial capital.
• Backtest Horizon: From January 01, 2013 to the latest available market date.
• Proportions: Constituents compound according to their target weights.

How do I edit or delete a portfolio strategy?

• Edit: Navigate to Portfolio Strategy > List, find your strategy, and click Edit. Alternatively, when viewing a portfolio backtest on the View Detail page, click Return to Portfolio Details in the top hero banner.
• Delete: On the edit page (/portfolio/manage/<id>), click Delete Strategy. A confirmation modal will appear to prevent accidental deletion. Only the creator of the portfolio can edit or delete it.

Are my portfolio strategies private or public?

All created strategies can be viewed and backtested by any visitor to foster open community learning and research. However, only the creator (owner) can modify the portfolio constituents, change weights, or delete the strategy.

6. Portfolio Rebalancing Strategies & Rules

Rebalancing is the disciplined process of restoring a portfolio’s constituent weights back to their target asset allocation. Over time, higher-performing assets grow disproportionately large, increasing portfolio risk. Rebalancing enforces buying undervalued assets and trimming overvalued ones.

The platform provides three complementary rebalancing mechanisms that can be used individually or combined.

flowchart TD
    A["Daily Backtest Simulation Step"] --> B{"Custom Rebalance Date?"}
    B -- Yes --> R["Execute Rebalance back to Target Weights"]
    B -- No --> C{"Calendar Interval Check (e.g. 12 Months)?"}
    C -- Yes --> R
    C -- No --> D{"Constituent Drift Check (|Drift| >= Threshold)?"}
    D -- Yes --> R
    D -- No --> H["Continue Buy & Hold Compounding"]
    R --> S["Record Rebalance Event (Pre/Post Values, Gains, Drift %)"]
    S --> H

1. What is Calendar Frequency Rebalancing?

• Parameter: rebalance_frequency_months (e.g., 6, 12, 24).
• How it works: The engine checks the portfolio on the first trading day of the configured month interval (e.g., every 12 months for annual rebalancing).
• Action: All constituents are rebalanced back to their original target percentages.
• Leave blank for: No scheduled calendar rebalancing.

2. What is Drift-Based Rebalancing?

• Parameter: rebalance_drift_percentage (entered as a percentage string, e.g., 10, +10, or -10).
• How it works: Unlike calendar rebalancing, constituent weights are monitored daily. If any asset deviates from its target allocation by more than the threshold percentage, an immediate rebalance is triggered:
  • Unsigned threshold (10): Triggers if any asset drifts by $\ge 10\%$ in either direction (relative $| \text{drift} | \ge 10\%$). E.g., a 20% target allocation drifting below 18% or above 22%.
  • Positive threshold (+10): Triggers only on upward drift ($\ge +10\%$). This acts as a profit-taking trigger when an asset surges.
  • Negative threshold (-10): Triggers only on downward drift ($\le -10\%$). This acts as a "buy-the-dip" trigger when an asset drops.

3. What are Custom Rebalance Dates?

• Parameter: rebalance_dates (e.g. 2020-03-23, 2021-03-31, 31/12/2022).
• How it works: Allows you to simulate historical market timing, opportunistic interventions, or specific financial year-end dates.
• Supported Formats: YYYY-MM-DD, DD-MM-YYYY, DD/MM/YYYY, YYYY/MM/DD, DD.MM.YYYY, DD-Mon-YYYY, Mon DD, YYYY, and YYYYMMDD.
• Holidays & Weekends: If a specified date falls on a weekend or market holiday, the engine automatically executes the rebalance on the next available trading day.
• Combined execution: Custom dates work on top of calendar frequency and drift rules.

What is the "Capture Rebalance Details" toggle?

When Capture Rebalance Details is checked under Analysis Settings:

• The engine logs every rebalance event across the backtest.
• A dedicated Portfolio Rebalance Points & Gain/Loss Report table appears below the performance chart.
• Each event details:
  • Date and trigger reason (Calendar Frequency, Drift Trigger: <Symbol>, or Custom Date).
  • Pre-rebalance portfolio valuation and interval gain/loss.
  • Constituent-by-constituent baseline values, pre-rebalance weights, percentage drift, interval gain/loss (₹ and %), and post-rebalance allocations.

What happens if I configure no rebalancing settings?

If frequency, drift, and custom dates are all left blank, the portfolio operates in Buy-and-Hold mode. Units purchased at the beginning are held throughout the entire period without intervention, allowing constituent weights to float freely with market prices.

7. View Detail Page: Analysis Settings & Modes

The View Detail page (/view_detail) is the core analytics dashboard. You can access the configuration panel anytime by clicking Analysis Settings (or the Change Settings button).

What investment modes can I backtest?

You can toggle between three investment choices:

1. Lumpsum: A single, one-time investment made on the start date and held until the end date.
2. Monthly SIP (Systematic Investment Plan): Fixed installments invested on the first trading day of every month for a duration of SIP Months (e.g., 60 months). If the overall backtest period is longer than SIP Months, the accumulated corpus continues to compound until the end date.
3. STP (Systematic Transfer Plan): A lump sum is parked in an initial STP Source Symbol (typically a Liquid or Arbitrage fund). Fixed equal monthly installments are transferred from the source fund into the destination fund or portfolio over STP Months. Any un-transferred balance in the source fund continues to earn returns until depleted.

