The regular plan basket performed better than both direct plan categories, declining only -4.16%. This suggests that a well-diversified and actively monitored portfolio may help deliver better investment performance. This analysis highlights that simply choosing funds based on past ratings or high returns may not be the best strategy. A thoughtfully constructed portfolio even in a Regular Plan can provide better investment performance. I hope this help investors to understand that cost saved by investing in direct plan may come at some extra cost. This is purely an academic exercise with no recommendations to buy any fund or call for action. Investors please consider your own risk profile/ asset allocations and ability to withstand downside risk.