How to use the Dhanik Screener

The Dhanik Screener lets you narrow every Indian mutual fund — 14,000+ schemes — down to a working shortlist in seconds. Instead of starting from a "top 10" list someone else built, you set the rules and the screener applies them to live data. Here is a practical walkthrough, plus the filters professionals actually use.

Step 1: start broad

Pick a category first — say Flexi Cap for a core holding — and stick to Direct plans with the Growth option. Direct plans carry no distributor commission, so the same fund compounds faster than its Regular twin (why direct plans win). This single step typically cuts 14,000 schemes down to a few dozen comparable ones.

Step 2: add filters that matter

Click "Add Filter" and layer criteria — each one adds a sortable column:

• 3Y and 5Y returns: longer periods smooth out luck. A fund can top a 1-year chart by accident; five good years are harder to fake.
• Expense ratio: the annual fee that silently compounds against you — on a ₹10 lakh holding, a 1% higher ratio costs roughly ₹10,000 every year (what counts as reasonable).
• AUM: very small funds risk closure or merger; extremely large funds in narrow categories can struggle to deploy money.
• Risk metrics and rating: standard deviation, Sharpe ratio and the fund's rating help you compare how returns were earned, not just how big they were.

Step 3: sort, export, save

Sort by any column to rank your shortlist, export the table to Excel for offline notes, and — most usefully — save the screen with a name. A saved screen re-runs on live data whenever you return, so your quarterly review takes minutes, not evenings. You can also share a screen link with a friend so they see exactly what you filtered.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Sorting only by 1-year return — you'll simply find last year's lucky fund.
• Mixing Direct and Regular plans in one comparison — their returns aren't comparable.
• Screening across unrelated categories — a liquid fund and a small-cap fund can't be ranked on the same yardstick.

A worked screen: core flexi-cap in 60 seconds

Category = Flexi Cap, plan = Direct-Growth; add 5Y return and sort descending; add expense ratio and drop anything above ~1%; add AUM and drop the tiniest schemes. From 14,000+ funds you're now looking at perhaps eight serious candidates — built on your rules, in about a minute. That shortlist, not a stranger's top-10 article, is the right starting point for deeper research.

A screen produces a shortlist, not a decision: from there, open each fund's page, read its risk numbers, and compare finalists side by side. Not investment advice — always do your own research.

→ Try it now in the MF screener.