How do Start Date and End Date work?

• By default, the system selects the maximum common start date (the earliest date on which all selected symbols and benchmarks have valid NAV/price data) and the minimum common end date.
• You can override these dates to backtest specific market cycles, such as the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the 2013 Taper Tantrum, the 2020 COVID crash, or the post-2021 bull run.

Can I change the benchmark on the View Detail page?

Yes. Enter any valid symbol in the Benchmark Symbol field (e.g., NIFTY, NIFTYMIDCAP150, IND-GSEC-10YR, CATEGORY-FLEXI-CAP-FUNDS) to benchmark the primary asset against that index, fund, or category average.

What is the "Other Symbols" field?

You can enter up to several comma-separated symbols (e.g., NIFTY, NIFTYMIDCAP150, MF_118834) in the Other Symbols field. These symbols will be:

• Plotted simultaneously on the performance chart for visual comparison.
• Included in the Rolling Returns percentile comparison table.
• Mapped in the Monthly Return Correlations matrix.
• Analyzed in the Drawdowns table to see how other assets dropped during the same downturns.

8. View Detail Page: Interpreting KPIs & Risk Metrics

The KPI summary cards at the top of the View Detail page provide an instant snapshot of absolute and risk-adjusted performance.

9. View Detail Page: Charts, Tables & Deep Analytics

Performance Chart

An interactive Plotly chart that tracks normalized portfolio growth alongside the benchmark and the Indian inflation index. You can:

• Hover over any date to inspect exact values across all lines.
• Drag to zoom into specific historical periods; double-click to reset.
• Toggle individual series on or off by clicking their names in the legend.

Win Ratios Table against Benchmark

Evaluates consistency by simulating every rolling period across 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 180 days, 1 Year, 3 Years, 5 Years, 7 Years, and 10 Years:

• Win Ratio (%): The percentage of rolling windows in which the primary asset beat the benchmark. A ratio $> 60\%$ demonstrates persistent outperformance.
• Avg Win over Benchmark (%): Average outperformance margin during winning windows.
• Avg Loss over Benchmark (%): Average underperformance margin during losing windows.

Rolling Returns Annualized % Comparison Table

Rolling returns eliminate point-to-point end-date bias by calculating annual returns for every overlapping window:

• Current Return: Return for the most recent period.
• 2.5th Percentile: Historical worst-case stress test (only 2.5% of historical windows were worse). Ideal for conservative planning.
• Median (50th Percentile): Expected middle outcome across market cycles.
• 97.5th Percentile: Upper bull-market boundary.

Monthly Return Correlations Table

When enabled, computes correlation coefficients between all analyzed symbols over 3-year, 5-year, 7-year, and 10-year monthly return windows:

• $+1.0$: Perfect positive correlation (assets move together; no diversification benefit).
• $0.0$: Uncorrelated (assets move independently; excellent diversification).
• $-1.0$: Perfect negative correlation (assets move in opposite directions; maximum hedging).
• Rule of thumb: Combining equity funds with assets that have low correlation to equities (e.g. Gold, G-Secs, or Arbitrage funds with correlation $< 0.3$) stabilizes portfolio drawdowns.

Drawdowns Table (Periods of Negative Return)

A drawdown measures the peak-to-trough decline of an asset before it recovers to a new high. This table details every major downturn:

• Start Date & End Date: The date the decline began and the date the asset fully recovered its previous peak (or ongoing).
• Duration: Total calendar days spent underwater.
• Max Drop (%): The deepest percentage fall from peak.
• Benchmark & Constituents Max Drop: Displays how the benchmark and other assets dropped over that exact same interval, helping you see which assets acted as shock absorbers.
• Start, Min & End Values: The monetary levels at peak, trough, and recovery.

Rolling Returns Analysis Plots

When Enable Rolling Returns is toggled, five dedicated time-series plots are generated for 1Y, 3Y, 5Y, 7Y, and 10Y rolling windows. These charts highlight how return spreads compress over longer holding horizons, visually illustrating the power of patient long-term investing.

10. Planning Tools & Calculators

Beyond backtesting historical data, the platform includes dedicated planning tools accessible from the top Tools dropdown:

Retirement Corpus Calculator (/retire_calculator)

• Purpose: Estimates the target corpus required on Day 1 of retirement to fund inflation-adjusted living expenses throughout your retirement horizon.
• Key Features:
  • Accounts for pre-retirement accumulation return, post-retirement return, and annual inflation.
  • Computes additional investment needed today, with an option to suggest a monthly SIP with optional annual step-up percentages and maximum SIP caps.
  • Automatically identifies whether your existing accumulated savings already fully fund your goal (surplus).

Corpus to Monthly Income Calculator (/corpus_income_calculator)

• Purpose: Helps users who already possess a lump sum or accumulated wealth determine the maximum sustainable, inflation-adjusted monthly income they can withdraw across a given horizon (e.g., 20–40 years).
• Key Features:
  • Monthly inflation-adjusted annuity due calculations where withdrawals step up annually with inflation.
  • Displays initial Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR %), total cumulative lifetime payout, and a multi-year cashflow milestone progression table.
  • Conservative baseline assumes the post-retirement return rate matches inflation (0% real return), with full flexibility to customize expected returns.